Key Episode Scripture: Genesis chapters 6-9
When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. (Genesis 9:14-15 ESVUK)
The Noah and the Flood episode featured rainfall and a groundswell that led to an increase in water for 40 days. We’ve considered the context, followed by the content and some concepts. In the last entry, we reflected on four conclusions. Typically, God speaks not just as something that influences behaviour and belief. Here are some consequences of this episode for us today.
People of Obedience
The basics of a right relationship with God is based on obedience. To respond to a call is about obedience. To live the way God wants is about obedience. Walking with God and fellowship with Him is on His terms and is all about obedience. Paul celebrates Jesus because of the obedience of the Son, even to the point of death on the cross. It’s no secret that Noah was able to be saved along with his family because what God told him to do was follow obediently. Success in the mission of God to carry out His will from the basis of loving Him and others is a matter of obedience. We must be attentive to what He’s saying with our minds geared towards obedience.
It’s basic, so it’s easy to overlook and distract from it. Remaining obedient is fundamental to remaining aligned with His plan and eternal purpose.
People of Purity
God destroyed the earth because it had become too corrupted – hence the clean slate initiative. That same tendency to pollute, corrupt and violate wasn’t washed away in the flood. It was a hint as to what a world made new would be all about.
Ridding ourselves of what corrupts, pollutes and violates is not something that is done by man-made concepts. Jesus commends those who are pure in heart. Purity and purification – to eliminate all that corrupts, pollutes and violates- are pointed at in baptism and are part of what makes people more like Christ. They are in the process of being like Christ by purification. In a world marked by what we are accustomed to, what marks out is not a reputation for being a “goody-two-shoes” or having a haughty, holier-than-thou attitude. Our mission in obedience to God calls us to pursue purity. This makes us distinct while in the world and hints at something else …
People of the New
It is not about chasing trends or loving novelty. It is about the distinction that God made in this episode. We were born in the old – where we thought our efforts and activities would make a difference. We were born in the old that turned its back on God to set up its own systems that tended towards corruption, pollution and violence. That’s the old.
The mission and message of Christ take us from the old to the new and give us an appetite to live out the new and declare it for others to witness. This new way of living is in the new covenant established by Christ. Our desire to make disciples of Jesus Christ is a yearning to see people made new and relish the truth that old things are passed, and all things become new. This is hinted at in the flood, which is fulfilled in Christ in anticipation of the culmination and consummation when He returns. That shapes and influences what we say and do.
These consequences also help us understand how righteous God is when He judges. His mercy and grace give people every opportunity to repent while they have breath. He uses us to share that message so people can be saved and learn to live in the new and not the old. How we go about doing that and how that influences all our lives determines who we belong to.
The story of the flood and the significance of the 40 days have not been exhausted in these entries. I trust that we will go back again and consider this crucial story to see who God is and who we’re called to be in sight. I hope this is done as we prepare ourselves for the ultimate clean slate initiative, where all evil will be wiped away, as well as the tears of the righteous ones who have wept for God to purify.
Next, we move to a new episode that considers another man of God and a 40-day experience. He, too, will be about covenant business in his experience as we consider first the context of the episode called Covenant Renewed.
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
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