I've included a Children's Version of the story here. For you, though, take a moment to partake in the anguish of God and the fright of humanity as we submerse ourselves in the horror of this deep water memorial.
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PARENT'S DEVOTIONAL Flood (Genesis 6:11-22; 7:17-8:12;
8:20-9:17)
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They knew God’s word
to them:
Do not eat from the tree in the center of the garden, for if you do you will surely die.
Having called the curse upon themselves… can you imagine their fear as
they awaited God’s judgement? As they
tried to run from it and take shelter in the shade of a tree? A far cry from meandering in the cool of the
garden in the intimate company of the Creator God.
The penalty for sin is death.
Every sin calls for it – for justice.
That is what Adam and Eve – the only two people on earth –
deserved.
It could have ended right there. In that moment. Before human beings could begin to fulfill God’s mandate to fill the earth, to rule over it as he would… according to his design, his created order, his rules, his law, his Word…
Before love could be consummated and a child begotten: Everyone. Dead.
It could have ended right there. In that moment. Before human beings could begin to fulfill God’s mandate to fill the earth, to rule over it as he would… according to his design, his created order, his rules, his law, his Word…
Before love could be consummated and a child begotten: Everyone. Dead.
Do you remember what curse God's law had cautioned sin would call forth?
The death that they deserved?
But listen.
The attentive ear will hear them.
Graces in curses.
Because Yahweh, God of the Universe, also bears the heart of a Father. His heart broke for his creation, and his the full force of his righteous judgement emerged laced with an undeserved thread of mercy.
Can you hear it?
Because Yahweh, God of the Universe, also bears the heart of a Father. His heart broke for his creation, and his the full force of his righteous judgement emerged laced with an undeserved thread of mercy.
Can you hear it?
To the woman: Her capacity to
bear children reduced, and her ability to rear impaired, and her perfect unity
with her husband turned to a power struggle (or possibly never realized), yet even in the broken now her
counterpart flesh carries the capacity to unite with her husband, to
magnify God’s glorious image throughout the whole earth by the inceptive
blessing and command of motherhood.
To the man: Though it will be
fraught with hardship (a stubborn land to work, and a life-long labor that will
one day be reduced to dust), within himself still abides the earliest blessing
and responsibility to care for and provide for God’s creation and more
intimately, for his wife and family, to lead them the way Christ will one day –
washing her in the Word, and giving himself up for her – for them – for all.
We could point fingers, too, but who of us hasn’t sunk our teeth into a
crisp, juicy, red temptation?
Think of them. Adam and
Eve.
Wait with them...
Disguised under the censorship of a tree that God himself pushed up from the fertile soil.
Cowering in anticipation of God’s just judgment.
Death breathing down their cowardly necks.
Disguised under the censorship of a tree that God himself pushed up from the fertile soil.
Cowering in anticipation of God’s just judgment.
Death breathing down their cowardly necks.
But listen.
Hidden in the curse, yes, that song of unmerited mercy.
Imagine Adam waking up the morning after that fateful night, gasping in
another first breath of the crisp morning air.
The life it sustains circulating through his body.
Alive.
What hope! What hope remains for
life – that can chase after that original unity with the Creator!
…
Time passed.
...
...
They were fruitful and began to increase in number… filling the earth with God’s image borne
anew in each new person – you really could almost
see him.
Yes, one would hope this new chance at life would be lived with more
care – more attention to God’s demands.
But it didn’t last. Jealousy. Murder.
Deceit. Unfaithfulness. Profane crossing of boundaries.
The penalty for sin is death, and God stretched his patience to its greatest length – for he did not
want death for them, but life. But sin
had reached a point where there was no more hope. By their wickedness they called the curse of
death upon both themselves and upon those in the world these humans were tasked with
protecting and preserving.
The apex of their sin is described in a scene where not only inter-species boundaries were crossed in God’s design for human intimacy, not just the male-female complementarity (which was for the purpose of his glorification) was profaned, but angels – the sons of God – took the daughters of men as wives, producing offspring that were not intended by God to come into being.
The apex of their sin is described in a scene where not only inter-species boundaries were crossed in God’s design for human intimacy, not just the male-female complementarity (which was for the purpose of his glorification) was profaned, but angels – the sons of God – took the daughters of men as wives, producing offspring that were not intended by God to come into being.
YAHWEH saw how bad the sins of man had become on the earth. All of the thoughts in his heart were always directed only toward what was evil. 6 YAHWEH was very sad that he had made man on the earth. His heart was filled with pain. 7 So YAHWEH said, “I created man on the earth. But I will wipe them out. I will destroy people and animals alike. I will also destroy the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air. I am very sad that I have made man.”(6:6-7)
God opened the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens, and they, all of them, drowned. Every animal that walked the land God created but two of each kind. Every man, every woman, every child, save one righteous man and his family – the Family of Noah. Imagine them on the boat, knowing there were so many kicking desperately as they tried to swim to the surface, violent waves trapping them, keeping them from the oxygen vital to life. Their entire body throbbing. Their lungs afire. Black slowly seeping in at the edge of their vision, gasping for air but being rushed instead with salty water.
Ever.
So.
Slowly.
Everything...
Fading...
Away... (1)
...
...
...
This is not the Sunday School story of a delightful and educational floating zoo.
One may wonder: does reducing this plot to the salvation of eight human beings and a sample of animals misrepresent the nature of this story?
