In the Beginning: Reading Through GenesisSample

More Results of Sin

Read: Genesis 8–11

One can imagine that life aboard the ark became less pleasant as the weeks rolled on. Yet how much better than the only alternative—drowning? The ark is sometimes used as a symbol of the church. Sometimes life in the church is far from ideal, but again, how much better to fellowship with God’s people than to be living in a doomed world?

Note that the first thing Noah does when he emerges from the ark is to worship God. Our deliverance through Christ should produce in us a desire to worship the Lord. Also note that as God had told Adam to multiply and fill the earth and have dominion over it, these commands are repeated to Noah. To this is added the concept of capital punishment: because human life is so precious, anyone who takes human life forfeits his or her own life. And again there is the grace of God, shown in the giving of the rainbow as a sign of promise.

Although rebellious sinners have been destroyed in the flood, sin remains in the human heart. Noah gets drunk, and his son Ham ridicules his father, a serious sin in light of God’s plan for the family, which includes respect for parents. Sin manifests itself further in the building of the tower of Babel. Perhaps men thought that if they built high enough, they could escape the consequences of a future flood.

Prayer: Father, man’s rebellion in our generation also produces tragedy. Forgive us for Jesus’ sake. Amen.