That was then...this is now

Genesis 6:7-8 (NIV)
   So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have made them."
  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. 

"The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." (Genesis 6:6) It is difficult to imagine how bad things must have been to bring God to the point of regretting His creation of man. "...for I am grieved that I have made them."  (Genesis 6:7b)

If ever there was a testimony to the wisdom of not doing something because everyone else does, this story is it.  God was disappointed with His people.

This begins the account of Noah, the one good thing God saw. "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis 6:8) God saved Noah and his family; he did not allow them to become collateral damage once He decided to put an end to all the people.

In fact, while Noah and his family were obeying God and building that Ark, their future home, God still provided ample time for His people to change. Instead of ridiculing Noah, had they helped him on this project, and listened to Noah tell of his God, surely more could have been saved. But it didn't happen that way, and everyone outside Noah's family was destroyed.

Doesn't this make you wonder about the times we live in now? Wickedness and evil are at every turn. Christians are ridiculed and persecuted for their beliefs. The religious freedom once enjoyed by all is disappearing. Family values are put into question, even the definition of 'family' is changing.

We need to remember that God is good...all the time.  He wants us to embrace our faith and turn to Him...all the time.

Genesis 6:1-13

A leap through time

“When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Luke 1:41

When the ark of the covenant was carried back to Jerusalem, King David leaped and danced before it with all his might. This chest of wood, overlaid and adorned with gold, contained reminders of God’s promises and commands: manna – bread from heaven delivered daily on a just-in-time basis to a rebellious and wandering people; Aaron’s rod, which, though dead, yet budded, blossomed and brought forth almonds; and the Ten Commandments, stipulations of the old covenant etched in stone. And in this procession of God’s truth and faithfulness, David’s joy overflowed, neither contrived nor restrained.

Now turn the clock forward one thousand years to the dawning of a new day. There were no crowds this time, no trumpets, no gold ... just a young woman, Mary, visiting her aged relative, Elizabeth, each expecting her first child. In time, John, the son of the older woman, would herald Jesus, the son of the younger, as the long-promised Messiah. For Jesus himself would be our manna, new bread from heaven for an eternity of endless todays. Like Aaron’s rod, he would die, yet live and bring forth life. And he would perfectly fulfill for us the otherwise impossible demands of the law.

And as, in her womb, Mary carried this new covenant into his presence that day, John leaped for joy before him. His also was a joy neither contrived nor restrained.

No matter our circumstances, joy is ours when we rest in who God is and in the truth of his promises. His truth brings peace, and his peace brings joy. When we are poor, when we are hungry, when we weep, even when we are hated, excluded, insulted and rejected for our life in Christ, Jesus says, “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven (Luke 6:23).”

Ours is a simple, honest and liberating joy, one we can not contrive and need not restrain.