Genesis 6:19-22
2006.Sep.14 08:55
Jehovah, the Sustainer
And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them. Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did. (Genesis 6:19-22, NASB)
After God’s destruction rhetoric–“The end of all flesh has come before
Me” (Genesis 6:13, NASB)–he takes a moment to make it very clear to
Noah that he wants his creation more-or-less intact. Or, that is, a
remnant
of his creation. Jehovah is out to cleanse the earth of the sin brought
into it and increased by humanity, but he desires a continuance of
humanity on earth as well as all of the animals (Assumedly, enough
plants would survive such a flood, although I still wonder about the
mingling of fresh- and salt-water.)
I vaguely remember a discussion with a friend in high school who was
wondering whether God may have created a succession of ‘humanities’,
destroying each completely up until now, when they were overtaken with
sin. I am inclined enough towards determinism
and the belief in God’s intelligence being superb (I’m not sure what
omni-intelligent would mean) that I don’t give that possibility much
credence even without it seeming contrary to the Bible, but it is
interesting because this history of the flood is just a few breaths
from that sequence. Were God to have destroyed Noah’s family
along with everyone else, then his options would have been either to
create a ‘new humanity’ or to end the whole earth business then. Both
of which might have seemed more inviting than watching his creations
and desired friends do anything but follow him.
But, no, Jehovah is a sustainer
and a healer. He desires humanity, whole, and he’s going to keep
pushing towards it. He also desires the continuation of his other
creations (and, yes, if for that reason alone, I think it is worth
caring for endangered species). This flood story means a lot to me,
then, because as God is healer and sustainer to humanity so is he to me
personally. When I feel like a failure, he sees some branches that need
to be pruned,
some work that needs to done, some discipline needs to be added.
Jehovah desires life for me. And if I will accept his authority at the
expense of my pride, he gives me life, and that more
abundant.
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