Sermon - September 23, 2012 - Noah and the Ark

Genesis 6:3, 6-14, 17-19

³Then the Lordsaid, “My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.”

⁶And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. ⁷So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. ⁹These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. ¹⁰And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ¹¹Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹²And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. ¹³And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. ¹⁴Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.

 ¹⁷For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹And 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.

“I am a human.” “I am made in the image of God.” “I have turned away from God.”

If God is the one who created you and all that exists, who do you turn to guide your life? Today, we hear about Noah.  A man who lived his life among a people that caused God’s very heart to actually grieve.  The people were so wicked, so evil, and lived only by their own flesh that it actually caused God to grieve that God even created them.  God even said, “I am sorry that I have made them.”  However, God loved them so much that even the death that was suppose to be their punishment was not bestowed upon them.  Yet Noah was a righteous man.  When reading that, a person has to ask themselves, what guided Noah in his life?  Well within the story, we hear that Noah walked with God.  Noah walked with God much like Adam and Eve did within the Garden of Eden. For Noah was in relationship with God. Noah prayed and sacrificed to God.

Noah and his family would be chosen.  For a father teaches his children how to behave and interact within the world.  More importantly, the Father demonstrates to the family how they should be in relationship with their Heavenly Father.   So one day, God speaks to Noah letting him know that he is going to destroy the Earth.  All living things shall be destroyed through a flood.  God tells Noah to build an ark and on that ark, there shall two of every kind of animal.  For God wants to start over, he wants to hit the reset button on this creation that has caused him so much pain.  Noah does this.  Yes people mocked him until the rains came.  For it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. 

But Noah and his family were on the boat for much longer than that.  They were on the boat for a little over a year.  Stuck on the boat, with animals, with family, in close quarters and not much to talk about, the same old card games over and over again.  Finally, God says the waters have receded.  I want you to get out of the boat and put your faith in me.  Never again shall I destroy the world through flood again.  God even places his rainbow in the clouds to serve as a reminder for us and for him.

So the very first thing that Noah did after getting off the boat, was what?  (ok yes, after kissing the ground and being grateful for being on solid ground again.)  Noah builds an altar and gives thanks to God.  Noah continues that relationship with God.  Noah takes some of every clean animal and sacrifices it to God to give thanks. 

Wait, hold it, how many animals did he take on the boat? Two of every kind? And then he sacrificed one of them???  Actually when you read through the story, there is some differences.  Yes the animals are taken into the ark, two of every kind, male and female. However, within the story, it says 7 clean pairs and 7 unclean pairs. That would be 14 of every kind of animal.  Well then it makes a little more sense that when Noah sacrifices to God animal for thanks.  But that makes for one huge ARK!

However, soon after Noah goes off into the vineyard and gets into a drunken stupor.  He gets so drunk that his own sons are ashamed. Noah is having a hard time keeping his clothes on as well.  Yes after being a good and faithful servant to God, Noah seems to have a break down. Even being a righteous man would not save him from himself. 

This entire story and lesson is that God is the creator and sustainer within the world.  Only God can save and does the choosing of who is saved.  It is not by our own works that we are saved but by God’s pure love, grace and mercy.  We are saved by a God who loves us and wants to be in a relationship with us. This is a God who will stick by you when you are mocked by those around you, when you are stuck on a boat where He has placed you and even in a vineyard surrounded by temptation.  God will be with you calling you back to life and back to a relationship with him. 

In this entire story, God is going to make a new creation, physically.  If humankind will not change, God will destroy the evil.  However, as we who live today know, it didn’t work.  So God tries to reach us through our minds and our hearts through the Law, through Moses.  Humankind will not change.  So God sends his only Son, to show them the ways in which they are turning away from God.  How they are hurting one another, themselves and also God.  Through Jesus God actually takes on the sin of the whole world so that the world may be redeemed and we might be saved.  That death, that is promised to be our punishment in the Garden, is actually made into a chance for us to dwell in the presence and return to the Garden of Eden and the relationship with God that we were created to be in. 

For we have a God who loves second, third, fourth and even 777^thchances.  Every single day, that we are given, we strive to be in relationship with God and be in that relationship.  We have a God who loves to find someone special and make a promise to them.  And you are that person.  You have a promise through God and Christ in your Baptism.  Next week, we shall hear of the man who was chosen to be the father of many and be the source of the Chosen People of God. Of which you are a part of today.