A (2:05)

Right? So great. So there. Hopefully you can. I don't know if I'm holding that at a good angle, everybody, but.

B (2:14)

But there you have it. It looks really good.

A (2:18)

That we have. Okay, should we jump in?

B (2:20)

Yes.

A (2:21)

We are going to be in Genesis chapter six. That's kind of where the story is. It also is going to be in Moses chapter 8. But let's jump into Genesis. We're going to live mostly in the Genesis chapters. There's something we want to talk about first, which is just this idea. I think when people talk about the Old Testament and they say how scared they are of the book or how intimidated they are by the book, they kind of will express something. One of my students I was teaching one time said, he says, does God get nicer in the New Testament? And even though I think the answer to that is no, I can see the evidence that he's pointing to right where you're just like that seems to be. We start the year by saying, this is the God of the Old Testament is Jesus. And sometimes you read stories in there and you're like, I kind of prefer the day he healed the blind man over the flood then. And, and there are stories that I think are pretty troubling to people when they read them. And I want to. To point out a couple things. We wanna point out a couple things that I think are gonna help in understanding that. There is some things that we find in the chapters that I think are gonna be. And that's kind of gonna be our focus of today is that. But I wanna first give this scripture reading advice that somebody gave me one time and they, and they said, read the Old Testament through cross vision. And what he meant by that was that we have a picture of this God. We're learning about Jesus Christ on the cross, sacrificing himself, forgiving the tormentors and the crucifiers, laying down his life and everything for the redemption of you and me. That is the clearest picture. Paul says that we have of the heart of God in all of scripture. So we can take that and we can know that's what he's like, that is his true nature and character. And every other story we can read in comparison to that one. So if we read a story like the flood and you think to yourself, that does not look like Jesus on the cross. To me, that doesn't look like that same kind of God. It means there's something missing or some misunderstanding we have about that story. We're going to show you a lot of obvious hints in here about what his character and what his heart is like. But there's still for when you're troubled, when you're troubled in any Story throughout this book about that. I suggest that just know I'm going to look through at this through cross vision. That is who he really is and that is who he will always be be.

B (5:17)

And what an important thing to wrestle with. How beautiful is it that we get pages and pages and pages of evidence of who God is and that he's giving us permission and trusting in us enough to be like, you know what? I'm going to lay out my entire story. God says, I'm going to give you page after page after page of who I am, and I am going to let you wrestle with it and pause and think and wonder and use different stories and different sources to say who really is God and what is his heart and what is his nature like. And I think that when you realize that you have permission to do that and when he trusts you enough to do that, I think it does change the way you read these stories. Because so often those moments that we're like, oh, God, seems really mean and scary is one verse in an entire chapter. And when you see the whole chapter and read the whole story, and not even just that one, but story after story after story, you get glimpse after glimpse after glimpse about who he is. And I think that's true for this story.

A (6:14)

Well, and I think that's another really great. Like when we read scripture, don't just read single verses. Look at a lot of what is, what's the context, what's the story, what's the background, what is going on in this chapter? Because I think I may have said this before, but if you had, if I told you, you guys, I was standing in this room and I watched this man cut another man open and start taking things out of his body, you would say, you saw a horror film. That's what you saw. And then if I said to you, no, I was actually watching my cousin's surgery, you would say, oh, everything you said was actually true. But the context of that mattered so much. And when we know who he is, we can go in just assuming the very best about who he is. And I was thinking this too. If somebody reads a story like this and they say, I don't like what I see there, great. That's actually evidence that you have a really good, strong idea about who he is in your head and in your heart. If it feels contradictory, it means you have a great default. If someone read the flood story and they're like, yeah, that's the God I know, drown the earth, I'd be like, you have a skewed idea about who he is. So the fact that it's troubling and jarring is great. It means your heart and mind are in a good space about God. So let's look at a couple of those verses that we're going to show you about this. If you're in Genesis, chapter six, you get a description of what is going on in the world. And verse five is a great description. It says God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And you get an idea of just an obsess. Every imagination of the thought, Imagination of the thought makes it feel like it's like every part of them, every desire of them was for evil continually. And it was the only thing that they had on their mind and their heart was to do bad.

B (8:15)

And I think that that verse gives you a clue of how serious the situation was. Not only because of that, you're like, oh, every little thing. But I was thinking so much about that word imagination and how usually imagination and creativity are combined in our heads. Like imagination leads to what you're going to create. And what I think is so interesting is that if your entire imagination was wicked, you were creating wicked things. And I think that probably that had to have been one of God's biggest concern. We are like five chapters from the creation story. It is just barely. And everything in the creation story was God creating something and saying, that was good, that was good, that was God. Like, we're working through this and all of it's good. And just five chapters later, you find a group of people whose entire imagination was wicked things. And if that's all they're imagining, that's all they're creating. And now all of a sudden, it starts to make a little bit more sense to me why God would care so much about protecting things. Because he just created a good world. And now all of a sudden, the only thing people wanted to create was wicked. And there had to been some level of like, wait, I need to protect this. I need to protect the ground they're walking on. Because that is scary. To live in a world where the only things that are being created are evil, are wicked. That's the only thing they could.

