Lesson Two: Big, Big Flood

Texts:
Genesis 6: 9 – 22
Genesis 7: 11-16
Genesis 8: 13-19
Genesis 9: 8-17


By the Time We Get to Noah...
In our first lesson we talked about the creation story, or creation stories. After God created the world, we then move to the story of the first human beings, Adam and Eve. Genesis 3-6 is about Adam and Eve getting tempted by a serpent, and then having the leave the Garden of Eden after eating the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Let's just say that they probably took sibling rivalry to a whole other level. Most of what takes place in Genesis 3-6 is about how poorly those who followed Adam and Eve did with their free will.We do have a genealogy from Adam to Noah, putting eight generations between these portions of the story. The ages that people lived to then seems amazing (the oldest living person listed in scripture is Methuselah at 969 years). Most were over 70 before having children. This raises the mystery if they used our modern way of telling time, or something different. However, an important part of that period was the problem of humanity (where did all the people come from? More mystery!) in living up to their responsibility to care for creation and each other.


When we get to the Noah, we find out that God really isn't happy with humans.  "I wish I never made them," God says.

In our previous lesson, we talked about the fact that many cultures have creation stories.  Well, many cultures also have flood stories like the one we are about to hear now.   Does that mean some sort of global flood must have happened? Does it prove a climate shift and massive melt and freeze such as what we hear predicted by “Global Warming?”

It is impossible to know, so here we only deal with our tradition’s flood story in scripture. We get to see God's rage in this story. Yes, God’s anger is troubling, and it won’t be the last time we hear about God being angry. Also, it is good to remember that in the time these stories were put down on paper (papyrus actually), there was no understanding of good and evil as separate or opposing forces. People thought that all things came from God and whatever came, good or bad, was surely deserved. They thought that if bad things happened to good people, it must be due to the sins of their parents or children (Thus the expression, “sins of the father…”). Noah seems to have done well, however; that is where today’s story begins.

I'm Very Dissappointed in You... (Genesis 6:9-22)

The story of Noah and the Ark is a very familiar story to people. We can imagine Noah, an old man with a white beard and dressed in a cloak sitting in a large boat filled with animals. We might even see a bit of the rainbow that appears at the end of the story. It's a nice and pleasant story.

But the story in the Bible is far from nice and pleasant. When we start reading this text, we see that God is very angry with all of creation. God is so angry that God wants to get rid of all of creation.

Think about that for a moment. God wants to destroy all of creation. All of it. Even the little children who we tend to think did nothing wrong. Rabbi Jane Rachel Litman notes that thinking about the destruction of an entire society is upsetting and in fact it's supposed to be.

This passage also shows a God that is into judging in a big way. Theologian Terrence Fretheim notes that God is like a parent that is upset with how their children are acting. And like a parent, God wants to punish the wayward children.

But all is not lost for creation. God sees that Noah is still faithful and establishes a covenant this lone righteous man. God is not going to get rid of all of creation. Instead, God provides a plan of salvation. Noah is to build an ark for his family and for two of every animal. In this passage, we see God's wrath and judgement, but we also see God's mercy.

Questions:

1. What do you think about a God that wants to destroy creation?  What does that say about God?
2. Is God a just God or a loving God?  Which appeals to you more?

Rain. Rain. Go Away.  Really. (Genesis 7:11-16)

One account of the Flood story (called the Priestly account), there wasn't a flood as God hitting the reset button and the earth reverting back to the watery chaos that it once was (Genesis 1:2).

The other interesting note from this part of the text is verse 16, where God is the one that closes the door of the ark.  It's a reminder that from the flood to the building of the ark God is the one in control, not Noah.  This is also a harkens back to the Creation story which was also a tale the reminded its readers who was the One who called the shots.

Why Are There So Many Songs About Rainbows? (Genesis 8: 13-19 and Genesis 9: 8-17)

How many of us remember the song by Kermit the Frog called "The Rainbow Connection?"  It's the opening song from "The Muppet Movie."  It open with the lyric, why are there so many songs about rainbows?

After a rainstorm, the sight of rainbow gives us a sense of safety and assurance.  We are no longer afraid of the storm that came before.  Instead, we are captured by these sights of color.

In the last part of the flood story, Noah and his family are now out of the ark and the devastating flood that destoyed all of God's creation is now over.  God makes a covenant with Noah which is in effect a covenant with all of humanity.  God would never again destroy the earth with water.  The rainbow was a sign of God's faithfulness and mercy to all of creation.

