2023_01_23 Insight Post- Kim Feld

  -   January 23, 2023

This week’s reading- Genesis 6-9, Romans 5

The story of Noah and the flood has always been a challenging one for me. I have many questions that, as I read through Genesis 6-9, I realized I have never fully come to satisfying answers. But this year’s Bible reading plan is helping me to study within a different context, and I am in awe of what I’m finding. My prayer this year has been that God would fill me with awe, and He’s doing just that.

If you have participated in our Bible Study and Prayer Nights, you know I love The Bible Project. Their videos, blog, and podcasts have been beneficial to me in studying God’s word. In researching the flood, I came across an article by Andy Patton (n.d.) entitled “Why Did God Flood the World?” This blog entry is part of a series called “What Do We Do with Violence in the Bible?” I’ll link to the article below because I would love for you to take a few moments to read it. In the article, Patton (n.d.) encourages us to look at the flood in the context of Genesis 1 – 11. First, we have Creation, and then sin enters the picture through Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Then, God saw that evil and violence were increasing, and, in His anger, He decided to wipe everyone out! Nope…. Patton (n.d.) points out that’s not what the Bible says. Let’s take a look:

⁵ The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. ⁶ So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart (Genesis 6:5-6, NLT, emphasis mine).

I must admit that when I think of God’s judgment, I think of anger. But anger wasn’t the motivator for God. His heart was broken at what was happening to the good and beautiful creation He had made. Patton (n.d.) describes the flood as a “de-creation,” God’s way of restoration.

Did you find Jesus in this story? We get another glimpse as we continue to put the pieces of God’s plan for redemption together. Stay with it! We have much to discover.