The truth of the “Noah’s Ark” story in the Bible, is that if we took away the ark, and the flood, and the man named Noah, we would still have the universal and eternal truth that the story is meant to convey.

Unfortunately, that part of the story, the truth part, usually takes a back seat, if it even gets mentioned, when the story is typically taught or preached to modern-day Christians. If I asked you what the story was about, the only reference point you would probably have is your Sunday School teaching as a child or youth. Every kid gets their dose of the story of Noah’s Ark in Sunday School. And yet, we still teach the story like we’re teaching it to children, even though we’re adults now – and presumably “we can handle the truth!” 

So, here is a little truth for you about the story of Noah’s Ark. 

You have probably been taught and led to believe that the story of Noah’s Ark is about one, or all, of those propositions. But of course, that would be a literal reading of the myth story that has a much bigger truth within it than any of those fairy tale/nursery rhyme reasons. And remember … the truths in the Bible are always UNIVERSAL and ETERNAL truths that are just as true today as they were when they were written in the Bible. In other words, the stories of the Bible are NOT about morals or truths that are confined to the time and place of the story itself, but rather the truths are bigger than the story. 

In the story of Noah’s Ark – it really doesn’t matter if the boat was ever built, or the flood ever happened, or even if there was ever a man named Noah. The truth is (can you handle it?) nobody really knows if any of those things are true. But there is one more part to the story, that everyone knows about, but it doesn’t get talked about much. And that little part, though not meant to be read literally, reveals the UNIVERSAL and ETERNAL truth of this story. This truth appears at the very end of the text I have suggested you read for this week. You’ll find it in Chapter 9 of Genesis; verses 8 – 17.

You see, the story of Noah’s Ark is about the covenant that God has made with all of humanity. That covenant is portrayed in this story by a rainbow in the sky. That “bow,” the story tells us, is to remind us that no matter how much we break God’s heart with our choices on earth, that no matter how bad we act or how much we ignore God, God will make “an eternal covenant with you and all living creatures” (Gen. 9:12) – a “permanent promise to you and all the earth” (Gen. 9: 13) – that God “will never cause a flood to destroy all human life.” (Gen. 9:15) Even though we will continue to break God’s heart constantly and consistently and will continue to break our end of any covenant or promise that we have with God. 

So, understand this: the story of Noah’s Ark is not about something God did to us to punish us by wiping us off the earth in a worldwide flood. Rather, the UNIVERSAL and ETERNAL truth of the story of Noah’s Ark teaches us that God will never do such a thing to us, even though we may deserve it. Instead, what God will do is keep God’s end of the covenant – to never leave us or forsake us, to always hold out a hand to rescue us, and to always be waiting for us when we decide we want to come back home to God. 

If you keep reading the Bible, all the way through, you’ll find out just how much God loves us. So much so that God sacrifices his only Son so that all of humanity, stuck in our sinful and wicked ways, can finally find a way back to our originally created self … in the garden. Jesus becomes the bridge that leads us home … and helps to heal God’s broken heart … one by one. 

Pastor Bob

Have you ever just got fed up with life and in a moment of prayerful clarity blurted out to God, “Dear Lord … stop the world, I want to get off!” Or have you ever thought to yourself (and maybe said aloud at some point), “If everyone would just listen to my way, then all these problems would go away!” Those statements are both good examples of eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Our own self-centered thinking can convince us that the problems in our life, and in the world, are caused by other people. It’s always someone else’s fault when something bad happens. That serpent voice inside our head is constantly telling us that we know best … that our thoughts and ideas are the right ones … that our prejudices and biases are valid … and that we are the smartest person in every room we go into … just don’t flaunt it! 

This is what is called “stinkin’ thinkin’” throughout the Bible. No, that’s not a literal translation, but it is an accurate one! And it leads us to become convinced that the only way to escape our problems is to get control of other people in our life … or get away from them. Thus, we end up living a life with two main relationship priorities with other people: 1) CONTROL other people; and 2) ESCAPE from other people. For each situation in our life, those become our default strategies. 

Genesis 1 & 2 teaches us the basic flaws of this way of thinking. When God tells us what were not supposed to do, we immediately hear a voice inside of us that questions it, and then convinces us otherwise. Now, what God told us not to do becomes the most tempting thing for us to do … so we take CONTROL over God and our situation. 

Later, when we realize the consequences of this, the only way to live with it is to blame another person: the serpent told me I could do it; my spouse said it was ok; it looked so right and seemed so good that I decided it had to be OK with God. Take any situation in your life that’s not going well … and this is its fundamental story – with different details. 

By the time we get to Genesis 4, the issue of “other people” becomes real. We have been banished from living in paradise because we were unwilling to be obedient to God’s will, but still, God gives us life and a livelihood. It’s no paradise, but it sure beats the alternative! And at this point in the story, two other people appear. Cain and Abel are sons born of Adam and Eve – but they could be any of the key people in our life. And most importantly, they could be us – you and me.

One interesting facet of this story is that I have never heard any person self-identify with Cain. Cain is the older brother of Abel whose sacrifice to God was not pleasing to God, while little brother Abel’s was. This one mere distinction sets off a series of feelings and emotions between brothers that encompasses all we need to know about how we relate to other people. 

Here‘s what happens: Cain feels self-righteous in his relationship with Abel because he is the older brother. It could be a hundred other things for us – but we always have something in our life that makes us “better than” other people. Cain feels deserving … and entitled … to have a better relationship with God than little brother Abel. When things don’t work out that way, Cain’s expectations are left unfulfilled. And the universal and eternal truth of unfulfilled expectations is that they lead to resentment. 

Cain thought he was more deserving … entitled … and worthy. His heart burned with envy when Abel was blessed by God in his place (as he saw it). The serpent voice in Cain went to work and reminded him of the two options he could take: 1) CONTROL the other; 2) ESCAPE from the other. Cain decided on the ultimate response – he would do both with Abel. By killing his younger brother, he thought he took ultimate CONTROL over him, and ESCAPED from him forever. Or so he thought … 

And that’s the fallacy of ‘stinkin’ thinkin’. It’s not based on Gods’ truth of how things work, but rather it’s based on a perverted sense of justice and truth that comes from the serpent inside of us … which relies more on our self for truth than on God. So Cain found out that what he thought he was doing to Abel, God was actually doing to him. 

Cain didn’t acquire CONTROL over Abel by killing him. Instead, the spirit of Abel stayed in his heart, leading him to wonder, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Nor did Cain ESCAPE from Abel by killing him. Instead, Cain was marked for life as a killer and he was banished to live alone.

Right here, in the 4th chapter of Genesis, in just 16 verses, in a story about two brothers, we learn how God expects us to live in relationship. Unless we are willing to love the other person according to God’s will, we will always find ourselves having problems with relationships. Until we get over the stinkin’ thinkin’ that tells us that we are the most important person in any relationship, then we will never be satisfied in any relationship.

Even though our responses may not be as drastic as Cain’s was, we still continue to try to gain control over other people in our lives and when needed, find ways to escape from them. We constantly find ways to “murder” and “kill” other people in little ways every day. And never even stop to think about it. 

 But when God’s simple and transformational commandment becomes our commitment, then everything in our life changes for the good, and or sacrifices become more pleasing to God. 

Jesus tells us that there is one way to live … there is one truth to live by … and there is one life according to God’s will. 

Anything other than that can lead us to hell on earth. But in living this way, then we discover the “heaven” of other people.

In His name … according to His Way …