Reassurance

Genesis 15 is a pivotal point in the entire Bible, with God outlining his promise to Abram in a dramatic way, and with the introduction of the doctrine of Justification by Faith. Abram had just repudiated the offer of material gain from the king of Sodom and had affirmed his faith in “the Lord, God Most High, Creator of Heaven and Earth.” God, cognizant of Abram’s whole-hearted commitment toward Him came to Abram in a vision and promised to be his Protector and his Reward.

Abram had other things on his mind besides God’s protection and God’s reward. What about that long-ago promise that Abram would have a son? Abram reminded God that so far no son has been given, and wondered aloud if his only recourse was to declare his trusted servant as his heir.

God had intervened to comfort Abram, and He assured Abram that a son would indeed be born to Abram and his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. Genesis 15:6 declares: “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” The situation had not changed, but in dialogue with God, Abram was reminded that God was trustworthy and would keep His promises. Communication with God was enough to remind Abram of God's character and to restore his faith.

The Apostle Paul quotes this verse twice in his epistles (Romans 4:3 and Galatians 3:6) and the Apostle James cites it as well (James 2:23). This brief little sentence is of outmost importance to Christian belief. We do not (cannot) earn our way to heaven; rather, God responds to our faith in Him by crediting us with righteousness—a righteousness that we do not possess in ourselves. Derek Kidner says that “this story and the argument of Romans 4 present faith not as a crowning merit but as readiness to accept what God promises.”

How amazing that Abram was ready to accept what God had promised, even though, humanly speaking, time was irrevocably running out for the possibility of a birth to him and Sarai. God didn’t only affirm that the promise of a son would be fulfilled, He also reiterated that Abram would come to possess the land where he now lived as an alien.

Abram was not afraid to ask questions. How would he gain possession of the land? God did not only make him a promise in this instance; He actually renewed the covenant through enacting a Near Eastern royal land-grant treaty with Abram. This solemn, sombre ceremony must have had great impact on Abram. Here he was in the midst of dreadful darkness, but also in the presence of God--symbolized by the smoking firepot and blazing torch. The slain animals illustrated the self-maledictory nature of this covenant—“may it be so done to me if I do not keep my pledge.” God reassured Abram in a very tactile and dramatic way that His promises was sure and not just fluffs of Abram's imagination. Not all the news of the future was comforting, however, as God told Abram that his descendants would be aliens, strangers and then slaves in a far-away land. They would suffer for 400 years before God would rescue them. But in God’s perfect timing Abram’s descendants would indeed gain possession of the Promised Land.

Apart from the doctrinal importance of this passage of Scripture, there is also a message of personal comfort to those of us who have prayed for years for the fulfilment of what we believe are promises from God. God may take a long time answering my prayers, but the length of time it takes for Him to act does not mean that He has withdrawn His love, or forgotten me. God was aware of the questions that Abram asked before he asked them. He came to Abram to comfort and reassure him, and to reaffirm that He would bring His plans and promises to fruition. Abram’s responsibility was to continue dialoguing with God, and to believe God. My responsibility is the same. How encouraging to know that as I get to know God better and grow in my commitment to Him, He will comfort and encourage me, giving me the faith I need to believe that He can even do the impossible.

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Military Man

How many times might Abram have wished that he had never included Lot on his safari to the Promised Land? Lot had chosen what looked like the best place to live—in the well-irrigated plain near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The choice turned out to be a dangerous one, as he and his family were caught in the crossfire of war and captured.

If we’ve just regarded Abram as a simple peaceful nomad, we are suddenly confronted with him as a battle commander and military strategist. He called out the trained men in his household and pursued the kidnapping army. Lot may have chosen to desert Abram for the city and selfishly chosen the better land. None of this mattered to Abram as he rushed off, not only to rescue Lot and his family, but all Lot’s possessions as well.

Upon his victorious return, Abram was met by the kings of Sodom and Salem. Melchizedek of Salem, both a priest and a king, blessed Abram, affirming Abram’s relationship with the God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” (Gen. 14: 19 and 20)

In contrast to Melchizedek, whose role was to give glory to God, the king of Sodom presented Abram with an intriguing offer. If Abram gave him the people, Abram could keep all the material wealth for himself. Abram, who had just given a tenth of all he had to Melchizedek was not at all tempted. He had affirmed by his tithe, his recognition of Melchizedek’s kingship in Jerusalem. He had also seen in Melchizedek’s benediction his relationship to the “Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.” So with great insight, he refused the king of Sodom’s offer, boldly stating that he did not want to accept anything that would cause people to think that the king of Sodom had made Abram rich or mighty or powerful. Abram was God’s man and he wanted no alliances that might sully that relationship or God’s reputation.

