RAINBOWS FOR A FALLEN WORLD


A Sermon On:

GENESIS 8.1 - 9.17


PREPARED BY

KEN GEHRELS

PASTOR

CALVIN CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH

NEPEAN, ONTARIO



INTRODUCTION

The images are firmly planted in the minds of most Canadians - the devastation from the floods in the Red River region of Manitoba, and the Lac St.Jean region in Quebec. Not just the time when the water was flowing deep. But also after, when the water was gone. The devastation. Chaos. The mud. And interviews with the survivors: "What to do? Where to begin? Now what?"

Now what; what next? Questions after a flood. In Genesis 8&9 we read of the end of the Deluge that destroyed all creation except Noah and his crew. And the question that comes up as the water recedes is "Now what?"

Now what, God - where are you going to begin? What are you going to do?
Now what, people - where are you going to begin? What are you going to do?
Questions for God and for humanity -- let's consider them, each in turn.


NOW WHAT -- GOD'S POINT OF VIEW

First, then from God's side.
The waters dry up. Noah and company disembark. And two things are presented to us as being very clear from God's point of view.

The first is that though the flood waters have swept the earth clean, rinsed it out, wiping away the filth -- in spite of all that water the stain of sin is still present. Creation is still tinged.
Before the flood God looked into the heart of humanity and saw that it was twisted with a magnetic-like pull towards evil. It was that distortion which led to the chaos and corruption that God destroyed in the flood.Now God looks again and sees the same tinge. Check out this phrase in 8.21: "Every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood." Humanity hasn't changed - not really. Noah is still the son of his father. He's inherited the same miserable twist which veers him towards evil. Humanity hasn't changed one whit, in spite of the water's terror.
Which is a lesson we need to keep in mind.
No matter what the events we face, no matter what our experiences, outward action and all the human resolve in the world can't change the deep inside elements of the human heart and spirit.
Sometimes we go through a crisis of some sort, which shakes us to the core. And afterwards we say what Noah probably said when he left the ark...."Whoa - oh man, oh man, oh man. Now I see. Things are different now. Lord, you've got my full attention. Now I know what's really important. I'll be a better husband. I won't be so selfish. I'll devote my life to serving you. I won't take things for granted." And six months later..........???
Well, just read a few verses further than what we read this morning. Go to 9.20 to see what happened to Noah's resolve.
We're no different. Folks who stand on the edge of the cliff and wrestle with some major addictions - like the folks at A.A. - can tell you this. I don't know how many people come waltzing through the doors at AA after a huge loss, determined to change. But don't.
They don't change until they go with their mess and stain and bent towards evil, admitting it all, and laying it at the foot of God.
All the chaos in the world, all the shock, all the resolve, won't change us. Only He can.That's the first thing from God's perspective.
Tied to that intimately is the second thing -- an incredibly important thing for us.EVEN THOUGH we remain stained and twisted EVEN THOUGH we naturally tend to veer away from the Lord.
STILL -- He doesn't give up on us.
Look very carefully at Genesis 8.21. Drink in and savour the taste of those words. Let the meaning of them percolate right through your soul.The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in His heart, "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done. God resolves that He will stay with, endure and sustain His world. God is not going to let the rebellion of humanity sway Him from His grand vision for creation. God, as it were, intensifies His commitment to stick with creation to the bitter end.Viewing the flood may give the first impression that we are dealing with a condemning God who stands coldly aloof outside His creation.
But now we read the rest of the story. And as it unfurls we see that this is no impassive detached Titan. This is a caring, involved Creator:
When Noah, in 8.20 offers a sacrifice to the LORD, God rejoices.
When humanity turns its back on the LORD, God is pained and grieved. God is involved in his world - not just as the maker of some celestial toy, but as the intimate Parent - as the divine Father God.
In 6.6 we had read "The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." Yet, that pain does not deter him. His great love overrides every call for total or repeated judgement on humanity, even though their condition hasn't improved one whit.
On one hand there is humanity's evil heart. On the other hand there is God's troubled and concerned heart.
On one hand there is a humanity beyond hope. On the other hand there is a God with boundless hope.

So it was that the God who worked to ensure the endurance of the earth, and who saw to the regular comings and goings of "seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night" also saw that his promise to Eve of the coming of a Saviour would not be forgotten. Leading Him to work in creation, through humanity, calling a nation to himself, working through that nation to develop a family line, and from that family line bringing His Son to earth -- Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Because God doesn't give up.
Not on humanity.
Not on you!!


NOW WHAT - HUMANITY'S POINT OF VIEW

The question with which we began was "Now what?" We've seen the answer from God's point of view. But what about Noah? And what about us?
What are we people supposed to do?
How are we to respond to all this devastation?
How are we to respond to this God who doesn't give up?

