After Adam and Eve’s debacle in the garden, humanity’s proclivity toward the destructive intensified. We read in the very next chapter of a murder occurring out of jealousy. As the people multiplied, though there were exceptions such as Enoch (5:21-24), the wickedness multiplied simultaneously. It got to the point that “the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth…” (6:5-6).
Though it says that God would consider wiping out the entire population, we can be confident that His ultimate purpose was to introduce a redemptive element. We know this because it was merely one small family’s faithfulness to which God responded by introducing such a redemptive plan. As we saw in chapter 3 (see previous entry), God’s redemptive plan, though culminating in Jesus, was ongoing throughout history.
As we take a look at how Noah’s life played out, a number of themes become evident to us, themes that will continue past this story. These themes teach us about how God desires to interact with His people. They show us how God used people in history to accomplish His purposes. These themes guide our lives, showing us how He can do the same for us.
God is seeking people who will go to great lengths to follow Him.
We cannot minimize the task to which God called Noah. The earth had, to this point, been watered by a mist (see 2:5-6), and God was asking Noah to build a boat, because there would be a flood! Looking back from our place in history, it seems like a good idea; but could you imagine having to go through with such a command when you had never even seen water of that magnitude before? Not only that, but I could just imagine Noah’s response to God’s command to make an ark: “Make a what? Why again?”
But Noah followed through. He followed through, even though the rest of the people did not likely treat his project with mere curiosity. He followed through, even though the ridicule lasted a great deal of time, as a boat close to 500 feet long would have taken years. He followed through, knowing that the God who was asking him to do these strange things is trustworthy.
This is the type of trust that God desires from His people. It is more than just mere belief. It is a trust in God’s words being faithful, and therefore worth following. It is the type of trust that, no matter how little sense God’s commands make to us at times, that they are good.
God enters into a covenant relationship with those who act in faith.
The idea of a covenant is an important one for our faith, and it was well understood in the ancient world. It was the way that societies could maintain stability. The way it worked is that a ruler, called a suzerain, would allow people to live on his land. He would grant those people protection, as well as the use of that land for their needs. In return, he requested loyalty, as well as that his vassals live in such a way as to promote the suzerain’s interests.
This is an understanding of how God interacts with His people, granting them protection and assistance and requiring loyalty and obedience. The interesting thing about the covenant in this chapter, though, is its unconditional nature:
“…and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature…never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh” (9:15).
In this covenant, because of Noah’s faithfulness, God binds Himself to a form of protection that will never be undone, no matter how bad the earth becomes again.
And this is how God’s covenants are. When His people act in faith, demonstrating trust in Him, He is willing to grant an unconditional covenant, unconditional promises, and unconditional blessings. We have already established that He is trustworthy; now we see that His promises are completely reliable. These are promises that offer incredible protection and favor for His people; promises such as “I am with you”; “You can ask anything in My name, and I will grant it”; “I know the plans I have for you.” It has been seen by His people throughout history: if we respond to these promises with belief, we will see them fulfilled.
God’s covenant people see His incredible purposes played out in their lives.
Noah had placed his trust in God, acting it out via following God’s prompt despite opposition and uncertainty. God responded by rewarding him. The reward he received for his trust in God cannot be underestimated.
It would have been one thing for God to reward Noah by sparing his life; it would be even more for Noah’s reward to include the lives of his family. Noah’s reward, however, did not stop there. Noah’s reward included the fact that the entire population of humanity was saved! Because Noah acted faithfully, he is forever remembered as a hero of sorts. Consider the treatment he receives in Hebrews 11:7-“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
Noah acted in faith, and God was able to allow Noah’s actions to accomplish a purpose much, much bigger than Noah. Watch for this pattern throughout Genesis, and throughout Scripture: When God’s people respond to his leading in an act of faith, He allows them to see results that are much bigger than themselves. This is our God, and this is what He longs to do in our lives. If we are able to consider God trustworthy, as Noah did, He will reward us with an incredible sense of purpose that reaches far beyond ourselves.
Now, some may think, “Well, that’s good for Noah and all…but I’m not a hero like him!” This is where we reach our final theme:
God’s covenant people are flawed
Seriously, some of them are absolutely screwed up! It would have been glorious if Noah’s story had ended with a rainbow, and everyone’s happy. However, the Author of Genesis saw fit to include this next story, which seems completely out of place, except maybe to prove the point of the humanity of God’s people.
To some, it may seem an entertaining sequence of events: Land the ark, check. Offer a sacrifice, check. Listen to God say something about never again having to build this thing, check. Now, for my next order of business, I’m going to plant a vineyard and get drunk!
To those of us who celebrate Noah as a hero, we see a humanity to which we can relate (even if not fully, for the non-drinkers out there). God is not looking for people with extraordinary gifts or talents, or who thrive on high-risk behaviors. God is not even looking for people who have it all together, or who are free of serious defects. God is simply looking for people who will respond to Him in trust. Even seriously flawed people who exhibit such trust can reap the benefits of God’s rich blessings.
We will continue to track the themes in this story throughout Genesis. As we do so, we will celebrate how God takes ordinary people like us and performs incredible acts through their obedience, and little else. We will watch how He blesses them in incredible ways, infinitely returning His favor to them for their small acts of faith. We will celebrate Him as our God today, our God who continues to be “a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
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