Paul later wrote about what Abram had so presciently understood: "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?" (2 Cor. 6:14) Our alliances may well cause compromise that is untenable for people who want to walk in communion with God. Paul, reflecting on the various covenants God had made with his people, wrote, "As God has said, 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.'" (2 Cor. 6:16b) Abram wanted, above all else, to walk with God, and he chose to trust God to bless him, rather than being enticed to accept wealth offered by the king of wicked Sodom.

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Test of Faith

Abram was now a very wealthy man, as was his nephew, Lot. They had so many possessions, especially in the form of livestock, that the land where they had settled could not sustain both of them. The situation became difficult enough for quarrelling to erupt between their herdsman.

Abram realized that the situation was pretty untenable at this point. His ungrasping character and his total dependence on God’s provision shine through in this little vignette, in sharp contrast to Lot’s selfishness and longing for the trappings of civilization. Abram suggested that Lot select a portion of land for himself, and Abram would take what was left. Here is the man who had been promised an inheritance of land from God offering to take second-best in order to keep peace in the family! He obviously felt no need to look out for his own interests; his desire to live in harmony with his nephew was paramount.

As Lot looked over the fertile plain of Jordan, he knew what he wanted, and he chose this prime real estate for himself. Abram stayed in the land of the Canaanites, while Lot moved toward the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Moses tells us in this account that Sodom and Gomorrah weren’t exactly places where a man of God would want to settle, as their inhabitants were wicked and “were sinning greatly against the Lord.”

It would be interesting to know how Abram felt at this point. Might he have felt a tinge of resentment toward his self-centered nephew? Certainly he must have felt a sense of loss and lonesomeness at losing Lot’s company to the allure of the nearby cities. The one family companion who had accompanied him and his wife on their journey was now gone.

God’s intimate knowledge of Abram’s heart and character is revealed at the close of the chapter. He knew the loneliness and the generosity of Abram’s spirit. In His mercy, God again stepped in to reassure Abram and reconfirm His promise. In an interesting parallel to Abram’s showing Lot the land, now God told Abram to look at the land that lay before him. “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land for I am giving it to you.”

What an instructive passage for me as am exposed to both the character of Abram and the character of God! Abram was confident enough in God’s care and promises that he was able to be generous to a nephew who surely did not deserve such largesse. And God, Abram’s merciful Father and Friend, responded to Abram’s generosity and implicit faith by reconfirming all He had promised. So Abram moved, not to the cities, but to the shelter of the great trees at Mamre and he again responded to God’s kindness in worship.

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Detour

When Abram left Haran, God had promised that He would bless Abram, and also that He would protect Him: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” But famine came to the land, and Abram took matters into his own hands and set out for the well-watered land of Egypt. There certainly was nothing wrong in Abram’s looking out for the welfare of his family, but we get no indication that he communicated with God at all about the wisdom of this decision. Matters deteriorated still further when Abram sought to protect himself at the expense of his wife, Sarai. Sure that Sarai’s great beauty would put his own life in danger, he suggested to Sarai that she say she is his sister, so that she could legitimately join Pharaoh’s harem without putting Abram’s life in jeopardy. (Comments could be made about the state of this marriage, if Abram was willing to save his own skin at the expense of Sarai's skin!)

God was not at all pleased about this situation, and caused an epidemic in Pharaoh’s household. It was clear to the ethically-minded Egyptians that something evil was afoot, and when Pharaoh discovered the nature of Abram’s lie, he sent him and his household packing. Interestingly enough, Abram was made very wealthy during his time in Egypt; one would think that he might have had the goodness to refuse the wealth gotten in such an illegitimate way. Obviously, his ethical sense had not matured greatly at this point!

Wealthy Abram headed from Egypt to the Negev. The Bible tells us that “he went from place to place until he came to Bethel…where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.” (Gen. 13:3-4)

This little detour of Abram’s is quite instructive. How often do we allow fear to distract us from the promises of God to protect us and lead us in His ways? And how often do we try to solve problems with our own solutions? Abram saw a problem—lack of food and consequent hunger—and he solved it in his own way without consulting his divine Protector. His emotional reaction of fear was not wrong in itself, but giving into the fear rather than acting on faith, led him on a trip to Egypt and a sin against the Egyptians.

Once he left Egypt, Abram traveled from place to place, seeming to be almost embarrassed to face God again. But eventually he headed back to Bethel where he had first worshipped, and he worshipped again. The old adage says that we can never go home again, but it’s comforting that, in our relationship with God, He longs for us to go home again (see the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15). Abram got sidetracked briefly, but once he was confronted with his sin (by the pagan Pharaoh of all people) he knew where to go—back to the God who had promised to make him great and to protect him in times of trouble.

