WIPE

Genesis 6:7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”

At this point in Noah’s story you get the feeling that God felt a combination of rage and bitter anguish. It is a reaction you would expect from someone when betrayed by a loved one.

The Phrase “I will wipe out” is used of erasing names from records in Exodus 17:14; 32:32-33. The purpose of doing this is so a defeated enemy will be lost to history. If no one remembers them (their name) it will be as if they never existed. This phrase is also used of wiping plates in 2 Kings 21:13 and since water was sometimes used for this, the very words chosen may hint at how the "wiping" of mankind will take place.

Things had to be pretty bad for God to want to wipe from the historical record the memory of his once beautiful creation. God wants to make an about face on his creative activity and uncreate his creation. God is crushed by how bad things have turned out. Even the use of the phrase “I made them” makes the point that the flood reverses God’s act of creation. The terminology reflects the account in Genesis 1 and connects it to Genesis 6. 

Ever done something you wish you could erase, take back, undo, "wipe" from the record books? This God knows how you feel. If you read far enough you will see that not only does he feel what you and I feel, he made it possible for us to "wipe" the record (as far as He is concerned).

Just a Meandering Thought...

GRIEVED

Genesis 6:6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

Scripture tells us that the Lord is “deeply troubled" or "grieved”… his heart was filled with pain. The word translated as grieved is from the same Hebrew root as the word “pain”. The same word is used to describe what Eve will experience in childbirth, and what Adam will also confront in his working to make the soil productive. Man’s pain has become God’s pain. Did you catch that? God experiences pain, grief, sadness, because of humanity.

The pain that God was experiencing was directly connected to the pain that humanity was experiencing. We don’t often think of God as experiencing pain or grief but this God is not so distant from humanity that he remains unaffected by them. This God remains so close that man’s pain becomes his pain, man’s suffering becomes his suffering, man’s rejection becomes his grief.

We often think of God as grand, ethereal, out there, beyond, separated, detached. Yet our Bible paints a different picture, one of desire for connection and intimacy, of a heart that can be broken, experience pain and grief - one surprisingly like our own. Or perhaps we could say that since we are made in His image we are surprisingly like him, even when we disbelieve, disregard, or challenge his existence.

It is as if God wants us to hear him say, "that pain you are experiencing, that hurt which was thrust upon you, that burden you carry... I see your pain, I know how you feel." God would have to make himself pretty vulnerable to profound rejection in order to say he had some regrets. The only way to hurt deeply is to love deeply. You are never alone in your suffering, this God knows how you feel.

Just a Meandering Thought...

REGRETS

Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

In Genesis 1 creation was "good". By Genesis 6 “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” In Genesis 1 God creates, everything is good and he hands Creation  to incorrupt man. With the story of the flood God takes the land from corrupt man. It is because of the condition of humanity that Scripture tells us the Lord is “deeply troubled" or "grieved”… his heart was filled with pain.

Have you ever watched the news or read an article about events in our world today or events in your town today and thought that people must be crazy? Have you ever thought that it seems like there are people out there whose every inclination is to do something stupid perhaps evil. Seems like there is a lot of it these days. The Wickedness of the human race leads to an emotional response from God. The first three words of the next verse are perplexing: "The Lord regretted...". 

How does that even happen? Does God really have regrets? Do you? In other translations that word regretted is translated as repented. Yeah, God repented...? It seems like it is not possible for God to repent at least in the way you or I might repent. 

To repent is to change direction. The word is intended to conjure up the view of someone moving in one direction and then, for whatever reason, moving in the opposite direction. This is what God does in Genesis. In Genesis 1 He was the Creator, in Genesis 6 He was uncreating. Motivated by "the wickedness of the human race" God decided it was necessary to do something different.

This begs the question: if God could find the need to repent of something would there be something that you or I could repent of? Is there somewhere in our soul, in our heart of hearts where we know we need to move in a different direction. God moved from Creator to Uncreator. What do you need to move from? What do you need to move to?

Just a Meandering Thought...

SOUL

The Ancient Hebrews believed a name made a statement about who you were and who you were supposed to become. Some scholars believe an individual became a person when they were given a name, an identity. One of the first tasks that God gave Adam in the garden was to name the animals.

Noah’s name comes from the same root as the verb which means to comfort, to relieve or bring relief. The Hebrews understood that Noah's name linked him to his destiny, which was to alleviate the pain of the curse of sin. Noah had a destiny and his name gave it a shape and a direction, a purpose. His life’s direction, goal for living was to fulfill, live up to the weight of his name: to bring relief and comfort to humanity and ultimately to God.

I kind of feel like Moses may have been a little overwhelmed (I would have); the task too great, the destiny too grand. He may have felt too small compared to the expectations. Many of us carry this kind of soul level, heart level name. Some of us have chosen that name, some of us have had the name forced on us. It makes a statement about our value, what we are worth, our destiny. At some point we have all had a name that stuck to our soul, that defined our heart.

Sometimes I think that my actual name, my birth name, is more a reflection of my parents than it is of me. I have a soul level, heart level name that has come to me through life, but I have my birth name that has come to me from my parents and tells me something of what they thought of me. In the same way, I think God has a name for us that can redefine our destiny and redirect our soul. A name that may not fit now but one we can grow into with His help.

What if that soul level name was not based on our performance or experience, not based on our scars. What if it was based on the love of a Father who accepted us no matter what the condition of our shattered heart was? What if a new destiny, purpose, direction was right around the corner and we did not have to earn it? This is the kind of God that Noah listened to, the God of the Scriptures.

Just a Meandering Thought...

NAME

Genesis 5:29 He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”

Have you ever wondered what your name means? Have you ever wondered if you would ever actually be the person that your name says you are? In many cultures today and especially in ancient times your name spoke volumes about who you were or were supposed to be.

Native American tribes have some fascinating naming traditions. The Mohegans believed that a person’s name would change throughout their life according to the direction their life took and their experiences; their name should reflect that change. Members of the Dakota tribes received a secret spiritual name that no one else knew except the witch doctor and the individual. Sitting Bull is perhaps one of the most storied Native Americans of the Lakota tribes of the North. He led his people to victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn against General George Custer in 1876. He even toured with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show as a performer. Before all this, he was a boy with a different name. Sitting Bull’s name before it was Sitting Bull was Jumping Badger. His name was changed by his father after he displayed bravery and courage in the company of other warriors during a raid.

The native tribes of early America had a profound understanding of the importance of a name. Your name says something about you. Your name tells people who you are. Your name may make a statement about your future destiny. Jumping badger seems appropriate for a little Lakota boy running around the tribal land. Sitting Bull says something about the will of a Lakota man.

We carry names too. Some names are playful like a nickname You may have because of something you did, or something you have a tendency to do (or not do).Some names remind us of our past, good or bad. Some names direct us toward the future. The native Americans knew something that many of us forget, names don’t have to be permanent. We sometimes find ourselves bearing the weight of a name we were never meant to carry, hoping for a way to change the name we have been given. We carry the name “Victim” and hope for “Victor”; we carry “Looser and hope for the name “Achiever”. One of the core values of grace is that nothing has to be permanent.

Jumping Badger's name became Sitting Bull after a display of bravery.What is your "name"? What key moments have defined you, made you who you are? What achievements do you hold up for everyone to see? What losses do you hide? Nothing has to define you... name you for ever. 

Just a meandering thought...