A (9:30)

Yeah. And I. And I would almost say if we. If there was a mayor that was allowing rampant wickedness to just run wild in a city, we would get him out of there or her out of there. We'd elect somebody new. We look to someone in a position of authority, ability and power. To do something about what they see going on. And that's exactly what God is going to do. And you see in verse six, it says, and it repented the Lord that he had made man on this earth, and it grieved him in his heart. And if you open up the footnote, it says one more time, and his heart was pained is what it says. And it opens it up about Noah first, and then it just says it grieved God in his heart. And I just think it's really important, as we read this story, to know that was the feeling of his heart. It wasn't vengeance. It wasn't just unleashed anger, but a grieving heart. We learned in last week's lesson that we worship a God who weeps, who, when he sees the wickedness of his. Of his children and what they're doing to each other, it breaks his heart. And the Lord said in verse seven, I will destroy man who I'm created off the face of the earth. Which I will not lie is not. Not the verse that we put on the poster for the week, because that's just one that nobody wants. And nobody's ever put it on their mission plaque because it sounds a little bit scary for God to use the same word you would use in Battleship Galactica. Like, destroy is an intense word. But I looked up the Hebrew of that word, which, if you ever want to do this, you can download an app called Strong's Concordance, and you can find Hebrew words and what their multiple meanings may be. But that word, destroy, I found another in scripture where it's used. First of all, the word means to wipe clean, to wash off, like ink. That's a very different feeling for me than the word destroy. So if I took that verse out of context, I would just be like, yeah, he's a battleship, you know? And instead it's like, oh, I'm trying to wipe something clean. I'm trying to wash it off like ink. Can I give you a cross reference that uses the same exact Hebrew word? It's Isaiah 43, one of the greatest chapters in the Old, Old Testament. And skip down to verse 25, and it says, I, even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions and will not remember thy sins. That verse uses the same Hebrew word. So remember when we had the King James translators picking words, they were picking words that might have a different meaning today. So that's just. Those are a couple of hints, I think, that shows, you know, in the verses that are like, where, okay, he's flooding the earth. And that seems wild and scary. If you open up your journal, I was just gonna say, okay, open up your journal.

B (12:16)

I was gonna go there. So that's perfect.

A (12:18)

And we have this page on here, and it's the digging deeper page. And it says lessons from the ark and Lessons from the dove. Because we just really like focusing on. We wanted to address the flood. That God does send floods, that God is not going to let wickedness take over the world, that he's going to put a stop to it. And that is merciful and that is kind. Think of all the unborn children. Think of the people who had to live in a world like that. But we want to focus on the rescue mission. This is a story about a God who provides an ark. And we want to show and see in these times of great trouble, what are all the things that God is going to do. So if you have your journal, open that up and we're going to go to one by one and add a few on here about.

B (13:05)

This is the first one. Six, eight.

A (13:07)

Oh, back. Let's start in five, 29. So let me go there. And then you. You do six, eight.

B (13:13)

I did backwards. Sorry.

A (13:14)

No, no, no, go back one chapter. Because I wanted to add this one in five. 29. This is last week's lesson. They're giving the genealogy of all the people. And then they said this. And he called his name Noah. It was Lamech's son. You know, Lamech had a son, is the one before, and he called his name Noah. Saying this same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands. And I just love that the name Noah, if you look in the beginning of your. Of your journal for this chapter, and also it's our word of the week. That name actually means rest, and it means comfort also. So in times of flood and in times of wickedness and trouble, God is going to send a Noah. He is going to send someone who will bring rest and someone who will bring comfort to the situation. That is the God that we believe in.

