Growing up, my family was never especially religious. I went to Sunday school a few times and remember the basic Bible stories, but those were watered down to be suitable for children. That’s why I chose to read Noah’s stories for my extra reading.
The Ark:
It says that Lamech lived seven hundred seventy and seven years and that he was one hundred eighty two when he begat Noah. How did people live for so long back then? Did they drink some secret elixir that we don’t know about anymore?
Anyway, God decides that he’s going to wipe everything off the Earth because his creatures displease him, but he takes favor on Noah and tells him to build a gigantic boat. This reminds me lot of the creation stories of Ancient Greece. There were several races before man, but every time the gods were displeased with the race for whatever reason they would just wipe them off the Earth and start with a fresh slate. I wish I could wipe away all the misgivings I had so easily.
The Flood:
I remember every beast is to be taken on the Ark by two, but God specifies that this is only for unclean beasts and that clean beasts are to be taken onto the Ark by sevens. What is a clean and unclean beast? Are clean beasts those that can asexually reproduce?
At this point in time Noah is six hundred years old. Seriously, what are these people eating to keep them alive for so long?
The rain goes on for forty days and forty nights but the waters remain on the Earth for one hundred fifty days. Imagine all the swimming that could be done!
What are you doing? Get back inside!
Image: Man Myth and Magic
After the Flood:
So the Ark comes to rest on the mountain Ararat and the flood waters gradually abate. I think I remember a documentary talking about finding the Ark on some mountain in Iran, which is plausible. Honestly, I think a giant wooden structure like the Ark would have deteriorated by now.
The ground becomes dry again and Noah leads his family and all the animals off the Ark and builds an altar to God and burns ‘sweet offerings’ (I’m guessing incense like myrrh or cinnamon, maybe frankincense and sandalwood). God, being pleased by this, decides to not wipe off every living thing from the planet again because men are evil to begin with. I don’t agree with that. I think people are born neither good nor evil. They’re just born and then life shapes their conscience.
The Tower of Babbel:
Wow, so the first third of this story is pretty much a geneaological history of Noah’s sons. I just skipped it. I do not have the attention span to keep track of who begat who.
Honestly, I don’t understand why the LORD was so angered by the building of the tower and decided to scatter everyone to all ends of the Earth. On the other hand, I’m kind of glad we don’t have just one universal language because I really REALLY enjoy learning new languages. Read the Tales of Noah Here!
No comments:
Post a Comment