Noah Part 2 - Preserving Life

In the story of the great flood Noah built a massive boat – a barge with three floors. It was a microcosm of creation, designed to preserve life through the year of devastation ahead. In this project we see Noah fulfilling the vocation of all humanity – partnership with God and zealous care for God’s creation.

Noah coated the ark with pitch inside and out to keep his fellow-passengers dry. The water had to be kept at bay at all costs.  Water is a paradox - every animal needs to drink, but that very water, unchecked, threatens its survival. The ark became a place of refuge as everything else went down.

First we hear about massive unleashing of water from below and above – “the springs of the great deep burst forth and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.” Falling judgment and rising chaos combined as heaven and hell broke lose, the whole created order coming violently unglued. But the ark was a haven of mercy and peace amid the judgment.

Rain fell for forty days and nights – the symbolic time of purifying. Rain, meant to nourish the earth, became a relentless destroyer, purging the defilement that had poisoned the whole of creation.

This harrowing judgment pre-figures the story of crucifixion where Jesus was engulfed by the betrayal of his own creation and suffers in person the consequences of our treachery.

And the ark with its precious cargo of people and animals, remnants of the old creation, rose above the waters of destruction – a symbol of salvation.

For a hundred and fifty days it floated like a cork on the face of the waters. But it was not forgotten. No doubt Noah and his family wondered many times during that long ordeal if God had abandoned them. It’s a common human fear, but eventually the story says “and God remembered Noah.” The long silence of God did not mean that God was neglecting Noah. In fact, Noah had been on God’s mind every hour of the extended nightmare.

Centuries later Isaiah spoke of Yahweh ‘remembering’ Israel's exiles engulfed in a flood of a different kind in Babylon. After years of wondering if God had forgotten them, they hear Yahweh say,
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:15-16

With more maternal awareness and anticipation than a nursing mother, God was preparing Noah and the world for a future they could hardly imagine.

Photo Credits: 
Rain . . . Mother and Infant - Cindy-Lou Dale