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Step of Faith

Abraham merits three different mentions in the "amazing faith chapter” of Hebrews 11. The first mention tells us that, “Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:8-10)

If I read Hebrews 11 without reference to the details of the story found in Genesis, I could get discouraged. The author of Hebrews presents Abraham as such a paragon of faith it would be easy to think that no other human being could possibly measure up. But his story is so instructive and so encouraging to me, because the book of Genesis honestly describes his progress from a sometimes faltering God-follower to a man of extraordinary faith, an intimate friend of God. There is hope for me as I examine the way God shaped him into the man who would fulfill God's unique purposes.

Genesis 11:31 gives us a tantalizing detail. The text reads: “Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.” Did God initially call Terah? Something must have precipitated the family’s move from Ur to Haran, but for some reason or other, they only went as far as Haran. The only other mention about this disrupted journey comes in the book of Acts. Stephen, in his historical summary of the Israelites before the Sanhedrin, says in Acts 7:2: “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land [Israel] where you are now living.”

Unfortunately, there are no real clues to explain what happened, so we must move on. Genesis, chapter 12 opens with the second call of God to Abram, to leave his country and his birth family and head to an unnamed destination—a place God would show him. God promised that He would protect Abram and that Abram would become (1) a great nation; (2) a great name; (3) and a blessing to all peoples. This promise will be reiterated and expanded on throughout Abram's life.

God didn’t give Abram much information about the necessity of a move, but something must have happened to deepen Abram's belief and trust in God during the years in Haran. Perhaps Terah’s health had been such that an elongated stop in Haran was necessary for the family, or perhaps it was a lapse of faith. In any case, Abram’s trust in God and His promises somehow increased enough for him to obey the second call with immediacy: “So Abram left, as the Lord had told him….” (Gen. 12:4)

The divine call meant that Abram had to leave the security of a known environment for the insecurity of the unknown. He had to leave the warmth of family relationships to live among strangers, some of whom might be antagonistic to him. He had to leave the comfort and sophistication of life in Ur for the tents of a nomad. In spite of the inconveniences and dangers, the divine call was enough for Abram. He moved to Canaan, pitched his tents on land that God promised his offspring would one day possess, and he built an altar and worshipped.

Abram’s obedience and entrance into a life of total dependence upon God is really a metaphor for the life of a believer. Jesus’ call to us to follow Him is just as radical, although living as we do within the trappings of 21st century comfort, it’s sometimes hard to see it that way. Abram’s focus moved from the petty minutia of daily life to “The Big Picture” of a future, permanent home. He was willing to follow God to an unknown destination and live in impermanent dwellings, because he knew, in the core of his being, that life is transitory and all that really counts are the promises of God. Our call may involve a physical move, as it did for Abram, but more likely it will mean a spiritual move from satisfying our ego-driven goals, to determining to live in God-glorifying ways—ways that will hasten the coming of His kingdom. It will certainly mean looking at the world through the lens of God’s holiness and living a life that is radically cross-cultural. It is not an easy call, nor one to be taken lightly.

Abram’s embryonic faith caused him to obey God’s call and trust God’s promises for future blessing. His initial step of faith would take him on an incredible journey of learning to dialogue actively with God, seeing God’s provide in times of stress and trouble, and coming to trust God’s promises in the most impossible of situations.

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Ziggurat

According to Genesis 10, Noah’s descendants grew numerous enough to become nations and sociologically advanced enough to found cities. We even recognize some of the place names from our study of history—places like Babylon, Nineveh, Assyria, Sodom and Gomorrah. In spite of the population explosion the world was still united by one language.

I actually don’t ever recall hearing a sermon about this story, but it was always part of Sunday School classes. As a child it always seemed a bit ridiculous to think that people would actually suppose they could build a tower tall enough to reach the sky. How absurd! Looking at it from an adult perspective, though, I can’t help but think that many of mankind’s combined efforts seem just as doomed to failure.

Noah’s descendants became urbanized and advanced technologically (Genesis 11:3 tells us that they were making bricks at this point), and they became convinced that, by working together, they could do anything. Why not band together, make a city with a huge tower, and become known all over the world? This early attempt at organization did not even come under the umbrella of trying to improve things for humanity. The whole point of the enterprise was ego-satisfaction: “Come, let us build ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4)

The Lord, knowing the dangers of a joint effort by people whose “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:21), stepped in and thwarted the plan in a masterstroke of communication confusion. God did not want to give mankind the opportunity to band together and promote a godless domination of the world. The languages of mankind were distorted beyond recognition, and the Lord scattered the people “over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:9)

This story fits into the historical and archaeological record of the time. Ziggurats were not unknown in the region (remember diagrams of them in history books?) and the goal of building them had often been reaching the sky or the heavens. It seems that in the case of the Tower of Babel, the people’s goal was to reach heaven themselves, and in so doing, achieve great renown and world domination. They had forgotten their place in the creation order—they were the pinnacle of creation, certainly, but they were not above the Creator.

