Summary: This is a story that many "modern" people have trouble accessing. It is a hard text for us as a pastors too. I think the first connection point is found before this NL pericope begins, in vss 5-11, where God declares the world filled with violence. No one living in 2014 should find it hard to imagine God's anger over the violence plaguing the world. I don't think we need to walk away from God's fierce disappointment within this story. This is the human condition. Surprisingly God's wrath is absent, at least in words, from this story. That is because God's wrath is connected with his abandonment. This story is not about an angry God who leaves people to their own devices, but intervenes by destroying in order to bring about life.
What I wrestle with in this story is not simply the violence done by God, but the question of how eschatological to go with my sermon. The story can be seen in light of Christ's ministry (teaching us the way of non-violence), Christ's death and resurrection (he creates a new non-violent humanity), but ultimately, Christ's next coming (he brings about a non-violent world.
I also wonder if a more personal appraoch is helpful, in that God is willing to kill us -- that within us which is hostile to him -- to make us alive.
Lastly, I would recommend reading the other flood narratives, especially the Epic of Gilgamesh. It becomes quite clear our God is very different from other deities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlil
באה ("bo" meaning 'Go in': 6:17,18, 19): The word, like many Hebrew words, can have a variety of meanings, ranging from "go in" to "come in" to even "bring in." God "goes into"/"brings" the water; humans and the animals, "Go into" and are "brought into" the ark. This is an interesting way of thinking about God's activity in Baptism, the ark of salvation (1 Peter); God destroys us in the water, but brings us home in the ark!
כל ("col" meaning 'all', repeatedly): This word means all. It is used throughout this section. God's care is for ALL of creation, and one could argue, for ALL of humanity, in that we need to
אות ("ot" meaning 'sign', 9:12) God knows we need a sign, not just a covenant. As the song said, "I need a sign!"
זכר ("zocar" meaning 'remember', 9:15) The question here is -- why does God need to remember? Perhaps linguistically we can get around this. This verb is in the qal perfect, which means it is to be read as as imperfect, meaning incomplete action. This can refer to future action or present on-going action. This actually makes sense because the God of the whole heavens and earth is always shining clouds on the earth -- there is always a rainbow from God's perspective! God is always remembering his covenant with us.
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