Saturday, Aug. 17
Genesis 9:18 – 11:25 Read it here
Sin, unfortunately, survived the flood along with the people.
The problem had never been that there were evil people in the world, but that there was evil in all people. Even Noah, who had lived a righteous life, was infected by the taint of sin.
This is far from the last story of the Bible to make clear that we can’t just separate the good people from the bad people. Even the best people carry in them the seeds of evil, and even the worst carry to potential for redemption.
Many, many years later, Jesus will tell the parable of the wheat and the weeds. In many ways, it explains why the flood failed as a means of eliminating sin: Sin is so intertwined with the world that it cannot ultimately be identified and destroyed until both the good and the bad have grown alongside each other and can be clearly identified.
If the rainbow is a promise that God will not destroy the world by flood, it is appropriate that it always appears alongside the storm clouds. It is ultimately a promise that God’s mercy brings God’s patience, but God still takes the problem of sin seriously.
Saturday meditation
Proverbs 2:1-5
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Prayer focus
Pray that God will turn your desire for achievement and possession into a desire for wisdom.
– Rev. Mark Fleming
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