Many of the cultures of the ancient Near East had stories
about a flood. That should tell us that
there was a flood, whether localized or world-wide we can’t know from the fact
that these neighboring cultures all had flood stories. The first verse of this Genesis passage tells
us that from Noah’s children came the people of the earth. It makes sense then that they would tell this
story but not all Noah’s kids or their descendants had the blessing of God or
faith in God so the story would have been told with a different spin, leading
to differing interpretations of the event itself. The perseverance of this one tends to lead me
to believe it is true. Noah became a man
of the soil, I guess he had seen enough of animals for an entire lifetime. Noah’s drunkenness is wrong but his son Ham
compounds this wrong and takes advantage of the situation in an attempt to
discredit his father and to diminish him in the eyes of all, making sport of
him. His two brothers have better
character than Ham and they cover their father’s nakedness (think back to
Genesis 3 and covering nakedness). This
brings a curse on Ham’s descendants the Canaanites, whom the descendants of
Shem, the scion of the family of Abraham, will displace due to the
pervasiveness of their sinful ways. Like
father like sons.
John’s response to his disciples’ query about Jesus is
gracious, humble and amazing. He did,
however, receive the sign God had promised him in the dove resting on Jesus,
but he believed the sign completely, and began pointing to Jesus as fulfillment
of the promise. His words, beginning in
verse 31, sound remarkably like the words of Jesus to Nicodemus. His theological statements concerning Jesus
as from above, from heaven, and speaks on behalf of God, are certainly high
Christology, especially at this early stage of Jesus’ ministry. John’s final words to his disciples, “Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not
see life, but the wrath of God remains on him”, are important for us. It isn’t only a matter of right belief, but a
life that flows from that belief, obedience to Jesus is proof of belief in
Jesus.
Many of us need to heed the words of Hebrews 6.1. The church today is full of people who seem
to have heard only of the baptism of John.
This passage fits with Acts 19, the people of Ephesus who have never
heard there is a Holy Spirit. Christ
within us by the power of the Holy Spirit changes everything but living from
that place is a matter of intentionality and prayer. This passage is speaking to those who have
accepted Jesus and gone back to ritual Judaism for purification of sin, not
those who have come to Jesus and then continue to sin. It doesn’t mean that you lose your salvation
if you “back slide”, it has to do with relying on anything besides Jesus for
salvation, not believing fully in the efficacy of His completed work. The Christian life is first to apprehend
Jesus, believe in Him as the Creeds summarize, and then move forward in
becoming like Him by obeying His commands and allowing yourself to be guided by
the Holy Spirit rather than your passions and desires like Ham in our first
lesson. John’s statement about
decreasing so that Jesus might increase is our guide.
There is grace enough
for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss.
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss.
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