Monday of Trinity 8

Flood of Wickedness, Flood of Righteousness

Genesis 6:5-22 (ESV) The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But 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. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Much like the narrative of creation, it is difficult for us to understand how the great Flood and Noah’s construction of the ark could have happened. There have been some archaeological and geographical findings that are best explained by a worldwide flood. But like faithful Noah, we just take God’s Word on it. In His inspired and inerrant Word, the Bible, He teaches us that this story really happened. The New Testament mentions it in several points, and even Jesus talks about it in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Since Jesus is always truthful and never deceives, we can be confident that the Flood was all part of God’s plan. Thanks be to Him that He did not destroy all of humanity but preserved a little church for Himself!

Moses records that “every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5). The depth of depravity of man’s heart led him to commit acts of violence and corruption. It is truly remarkable that God was grieved that He had made the earth and felt pain over it. Yet His love for the world was greater than His grief, for He spared our race through Noah’s family. After the Flood, God still recognized that mankind’s heart was full of evil, but He decided not to wipe out the earth again. Rather, He punished His own Son for our sin to redeem us. Today, our hearts are still evil, but when we receive the Holy Spirit, we are given new life and can now struggle against our evil hearts.

Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord, which means that God chose Noah to be saved by grace. The Holy Spirit had given Noah the gift of faith. 2 Peter 2:5 says that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness.” While it was true that Noah was blameless in comparison to his fellow men, his moral character was a result of the righteousness he had received by faith, not the other way around. He “walked with God,” that is, he trusted in the Lord and was declared righteous on this account. Hebrews 11:7 shows that because Noah had faith, he obeyed the Lord’s command to build the ark even though he could not see the impending catastrophe with his eyes. He received the gift of the Lord’s righteousness through faith in God’s Word of promise.

Though the Holy Christian Church seems small and insignificant in the eyes of the world, it is the ark that keeps us from drowning in the Flood of the world’s hatred of God. God Himself shuts us into the ark through Holy Baptism, and He watches over and keeps us safely inside. The Church floats along under God’s care during its time of waiting until Christ returns. Since in Baptism our sins are drowned and we are united with Christ’s resurrection, we can be confident that God has saved us and given us eternal life. As St. Peter writes, “In the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared…eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:20-21). The flood of righteousness we receive in Baptism washes away our wickedness and clothes us in salvation!

Prayer: O Lord, You kill and You raise to life; You brought the flood upon a wicked and perverse generation, and yet You saved faithful Noah and his family in the ark. Keep us in safety in the ark of Christ’s body, the Church, that Your mercy may come to its fullness and Your salvation be preached to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.