Following God's expression of regret, he speaks the following words: "The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them. I will destroy them with the earth." (Genesis 6:13) In this passage, humanity has come to the end of itself. But somehow we live on. There are many kinds of ends. The end of a marriage, the end of innocence, the end of a friendship, the end of life. Each of these can mean the end of the world as we know it. Whether by our own sin sickness, the sin of another, or the tragedy of disease - something unrecoverable is lost with each ending. God promised to destroy the earth and it's inhabitants - and he did indeed drown everything until not even a leaf of an olive tree could be seen.
"I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. " (Genesis 6:17)
"But I will establish my covenant with you," (Genesis 6:18) God says to Noah. There is a way of escape from the destruction for those who would follow God's instructions. The only indication of what this covenant will be in this passage is that Noah and his family "will enter the ark". Calling this an "ark of the covenant" only works in English - but somehow I am attracted to the parallel. A place of refuge from the end of the world as it was known to that point. All of this is followed by a very specific set of instructions for Noah - who "did everything just as God commanded him." I cannot imagine that Noah had been untouched by the sin around him. But God had found him righteous, blameless, and faithful. Noah is offered a way out of the depravity of the world and a chance for a new start. And he is given some first steps.
This feels very much like the steps we are taking as a church. We have chosen to explore the 12-step model as a way to deal with our sin. It is a chance to get on the ark and be saved from the depravity we have fallen into. I think I like the idea of an ark better than the idea of a wagon - because the wagon wheels keep getting stuck in the mud. But in the ark analogy - those who refuse to get on board get washed away with their sin...
"I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I
will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have
made." (Genesis 7:4)
Five years ago I began to prepare for a flood of sorts in my own life - in the wake of marital infidelity and separation from my husband - I found myself faced with the story of Noah - I prepared to leave the country where we had chosen to build a life together, anticipating what I called "a flood of blessing and reckoning" to fall upon him. I had a planned date to return in hopes of marital reconciliation - and as I counted those days on the calendar - finding a parallel with the story of Noah - my original scheduled time to be away was exactly the number of days that Noah was on the ark.
I did find my place on the ark - and came to rest here where I now reside - which was not the place I expected to land. Unfortunately, my husband was washed completely away from me in that flood. His story is no longer my own. But God has brought me to a new place where I have begun to rebuild. I'm actually four years into my new start now and have entered into a covenant with the people and the place of my refuge. We have found ourselves, as of late, getting stuck in the mud of the same sins over and over again - and I wonder if we need to look for an ark to lift us up and off the face of our sin on the earth for a while . . . Come inside - take the steps onto this ark of recovery. This is our invitation and our plea to all who would join us. The sins will be washed away - regardless of our choices - but we have the opportunity to survive the flood and be restored to sanity.
Do I really believe this is possible? Are these extravagant promises? I actually think they are extravagant. (Sorry 12-steps). But we move forward in faith, anyway. I did, indeed, survive a flood once - that has to at least count for something.
What is your definition of a promise? I take the statement about destroying the earth as a statement of intention. I don't know that I would call it a promise. I think your definition of promise might be too broad...
ReplyDeleteI make statements of intention and then later change my mind. I feel like a promise is something that I directly say in terms of a promise to someone. It is a relational commitment of some sort.
I am trying to explore the Hebrew as I choose which statements to name as promises - specifically focussing on those things which are indeed intentions - in the first person - with a causal tone - things that can be safely translated "I will" when God says them. The part about destroying the world is definitely spoken from the first person. The first part of that phrase, on the other hand, is sometimes translated "I am going to bring an end to all flesh" - but there is not actually a causal tone in the Hebrew - it is more a description of what is already happening - The people that God made are destroying themselves with violence.
ReplyDeleteSo far, the promises I have listed are things that God did not change his mind about. I appreciate the distinction you are making - but God also asks us to let our yes be yes and our no be no - which seems to rule out "promise making" as a stronger way of committing to a course of action. I will definitely keep your comments in mind as I continue my search for God's promises. in the meantime, here are some definitions:
Promise (Noun):
A declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that guarantees that a particular thing will happen.
Promise (Verb):
Assure someone that one will definitely do, give, or arrange something; undertake or declare that something will happen.
I am actually not listing those things that God declares will happen - unless they are things that He says He will do.
More commentary...On Genesis 6:11-12 (The Preparations) Fretheim writes: "The violence does corrupt the earth, and so judgment must be comparably comprehensive, but the effect on the earth functions more as a cleansing than a destruction." -New Interpreter's Bible, Vol.1 p.390.
ReplyDelete...and then regarding v. 18: "The covenant assumes a right relationship as do all of God's covenants in the OT. The covenant probbly refers to God's commitment to Noah and his family at this moment of danger and anticipates 9:8-17 in a general way. Noah can move into this horrendous experience surrounded by a promise from God that ensures a future relationship with him and, by implication, the entire creation." - p.391
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