V

Genesis 5 - 9,17 Genesis 5 traces the geneology from Adam to Noah. not a lot of time spent on these people, but noteworthy is Enoch, who was "taken" by God (I'd like to know more about Enoch), also Methuselah was mentioned. He was the oldest living on record 969 years. And also noteworthy is the fact that only first-born sons are recorded. That is not unusual although relaxed a good bit in later books. Chapter 6 gets a little complicated, but maybe I'm just thinking too deeply into it. NIV vs 2 leads me to strengthen my thought that God created more than one man and one woman. It seems to make the whole picture come together more easily. He expresses deep concern that Godly men were marrying ungodly women and (true also today) the bad bring down the good, not the other way around. Anyway, God has about had it and was repentant that He created man in the first place, but then considered Noah. A truly Godly and righteous man. I believe that had it not been for Noah, no human being would exist today. As in the situation in Sodom and Gomorah, I try to envision what the entire civilization was like: I see total selfishness. Violence, fear, out of control sex and rape. Any person doing good or unselfish acts is mocked for it. No wonder God was grieved to the point of wanting to totaly destroy His own creation. But God in His infinite wisdom knew that giving man the freedom of choice to be Godly also meant that it could be a choice to be ungodly. So God called the whole earth corrupt. Evidence that God hates corruption. More about that later. God gave Noah specific instructions on building the ark. If a cubit is 18 inches then the dimensions of the ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall. It had one window (gasp). Three levels inside. vs 13, God actually shares with Noah His thoughts about the human race. He must have really loved Noah. With only the help from his sons, Ham ,Shem, and Japheth, Noah built this HUGE boat. Noah was hundredes of years old when he started building the ark. Imagine the ridicule he must have suffered from the ungodly people. Remember, he was building this on dry ground. Imagine moving this beast of a vessel to the nearest body of water. God told Noah He was going to send rain. What is rain? It had never rained on the earth before and nobody could even imagine what that would be like. As Noah probably tried to bring others around to proper living, the mentioning of rain probably made him subject to even more ridicule. This man must have had faith that could move mountains. No wonder God loved him so. Ch 7 Noah gathered all animals and his family into the ark. Noah was 600 years old now. And the rain started. I can just see the people that mocked him trying to board the ark. 40 days and nights it rained until all the earth was covered. Water was 23 feet over the mountain tops. All that was alive on the earth was in that ark. The story progresses through NIV and needs little explaination. Ch 8 the flood waters receeded and the ark rested on Mt. Ararat which is in Turkey today. It took a while for all the water to clear, and Noah did not get off the ark until God called him to. Interesting to note that Noah's first order of business after getting off the ark was to worship God. This was done by buildng an altar and burning animals as a sacrifice to God. God then made 2 promises in vss 21,22: He will never destroy the earth with water again due to the sinfulness of man. Secondly He will cause the continuation of the seasons on the earth. He further sealed that covenent in chapter 9 vss 8-13. He even made the rainbow as His token of the covenent. The Bible makes a point of Ham being the father of Canaan. Not such a great title as we'll find out again and again later. 9.19 says that from Noah's 3 sons came the people that were scattered over all the earth. So, Noah was a great and Godly man. No doubt about it. But reading these last few verses in ch 9, we see things turn a bit. Temptation and sin often strike immediately following a spiritual victory. (we should always stay vigilent) That is when our guard is down and Satan is at his most aggressive state. I do not want to dwell on Noah's shortcomings in the latter part of his life (we still owe him a lot), but he ate and drank too much on at least this occassion, lying on the floor of his tent, drunk and naked. Ham saw him and had a disrespectful attitude toward his father. Shem and Japheth showed Ham the more respectful way to deal with their father in this condition. When Noah awoke and became aware of what had happen, he was probably very embarassed, which often turns to anger. Thus he cursed Ham and blessed Shem and Japheth. Ham would be servant to his brothers throughout all generations to come.