A BETTER IDEA (Genesis 6:1-9:16)

We all know the story of Noah and the Ark because for some reason someone decided it was the perfect topic for children’s bedtime books. I suppose it’s the lovely animal illustrations, but it’s still pretty ghastly. God get’s the animals together two by two. – In the original a few actually came in sevens. – They enter the Ark with Noah and his family. The rain comes down, the flood comes up, and all the people, animals, insects and birds on earth, except those in the ark, are drowned. I’m surprised we ever got any sleep when I was a kid.

If we take this story too literally it all seems a bit far-fetched. If every species were reduced to one mated pair how could they possibly recover? Surely the lions and tigers would eat the puppies and lambs. And the subsequent genealogy has Abraham leaving the city of Haran, going to Egypt, and dealing with a Pharaoh 368 years after all civilizations, indeed almost all human and animal life on earth had been destroyed.

But there is something more here than facts of human history. These texts are grand, poetic reflections on the human condition: man, woman, birth, death, pride, humility, stewardship, and the unity of creation. They are concerned with questions of meaning and purpose. How should we relate to one another, and to creation in general? What are the consequences of unbridled human arrogance? Is there an overall plan and purpose into which we, who have such a God-like impact everywhere we go, must fit? And how do we properly relate to the ONE whose story this really is, and who, consequently, is the context in which what we do matters?

God chose Noah, as he had created Adam, to serve the creation. Adam was created to bless the garden, and Noah is called to bless the earth. And, as the direct descendants of both, we are created, not for ourselves but for others. This is how we find meaning in life.

After the flood God sets his bow in the clouds as a kind of peace memorial. (Genesis 9:11-13) He lays aside his weapon with a pledge that he will not make war of the earth like this again. Of course, the problem of pride and violence is not solved. Noah has barely left the ark when he is gets drunk and curses one of his children with a multi-generational curse. (Genesis 9:20-25) And soon the people are building a tower to proclaim their greatness. (Genesis 11:1-9) But destroying them is not the solution. God will confound their languages and scatter them over the face of the earth. And then, very quickly, he will begin a new project of care and redemption that will become the story of the Bible right down to Jesus and beyond.

God will choose one man and begin to develop a personal relationship with him. Through him he will establish a people, and the purpose of that people will be to bless all people everywhere. (Genesis 12:1-3)

Of course, they will continually fall prey to the arrogant assumption that they are the only ones God really cares about, loves, or deals with. But God will work with them patiently, as a parent works with children. He will take them as they are and teach them to walk and talk, love and forgive. As one of their teachers will remind them: To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with... God. Micah 6:8

But why would God bother with all this? Considering all the terrible things we do, why keep us around? Well, I think the answer is so simple we’re inclined to miss it. God is our father and mother. He keeps us for the same reason any good parents keep a wayward child. He loves us.

Love is the greatest mystery of all, and the story of the Bible is the story of the lengths to which love will go. And besides, in spite of all that’s wrong with us, when we are just being ourselves, there really is something wonderful about human beings. Check out the link below and see what I mean.

North Point’s iBand -- Christmas

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