B (14:11)

Beautiful. And then after the genealogy, we get to chapter six, and we go through all the flood verses, which we just did. And then what I think is so interesting is when you're reintroduced to Noah after all of that, the verse you think is about Noah, but I think it's really about the Lord, Chapter six, verse eight. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And what is so interesting to me is that the eyes everyone talks about, like the eyes being a window to the soul. And you can tell a lot about someone based on their eyes. And you really, honestly, like, I think we can all think about this. Like, there are several moments in my life when I can remember looking in someone's eyes and being able to read the emotions, emotion that they were feeling in that moment. And it would be so easy if you were the Lord, to have eyes that were furious in this situation. When we read about the flood, we imagine a furious God. We imagine a God that is merciless. We imagine a God that wants to punish that. Like, we're like, oh, he's flooding the entire Earth. Like, he's gotta be so angry, and he's gotta be furious, and that's gotta be what he's feeling through and through. And then you get to that verse, verse 8. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And I know this isn't exactly how it happened, but when I read that verse and I imagine it, what I imagine is little Noah looking into the eyes of the Lord and seeing him face to face. And in those eyes, in that wicked, wicked world, he did not see an angry, merciless God. Noah looked into the eyes of the Lord, and there he found grace. He found kindness. He found undeserving goodness. That is what Noah saw in the eyes of the Lord, in the eyes of the Lord that was flooding the earth. And I think so often we imagine, maybe because of the wickedness in the world or maybe because of the wickedness in ourselves, that we imagine one day that we are going to look into the eyes of the Lord and we are going to see anger and we're going to see justice in the way that we're scared of. And we're gonna see someone who's mad and upset and someone who wants to punish us. And I think that that that little verse, verse number eight, gives us a glimpse into the eyes of the Lord we really truly believe in. And those eyes, even in the midst of a wicked world, even in the midst of sin and turmoil and bad choices and pure wickedness, when you look into the eyes of the Lord, there you find grace.

A (16:38)

It's awesome. The next one we want to point out is 6:14. And this is the part that everyone's familiar with. He says, make the an ark of gopher wood rooms shalt thou make in the ark and shall pitch it within and without with pitch. Well, it's like a Dr. Seuss. It became Dr. Seuss for just a second. And then the next verse after talks about how big that ark was, that it was 3300 cubits breadth. And if you do the math for it, that's about 450ft long. So this is longer, bigger than a football field is what this ark is. And not only does God make an ark, which I think is the number one beautiful lesson in this verse, that if a flood is coming, God will provide an ark. He's going to provide a rescue. There's going to be a way out of this. There's going to be a second chance, a safety switch. He's always going to do that. He has an ark. And I love this ark is going to fit animals, right? And not very many people, but I love how huge the ark is. It's as if he's trying to say there's room for everyone. This is going to be really big and it has lots of rooms in it. It is not sold out. These are not the Titanic lifeboats where we're only taking a select few of people from first class. It's gigantic. And when anyone saw the building of this boat immediately they wouldn't have wondered, well, is there room there for me? They just would have known the second they saw it, they would have said there is room there for me. This is a safe place, a refuge. And I love that Noah builds it by the way. I just like that Noah got to be a co creator with God in creating this refuge of a place, this safe place where people could escape the wickedness and the harsh and the hard of the world. And I think he's calling all of us to that same, to that same calling. Build an ark, make a place of safety, make a place of rest from the hard things that people are carrying. They need it. They're just like, I just need a nap. I just need to escape. I just need someone to shoulder this with me. And I think God uses people like us to co create arcs with him and build it as big as you can to make room.

B (19:10)

I think of that summer, I've talked about it on here, but there was this summer that for some reason so many people were moving into our house and we didn't really have that big big of a house, but there was just always another room made. For example, my room was created, it was not built into my house. We got like the Ikea. Do you know those like little random, oh, divider things? Divider things like you like unfold or whatever. That was our room and our closet was like one little metal rod from ikea. And my mom said whatever you can fit on that rod you can keep. Everything else is Going to the di. And like there was actually. It didn't make logical sense. Sense that there would be that much room in the house. But that is not how hospitality works. Hospitality isn't logical. Refuge isn't logical. It's needed. And I think that's the most beautiful part about that verse is it's like, no, there's going to be rooms. And it would be so easy, I think, for Noah to say, well, we don't need that many. We don't really need that many rooms.

A (20:04)

Yeah, yeah.

B (20:04)

There's not. Like, trust me, like, I know the people here. We're not going to need that. I know the situation here. We're not gonna need all of that. And I love that he knew something about God simply from how big he wanted the ark to be.

A (20:17)

Yeah.

B (20:17)

Oh, but just in case. But I'll fill it. Trust me that I'll fill the ark.

A (20:22)

Yeah. I mean, the size of the ark. I just wanna. I wish I would have taught this when I was teaching seminary. But I remember when I was teaching seminary, I went outside the seminary building to like, the school. And if I remember right, the school is about the. The same height as the ark was. Like, I figured all that out. And kind of we walked the length of how hard, how big the ark was. And if I could go back and you're welcome, I'm giving you. Giving you your list.

B (20:47)

Like, I wish I had my phone to write this down.