The biblical account doesn’t really give us much information about the kind of people Noah’s descendants were, but it seems fair to assume that they were godless. There is no record of God communicating with any one of them in the way he had with Enoch or Noah. God had given people the responsibility to care for the rest of creation, but in no sense did He relinquish His ultimate care over the creation to man. Paul’s description in Romans 1:20 is helpful in understanding this story: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

In a short, but vivid story, God shows us the futility of acting outside of His will and He reveals another aspect of His character—His sovereignty is not to be shared. God has created us as reasoning, creative beings, but our creativity and our ingenuity are suitable only within the bounds of His will and direction. If we have the arrogance to make our plans outside of his purview, we should expect that our earth-bound, ego-driven goals will be thwarted or redirected.

The incident on the Plain of Shinar is a reminder of how easy it is to take my eyes off God and spend my energy in worthless, self-aggrandizing pursuits. Revelation 4:11 sets me firmly in my place: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for You created all things and by Your will they were created and have their being.”

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Run with Perseverance

The Bible writes with brutal honesty about its heroes, exposing not only their great acts of faith, but their struggles with sin as well. In Genesis 9 we see Noah pleasing God, and also failing. The honesty of the biblical record is instructive and encourages me to get up and keep trying after I slip and fall.

The story of God’s rainbow is so familiar that it is easy to miss the impact of God’s sovereign act. God received Noah’s offering with great pleasure and he made a covenant with Noah and his sons—a covenant that scholars call the Noahic Covenant. This covenant was a "no-strings attached" covenant--what is called a Royal Grant Covenant, not made by some human ruler, but by the King of the Universe Himself with his creation.

God reiterated the command to Noah that he had previously given Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” There are subtle differences in His instructions though. Man’s sovereignty over creation is restated, but now the animal kingdom will fear man. All the plants are given to man for food, but animals are now also part of man’s diet—with some special instructions. God restates the fact that mankind bears his image, and murder now carries the penalty of death. The sanctity of life could not be more clearly delineated by the Sovereign Lord. And God promises, with a stunning visual display, that natural catastrophe will never again be used to destroy all creation. This promise was made to Noah and his sons in spite of the fact that God knew “every inclination of [man’s] heart is evil from childhood.” (Gen. 8:21) Disappointment with His creation did not change God into a tyrant, rather His merciful character was again demonstrated in this encounter between Noah and God.

Just as happens so often with modern day people, this stirring spiritual experience was quickly swallowed up in the normalcy of everyday life. Noah resumed the tasks of planting and harvesting, and we read that he enjoyed the fruits of his labours so much, he became drunk. Scholars indicate that, in this rather strange story, Ham committed some sort of sexual sin against his father, and told his brothers (who were shocked at the incident) what had happened. Family relationships were disrupted, and Noah ended up cursing his own son, Ham. (The use of this curse to justify the slave trade of the 1800s could not have been more warped. The Canaanites were actually a Caucasian people, not black, as American southerners at the time averred.) The curse would have long-lasting effects, however, resulting in constant enmity between the descendants of Shem (the Israelites) and the descendants of Ham (the Canaanites).

How sad that the last Old Testament record we have of Noah ends on a down note. Thank God for the New Testament that records him as a hero of the faith in spite of this lapse! “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7) It certainly is not at all coincidental that the writer of Hebrews follows his chapter on faith heroes with the reminder: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfect of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Had Noah neglected his relationship with God once the calamity of the flood was over? What influences might have induced him to let down his guard sufficiently to become drunk? The picture drawn of Noah in chapter 9 certainly doesn't look like a spiritual hero. We don’t know what factors were involved in this sad episode. But we do know that sin can “easily entangle” us as well, and that we must persevere in our race for righteousness. The life of holiness does not come easily, nor without setbacks, but thank God that Jesus is our perfect example, our brother, our Saviour and our helper in this race.

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The Silence of God

What would it be like to live on an ark for over a year? Noah and his family were crowded together with all sorts of animals; I can imagine that sometimes tempers were frayed and living conditions were hopelessly difficult. I’ve often wondered if God sanitized the environment in some way, or if it was just like living in a shut-up barn for months? At any rate, it was a seemingly endless year from the time the Lord shut the door on the ark and God told Noah he could leave the ark for dry ground.

