Catastrophe Twice Over
The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. – Genesis 6:5-8, NIV
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” – Matthew 24:36-42, NIV
“God is not a dispassionate accountant overseeing the books of human endeavor; rather, he makes a personal decision out of sorrowful loss to judge Noah’s wicked generation.” – Kenneth A. Matthews
“Genesis, in fact, is in various ways almost nearer the New Testament than the Old, and some of its topics are barely heard again till their implications can fully emerge in the gospel.” – Derek Kidner
The Frequency Illusion has probably happened to you at some point in your life. You were unaware how many cars there were like the one you just bought, until you bought it and now, a ton of people have that car. I am not sure if “Frequency Illusion” alone is to blame but, the more I study and preach Genesis, the more I am noticing how much the beginning has to do with the end. The connections are myriad between Genesis’ opening chapters and Revelation’s closing ones. My study of Genesis 6 for instance, highlighted the connection between the moral collapse of Noah’s time and how a similar collapse is one of the signals of the end of all things. Even the way in which Noah must stand virtually alone in his generation, acting and speaking in ways that demonstrate his covenant with God and his understanding of the coming catastrophic wrath suddenly stand out as a clear model of how we must live now and until the end. And, “confirmation bais” aside, the helpful reality that emerges is that Genesis does have so much for us in the moment in which we live. We are often tempted to think that evil is more pervasive and prevalent than ever before; Genesis 6:5 calls us to humility in that assertion. We often feel the minority as those who live to please God by following Jesus in a culture that we feel alienated from. But, we are far from the first to experience this reality as Noah and his family remind us. The call to faithful living that arises from Noah’s life should be an exhortation and encouragement to us. We should seek to walk faithfully with God. And yet, all that we need to do each day is walk faithfully with God. No heroics required. So, if you are feeling discouraged or overwhelmed in the day to day remember Noah.
One last note, relative to the title of this article, what we need to remember is that catastrophe has multiple definitions. The first is the way we would use the word to describe the flood itself. And, in Genesis 6-8 we are reminded that our God does bring that sort of event into being at times and will do so again at the end. What a horrible thing for those who have no ark of rescue from the coming wrath!. The second definition of the word catastrophe is utter failure. As in, humankind’s complete collapse in Genesis 6. And, in Genesis 6-8 we are reminded that when the utter failure happens, God’s grace and plan is not overcome. In fact, God steps into the utter failure to work redemptively- what good news!
Questions for Further Discussion/Life Application:
In what context is it most challenging for you to ‘be Noah’ (home, school, work, leisure, extended family)? How can you grow stronger in that context?
When you have an utter failure in your life, how do you respond? What is the Biblical response?
In what area are you believing the false gospel of ‘self-help’? What Scripture can you commit to memory to combat that falsehood?