A (20:49)

Why we just walk over to the football field right there and say, this is how big it was. And. And what's that? What does that teach you about God? And I ju. Just see it just to see how gigantic that ship was to say, you guys, there's room for you. And can I just skip ahead to one? I think just adds on to this one, because in addition to that, verse 19, he says of every living thing, like, circle that word every of all flesh. Circle the word all two of every sort. I am in love with that line where he says, every sort shalt thou bring into the ark of every kind. And I know it's talking about animals here, but it's revealing the heart of God where he says, every kind, every sort of person, wherever they're. That wherever they are in their faith journey, wherever they are in their beliefs, wherever they are in their mistakes, in their repentance process, wherever they are in the direction of their life, make room for every living creature of all flesh, of every sort and every kind. There's not a cookie cutter way to be a disciple or to be A member of this church or to be in the family of God. And this story is very deliberate over and over and over again about that. That's on the list. 19's on the list.

B (22:14)

But we're going to skip ahead. I'm glad you did, because when you were teaching that, I was like, oh.

A (22:18)

We'Re gonna have 19 coming year.

B (22:20)

It fits. It matched. And so not only did he build rooms, but then you get to verse number 16, and he adds this little detail. It's the cutest detail ever to me. I'm obsessed with this verse. A window shalt thou make to the ark. Only one. First of all, that makes so much sense why we, like, see the ark and everyone draws. And I'm like, oh, yeah, there are.

A (22:42)

No windows on the one window.

B (22:44)

There's just the one because of the. But I was studying this with my boyfriend the other night. We were doing, like, come. We do come. Follow me ahead so I can read all of the chapters that I need to. To study for this. And we read that verse, and he stopped, and he just said, what do you think that God wanted them to see? And we, like, talked about it for a second, and we brainstorm, and we actually. If you skip ahead, you actually get a clue that at the end, when the floods end, that's actually when God finally tells them to open the window. And he says, go ahead and open up the window, and you're going to send the birds out. You know the story. And then they come back with the olive branch, and they know that there's land soon. And I started thinking in my head, and I was, like, trying to figure it out. What did. What did the Lord want them to see? What did the Lord want them to see? And I think if you go skip a couple chapters ahead, you start realizing that the Lord wanted them to see that, like, it was going to end, that there was still going to be a future. The floods wasn't the end of the story. That's why he wanted to make sure they had a window. But I also started thinking in my head, like, the window wouldn't have just, like, had a sheet over it. Like, they would have had light the whole entire time. But mostly what I thought. And I think that's a really cool lesson. I think, like, you could pause and say, like, there was going to be light throughout the flood, that for all of those days that they would spend on that ark, God wanted to make sure that every single day they had light. And I think that is an individual lesson about, like, God seeing Goodness and light and good things in the middle of storms and drowning in floods. I think that's a really powerful lesson for the window.

A (24:12)

And let me just throw this on while you're doing that. If you click that word for window, you'll go to the footnotes, which is like, tsohar is what the window is. And then it says this in the footnotes. Some rabbis believed it was a precious stone that shone in the ark, that that word is either translated window or shining rock. This is why Hebrew is such a fun, fun language to study and. And read from. And it would be the same lesson as what you were just talking about. Like, just this idea. I mean, imagine being in this really dark, hard place in your life and then looking and seeing this stone that was glowing and remembering God is still good and God is still powerful, and things are going to be okay. There's just a hint of light here reminding us that he's with us. You know, I know these bad things are happening, but he's here also. But, okay, so same lesson. But I wanted to show that footnote.

B (25:08)

And it makes me want to just ask that same question that we did when we were studying the other night. And maybe it's not about the floods in this story anymore, but it's a question that I want to ask in my life. And it's like, God's going to want us all to have a window. And my question in my head that I just keep thinking about all day is, what does the Lord want me to see right now? And where should I be looking? Because even if there's storms and even if there's floods, and even if it feels like there's drowning everywhere and the world feels wicked and everything feels heavy, the Lord wants me to have windows. And what does he want me to see right now? What does he want me to look for? And I think that there's been so many moments today, and I've only been doing this for 24 hours, but there's been so many moments today that I felt like just the Spirit so clearly say to he wants you to see that, and he wants you to see that, and he wants you to see that. And throughout my entire day, the most ordinary Monday of all time, like, it's just nothing particularly incredible has happened. But throughout my entire day, it almost feels like I've been getting glimpses of light simply because I'm asking the question, what does the Lord want me to see? And even if there's flooding all around, even if there's storms all around how powerful to take a moment and think like, what does the Lord want? And then open your eyes and let him whisper to you. I want you to see that person and go over there and talk to them. I want you to see that there's still good things happening in your life. I want you to see that there are little moments where maybe the storms don't seem as bad. And I think that's such a cool little tiny moment in verse number 16 of the Lord saying, there's gonna be still things that I want you to see in the midst of the storm. There's gonna be light in the midst of the storm. I want you to see it.

