Genesis 7:17-24
2006.Sep.29 19:17
Destruction
Read Genesis 7:17-24 | Full Chapter
For forty days the rain poured down without stopping. And the water became deeper and deeper, until the boat started floating high above the ground. Finally, the mighty flood was so deep that even the highest mountain peaks were almost twenty-five feet below the surface of the water. Not a bird, animal, reptile, or human was left alive anywhere on earth. The LORD destroyed everything that breathed. Nothing was left alive except Noah and the others in the boat. A hundred fifty days later, the water started going down.
(Genesis 7:17-24, CEV)
I thought I’d branch out a little on my version quoting. I’ve never read the CEV (that I remember) but I do enjoy when a translation doesn’t bother trying to fit everything exactly into verses. The verse numbers such as “19-20” are refreshing. Of course, I know nothing of the quality of this translation.
This is a plain and direct story of a creator destroying the vast majority of his creation. If I felt the need to destroy this much of say, a website I was working on, I’d probably just dump the whole thing and start from scratch. But I’ve already written about God’s decision to save some.
So, instead, let’s take this at the surface. Jehovah is a sustainer, but he’s also a destroyer when called for, and this is one of his most powerful acts of destruction. This is just a taste of God’s raw power and it is awe-inspiring. Awe-inspiring in the sense that it’s none of my family or friends being wiped out in this flood.
We Christians tend to distance ourself from Jehovah’s “destructive” works. We’re convinced that he at least allows bad things to happen, but they tend to happen to others, and when they happen to us, we grab hold of truisms–at lest that’s my impression. I don’t have a deep point or a lesson here, but I don’t want to detach myself from the times when God obliterates something. First, because I want to be his friend, and destroying something you’ve created is a good time to have friends. Second, because, well, that’s part of this life, and I don’t want to turn a blind eye to it. What does that mean for me? I don’t really know. But I think I need to care.