With that in mind we move to the verses of chapter 9, where we see the God of all hope doing three things for people. Did you notice what they were? He makes provisions for daily living. He calls his people to accountability, and finally, He sends them on their way with covenant assurance. First, He makes provisions for their daily living. In Genesis 1 and 2 he had given all the plants of the field to people for their food. He had made man and woman to be the supreme managers of His world. Now that is all reinstated. Though the first words of ch.9 Noah and his family are given the same sort of lordship over the animal world that Adam first had. They are put in charge; the resources of creation are put at their disposal for their use.
"Be fruitful and multiply in this new world," says God.

Think of that for a moment - Even though God knows that the inclination of our hearts is evil from childhood, He STILL deliberately hands us His creation. He STILL places us in the position of creation managers. God trusts you. He's counting on you to care for all this. To care - wisely, carefully.
Which leads to the second thing. As we humans are given back the world, we are told that we will be held accountable for it.
In Genesis 1.26 the first man and woman were given the mandate to rule over fish, birds, and animals. That word - rule - meant they were to care for them; to seek for the well-being of creation. They were held accountable for the way they treated creation.
Now they are called to an even greater accountability - an accountability for the very life of their fellow humanity. Each man and woman is now responsible for the other men and women with whom they live.
The sorts of statements that were tossed around in earlier chapters:
Cain's "Am I my brother's keeper?" and Lamech's "I have killed a man for injuring me" are now decisively condemned and ruled unacceptable.

The God of all Hope has a deep personal interest in those he has made in his image - those he has made to be like him, His sons and daughters.
God, values humanity, and now calls all of us - man, woman, boy and girl - to do likewise. "From each man I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man"(Gen 9.5). It's the divine attitude echoed by Jesus when He said `Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows' (Lk 12.7).
Genesis tells us that when a person's blood is shed, it is the life of an image bearer of God that splashes on the ground. And God notices.
Not a big deal, we say. None of us is planning to kill anyone. Spill blood? Not me! --- Perhaps not. But what of the words of gossip that drip with poison and that are aimed right at the heart of someone's reputation? What of the looks that could kill? What of resentment that is clung to, forgiveness refused for a deed done long ago? What happens when a child's well-being is ignored or cheapened because of daddy's push to make it big in business? What happens when a woman or child is abused physically, emotionally, or sexually? What happens when in my desire to live in luxury and convenience I consume excess amounts of valuable and limited resources, pollute the atmosphere, and squander cash that could be used to support development work in desperate nations?And the words of God echo through creation -"from each man I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man."
When we violate people actively by doing something that hurts them, or when we violate passively by avoiding to do what should have been done God takes it personally.

On the other hand, when we treat someone well, when we show compassion, when we reach out a hand to a troubled one....
As Jesus said, "As you have done it to one of the least of these... you have done it unto me."

When God says, "as for you, be fruitful and increase in number..." it is much more than a simple command to make babies. It is a call for children of God to take an active role in working for the preservation and building of life, supporting and enhancing it.
So, when people actively work for the development of positive alternatives to abortion, such as broad-based support for single mothers which allows them to move forward into life without the thought of another child being a terrible dread, they are obeying God's directive to Noah.
When Christians engage government and industry in dialogue about the rights and needs of North America's First Nations, when they call for justice to rule rather than mere expediency or economic gains, they are obeying God's directive to Noah.
When believers like you and me collect food and cash for the local food bank so that those in deep need can have nutritious meals for a change, then we are obeying God's directive to Noah.
When believers strive to develop positive alternatives in the world of labour relations, they are obeying God's directive.

And over all this -- all this challenge and responsibility that faces us as post-flood people, people following in the footsteps of Noah --
over all this stands the symbol of God's covenant, the rainbow. It is a royal decree from the throne of God, coming out of the deep places of his heart, an absolute decree that never again will such a holocaust appear.
Yes, there will be times, many of them, when our human bumblings cause suffering and pain and death. And there will be times that the groanings of a creation suffering under a curse will cough up earthquakes and local floods and droughts causing suffering. But NEVER will God deliberately destroy us all.
Instead God renewed his resolve for the salvation of humanity. And he renewed his attention towards us.

Rainbows, as you may know, are made by sunlight shining through drops of rain that come with a storm, and exploding into all the colours of the spectrum. As God sees the rainbow and remembers, so too we, as we head out into life with the renewed assignment and the call to accountability from the lips of God ---- we can see the explosion of light in the storm clouds and remember that God's light remembers us, that the God of hope gives hope to hopeless and bungling people. He promises life and his care.
And as we see that rainbow light we can, above all, remember the One called elsewhere in the Bible "the Light of the World," -- Jesus,
sent by the involved Maker of Creation.

We can remember that Jesus remembers,
that the names of all who are his are written in his book of life and never forgotten.

YOU are never forgotten.
As you work. As you play. As you carry out the challenges before you.
God remembers. You. And cares. Always.