We cannot forget the warning of creation: Do not…for if you do you will surely die.
Our God is gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. But he is also righteous and just, and so he cannot contend with sinful humanity forever. We are reminded again and again. The penalty for sin is death. Here, perhaps the clearest demonstration of what we all deserve.
Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. 24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
(7:22-24)
But still, even in the midst of his righteous judgement, God extended mercy to his creation.
As the preserved seed of life walked off the ark and planted itself in
the fresh and fertile soil, God defined his creation once again. In this, God’s covenant with creation took a
more distinct, recognizable form, but it was not new. Not really.
Be fruitful. Fill the
earth. Rule over it according to my rules.
Another new beginning, and he sealed it with a sign: As Noah and his family and all the animals
again walked the sin-cleansed land, God arched across the sky a rainbow
to pierce his own heart with a deadly arrow if ever it came to this again. But it would not. That was his promise. For he had different plan.
Do you remember? The hope of
life lay not in our strivings, but in a son.
When will he come?
We can’t wait much longer!
When will he come?
We can’t wait much longer!
******
HOW WILL YOU AND YOUR FAMILY RESPOND?
Some ideas, to get you started.
Questions to Inspire Family Discussion:
Have you ever had the wind knocked out of you? Or experienced what it's like to be without enough air to breathe? What would it be like?
Have you ever had the wind knocked out of you? Or experienced what it's like to be without enough air to breathe? What would it be like?
Try this: See how long you can hold your breath. You may want to make it a contest to see who can hold their breath the longest.
What does it feel like to be without air?
Express your thankfulness to God for the breath of life!
When God created Adam and Eve the Bible says that he breathed into Adam's lungs the breath of life. Our breath is our life! And God is the breath of life! Where would we be without him?
Think about your own life. If you were alive in the time of Noah, would you be the righteous man who believed God? Would you be on the boat with Noah's family? Or would you be one who was sunk by his own sin?
What sin do you carry right now?
Learn together:
You may want explore together more what sin is.
1 John 3:4 says “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”
If sin is breaking God's law, what are his laws?
They are listed in Exodus 20:10-17. There are long lists of sins throughout the bible, but each fits into the category of one of these Ten Commandments. We will return to these commandments in a few days and look at them a little more closely.
Today, you may wish to explore some of those sin lists in the Bible, and examine your heart using the confession time below.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Galatians 5:19-21
Ephesians 5:3-6
Revelation 22:12-16
Pray together:
1 John 3:4 says “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”
If sin is breaking God's law, what are his laws?
They are listed in Exodus 20:10-17. There are long lists of sins throughout the bible, but each fits into the category of one of these Ten Commandments. We will return to these commandments in a few days and look at them a little more closely.
Today, you may wish to explore some of those sin lists in the Bible, and examine your heart using the confession time below.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Galatians 5:19-21
Ephesians 5:3-6
Revelation 22:12-16
Take some time for confession:
- Ask God what you have done that was wrong and has not pleased him.
- Tell God that you agree that you are guilty of that sin.
- Tell him why it was wrong. Did it break one of his laws? Did you know something good he wanted you to do, and you didn’t do it? Did you have a bad attitude? Fight? Whine? Or Dishonor your parents?
- Ask God to forgive you for your sins. You may want to respond with the songs below, or listen to it on youtube with a prayerful heart.
- Thank God for his forgiveness, and explain to him that you will change your heart, and choose to honor him.
In John 5:28-29 Jesus wanst us so that we can make ourselves right with him and be ready.
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in
their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what
is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will
rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I
hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him
who sent me."
Sing together:
Here are a number of ways you can bring your confessions to God through song:
1. This project by Jason Silver is a phenomenal resource. He has taken each psalm and put it to a more contemporary style of music so they can be used in corporate, but also private or family worship.
2. Seedbed Psalter is another invaluable resource. It is perfect for facilitating corporate worship of the psalms, as they have rewritten each psalm into a poetic form that we are more familiar with, and joins each with one or more corresponding familiar tune.
Try pairing Psalm 51 with the tune: Moring Song
or with the more familiar: New Britain (Amazing Grace)
3. Here is a version of Psalm 51 sung by by Fountainview Academy: Create in Me a Clean Heart
4.Here is a very moving choral arrangement that you may enjoy as well.
Cleanse Me – Taylor/Arr. Hayers (youtube)
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5. Laura Story's song Blessings (youtube) reminds us that sometimes blessings can only "come through raindrops" and "healing comes through tears." The devastation in the world that is caused by the ripple effect of our transgressions can be healed through God's righteous judgement.
6. The songs sung yesterday would also be a perfect accompaniment for today's time of confession:
At Christmas our Savior, Jesus Christ, breaks into this world! He is coming to bring us salvation, through tears of anguish and the sacrifice of his own life in our place. His forgiveness is the only thing that can save us. Lets extend that forgiveness out to the rest of the world, because of our gratefulness.
When we confess a sin to a person we have wronged - when we are willing to admit our mistakes, repent and ask forgiveness, we are showing that God can restore us from our sin, making our hearts right again.
We also demonstrate God's forgiveness as we forgive those who have sinned against us. In the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) we pray that God would "forgive us our sins, as we also have forgiven those who sin against us."
You can share the good news of Salvation through the Savior Jesus Christ with the people in your own life when you are willing to make things right with them!
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