And After the Flood God Placed a Rainbow in the Sky to Remind Himself Not to Commit Genocide Again

abril 25, 2022 Postar um comentário

"God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more than water, the burn side by side time!"

- The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin

In another Card Talk about Noah's story, we ask the questions What do nosotros do with a silent God who kills His cosmos? and What do nosotros exercise when a supposedly righteous man remains silent?

We also discuss the Documentary Hypothesis, and how Genesis 6-9 is a narrative composed/redacted from a to the lowest degree ii distinct sources. However, whether nosotros split the narrative into its source cloth, or read it as 1 (sort of) unified whole, at that place is ane fact that should remain salient:

This story is non well-nigh Noah or humanity. It is a story about God.

God is the primary actor. Noah, his wife and kids, the marching Ark animals, and all the bloated, floating bodies that do non make it on the Ark, are all crappy extras struggling for a little more screen time. And oxygen.

To run across this conspicuously we demand to delete our fond (or not so fond) Sunday School memories, Bible videos, flick books, flannel graph, Grandparent-versions of the story. When we do, nosotros see that Noah is not the hero of the story. He'south certainly non the protagonist: the graphic symbol whose deportment and struggle we are concerned with. When we read the text, when we only count the verbs associated with Noah, we encounter he doesn't do much.

A List of what Noah Does in the Story

Earlier the alluvion

Noah had sex activity at least three times, since he has three sons (6:10).
Noah blindly, mindlessly, did exactly what God told him to do (six:22; 7:5-9, xiii-xvi). Think that'southward harsh? Read it. There is no initiative on Noah's part. The text explicitly holds that God said something and Noah did that exact matter. Information technology shows Noah'southward faithfulness, but it does not an interesting narrative make.

During the alluvion

Noah opened a window on the Ark and performed the famous bird tests (8:6-14).
Noah exits the Ark after God tells him to (viii:18-xix).

Afterwards the inundation

Noah makes an altar for sacrifices (8:20).
Noah plants a vineyard, makes wine, gets drunkard, passes out, is (most likely) sexually assaulted past his son, and curses his descendants when he wakes up (ix:18-27).

Notice: The text contains no narrative details almost building the Ark; No explanation to his sons near their mission; No arguments with his married woman most what this all means for their lives; No scenes about the growing, harvesting, or purchasing nutrient for the journeying; No moments of mockery from his neighbors; No preaching to them about the impending doom; No comical gathering of the animals; No tape of his inner turmoil, dubiety, prayer, strength, or fifty-fifty stalwart faith. None of the things included in Dominicus School, sermons, and movies. Noah is an empty suit, a caricature of faith. We get more pathos from Abraham earlier he sacrifices his son (but just barely).

Noah is not the hero of this story.

He is not the protagonist.

God is.

God as Protagonist: A List of what God Does in the Story

God is the primary actor whose struggle is the focus of this drama. The most obvious example of this: God is the just ane with whatsoever lines: God's the simply one who speaks in the narrative. (Never noticed that, did y'all?) Beyond this, compare God's verbs (actions) in the story to Noah's:

God looks at the earth, says He is sick of our shit, and determines that in 120 years, He will hit reset with the Flood (six:1-xiii) [Run into the "Excurus on Methuselah" at the end].
God considers Noah as worthy of saving (half dozen:8-9).
God commands the building of the ark and makes covenant with Noah (six:12-21).
God sends the animals and gets Noah's family unit on the Ark (7:1-nine).
God sends the Flood waters (6:13, 17; 7:4-12,17-20, 23).
God shuts the door of the Ark (7:16) (Yeah, Noah can't even be trusted to handle that).
God commits genocide (7:21-23) (Think that's harsh? Read the language of the verse).
God remembers Noah and animals on the Ark (8:1a) [Bible nerd note: This whole story is a chiasm, and poetry viii is the Ten. At that place are numerous means this narrative can be chiastically rendered, simply they all run across at this poesy).
God's holy spirit/breath (ruah) blows across the water, causing it to recede (viii:1b).
God tells anybody to get off the Ark (viii:15-17).

God uses two completely different symbols to promise that the flood won't happen once again (because there are 2 different sources braided together).
- In viii:21-22 (J-Source), God presents the consistency of the seasons every bit the promise-sign
- In nine:i-17 (P-source), God presents the famous rainbow equally the promise-sign. God has hung up His bow (as in 'bow and pointer'), and volition not again pierce the ra'quia, the boundary established in Genesis 1:6-7 to continue out the primordial waters of anarchy (Again, see the "Excursus on Methuselah" at the end for more than on the rainbow).

God did All of this.

God is the main player in the story. It is God's inner life we are asked to examine, not Noah's.

What'south more than, the story ends with a not as well subtle threat in the course of a hope. Baldwin understood this. So did the author of 2nd Peter

This is at present, beloved, the 2d alphabetic character I am writing to you lot; in them I am trying to agitate your sincere intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles. First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come up, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue every bit they were from the commencement of creation!" They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and past means of water, through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. But past the same word the present heavens and earth take been reserved for fire, being kept until the Day of Judgment and destruction of the godless. ~ two Peter 3:1-seven

God'due south promise is not that He won't DESTROY the world once more, just that it won't exist with water.

Fire and Water ice

Some say the world volition cease in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of want
I hold with those who favor fire.
Just if information technology had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of detest
To say that for destruction water ice
Is as well neat
And would suffice.

