And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Genesis 9:12-16
I continue with my study of - Ten Men of the Bible: How God Used Imperfect People to Change the World - eBook by Max Lucado (for purchase). This morning, in preparation for leading my Friday morning men's Bible study peer group, I am going to summarize my key takeaways from a review of Genesis 6-9 and the story of "Noah: Hope When the Floodwaters Rise*".
*Title of lesson one from the Max Lucado study.
The overarching theme of the study is one of hope, and how God provides this hope. Our story starts in Genesis 6 where we see that a relationship with God is a basis for supernatural and eternal hope. God is very disappointed in what He created with humanity (and humanity's wickedness) and so He set in motion a plan to wipe out all of humanity through a flood - except for one man and his family: Noah. The first question we must ask ourselves at this point is why did God choose Noah? Well, scripture tells us that "Noah pleased the Lord" (Genesis 6:8). It also tells us that "Noah did everything that God commanded him" (Genesis 6:22, 7:5, 7:16). God chose Noah and his family to be the basis for humanity after the flood because Noah "was a good man, the most innocent man of his time" AND he "walked with God" (Genesis 6:9). Yet at the same time, we know Noah did not lead a perfect life because at least on one occasion (Genesis 9:20-21) he became drunk and the Bible is clear that this is a sin. We don't know the extent of Noah's sin; for example, whether he was an alcoholic; and we also don't know what OTHER sins Noah had. We only know that he was "the most innocent man of his time". But it is fair to say that Noah is a great example of how God uses broken and sinful people to accomplish His will. This should serve to both humble and encourage us. We can all be used by God in ways that our human minds cannot even begin to fathom - all starting with a relationship with God and a desire to glorify and please Him.
As the story unfolds, we see that the flood is not just overwhelming in terms of destruction but one can sense that it was overwhelming emotionally. Scripture tells us "[a]ll that was left was Noah and what was with him in the boat" (Genesis 6:23). We get this detail so that we can place ourselves in Noah's shoes - so that we can feel his isolation and loneliness. Noah was probably isolated and lonely as he built the ark - likely mocked by those around him during this time who saw his building activities as foolish and laughable. Even though Noah had his wife and family (and a veritable zoo!) during the flood and its aftermath, the flood itself lasted more than a year (see Genesis 7:11, 8:3-5, 8:6, 8:13-14 for more hints on the timeline)! During this time of a pandemic we can both sympathize and empathize with Noah - this must have been rough! We know (and scripture tells us) that we are designed to live with others together - supporting and encouraging one another. Now, how did Noah get through the flood emotionally? God gave Him hope. After 150 days of flooding, "God remembered Noah and all the wild and tame animals with him in the boat" (Genesis 8:1). He made a wind, made the water go down, and rested the ark on top of a mountain so that Noah had perspective and could actually see MORE of the land as the water receded (Genesis 8:2-5) - by giving Noah perspective, this in and of itself is encouraging as often just taking a step back and having perspective provides hope. Also, after initially releasing a raven that eventually returned because it found no place to land (Genesis 8:6-9), Noah sent out a dove and this time it returned with an olive leaf, and then he sent the dove again, and then it did not return as it likely found a place to land and live on its own (Genesis 8:12). In between rounds of sending the dove out, we see that Noah gained encouragement by what God was doing as it says "[t]hen Noah knew that the ground was almost dry" (Genesis 8:11). We see God providing hope as well when Noah and his family leave the ark and step onto dry land after the flood waters receded. Noah builds an altar to the Lord (Genesis 8:20), offers sacrifices, and God is pleased (Genesis 8:21-22). Yet even as Noah and his family left the ark, their future was far from certain and this must have been lurking in their minds. So God once again offers encouragement and hope as He blesses them and makes a covenant with them (Genesis 9:1-17).
Questions for discussion:
- For those of you who became a believer later in life (and did not grow up in the church), can you share where you placed your hope and how this did not provide supernatural and eternal hope?
- Assuming you agree that obedience to God is key to pleasing Him, are their commands that you find burdensome or harder than others? Read 1 John 5:3
- Can you share times in your life when you were overwhelmed in your circumstances but God gave you hope?
- What other stories in the Bible give you hope and why?
- What verses give you hope and why?
- How have you used the hope God gave You to give hope to others?
- Anything else you would like to share about Noah's story or about what we have discussed?
Comment and discuss this post here.
My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who both gives me hope and who has given me hope when I have been overwhelmed in my circumstances. Thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of the supernatural and eternal hope that only You provide. I have sin...daily, including worry, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your messages for me today and every day.
