We need to cover a lot of Biblical territory in a very short time. Occasionally we will have to hit the fast forward button. This week we need to jump from Adam and Eve to Noah. But there are some important characters we skip in the process. Like Cain and Abel. You might remember that Cain killed Abel because he was jealous that God preferred Abel’s offering. Why? Because Abel offered the best of what he had. So that leaves us with a problem? How does the story continue if Abel’s dead and Cain is removed from God’s blessing?
Biblical Scholar Alert- The line to Christ continues through Adam and Eve’s “less famous” son Seth. And Seth leads us to Noah.
We will focus on Noah this week. We will be hanging out in Genesis 6-9. I’m sure you know the story of the Flood. We all did the coloring sheets as kids. You know all about the Ark and 2 by 2.
Anyway skipping through the familiar stuff, it is important to note that God made a covenant with Noah. A covenant is a promise God makes with His people. The party or parties enter into covenant with God and secure it with their very lives. Think marriage here. God promises Noah that He will never flood the earth again and offers the rainbow as a sign of this promise.
How does Noah react to this marvelous deal with God? He gets drunk! You think I’m making it up, don’t you? Well before you get all judge-y on me, put yourself in his shoes. Forty days on rough seas, fearing for you life, with dozens of stinky animals and their waste AND his family. Come on, we all just spent the holidays with our families. And most of us weren’t trapped on a floating farm. Noah gets off the boat and gets loaded. Honestly, it is hard to blame him.
You still think I am making it up? Fine, read Genesis 9:20-24. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Not a pretty picture, is it? Leaving aside the father’s nakedness stuff, (email me if you want that story) Noah’s issue was temperance. He had too much of a good thing.
The dictionary tells us that temperance keeps us within limits. It is not extreme or excessive. This can be in appetite, desire, alcohol, drugs, anger etc. We are called to avoid extravagance. We need to be controlled, disciplined, levelheaded and reasonable.
Please don’t miss that God didn’t take his rainbow and leave Noah in his shame. He didn’t abandon Noah. He doesn’t quit on us either. If you find yourself out of control in one of these areas or some other, don’t feel that you’ve outsinned God. He longs to help you come back to temperance. Allow Him to start this week.
Where are you out of bounds?
What do you do too much of?
What can you do to show restraint?
When is too much a problem?
In what ways are you level-headed?
What can you learn from Noah?
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