Perhaps one of the most note able stories in Biblical history would be that of Noah, the Ark, and the flood. God, or "Yahweh" as I will refer to him as from now on, is tired of the evil, and wickedness that has come of Earth, and his people. We see an example of this disdain for man in Genesis when the story describes Yahweh's feelings towards man as being, "..God saw that the wickedness of men was great on Earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on Earth, and it grieved him at his heart"(Genisis93). It seems the text is portraying Yahweh as almost being ashamed of his creation, that man has indeed failed Him, their God, and that repercussions for mans wickedness will soon come. Yahweh seems almost angry, and ashamed of man at this point in the story.
However, as we continue to read more into the story of The Flood, we begin to see a very different side to Yahweh, then what one may have originally thought. It seems that Yahweh is also very saddened by the fact that his creation, Man, has indeed failed him as their God, and we see this at the end of my last quote where it says, "...and it grieved Him at his heart"(Genisis 93) This portrayal of sadness, and melancholy feelings towards man seems to foreshadow something inevitably happening to man, because of man's lack of respect for God.
As we read further into the Flood story, I find myself begging the question of whether or not Yahweh is truly all knowing, and all-wise. For if He was, is it not logical to assume that perhaps God knew his people would with out a doubt fail Him eventually? If this were the case, and Yahweh really did know the fate of his creation of man ultimately failing Him, why then would he have created man in the first place? This lack of evidence to support the idea that Yahweh is indeed all knowing is an obvious answer to my questions of God's "all knowing" abilities. What I believe the text portrays about Yahweh is that he is indeed All-powerful, but he is defintly NOT all knowing. I say this simply due to the fact that I would assume any form of the Divine, or meta-divine realm would not create something simply to destroy it.
I believe the texts suggests that Yahweh did not expect his people, his creation, Man, to fail him so miserably. In response to mans lack of Holiness, I believe Yahweh did the only logical thing, and basically erase his "mistake"(Evil men), and start over with a clean slate in front of him. I find contextual evidence of this claim to be very minimal, however this in no way discourages my thoughts, or opinions on the matter. What I did find to support this idea was the instructions from Yahweh to Noah about building the Ark, and basically saving life on Earth as we know it. When Yahweh says to Noah, "come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation"(Genisis 93), I believe this is reflecting a faint strand of hope in Yahwehs eyes, and the stories portrayal of God. Where at first we are lead to believe that God has lost all faith in humanity, we a greeted with a breath of fresh air when we realize Yahwehs faith in us is not gone forever. This renewal of hope, and faith in humanity couldn't have come soon enough in the story, because one is lead to believe that the annihilation of man is indeed inevitable.
All though the Flood story portrays Yahweh in many different fashions, I believe the most obvious descriptions of Yahweh, and his feelings towards man are felt when Yahweh is speaking directly to Noah. We see examples of Anger, sadness, faith, and hope through Yahwehs eyes, and life eventually does go on. Yahweh saves the few righteous followers of God, and after the annihilation of evil, and wickedness in the world, God instructs Noah, and his family to, "be fruitful & Multiply, and replenish the Earth".(95) I believe this statement alone, ultimately gives us the portrayal of Yahweh as being all powerful, and a loving God. For despite all the destruction of Man, and Earth Yahweh has left hope, and faith in humanity, back in the hands of Men...http://youtu.be/PnUvSn9pVaA
The god of the Flood story kind of seems a little wishy-washy, doesn't he? Perhaps he hoped for more righteous people. I wonder how the author of the story would feel about the people of today's age, by ancient standards we are a very evil people.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Tyler. I like that you're looking at the structure of the storm in terms of narrative and examining's God's motivation for and reaction to the Flood.
ReplyDeleteThis, I think, is a very good insight:
"This renewal of hope, and faith in humanity couldn't have come soon enough in the story, because one is lead to believe that the annihilation of man is indeed inevitable."
You seem to be moving past the narrative and onto trying to determine a meaning for the story, a way in which one might read it as instructive or based upon certain values. Well done.