Preface
The dove is the universal emblem of gentleness, purity, and tenderness. Since the beginning of time, the image of the dove holding a plucked-off olive leaf is the embodiment of meek hope that wings its way over the dark and desolate scenes of calamity and judgment. see: Genesis 8:11
A dove bearing an olive branch in its beak symbolizes the peaceful resolution of conflict. An olive branch, if tasted, will be very bitter! Such bitterness is an appropriate bit of obtained wisdom to the victor, that even though victory is sweet, it oftentimes sows into the soul of the defeated, the deep-seated desire for revenge.
The best workable solution to this situation is the implementation of the creative art form of compromise, which could also leave a bitter taste in the soul of the party (s), yet such an agreement or a settlement of a dispute often-times is the very best if not healthiest means of making concessions.
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Noahic Pastoral and Prophetic Warning
Today’s blog post is a brief review, analysis, and modern-day lessons that we can learn from, and hopefully, reform in our current social, political, economic, and spiritual crisis we face at present.
The text in my study is Genesis is 6:9-11:32, with the central text being Genesis 6:11 when the earth became corrupt before God; the earth was filled with lawlessness.
This writing is a modern time Noahic pastoral and prophetic warning that is directed straight toward our American heart, mind, and spirit. The central purpose of this document is my personal plea that we all return to a worldview and practice that closer reflects God’s very best for every human being and live in the beloved community as neighbors, or perish forever as fools.
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“He who has an ear, let him hear what The Spirit is saying to the assemblies.” Revelation 2:29
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How Societies are Destroyed
“Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer; I shout for help, but there is no Justice. Job 19:7
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Biblical researchers look backward ten generations after Adam to determine what actual moral corruption led God to destroy humanity with the Great Flood.
The Hebrew term, [hamas] is often used to describe a particularly base form of hatred and depravity. This term [hamas] is the synonym for “bloodshed,” “falsehood,” or “deceit.”
The 11th-century Egyptian commentator Ibn Ezra says that this word describes two crimes in particular: theft and the exploitation and rape of women.
Other commentators such as Chizkumi [13th-century] focuses on Genesis 6:2 which refers to bnei Elokim [“the children of God”] which were divine beings with special proximity to God. This phrasing teaches that the moral rot in Noah’s time began at the top of society and quickly trickled down to society at large. Chizkuni claims that sexual assault was pervasive among social leaders and quickly spread from there, causing God to be particularly disgusted.
The Jerusalem Talmud understands the word translated as “lawlessness’ [hamas] to mean that people cheated each other for such small sums that the courts could not prosecute them. [JTBM 4:2]. This lawlessness caused people to lose faith in the power of government to provide them with a fair and livable world, and society began to slip into anarchy.
Chizkuni contends that during Noah’s times, the types of cries that were so horrendous that caused God to wipe out all of humanity were those crimes that undermine basic human dignity and the legitimacy of the legal system. Rape is such a crime that not only inflicts physical harm but exacts profound and lasting spiritual harm to the victim and those how to care about them.
Other crimes were clever scheming of financial thefts that enriched some while destroying merchants and the legal system at large. The result is that the greater society eventually loses faith in its ability to keep human greed in check and allow the markets to function normally.
All human societies are filled with imperfect people thus evil will always be with us. But as we have briefly discussed thus far, there are sins or evils that lead to existential societal threats and collapse. Though there are many we can name, the major ones in question are those that undermine basic human dignity and public confidence in the proper functioning of the law of the land.
Perhaps the greatest evil and or inhumanity to mankind is for any person or culture to deny, distort, or destroy the image of God within the life of a person, ethnic group, or population.
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Very Striking Parallels
This year’s COVID-19 virus has literally transformed our entire lives. Yet Biblically, Noah and his family’s situation before and post-flood are very similar to our plight.
Most of us can begin to relate to what Noah must’ve felt quarantined inside of the ark. Just as we are sheltering in place to preserve human life, God quarantined Noah and his family, along with two of every kind of living creature, inside the ark to save their lives.
Many parallels can be created from the biblical account of Noah to our present time in quarantine:
- Noah and his family were separated and isolated
- Noah and his family’s lives were threatened and the way to stay safe was to go into the ark and “quarantine”
- Noah tried to save the lives of others through his actions and lifestyle
- Noah and his family placed their trust in the Lord despite the circumstances
- Noah and his family experienced the separation that comes from death and would experience grief
- Noah and his family worked during their “quarantine” caring for the animals, the ark, and each other knowing they would eventually leave the ark
- Noah and his family praised the Lord for His goodness and love when the waters receded, and they were able to leave the ark
The parallels are certainly interesting to think about but we cannot overlook the fact that God, a loving and merciful God, does bring judgment upon those who oppose him (James 4:6), but he always provides a way for the righteous to escape (Psalm 55:16). Perhaps the greatest parallel we can see in our current situation is the significance of 1 Peter 3:18-20:
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.
Gleaned from the article “Noah, The Quarantine, and The True Ark of Salvation,” by Jillian Diffenderfer.
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Christ is our “Peace Offering”
In closing, our salvation, assistance, freedom, and liberty as Americans will never be actualized or fulfilled by any other means but the finished work of Christ.
Leviticus 3:1, “When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he
shall offer it without blemish before the Lord.”
The peace offering foreshadows our peace and reconciliation with God through the sinless sacrifice of Christ.
Colossians 1:19-22, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in
the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.”
Ephesians 2:14, “For He, Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.”
And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female…
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Some very practical disciplines that each of us can and must do throughout our journey on this earth.
1. Be persuaded and encouraged to constantly feed and feast upon Christ our Peace-offering. This blessed Peace-offering is not for the priests only, for saints of the highest rank and greatest eminence, but for the common people also. Do but draw near with a pure heart, and then come and welcome.
2. Let all your prayers, petitions before God be seasoned with the new leaven of grace and holiness of the kingdom of God into your hearts.
3. Give God the fat, the strength, the vigor of your spirits, the best of your endeavors; do not leave the worst you have to Him.
4. To you that are faithful believers, let Christ be precious. There is reverential esteem of Him in the hearts of all that are His.
Research material used for this blog post: Noah and the Flood (6:9-9:17), Etz Hayim, Torah, and Commentary; The article “Noah, The Quarantine, and The True Ark of Salvation,” by Jillian Diffenderfer. The Bible Hub; Christ is our Peace Offering. Review of Parashat Noach: How Societies Collapse by Rabbi Rachel Isaacs.