A (26:47)

It's cool. I like that this next verse 18 is another one. You see how many there are, you guys about how. Just how good God is in a chapter where it didn't maybe seem like he was going to be but 18, he says, but with thee I will establish my covenant and thou shalt come into the ark. And I just like that those two sentences are right next to each other because I like the picture image of the ark being. Of the ark being the covenant. And he says, you can enter into this covenant. And then right after he says, enter into this ark. And I just like that there's almost an equal sign between those two where he just says, living in covenant relationship with me is. Is. Is staying afloat in times of flood is what that means. It means being rescued from something hard, from something difficult. And I like that the ark can become a symbol of what it means to live in covenant relationship with him. I just love, for example, it's going to talk about how the flood waters raise up. And when it says that, it says that the ark raises up with the flood. And I actually think that is what it looks like to live in covenant relationship also, that as. As whatever life dishes out to you. God, God will meet that and help you to rise above it. Like when the floods are 10ft deep, you would have thought, oh my gosh, I didn't think I would make it in 10ft water. And if they go to 20, you're going to say the same thing because that's what it's like to live in that covenant relationship. So I just like that God is inviting you into protection, that he's inviting you into refuge, he's inviting you into safety, he's inviting you into security, purity when he invites you into a covenant relationship.

B (28:33)

Beautiful. Then we talked about 19 already, about everyone, all, all sorts of creatures in there. And so I'm gonna Go to the next one. Is that okay, David?

A (28:42)

Yeah.

B (28:42)

I'm gonna go to 22. And this lesson is so interesting to me, and I'm actually gonna add one. And verse number 22, what happens is this moment, it feels like a Nephi moment that we read about in the Book of Mormon, that Nephi, he went and did, and we know that so clearly, and it feels like that almost a glimpse of that same spirit for Noah. In verse 22, I just circled the first three words in my scriptures. Thus did Noah. He just did it according to all that God commanded him. So did he. Whatever God asked, Noah did it. And in this chapter, chapter six, Noah built a boat. That is what he did. He worked hard, and he got calluses on his hand, and he probably got splinters, and he got a hammer, and he built an entire boat. It was hard work. And I think it's important right now for me to, like, be thinking about it. This was a moment of preparation. Noah had to take a moment to prepare, and it was gonna take hard work and blood, sweat, and tears and calluses on his hand. And he really put in hard, hard work. But then what is so interesting to me about chapter seven is that then Noah was gonna be asked to do something different by God. And if you go to verse number 16, it's so interesting because all of a sudden, then the floods start coming, and they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh in verse number 16. And as God had commanded him that they all went in the boat. That's the first command. Get in the boat. And then it's so interesting to me because then it says what God's going to do. And the Lord shut him in. And this time, the commandment was so, so different. This time in the moment of floods, in the moment of chaos and destruction, the Lord's commandment now was to go inside and rest, go inside and take cover. And Noah did exactly what he's always done. Noah listened to the Lord. And I think that this lesson to me felt so unique, because I think it's so interesting that we have two such different commandments so close to each other in scripture. First, I need you to work. And next, I need you to rest. I need you to protect yourself. And I think in all of our lives, there's going to be seasons of both seasons, when the Lord looks at us and he says, I need you to work, and I need you to get calluses on your hands, and I need you to spend all day dripping with sweat and, like, putting nails I don't exactly know how to build an ark. I've never had to do that. That's what you're gonna do. And it's gonna take a lot of hard work, and you're gonna be exhausted every single day. But there will also be moments in our life when the Lord looks and he says, this is chaos, and you are exhausted and there are floods everywhere, and you will drown if you stay out there. So get inside and rest and protect yourself. And that is just as important of a commitment as building the boat was. It would have done Noah no good to build another boat. When the floods came, it was no longer longer time to work, it was time to rest. And I think that it is important for people to realize that God's commanding you to do both, that maybe you're in a time of building right now, and that's gonna take a lot of work, but maybe you're in a time of rest right now, in a time of protection right now. And just because you're not building the boat doesn't mean that you're not still obeying God's commandments. Let yourself rest. Let yourself recharge. Let yourself protect yourself from the floods. Allow that. That's what God wants you to do.

A (32:03)

That is really, really awesome. And. And I think it's. This just reminds me of this other one I want to throw in. Because when you read this, there's so many days. You know, there's so like, there's just days, not you exhausted, even.

B (32:16)

Just.

