Genesis 6:11-22

Bible Study Lesson for Wednesday, May 6

Usually on Wednesday nights, some in our community get together to share prayer requests, we pray together, and I bring a Bible lesson for them. Last week, we covered Genesis 6:1-10, so I will pick up today where we left off. First I’d like to talk about prayer requests. Online communication being what it is, I would rather not get into specific requests in this space, and will leave that for the more private communications that the church has with each other. But I do want to remember a few general prayer requests: -our government, those making decisions on our behalf -those in the medical community -those in food service, grocery stores, and other essential businesses -teachers and students still figuring out what the closures of schools means for them -prisoners and prison guards -first responders -those whose life and income has been disrupted by the current crisis. I also want to remember all of those suffering from Covid-19 and the communities that it is affecting, including our own. Take a moment to pray for these folks now before we begin.

Now I hope you will take a moment to read and reflect on Genesis 6:11-22 before I offer my thoughts. Verses 11-12 In last week’s passage, as we lead up to the flood, the focus was on the heart of people. This week, the story focuses on how God’s anger and frustration is directed at human action instead of their hearts. Noticing this slight contrast gives a bit more insight into both parts of the story. In 6:5-6, God found that “every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually” and this discovery “grieved [God] to his heart.” The whole story of the flood highlights how God’s attitude is affected by humanity’s character and behavior. Picking up in verse 11, God shifts focus from humanity’s hearts to their actions: “the earth was filled with violence.” There is also a pointed shift from “humankind” to the whole earth.  The overarching verdict is that all of creation is “corrupt,” which sets up a telling contrast with the “wickedness” emphasized in verse 5. When we take these together, we get the sense that the wickedness and evil inclinations of humans have led in Genesis chapter 6 to the “corruption” of all creation. The word corrupt carries the meaning of spoiled or ruined, as food is corrupted by mold or metal is corrupted by rust. It is a deficiency of character caused by time or contamination. How did things go so bad so quickly? If you will remember, human sin entered the picture in Genesis chapter 3. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit that gave them the knowledge of good and evil. Presumably, the fruit was marketed to them by the serpent as giving the ability to choose for themselves. But the very decision to eat the fruit was an act of disobedience that carried with it the sentence of death. In the next generation, God gave jealous Cain a choice: he could do the right thing or he could give into the sin that was now stalking him like a tiger. Cain chose to kill his brother. In the parallel genealogies of Chapters 4 and 5, we find Cain’s descendants gradually embracing more and more wickedness, until Lamech repeats Cain’s sin and tries to claim God’s protection for himself. Seth’s genealogy reveals a more healthy relationship with God among his descendants, with such larger than life figures as Enoch, Methusaleh, and Noah’s family drawing our attention. Verses 13-16 When God discloses his plan to Noah, he reverses the order. Before, we had the offense and then God’s response. Here, God starts with the bad news; in the worst possible terms, God says “I have determined to make an end of all flesh.” Only after saying this does God turn to the reason. And only after this does God let Noah know about the plan for Noah’s salvation. In saving Noah, God gives him a job to do. The level of detail God gives Noah for the construction of the ark is noteworthy. In a story lacking in details, we have exact dimensions for the construction of a large boat. It is perhaps over 450 feet long! This is a massive boat by today’s standards, much more so in the ancient world. A cubit is a common Old Testament unit of measurement, and it is approximately the length between a man’s elbow and the end of his fingers. For me, this is almost exactly 18 inches. In the history of Christian interpretation, the ark becomes a metaphor for the Church. 1 Peter says that Noah’s salvation through the waters of the flood foreshadow baptism, which is “an appeal to God for a good conscience.” Over time, Christians began to see an echo of the flood story in the Church itself. Just as Noah and his family were kept safe from the destruction of a corrupt and violent world, the Church was the place where Christians were kept safe from a corrupting and violent world. Thus a lot of ancient cathedrals and churches – including our own!- have been built resembling a ship turned upside down. The interior of the roof becomes the bottom of the ship and reminds us that God appointed the Church to be the place of salvation. Verses 17-21 Now God tells Noah why he is building an ark. The destruction that God has planned is a flood. Remember the importance of waters in the creation story. On the second day of creation, God created a dome between the waters above and the waters below (Genesis 1:6), and life as we know it exists in this dome. Creation is between the waters, which were seen as places of chaos and mystery. And so God’s method of destruction can be seen as an undoing of creation. God is almost taking the earth back to zero. Almost. Verse 18 is one of the most important “buts” in the Bible: “But I will establish my covenant with you.” This is the first time the word covenant appears in the Bible. It will be an important word for the people of God. Indeed, the Old and New “Testaments” in our Bibles can be translated as Old and New “Covenants.” Covenant is the very particular way that God relates to the People of God. In the ancient world, a covenant was an agreement between two people or powers, often one of whom was significantly more powerful than the other. A covenant usually has three parts. First, it begins with a historical event that establishes the relationship between the parties. Then, it has a description of the expectations for both parties. Finally, it may contain a ritual action that makes the promise binding and is sometimes repeated as an act of renewal or remembrance. The Flood story presents all of these elements in different ways. Notice here at the beginning how God does almost everything and Noah is less active. The historical act that establishes the relationship is God’s deliverance of Noah through the storm. Noah’s response is merely to follow the commands of God. Verse 22 This verse is critical because it becomes something of a refrain for the next few chapters: Noah does what God commands. As much as anything, this becomes a model of what it means for Israel to live in covenant with God. God begins and keeps covenants and Israel responds by obeying God. This is what the Law, rightly understood, will entail. Following the Law is never a way of “getting in good” with God. Instead, keeping the Law is Israel’s response to a faithful God. Noah’s building the ark is a response to God telling him the flood is coming and Noah has been chosen to survive. Conclusion Up to this point, God’s covenant with Noah is very specific to the situation he is in. God’s people are not known by their ability to build boats. After the flood we will see what longer term expectations God will have for Noah. But this is how God relates to us as well. For Baptists, baptism is the first act of obedience by which a person seals their covenant relationship with God. Historically, Baptists have held that baptism is an ordinance – something God commands. One of the main reasons we believe baptism is necessary is because God told us to do it. This is not a cheap obedience but rather a sign that we will do our best to continue to do what God tells us to. Baptism itself can be an easy thing, but it is the first step of obedience in a lifetime of keeping our covenant with God. Neither obedience nor baptism saves us, but both are tangible signs of our salvation.  Noah understood that faith without works is dead. He was saved by the choice of God, but his survival hinged on his response. He could not just say, “all I need to do to be saved is believe that God will flood the earth.” Likewise he can’t say “It would be great if I built an ark, God has a great idea there,” and then not do it. He didn’t gather his friends and family to study God’s ark instructions and put off what God asked him to do. Instead, Noah believed what God said, and that belief resulted in his obedience: “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” This story reminds us that this is what the Bible means when it talks about faith. Faith is obedience. You cannot have faith without being faithful. Being faithful means keeping our covenant with God. For us, being faithful means acting on God’s commands to love God and love one another. Being faithful to God means doing whatever God says, even when it seems crazy. More on that next week.