I am in a club that is reading The Bible in a year, and I am happy to say that at the beginning of week three, I am still on track.
The biggest takeaway for me has been how much I have missed about God and His character in my development as a Christian. It seemed that God was really filtered through the lens of what He can do for me. Never about who He was. I can’t imagine that being done to me. That a person only really sees me as a tool or gateway for the achievement of their idealized life. I would feel used. I guess that is really what it is. Using God.
The beauty of God’s character and His heart really stood out for me in the story of Noah and the Ark. If you grew up in church like I have, you KNOW this story. That is why the story gets such passing glance when I come across it. “Yeah, yeah. Ark, animals, flood, rainbow. Got it!”
But this time I slowed down to read the account. Coffee and highlighter in hand, I took my time going through it all.
Here are two things I am taking from my reading.
One, The Ark, being a symbol of salvation. It must have been at times such a crazy scene. I think of all the animals and people there and the coexisting of predator and prey. The pausing of instinct in God’s plan for salvation. I am reminded of the men Jesus chose for his disciples. This mixed bag of people who would not have been in the same circles and carried true enmity for the others in the group. The pausing of their instinct had to take place in God’s new and eternal plan for salvation. I must wonder, have I let God put a pause to my instincts in my salvation? No, I don’t. I attack, I prey, and I let my instincts take over. I need to take note of The Ark. The place of peace amid chaos.
Second, the symbol of the rainbow. When the flood subsides, God sets a rainbow in the sky (Genesis 9). Growing up, I was always told that it was a sign of God’s promise to us that He would never destroy us with a flood. Which is only partially true.
When God makes His covenant, it is with the entire earth. Every living creature from that day forward. Not just Noah, but all the animals. Imagine that. God is in covenant with the cats that run around in my yard. He is in covenant with the cattle in my pastures. Isn’t that lovely? He made a promise with animals that cannot promise anything back.
But the rainbow. This is the part I really love. When God sets the rainbow in the sky, He says it is a sign of His covenant with the earth. However, the rainbow is not OUR reminder, it is HIS reminder. In Genesis 9:16 He says that when He looks at it, HE will remember His covenant. His promise. His contract.
God is so intentional about keeping His promise that HE sets a reminder. When I read that I just sat back in my chair and pondered for a while. God set a reminder.
He is so intentional about US knowing that He WANTS to keep His promises that He gave us a sign that we can look at to see His desire to stay in covenant with us. It adds such a beautiful complexity to this simple sign.
Incidentally, a few days ago there was a rainbow in the sky here at our farm. This time when I saw it, I thought “Oh look! God wants me to know that He is reminding Himself of His covenant with me!”
Slow down when reading your Bible. Go back to the stories of the Old Testament. Sure, they aren’t all “winning” stories, but I am telling you… You get such a rich texture of the beauty of God’s character.
I can’t wait to tell you what else I learned from this experience.