Noah and the flood

The flood (Genesis Ch.6-9) was the result of God's utter frustration with the wicked way people were living. He caused it to rain for forty days and nights until the entire Earth was covered with water and all land animals and humans drowned. God told Noah to build an ark and take at least two of every animal with him into it. Noah also brought his wife, his three sons, and their wives into the ark. After the failure of Adam's descendants to live up to God's expectations, a new line is started with Noah. That is the story, in a nutshell.

Let's look at some of the background and try to find some reasons for a flood at that time. Genesis 6 starts with a legend about "sons of God", "giants" and "Nephilim" who have sex with women and produce offspring that are "mighty men" and "men of renown". It is while this is going on that God says "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever…his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." (Gen.6: 3) It is from here on that the human life span gets a lot more realistic ("Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.") (Gen.7: 6)

As you can see, events are moving quickly from this "invasion" of alien life forms that reproduce, to God being sorry that He ever made the whole mess. The authors of Genesis must have felt better blaming man's condition on other worldly influences. The force and power of evil are so strong that we are helpless against it. In any case, the world and its inhabitants were so vile and depraved that God said: "I will destroy man whom I have created…both man and beast…for I am sorry that I have made them." (Gen.6: 7)

"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." (Gen.6: 8) Noah was pre-Israel, pre-Christian, pre-Abraham. Noah cannot be identified with any one religious group. Having said that, Noah is righteous and so, because of him, humanity gets another chance. Noah represents the one who really does want to do what is right, in any religion. This is God's grace, not willing that the innocent should suffer with the guilty. We will see the same grace bestowed on Lot and his family when God sends fire and brimstone down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot is allowed to leave before disaster strikes.

I think that it would be safe to say that we are dealing with prehistory here. The flood story is a legend that was passed down orally from generation to generation. The Bible is a theological book and the flood story teaches a lesson about God. This is not history. The flood account in the Bible is actually a Hebrew version of an older tale from Babylonian mythology. In the epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim is the righteous man saved from the flood. In the Bible, the story is adapted to represent Hebrew values.

In 1929, Sir Leonard Wooley found evidence of a flood near Ur. He estimated that a massive deluge had occurred in about 4000 BC. Evidence there indicates a local flood caused by activity in the Persian Gulf. This flood destroyed whatever civilization had existed there. The flood was probably a local occurrence since the history of Egypt provides an unbroken record throughout this period. We have to remember that the known world in ancient times consisted of all of the lands around the Mediterranean and the Middle East. A massive deluge seemed to have worldwide implications even though it was only local devastation.

There are inconsistencies in the Biblical record. The number of each kind of animal allowed into the ark varies from two to seven of each in chapters six and seven. There is also inconsistency in the duration of the flood in chapters seven and eight. This is because two different versions of the story have been woven together to form one. Verses ascribed to a "Priestly" tradition state that seven of each "clean" animal was brought into the ark. The Priests would have been concerned that Noah had enough clean animals to perform sacrifices and feed his family without having to eat "unclean" animals.

Whether or not the flood ever occurred should not really be the focus of any Bible study. It is beyond proof one way or the other. Since the Bible is a theological book, we need to ask what religious lessons are being taught by this story. This is an Old Testament parable, a story told to reveal a truth about God.

The lesson is that mankind, as a whole is depraved and doesn't deserve to continue to exist. But, there is always a remnant that remains true to God. This remnant goes way back to Seth, the new Cain, and continues through Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and Isaiah. For the sake of a few righteous, God spares us all.

Humanity is spared annihilation because of the righteousness of one man, Noah. The message continues into the New Testament where God's judgement is placed on one man, Jesus. Jesus is given the punishment that we all deserve.