Wednesday 04 October 2023
- Bible Book:
- Genesis
'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. 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.' (vs 18-19)
Background
It is clear that, despite having met with Noah and approved of him as one who fulfilled what God was asking of the people, God still intends to carry out vengeance on the world.
God speaks to Noah spelling out what is to happen not only to the people but to the whole of the natural world at that time. God warns Noah of the flood which is to come, and gives instruction and clear plans for the ark he is to build to protect his wife and sons, as well as two of each type of animal so that they can survive the flood and make a new start.
Being the obedient servant that God had recognised, Noah got on with the job in hand. No doubt his neighbours thought he was crazy. He built the ark according to the instructions he had been given and prepared for the deluge to come. He is totally obedient to God’s instructions the text tells us (v. 22) and so the preparations are made. We are not told how Noah’s neighbours reacted to the preparations he is making. Did they question him? Did they ridicule him for looking to something he believes is coming through his faith in God?
The text raises many questions in my mind, because of this. How could one man set himself against all those living around him, and build a craft which is so alien to the land where it is being constructed. We might wonder how he was able to access all the materials he needed to build the ark. Where did he source all the food and how did he collect the animals together? Nevertheless, he presented himself as ready as he had been told. We read that “Noah did all that was commanded from him.” (v. 22)
We continue the story tomorrow!
To Ponder:
- When in your prayer life you feel that God is asking something of you, do you obey without question?
- Do you as a Christian disciple sometimes feel alienated from the community living around you?
- Looking at climate change and increasing alienation between the nations we see around us, do we see some similarities with what was happening at this time?
Prayer
Help us Lord to heed you both here and through Jesus' teaching – words which call us to love you most of all, and then to be loving people caring for all our neighbours, including those who already know you and those who do not know you and who you would have them be. Give us the strength to be obedient to your will, and serve you day by day. In Jesus' name, Amen.