Closing Questions

1. What parts of the scripture got left out in your telling?
2. What is the lesson or moral behind this story?
3. What questions do you have about this story?
4. What gives you hope in this story?
5. What makes you uncomfortable?
6. What does this story tell us about God?
7. What could you leave out of this story without changing the meaning?
8. What could you not leave out?

Lesson One- Creation: And It Was Good

Texts:
Genesis 1:1-2:3
Genesis 2:4-25

Create. Rest. Repeat.
The Story of Creation can be found in the first chapter of Genesis.  It was such a good story, it was repeated again in the second chapter of Genesis.

Well, sort of. There are two stories of creation: the first in Genesis One is a longer story. It's an orderly tale, telling what God did on each day. While it's arranged pretty logically, you shouldn't confuse it with modern science. The story reflects how the writer thought the world was put together. For example, the waters are separated into those above the dome and those below. This was reflects common belief in that time, that the heavens were like a dome above the Earth, with holes in the dome allowing rain to fall through. Another example of belief of the time shows up in the telling of light and darkness being created, followed by the
creation of the Sun and Moon.

So, now one to the second story which begins with Genesis 2:4. Unlike the first story which is very orderly, this story is more like...well, a story. In this version, God seems more human, with hands to press the earth into the shape of a person, and lungs to breathe life into that person. In this version, God walks and talks in the garden with his creations. The order of parts of creation is different from the order within the Genesis 1 story.

So, why in the world are there two creation stories? Maybe for the same reason that there are four different books talking about the life of Jesus. Much like the value of having four Gospels that are each different and unique, the two creation stories show different aspects of God. Genesis 1 shows a cosmic creator who speaks and commands things into existence. Genesis 2 shows a personal and intimate
creator who has relationship with what has been made. There are times when we want God to be bigger than everything else is and in control of the universe. Other times, we want God to be right by our side. Together these stories show the power and intimacy of our creator.

In God We Trust

Take a look at quarter, penny or even a dollar bill.  Somewhere on the currency are the words, "In God We Trust." No, we aren't going to get into a debate on church-state separation, but when you are reading the creation stories, you might want to remember that these stories were written to remind the Israelites who to plae their trust in.

Theologian Walter Brueggemann notes that the creation stories reflect stories about how the world began that were found in Egypt and Mesopatmia (where modern-day Iraq is located).  Bureggeman notes that the texts were probably written in the Sixth Century B.C.E. and were written to the people of Israel.  The Israelites were not in a good shape at that time.  Foreign invaders called the Babylonians came and conquered the people.  Many were taken away from their homeland and forced to live in Babylon (again, located in what is today Iraq).

If you were a Jew who had been taken away from their homeland and were told that your people are weak and even your God is weak, how would you feel?  Pretty rotten.  The Babylonians were acting like any invader would and trying to tell their new conquest that mighty Babylon was in charge.  The God of Israel was dead.  Long live the Babylonian gods.

It was in this time of despair that these texts were written.  Their main goal was not scientific, but spiritual. It was to remind the people of Israel that the God they worshipped created the world and was the Lord of all life- even Lord over the mighty Babylonians.

The creation stories were a message of hope to the Israelites.  Even though it looked like God had abandoned them, this God who created the mountains and the seas, was in control.  In God we Trust, indeed.

Dominion

Genesis 1:26 says the following:

 Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind^* in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,^* and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’(NRSV)

What does "dominion" mean?  Take a few moments and read the verse and look at the word "dominion." 

Now think about being a kid again with a set of Legos.  Some of your probably played with them as a kid and some of you gave these as a gift to your kids. Anyway, let's  imagine you are at a friend's house building an imaginary city filled with tall skyscrapers.  You spend hours marveling at its intricate beauty. 

After a while, you realize you have to go home.  You look at your creation and hate to let it go.  You ask your friend to look after your city and take care of it while you are gone.  He can even add on to it as he sees fit.

That, is the simplest way to explain dominion in this verse.  Dominion is not about doing whatever you want, but to take care of something, to have responsibility.  In verse 26, we see that God is giving a part of creation, namely humans, the responsibility to take care of the rest of creation.

Questions

1. What does creation mean to you?
2. If God gives us dominion over creation, what is our
   responsibility?
3. Have we done a good job with our responsibility?
4. How could we do better…
   -as a church?
   -as a family?
   -as a community?
   -as myself, individually?