Day 5

Genesis 6-8

Okay, I am a day late. But JUST for the record, I did read my passage last night. I was just too tired to think of typing up any kind of post for all two of the readers out there. :) I actually didn't even turn on my laptop last night, and I am such a slow typer on my phone, so my thoughts stayed to myself.

Back to the task at hand.

The Flood.

I think about the flood every time it rains heavily. Or when I see a rainbow.

So here is this guy Noah. He made good choices. Apparently he was the only one.

One part of this passage that really struck me was that the Lord looked upon the people on earth and saw that they were wicked and that everything they thought about was evil. According to Genesis 6:6, "He was sorry he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain."

Oh, how I could identify. Not so much with the making human beings. All I did was birth a couple (and then adopt a couple). But the heart filled with pain.

There is so much wrong in the world. And one of the greatest pains I know as a mother is when my children are not making the choices they should make. I can talk to them until I am blue in the face. I can give them all of the positive tools they need to succeed. I can recite verses all day long. But ultimately, they are in charge of the choices they make. And it does hurt when they make choices I know are wrong, just as it hurts God when we make choices that are against His word.

You feel like your heart will break into a million pieces.

So what does God do? Start over. He clears off the earth with a flood. Washes all of the troubles away. All but Noah. And the animals.

The other thing that struck me about this passage was the length of time. I always forget how long this lasted. The forty days and nights of rain stick in my mind. For some reason I forget about the part that the water was on the earth for 150 days. 150. That is like five months. Almost half a year. And that is just when the water started going down. (if I am reading correctly)

I imagine how it must have been for Noah.

Two or three days of rain, I feel depressed.

I need sunshine.

How would I handle five/six months stuck inside a big boat (not even counting sea sickness) with all of those animals...no sun.

What rejoicing Noah must have done when he was able to open the doors and see dry ground.

I love how it is worded. "God remembered Noah and all the wild and tame animals."

Surely He didn't really forget Noah. Just that in His timing, He decided it was time to wrap up this project.

Thankful for a God that remembers me.

More later,
Reba