None of us like to experience the silence of God, although surely it is something all of us experience from time to time. It seems, from the biblical account that God did not dialogue with Noah during the time Noah was in the ark. Did Noah feel abandoned, or secure in the knowledge that God was saving him and his family from destruction?

Chapter 8:1 says, But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. I’m sure God hadn’t literally forgotten Noah during the 40 days and 40 nights of rain, and the 150 days of flooded ground. But the writer of Genesis, in his concise phrasing of v. 1 clearly conveys how Noah may well have felt – forgotten by God, if not abandoned by Him. Job, another upright man, who experienced God’s silence with soul-searing intensity, poetically expressed his sense of abandonment, but also faith: …if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. (Job 23:8-10) Perhaps Noah, the one upright man in his generation, could have echoed Job’s remarks.

Job also expresses the feelings that God Himself may have felt during this time of silence and separation from his creation: You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made. (Job 12:15) How amazing to think that God enjoys his relationship so much with us, he longs for us!

My imagination perhaps works overtime as I think about this story, trying to get into Noah’s mind during his time of isolation. I cling to the comforting words, But God remembered Noah…. The waiting did not stop even at this point -- it took months for the waters to recede, but God sustained Noah’s faith through his emissaries, the raven and the dove. (See Genesis 8.)

What did the earth look like when Noah and his family disembarked? Was it as fresh and new as it had been at creation? However it looked, Noah’s first response was to worship God. In spite of the strains and stresses of life in the ark, Noah’s first thought was gratitude to God for His mercy and redemptive care.

It would be helpful to talk with Noah about this time of silence: How did you deal with it, Noah? Did you ever doubt that God was going to continue to care for you? Was the fact that He had given you such a clear indication of His plans enough to sustain you through the silence, the darkness?

When God gave Noah the news about the destruction of the earth, and His redemptive plan for Noah’s family, He gave Him a promise: But I will establish my covenant with you. God didn’t give him a whole lot of information, but it was a promise that Noah believed. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7)

Noah challenges me. He suffered through the silence of God and had so little information on which to sustain his faith. But, thank God, he was sustained until God opened the door to fully restored communion with Himself—and Noah’s response was worship.

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Deluge

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The book of Genesis describes Noah as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and he walked with God.” In contrast to the corruption of the world around him, Noah was exemplary, and like his ancestor, Enoch, lived a life in communion with God. Because of the closeness of their relationship, God gave Noah details of His plan to destroy the world, and He gave Noah instructions to build an ark which would be the means of Noah and his family’s salvation. Hebrews 11:7 tells us: By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." I don’t believe that Noah was afraid of God, but he had enough “holy fear” to believe that when God told him judgment was coming, it was on its way.

Most school-age children have heard this story of Noah building an ark, and have imagined what it would have been like for Noah to build a big boat in the middle of a desert region. Although the biblical account of Genesis does not depict the jeers of the onlookers, surely Noah must have been regarded as a bit “off his head”. Day after day he worked at the construction site, probably wondering what God’s promised destruction would look like, and what kind of world would await him and his family when they emerged from the ark.

Whatever questions Noah may have had about the advisability of this building project, his response to God’s instructions is repeated several times: “Noah did everything just as God had said.” Noah knew God so well, that even though he surely did not understand God’s plan, he was willing to obey it. And God knew Noah, had seen his obedience and righteousness, and in mercy, had determined to save Noah from the judgment which was looming over the rest of mankind.

Jesus actually painted the scene for us and tied it to a prophecy about His second coming: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the Flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Mt. 24: 37-39)

Noah built the ark, God closed him and his family and the animals he had collected in the ark, and they waited—for a whole long week before God acted. When the storm finally broke in sudden intensity on the people outside the ark, the sound of the downpour on the roof must have been deafening to Noah and his family. What must the family have felt as they heard the cries of the people washed away in the flood waters, and realized God’s mercy in providing for their salvation?

Four rather obvious lessons emerge from this passage. The first is that the judgment of God will come, and the consequences will be serious. God’s patience is long, but not unlimited; He did shut the door of the ark.

The second lesson is the importance of living a prepared life. 2 Peter 3:11-13 stresses: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” It’s kind of interesting to think that the quality of my life could actually speed up the return of Christ. I’d have to say, in the present world climate, it might be a good idea to help speed things up!

