March 2: Genesis 9

Today's reading. 

God's re-creative work begins when Noah and the other inhabitants of the ark step out into the soggy, post flood world. Mankind is still evil (Gen. 8:21), but that does not prevent God's blessing. They may be fallen people, but they are still very much his image bearers. God made them, loves them, and wants good for them. 

They are to be fruitful and multiply (9:1, 7) and rule the earth that God has entrusted to their care. The institution of justice for murder is established on the basis of the fact that we are God's image bearers and so ought not to have our blood shed (9:6). God is extremely concerned that the human race continue to survive centuries hence. His concern makes sense, given the fact that a flood just wiped out nearly all the living. 

God is so concerned that he makes a covenant to prove that he will never again destroy the earth by flood. God sets his bow in the sky as a sign of his promise. That rainbow is always pointed toward heaven; it is as if a cosmic bow was strung and aimed at God. The idea is that God's promise to maintain the world will be kept or God himself will be killed by heavenly arrows. God takes his covenants seriously. 

And as if determined to prove that humanity is really unworthy of God's favor, Noah plants a vineyard, gets drunk off the wine, and holds the world's first frat party during which he gets naked and passes out on the floor of his tent (9:20-21). Noah experienced God's salvation in a physical way that no one else has ever experienced since. Yet, in spite of God's incredible grace to him, Noah chooses to drown his sorrows in the bottle rather than cast them before the Lord. 

I love the fact that Noah was such an imperfect man. God counted him righteous on account of his faith, but he still lapsed and did things that a Christian shouldn't. He is to be commended for his faithfulness, but we can't follow his example unquestioningly. That's because Noah is a sinner and God uses sinners to accomplish his purposes. 

The Christian life isn't about our work, but about what God has done for us. God can use the worst of us, the weakest of us, the most sinful of us to accomplish his purposes on the earth. God's ability to use us does not ultimately come down to our willingness or thorough obedience (though he loves these things!). Ultimately, God's ability to use us comes from our humility before him. If we will listen humbly as his servants, he can do anything through us. He saved the world through a naked drunkard; what couldn't he do with us?