- Robert Frost

Why the Flood: Returning to The First

Many scholars take noted that the flood narrative is an inverted version of the creation narrative of Genesis affiliate 1, another story where God is the protagonist. We will exit it to others to belabor the numerous means the flood narrative is a negation of the cosmos narrative (beyond the obvious God fabricated everything / God destroys everything) and focus on the whyof it all.

Once creation was completed, "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very skillful. And there was evening and in that location was morning time, the 6th day" (Genesis ane:31). Previous to this, "the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters...So God said, Let at that place exist a dome in the midst of the waters , and permit information technology separate the waters from the waters ...And so God said, Allow the waters under the heaven be gathered together into 1 place, and permit the dry state announced. And it was and so" (Gen one:1-2; 6; 9).

This bracketing of the primordial waters of anarchy is exactly what God was referring to when He begins to rip Job a new one:

"Where were y'all when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if y'all take understanding.

...who shut in the sea with doors
when it flare-up out from the womb?—
when I fabricated the clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling ring,
and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
and said, 'Thus far shall yous come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped'?" (Job 38:four; 8-11)

In the overflowing narrative, the world returns to a vast, formless, lifeless void: the dome above and below were pierced, and the waters of deep were immune to render. And all that remained was the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters and the floating menagerie of creatures He accounted worthy to salvage.

But why?

Equally we Bible nerding-out with the Hebrew, we discovered that the progression of the verbs of destruction are informative: the words God uses for why the Flood waters are coming.

[For normal people]

Genesis vi:11-xiii

Now the globe was fucking itself over in God'due south sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw that the earth was fucked; for all mankind was consistently fucking itself over upon the world. And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence and they are causing me to fuck upwards their shit along with the earth.

Genesis half-dozen:17

For my office, I am going to bring a alluvion of waters on the world, to completely and utterly fuck up their shit from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the globe shall dice.

[For those who can parse Hebrew verbs]

Genesis 6:eleven-13

At present the earth was "going-to-ruin" [Niphal imperfect] in God'south sight, and the globe was filled with violence. And God saw that the earth "had-gone-to-ruin" [Niphal perfect]; for all flesh was "actively-going-to-ruin" [Hiphil perfect] upon the earth. And God said to Noah, "I have adamant to brand an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence and "they-are-causing-me-to-ruin" them [Hiphil participle] along with the globe.

Genesis 6:17

For my office, I am going to bring a inundation of waters on the earth, to "actively-ABSOLUTELY-ruin" [Piel imperative,] from nether sky all mankind in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.

(Notation: Why the "bad language"? Meet our theology of swearing .)

While the flood narrative is a radical destabilization of the globe, the text says that nosotros deserved it. This is one example of a biblical principle some (esp. climate scientific discipline deniers) forget: human actions can bring about chaos, can erode God's guild. Our actions have consequences, for us and our environments.

From Genesis on, the Bible shows God saying, "oh, you know best? You want something other than the ordered globe I've given you? Fine. Then y'all also become to bargain with the rampant chaos that is writhing and waiting underneath: the things that get bump in the deep, that I Am keeping at bay. Savor!"

Perhaps this is something we should remember. What we do matters.

Perhaps nosotros should as well call up that Noah survives the flood, but drowns in alcohol and the improper affection of his kids.

Perhaps grace has limits.

Perhaps God will spare us the outset time, but the side by side time...

But what practise we know: nosotros made this game and you probably think we're going to Hell.

And you're merely happy that we got a rainbow out of all this (so continue reading)

Excursus on Methuselah

Genesis 5:5-28a states:

When Methuselah had lived one hundred eighty-7 years, he became the father of Lamech. Methuselah lived after the nascence of Lamech seven hundred eighty-ii years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Methuselah were ix hundred sixty-ix years; and he died. When Lamech had lived one hundred fourscore-two years, he became the male parent of a son; he named him Noah…

Genesis 7:6 reads:

Noah was half-dozen hundred years erstwhile when the flood of waters came on the globe

Then what?

Information technology'due south Biblical math fun time!

The Alluvion began when Noah was 600 years sometime.
Methuselah dies at the age of 969.
- 969 - 600 = 369 (Methuselah's historic period when Noah was built-in)
- 369 - 182 = 187 (Methuselah'southward age when Lamech was born)

And then all the Biblical math adds up.

Once more, so what?

Methuselah died when the alluvion began.A detail not missed by Darren Aronofsky when filming Noah.

[Remember how/when Sir Anthony Hopkins died in the picture show? No? Go (re)spotter it.]

Adding to the Biblical cohesion is the meaning of the proper name "Methuselah." While in that location is scholarly debate (isn't in that location always?) well-nigh an exact translation, each permutation is securely, thematically connected to Noah's narrative:

"The human being of the infernal river" - Do we actually have to explicate this one?

"His expiry shall bring judgment" - Again, you've got this ane.

"When he dies it shall exist sent" - We won't insult your intelligence.

"The homo of the weapon (dart/javelin/spear/arrow)" - A human who lived long enough to see "the weapon," the musical instrument used by YHWH to pierce the dome surrounding the Earth, and let period the primordial waters.

The beginning three are obvious, merely the last warrants a reminder of the promise of the rainbow. Or more accurately, it should remind us of what the rainbow really is: a bow. Every bit in bow and arrow/spear/javelin/sprint.

The promise is predicated on God saying He is hanging His BOW in the sky.

We just blew your listen. You're welcome.

bradleyrusoody.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.agameforgoodchristians.com/blog//rainbow-genocide

Bradley Rusoody