A (32:17)

There just are. And I want to bring up the days of the water in just a second. But there is a verse back in chapter six, verse three, that it does not seem like it's saying this, where it just talks about, his days shall be 120 years. But that's a verse that a lot of Jewish and Christian tradition point to to say this is how long it took Noah to build the ark. Clearly, it was a long time, but Jewish and Christian tradition is that it took 120, 125 years. Some people do the math in the chapters. And however many years it was, it was a long time. And I think that is reflective of the character of God, too. Not as much as it's reflective of how much work it was, but it was like he gave 120 years of preaching righteousness and preaching second chances to people. And then the boat was done, and the flood was about to come. And skip over one more chapter to chapter seven, verse four. It says this for yet seven days, and then I will cause the rains upon the earth. And I. And that also, I just love that. It's like he gave 120 years. That feels like a really solid deadline. And then chapter seven, verse four says, for yet seven days gets to the end of it and says, okay, seven more days. That sounds like father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, if you ask me. And so there is just that sweet. The time, the fact that God gives time in all of these. In all of these seasons. And I think it's so good. And then. And then there is this day in chapter eight, it just comes to this day where it says, and God remembered Noah. He was. It rained for 40 straight days and 40 straight nights. And sometimes life feels like that where you're just like, where is the end to this? When is this going to be over? And if you go back after the rain, they still were days and days and days floating on the water. And I am going to do these verses now, where you look at verse eight, I'm back in seven. You guys. Sorry. Chapter seven, the waters prevailed and were increased greatly upon the earth. 19. And the waters prevailed exceedingly above all the high hills. And verse 24. And the waters prevailed for 150 days. And you might be in that spot right now where you feel like the waters are prevailing, that I'm drowning. They're too big, and this is too much for me to handle and deal with. And then turn the page to chapter eight, verse one, and it says, and God remembered Noah. And in case you didn't feel included in that line and every living thing and all the cattle, I don't know why, the cattle just get their own little shout out.

B (35:19)

They must have been main characters in that arc. For real.

A (35:21)

They got their own shout out. And I just. I love it. I love it. It's just like, in case you thought you weren't included, I'm talking about all. But that line is so good that God remembered Noah in the rain, in the floating days, in the days of wondering, in the days of hard. God remembered him. And then you start marking words like this at the end of verse one, the waters. If you're in the King James, the word is assuaged. I don't know what that. You know, I've never used that word in all my life. But the waters subsided. And in verse two, the oceans, the deep stopped. The rain was restrained. Verse three, the waters returned. These are all words that signify an end, that there is an end to this. And verse four may be the climax of that little section and the ark rested. And for those feeling like I'm just treading water, verse four is coming where you'll get to rest. The ark will rest and the floods will be over. And I love that it actually says the day. It's the seventh month, on the 17th day of the month. Because everybody who's there is. I know exactly where I was when the answer came. I know exactly where I was when I felt forgiveness, when I felt relief. And. And. And they marked the day. And say finally that the ark rested. Our word for the re week is that very word, rest. It comes from Genesis 8, 2, 4. I'm loving these, by the way.

B (37:00)

And why was it so cute when you just said word for the week? And then instead of W E E K, why did I just think of W E a K, the.

A (37:08)

Oh, the word for the weak.

B (37:10)

And then if you just.

A (37:11)

And the word for the weary and the word for the treading water people, your word this week is rest. Whatever it is that you're carrying, a rest is arrest. Comes. It comes. And listen to the Hebrew word of rest, which is Noah. Noah. That's where his name comes from. A reminder that whenever there's a flood, God will send rest. But to settle down, to dwell, to stay, to give comfort, to be quiet, to remain, that is. I hope that is a lesson you can teach on a Sunday or study and then look at that word all week long and remember that 41st day comes when the. When the rains stop and the waters return and rest actually gets to happen. And those 40 days are important. That number 40 in Scripture is preparation. There's things that happen during the rainstorms of our life that prepare us and mold us and shape us. But a day comes of rest when those are not prevailing, the waters are not prevailing anymore. And I was on Sunday, we sang Amazing Grace. And I thought about this lesson and I thought about people who are like that when I sang verse three. And it says, through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. His grace has brought me safe thus far. And grace will lead me home. And this ark story is a. Is a symbol of grace. Like through all of these things, he's going to bring. He's brought you safe thus far. And I promise that his grace is going to keep leading you home until the final rest and his work is done. So in the meantime, in the meantime, that's a promise that we can all hold onto and wait for and look forward to. But in the meantime, we have these lessons from the Dove that. That I think are sort of the. Okay, then what? I believe you. What do I do until that day.