The third lesson is that, although judgment is sure, so our hope is also sure that a new heaven and new earth will be created. 2 Peter 3:14: “That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

The fourth lesson we discover is that God is merciful. Jesus said, “My Father, who has given them [his disciples] to me is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hands.” John 10:28 Surely, Noah and his family, as they heard the rage of the storm descend, had experienced God’s mercy as He held them in the ark of His design.

God Grieves

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By the time of Noah, Adam’s descendants had degenerated into a depraved people, so degenerate in fact, that God regretted ever making man. The state of mankind is rather succinctly described in Genesis 6 with a rather bizarre narration of marriages between humans and giants (I'll let my Old Testament expert daughter-in-law deal with explaining that kind of stuff!), but also a description of the state of man’s heart. According to the account, mankind had become wicked, so wicked that he was totally inclined toward evil.

It is hard to imagine total inclination toward evil, although I have an idea that in some sectors of our society, that description might be fairly apt. Why people would have traded the kind of intimacy Enoch had had with God for depravity is beyond me, but that was the state of the world at this point in the biblical account.

Even more interesting, though, than the description of how mankind had deteriorated, is what the passage reveals about God’s character. In Genesis 6:5-7 we read. “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.’”

God had created man in his image. He had created man for communion with Himself. But by the time of Noah’s generation, God’s image had been defaced and evil, wickedness, violence and corruption characterized mankind and life on earth. In reflecting on this description, I can’t help but wonder what God’s thoughts are on the current condition of his creation.

What is so heart-wrenching about this story is God’s response to the evil. If I ever entertain thoughts that perhaps God does not really care about human suffering and evil, all I have to do is re-read Genesis 6. God is not unaware of what’s happening: he sees the greatness of man’s wickedness and he is aware that we are inclined toward evil all the time. But not only is God fully aware of our situation, he suffers grief and pain because of the state of the world. Our holy, grieving Creator cannot co-exist with an evil creation; judgment is the course of action that must be taken.

I don’t think that most artists after creating a masterpiece would destroy it. In this account, though, we see that God is so disturbed over what his creation has done to itself that he determines to wipe it out. God is going to destroy his magnum opus. Of course, it is not only man who will suffer in the process; the innocent animal kingdom will suffer as well. (Ecologists could have a great time with this passage!)

Somewhere recently I read that the account in Genesis from the Fall to the Flood is really a story of God’s judgment. Our sin deserves the judgment of God—no question about it. But it is also in the Flood story that we begin to see the major theme of the Bible: the possibility of redemption. Genesis 6:8: “But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord.” And it is at this point in the Bible, that God’s plan to save us begins to unfold.

There are implications in this well-known story for me. God is fully aware of my visible sins, as well as the hidden inclinations of my heart. My behaviour can result in His judgment or approval. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds me “that the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” May God grant me the honesty to examine the inclinations of my heart, and may He incline me toward Himself. Amen.

A Hidden Jewel

If I’m honest, I generally skip over the genealogical tables of the Bible. Although I know better, I suppose they have too often felt like lists of unpronounceable names without much purpose. Usually, however, hidden in the litany is some little jewel of information that I shouldn’t miss. Genesis 5 is the “origin story” of Adam’s family, and in the outline of Adam’s family tree is an interesting character—Enoch. Genesis gives us hardly any details about Enoch, except enticing ones—the facts that he was the father of earth’s oldest man, Methuselah, that “he walked with God” and that “he was no more, because God took him away.” (Gen. 5:21-24)

Just as Adam had walked in the Garden with God before the fall, so Enoch walked with God and apparently had such an intimate relationship with him that he didn’t even die. In some supernatural way, God just took him to heaven.

I protest at the paucity of information. What was the world like when Enoch lived? What were the people around him like? What was it about his life that God spared him the most common of all human experiences besides birth, that of death? How can I model myself on him if I don’t know anything about him?

Filling in the blanks is a bit like a treasure hunt, and there are a couple of golden nuggets in the New Testament that give some color to the sketch of Enoch. Hebrews 11 parallels the Genesis story so neatly, giving us a New Testament perspective on Old Testament history. In Hebrews 11:5 we read: “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.”

What about him pleased God? Again I’d like a bit more specificity. And the writer of Hebrews does not disappoint me. He goes on in verse 6: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Now that is something I can grasp. Faith pleases God, and the type of faith that pleases Him is that I believe in Him—I believe in a God who is actually present in the universe and in space and time. Belief is not all that matters, though; God pays attention to my attitude towards Him. “He rewards those who earnestly seek him.” I suppose it is not surprising that if I believe that God actually exists, I would want to know more about Him. Enoch sought God so diligently that he walked in an intimate, dialoguing relationship with God. His life was set toward communion with his Maker.

