THE ARC OF GOD'S PROMISE

                    The ark was built according to God's specification to serve as a vehicle to deliver a few faithful ones from the fate that awaited a sinful world.  The wickedness of man was great on the earth and his heart was only evil continually (Gen.6:5).  Such sinfulness necessitated a severe judgment.  The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  God's intention was to blot out man...from the face of the land... (Gen.6:6-7).   The lone exception was Noah and his family who found favor in the eyes of the Lord (Gen.6:8).  By faith Noah built the ark (Heb.11:7) and with the obedience of faith Noah and his family entered the ark, finding safety and security (Gen.7:7).

                    The book of Genesis gives a summary of the last days on board the ark.  The flood subsided and the waters receded and finally we read in Gen.8:18, So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him...”  How delightful it must have been to finally stand on dry ground after such an extended float trip.  The closest my wife and I have ever come to considering a divorce was the first time the two of us journeyed down a lazy river (together in one canoe for two hours).  One can only imagine the numerous challenges the ark would have presented.   Yet they not only survived this ordeal, but as the Genesis record seems to indicate, their faith remained strong.  As soon as they debarked, whereupon Noah built an altar to the Lord... (Gen.8:20). 

                    Using anthropomorphism (i.e., assigning human attributes to God) the Scriptures imply that when God caught a whiff of Noah's sacrifice, it pleased Him immensely.  God's frown appears to be replaced by a smile.  The text notes, Having smelled the soothing aroma, the Lord said to Himself, 'I WILL NEVER AGAIN CURSE THE GROUND ON ACCOUNT OF MAN...I WILL NEVER AGAIN DESTROY EVERY LIVING THING' (Gen.8:21).  This verbalized declaration is backed up by a celestial sign - - a rainbow arc serving as an ongoing reminder that God Himself has promised, “Never again...” (Gen.9:15).     

                    In racing to 2Pet.3:5-7 to draw both comparisons and contrasts, I fear that we miss the point.  If we under-score Gen.8:21 & 9:15 by emphasizing destruction by water, have we become guilty of quashing the spirit of God's response?  In other words, “Never again!” suddenly takes backstage to “Next time by fire!”.  Is this really what the arc of the flood story highlights?  I prefer to read the story as if God's pleasure (Noah's offering foreshadowing the sacrifice of Christ Jesus / Eph.5:2) reaffirms His master plan for dealing with man's sin problem.   While many are inclined to read 2Peter 3 literally (i.e., physically), to do so is to overlook the language of covenantal change that interlaces and adorns New Testament eschatology.           

                                                                        Terry Siverd / Cortland Church of Christ