Scripture Text (NRSV)
6:9 These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless
in his generation; Noah walked with God.
6:10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled
with violence.
6:12 And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted
its ways upon the earth.
6:13 And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all
flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to
destroy them along with the earth.
6:14 Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and
cover it inside and out with pitch.
6:15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred
cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
6:16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the
door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks.
6:17 For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to
destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything
that is on the earth shall die.
6:18 But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into
the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.
6:19 And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every
kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
6:20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according
to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two
of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive.
6:21 Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up;
and it shall serve as food for you and for them."
6:22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
7:24 And the waters swelled on the earth for one hundred fifty days.
8:14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the
earth was dry.
8:15 Then God said to Noah,
8:16 "Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your
sons' wives with you.
8:17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all
flesh--birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth--so
that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the
earth."
8:18 So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives.
8:19 And every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything
that moves on the earth, went out of the ark by families.
Comments:
Messenger of Peace
Was God cleaning up the earth or was he cleaning up humanity? What poluted the earth was humankind. But worms, fish, birds, and etc., all of which humankind had been dominion over was destroyed except for what was on the Ark.
What does this text say about the dominion that God has given us and our misuse and abuse of power. We know that the end of the story is that God promises never to destroy the earth again by a flood.
But what is it that God wants? What is it that God desires? What was God speaking to those on the Ark during those 150 days? What did they hear from God? I don't know when I consider the action of Noah and his son when they came out of the Ark.
It seems to me that God's plan didn't work. Humanity was just a messed up as it was before the flood and look at our world today. Was God trying to point out to the critcal judgementalist like my self that He provide for those who will listen to Him in spite of the fact that they will sin in the future?
Was God tired of tredging along with the old sinful nature of humanity and decided to start over again with a hand full of folk; maybe just one family? What does this passage say about family anyway. Can we all live under one roof? What happens when God give us more room?
How many of us can life faithfully outside of the Ark? Are we safe outside of the Ark? What good came out of all of this?
What Can I add to that God is the God of Second Chances, right? Unless, one wants to get prophetic... and correllate the Noah story to today... Last week was creation...Adam and Eve...then straight to Noah... What about Enoch-he walked with God and was taken... then you have Methusalah...Lamech....Noah... Noah walked with God and was spared with his family in the ark..(gentiles mostly here! Shem-jew ancestor) I think this passage related to Revelation...Pre tribulation Rapture correllates with Enoch and Tribulation-Flood but Trib saints and 144,000 jewish evangelists... safe in 'ark' of sorts...I think when you look at Ark and see gentiles and a jewish ancestor in the ark....this tells you Gentiles and jews will be saved in tribulation , if you dont take the mark... I hope this sparks some Pre Milennial, AMilennial Post Milennial Pre Tribulation, Mid Tribulation, Post Tribulation conversations here.... I may be CONSERVATIVE AND EVANGELICAL but when I watch the FOX NEWS, It's like reading the bible...and those names in mid east sound like O.T. names... Ladypreacher in OHIO
I am going through a particularly difficult time dealing with a troubled congregation. Somehow, the imagined scene of all the poop to scoop and the comparison of the church to the ark has great revelance to what I am feeling. It is not just the discouragement of that scene, but also the hope for a rainbow that seems to be God's timely message for this point in time that I plainly experience in this passage. TN Mack
TN Mack ... been there, done that ...
Wait a minute! I'm still there, still doing that!
With you all the way,
Eric in KS
I am working on Matthew and the call to obey. Here Noah clearly obeyed, although we're always told that he was laughed at.
What does God want? How are we to obey?
Lots of questions runnign around my brain.
rachel
I'm working with the title "The Boat That Love Built" this week, concentrating on the Genesis text. My understanding of the Noah story is that even though humankind had messed up to the point where God needed to give the earth a new start, God still loved humankind enough to HOPE a fresh start would turn things around. HOPE and the LOVE that God still has for humankind is the reason we get second chances. After all, God continued to love the world God had created -- including the pesky humans who just couldn't (and still can't) get it right -- enough to send Jesus Christ to redeem us once and for all. That seems to me to be the ultimate "second chance" for humankind.
This is Eucharist Sunday for my congregations, so I'll be tying those second chances God has given us through Covenant to our own relationships with God and with others. Living in Covenant (or at least doing our best to do so) may be the best way to make use of the second chance God has given us.
StudentPastor in KS
I like the idea of covenant in this passage, particularly as it relates to Baptism. We are celebrating both Eucharist and Baptism this Sunday. Lots of covenant images. This story is really about Baptism. the "8 saved through water" (ever notice how a baptismal font has 8 sides?) It is really about remnant theology... how God never wipes us out completely, even thought it often feels that way. God always spared a remnant. There was always a second chance.... a moment of Grace. Isn't that what Baptism is about anyway? The promise of God that once we are marked as His own, we will never be forgotten. Even in those moments when we sin and forget God, we are not forgotten. Nothing removes the mark of Baptism. Thats the nature of Grace: I didn't earn it, and nothing I can do will take it away. Rob
Stop! Don't anyone preach on this passage without reading Bruggeman's commentary on Genesis, the Interpretation series. It is immensly helpful! Trust me, I'm a preacher ..
kbc in sc