The New Testament has another little bit of important information about Enoch that is worth noticing. Jude 14 and 15 tells us that: “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men [described in vv. 5-13]: ‘See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’” Enoch didn’t just believe in God; Enoch knew that for those who did not believe there would be dire consequences.

So there actually is meat to the story and implications for my life. Malachi 3:16 speaks of “a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on his name.” Spiritual disciplines aren’t only for my good (although they surely have a positive effect on my life and draw me into closer communion with God); God actually notices my attitudes toward Him. He cares that I want to “earnestly seek Him.”

My belief in God, though, must surely include a belief that God will eventually judge the ungodly. My behaviour should acknowledge the fact that I not only believe in God, but I believe in the Second Coming. Enoch’s life was characterized by a realization that this life was not the end of the story and he cared enough to tell others that judgment was inevitable. Enoch’s faith resulted in his seeking to know God better and a concern that others know that their attitudes and actions toward God were of eternal importance.

A change of attitude

In examining God’s dialogue with Cain (a dialogue God carried on in spite of foreknowing the outcome), I can’t help but reflect on 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Cain’s story reveals so much of God’s merciful character and love that I too often miss in a cursory reading of this account.

I sense that Cain leaves God with certain emotions, realizing that he is suffering deserved punishment. The emotions were not enough to overcome his pride though, because Cain went “out from the Lord’s presence”. Adam and Eve’s heir produced a family devoid of communion with God—and the lack of divine influence showed in their behaviour. True, the line produced gifted artists and musicians, but it also produced Lamech, a murderer far worse than Cain. (Gen. 4:22-23).

While Adam’s line could have ended with Cain’s family, God gave Adam a child in place of the murdered Abel: Seth. Something changed Eve's attitude between the birth of Cain and Seth. When Cain was born, she had said “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man” (Gen. 4:1)—sort of a “God is my co-pilot” theme. The trauma of sibling rivalry, murder and the loss of two sons—one to death and the other from abandonment—obviously changed her attitude toward herself and God. With Seth’s birth the narrator reveals that her focus had moved from herself to the mercy and grace of God: “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him…. At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.” (Gen. 4:25b; 26b)

The sparse biblical account hardly reveals the amount of suffering that must have been endured in this sad episode of early human history. What emotions must have seared the souls of Adam and Eve as they watched their two boys grow up with such differing characters! How horrific to be faced with the hatred of your oldest son toward his youngest brother—a hatred so intense that it resulted in murder. It would have been easy to have become bitter against God for allowing the murder, and then for driving their only remaining son far away.

I could wish that the narrator of the story had given us more details. I’d like to know if Adam and Eve ranted about the situation, or if they accepted it as part of their punishment. After all, they had brought sin to the human race. It seems in some way, though, they must still have been relating to God. At least we know that Eve was able to worship God and to see His mercy in the birth of Seth. And we know that people began to call on God’s name, realizing that there was Someone majestic and merciful who could meet their deepest needs.

This is a story about the shedding of innocent blood—a senseless murder. It is a story that strongly points to the mercy of God—a mercy that would culminate in the shedding of another innocent Man’s blood. It is Jesus’ innocent blood that frees us from Cain’s punishment. While Cain was punished by being separated from God, Jesus’ blood brings us into God’s presence. “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God.” (Heb. 9:14) Jesus’ blood shed for us makes it possible for us to worship and adore.

More on Cain...

Our initial reaction to the Cain and Abel story in Genesis 4 is to feel uncomfortable about God’s rejection of Cain’s worship. After all, he did bring a sacrifice, didn’t he? The story deserves a closer look though, and some closer application. It is true that both Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord, and that God was pleased with Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s offering.

I’m no Old Testament scholar, but I know that later instructions to the Israelites included offerings of produce, so the content of Cain’s offering could not have been the problem. It would be interesting to know what Cain’s attitude was as he brought his offering to God—God was privy to his attitude, but we’re not. We can deduce a lot, though, from Cain’s response to God’s reaction to his offering. He was “very angry, and his face was downcast.” (Gen. 4:5b) It seems to me that if Cain had gone to God initially with a desire to express his honor and love for God’s “worth-ship”, he might have responded differently to God’s rebuke. Might he have felt remorse or regret rather than anger? With what attitudes might Cain have initially approached God—attitudes that I should check for in my own life? Could he have approached God with self-satisfaction rather than thankfulness? Perhaps he was competing with Abel and concerned that his offering be better than Abel’s offering of a lamb? Who’s to say? In any case, we know that there was something about his heart attitude that was an offence to God’s holiness, majesty and power. Hebrews 11:4 gives us an oblique glimpse into Cain’s character, when it cites Abel as a man of faith and righteousness. The conclusion we must draw from the little we are told is that Abel was a godly man and Cain was not.