B (39:21)

Comes, which it almost feels like the first lesson from the dove falls right into that exact same category, that exact same topic. Because what happens is the floods end and the. And they're trying to decide, okay, like, is it really over? And is there land? Is it dry enough that we can find somewhere to go and we can get off this boat that I'm sure they were all losing their minds to get off of? And so in verse number 8, 8, Genesis 8, verse 8, it says, he sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. And this verse right here, verse number nine is talking about a dove. But when you just listen to David teach what he taught about individuals finding rest, it no longer feels like it's about a dove. It feels like it's about a person. And you can just hear it right in that first line. But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him in the ark. And the whole time I read this, like, I'm going to read it to you, and we can think about the dove. And then I want you to read it again and think about a person. And the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark. For the waters were on the face of the whole earth. It was not time to get off the boat. Yet the dove found no rest. The dove went and searched, and there was still water. And it wasn't necessarily storms, but there was nowhere to go. They didn't know what to do. And there was still no rest. So what did the dove go? What did the dove do? It went back, went back to the one that sent her. And then what happens when she returns is such a glimpse to me not of who Noah is, but of who God is. He responded in the same way the Father would, and you can see it. And it just like, makes me want to cry because I just want, like, to imagine this exact scenario. But not a dove and Noah, but rather me and the Lord. And he put forth his hand and took her and pulled her into. Pulled her in unto him. And that is the lesson of the dove, that when there is no rest to be found, the Father will look at you when you come back, and he will put forth his hand and he will take you, and he will pull you in unto him.

A (41:33)

That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard on this entire podcast. That verse is, we didn't know we.

B (41:39)

Loved that dove so much.

A (41:41)

Chapter eight, verse nine. And I am. I will say this gently and say, I am thinking of the temple when I read that verse and think of what an ark that place can be in a place of grace for people who are not finding rest. So they returned. And there in that place he puts forth his hand and will and took her and pulled her in unto him into the ark or into grace, as we've talked about that being a symbol. So in the meantime, God remembers us and he pulls us in close when there's no land, right? Then Noah sends that dove out again in verse 11. And the dove came in in the evening, took him all day. Why? Why? All of God's signs are in the evening. We have to wait until the end of the day. And the fourth watch.

B (42:37)

And that poor dove journey.

A (42:41)

And low in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off. It's just. You can imagine how much olive tree a dove can hold in its beak. And that's. I'm not an animal, man, but can't be very much. And I wrote next to this one, next to Genesis 8, 9, 10, we'll say, wait in his arms. And then next to Genesis 8, 11, we'll say, Hope that this one gives a glimpse that God is going to fulfill his promise. Not yet. Not in fullness yet, but he'll give a down payment, and he'll give an earnest of the spirit, and he'll give us a branch of the tree as hope. And then, you know, the end, 8, 12, and 3. And it says, and then this time, seven days later, he sends forth the dove again. And this time it does not come back. Go ahead.

B (43:37)

No, he goes ahead.

A (43:38)

No, no, no. Say.

B (43:39)

Okay, well, I was just thinking, and I've never done this, so I will just give you a warning for that. But it just. Verse number nine made me start thinking like this, of if Noah is really a type and shadow for the Savior, and if he. That. That's such an interesting idea to me is to, like, read the. This story with that. Which I don't. There's probably gonna be some faults in that. And I'm just gonna warn you, because I've never had it like that. But right now, verse number nine, you can see it so clearly. And I think in verse number 12, you can as well. Because what I think is so interesting is the dove goes. If we're the dove, there's moments where the dove goes. And it doesn't work. There's a moment when the dove goes and it does work, and there's a chance that the dove experiences goodness and comes back, and it's not time yet. And then I love the idea of the moment when God says, I need you to leave the life that you've always known on this ark. You've been here for so long. You're so comfortable here. I need you to leave. And the first time, the dove's like, okay, like, I've gotta come back, because it was really safe on this ark, and I did find something, but I'm not sure if it's really all that good. I'm not sure if it's, like, exactly what I need. And then all of a sudden, by verse number 12, the Lord's gonna ask the go back out there. And this time the dove doesn't come back because it discovered the world that was going to be better than the ark. And there's always something in scripture to me, because I think that's such a common theme, that the Lord's going to ask you to leave something only because he promises something better. And that's the story to me of verse 12, is if the Lord asks you to leave, it's because he's going to promise you somewhere better.