It’s easy to observe God’s condemnation of Cain’s offering for whatever reasons, and miss the fact that God was eager to give Cain a second chance. God dialogues with Cain about his anger and even cajoles him with the possibility of doing right. He also warns about the devastating consequences of allow his disappointment to devolve into deeper sin—“sin is crouching at the door; it desires to have you, but you must master it”. (Gen. 4:7)

God’s warning is worth noticing as it applies to us as well. How many times are we in danger of sin’s devastating pounce on our lives? Significantly, we don’t have to be victims of sin; God gives us the option—and the Holy Spirit power—to master it. So with what grief and seriousness we read of Cain’s response to God’s prodding to change his ways—far from mastering sin, he lets his anger spiral out of control into the murder of his own brother.

The story continues with more amazing dialogue between Cain and God. Rather than turning his back completely on Cain, God continues to dialogue with him. Cain is under a curse, but even there, God shows His mercy and offers him protection and the opportunity to build his own clan. The mercy of God is incomprehensible, but Cain didn’t accept it: “Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” (Gen. 4:16)

God takes worship more seriously than I like to think. The story of Cain makes me realize that I need to approach worship with a far different attitude than I generally do. It would be easy to digress into self-loathing at this point, wouldn’t it? The comforting thing is that God doesn’t expect me to be perfect. God reminded Cain that he did have another chance; he could make things right.

It's through the cross of Christ I can worship. NT Wright says “It is the faith that on the cross Jesus in principle won the victory over sin, violence, pride, arrogance, and even death itself, and that that victory can now be implemented. This faith refuses to accept that violence, greed and pride are unassailable and unchallengeable. This faith will go to work to challenge and subvert those destructive forces, in ourselves…” (For All God’s Worth: True Worship and the Calling of the Church, NT Wright, p. 55)

Genesis doesn’t give us a lot of information about Abel, but we can be encouraged that his offering pleased God. Hebrews rounds his story out commending him for his faith. God grant that my worship be like Abel’s, full of a sense of who God is and the faith that He will help me live the life of worship for which I was created—a life of worship.

Revival

Thinking about revival has led me to read about revival. I am impressed with much of what Brian Edwards writes about the subject. His definition of revival is a "remarkable increase in the spiritual life of a large number of God's people, accompanied by an awesome awareness of the presence of God, intensity of prayer and praise, a deep conviction of sin with a passionate longing for holiness and unusual effectiveness in evangelism, leading to the salvation of many unbelievers." I don't know that such a thing has occurred in my lifetime--on a large scale at any rate. It seems that we in the West are much too aware of our "freedom in Christ" to do whatever we want and are too consumed with busy-ness to pray for such a moving of God's Spirit in our lives--or my life anyway. The revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries resulted in large scale social action--and had a long-lasting effect on individuals and culture.

The BBC last night reported on the arrest of the polygamist in the US. The reporter was asked why America seems to be more prone to the growth of these huge and dangerous cults centered on one dynamic figure. He replied that he wasn't religious at all, so he didn't really understand the phenomenon. However, he said since America is so religious, he thinks authorities aren't willing to prosecute such people because of fears of stepping on people's rights to religious freedom.

Are we so religious? I'm not sure we are anymore, although I know George Bush was elected by the religious right as much as anybody. If we are religious, it doesn't seem that we're striving after holiness....

We had lunch with an Indian couple today. She is a convert from Hinduism and he grew up in a Christian home. I couldn't help but reflect on the difference in attitude toward spiritual things. As young people they grew up learning more than 1,000 Bible verses. Their 6-year-old son is eager for Sunday School to start back up on Sunday so he can learn his Bible verses!

My own spiritual state is really the only one I can address, although I can pray for spiritual revival in the lives of those around me as well as for myself. I have been personally seared by reading about God's rejection of Cain's sacrifice. Cain's worship was off-base; I wonder how often my own worship (corporate or personal) is off-base?

Something about this techology

Okay, I've tried to establish my URL four times now, and I certainly hope it works this time! Maybe I'm not really meant to waste my timing on blogging....

I'm really curious, though, and I wonder if anyone out there knows the answer to a question that's been bothering me for months now. Apparently, there was a religious revival in Ulster, Ireland in 1859. What I'd like to know is if it had any effect on how Catholics and Protestants treated each other? There doesn't seem to be any evidence of this, but I'm sure there must be someone who has information about spirituality and social reform in Ireland--if it ever occurred. I don't have time to write more on this subject now, but will come back to it tomorrow. Of course, something else may be on my mind by then.