A (45:09)

Yeah. Yeah. Something better came for all of them. And that's the. That's the promise of scripture to all of us that particularly those who feel like the water's prevailing, like the rest is coming, and then new creation is on the other side of that. And I think if you keep going into 15 and 16, it's that same lesson. He spoke unto Noah, and he says, go forth of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your son's wives, and bring forth every living thing. And there almost is this second creation, which is just a. This isn't the creation of the world, but it's just a reminder that God can create again and we can start anew again. And he says, okay, this is not your home anymore. You've learned your lessons from this. Now go forth, multiply, replenish. And. And. And it's just this beautiful fresh start in there. And. And let's just say this. And then I think your lesson about the. That you. We were saying before we started about the tower is. Is so cool. I. Then there's the bow. And I learned something about the bow that I thought was just really cool, that maybe everyone can remember now anytime that they look at it. Remember in chapter nine, verse 11, he says, I will establish my covenant with you, that I'll Never again flood the earth. And in verse 12, he says, this is the token of that covenant which I make between me and you, which I like that he puts a. Like something. The sky. He says, every time you see this, you can remember that promise that I made. And it's a. It is a bow. And obviously when we read this, we think about the. Like a rainbow. And I was reading one Bible scholar who said, oh, ancient people wouldn't have thought rainbow when they saw that one. They would have thought a bow. That it shaped like a bow. They would have been used to the idea of like, you know, like a bow and arrow bow.

B (46:52)

Oh, interesting. Yeah.

A (46:53)

When I kept saying, and that does.

B (46:54)

Make way more sense. I mean, I don't know why this time when I read it, I was so confused. I forgot about the whole rainbow situation in my head.

A (47:02)

I was like, what a bow? Like a hair bow? Oh, yeah. No, no, like. And I kept saying bow over and over. And if you're listening, you're thinking, what? But like a bow and arrow bow, that. That's what it would have been shaped like. Which is interesting because usually that is a weapon. And people could have had the idea that God was out to get them, like a warrior God. But this is what the Bible scholar said, that was so cool. He says, but the bow, the way it's shaped is. It's. It's aimed away from the earth. It is not him pulling that string back, like facing toward the earth with a God of vengeance, but it's faced away. And he says, my whole goal is to get this, the violence and the. All these things away from you. Interesting. That's pointed toward heaven. Because when Jesus comes to the world, he says, I'll take the punishment for in behalf of you. And that's how I'll truly blot this out once and for all. So anyways, I thought that was cool that anytime you saw that was awesome. That that rainbow could always be a symbol of. It's not pointed towards you. It's just a reminder that God's saying, I'm for you. I'm not against you. I am not hunting you down. The bow is faced the other direction.

B (48:18)

And let me say one thing about the bow also, okay? Because I was loving this earlier. I'm just gonna be fast. Okay, everyone? I don't know why I was having so many things I was loving. Okay, in chapter nine, if you go to verse number 15, this was so interesting to me because I always felt like the rainbow was a symbol for God's people. Like I always just remembered the story like that. And then I read it, and it was so interesting that it said, and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you. And all of a sudden, I started thinking. I was like, that's so funny, because God doesn't forget things. And then I thought, how powerful is that? That when God made a covenant, he looked down and he said, listen, I'm never gonna forget you. But if you worry that I do, I will even give a backup plan. You can rest assured that I will not forget. Because even me, who cannot forget a single thing, even if there was a tiniest chance that I would forget, let me prove with a bow that I will not forget you. It's a double promise, which I think is just so cute that he's like, don't worry. I really won't forget. Evidence that I won't.

A (49:23)

And isn't it cool, by the way, that rainbows come after rain? You know, just like the. Anytime it rains, it might just be like a. Oh, no. Especially people who live back then, they're like, please. Little ptsd. Every time we did that on the boat already the rain came. You know, where you're just like, oh, my gosh. I might question. And I just. Every time rain comes, we might question the heart and character of God. And then there's the reminder. It says, that's not what I'm like, I'm for you.

B (49:51)

And it's interesting. This time when I was reading, I noticed a tiny little word in chapter eight, verse one that I'd never noticed before. And it changed the entire way that I saw the flood. And my whole life I knew about the flood. And that made perfect sense. They teach you all the time it makes. That you have to have the flood for the ark. All of it made sense. Water surrounding, covering the whole entire earth. But what I didn't know is what happened after the flood. And you get that in verse 8, 1. And we all remember the part of God. Remember Noah's the cutest part of all time. But then what's so interesting is then all of a sudden, it says, and God made a wind to pass over the earth. And it changed the way I saw the flood. And this is why is because there are so often times in scripture when wind is actually a synonym. That's what I was trying to say. Synonym for the spirit.

A (50:39)

Yeah. And they're the same word in Hebrew.

B (50:41)

Okay, well, see, thank you. See, that's something I'm not knowing is that then all of a sudden you get the Same word. And it changed the way I saw it, because now instantly I thought of baptism first being covered in water and then receiving the Spirit, almost as if the earth was getting that same experience. A baptism for the earth and a moment for change, a moment to be renewed, a moment to begin a covenant which will happen in this story and remember.

A (51:11)

And the Earth would represent all of humanity and mankind. So it's not like the Earth needed to be baptized. It's a.

B (51:17)

The Earth physically was doing fine.

A (51:19)

It's a symbol of, like, the whole human family, the whole Earth, like everybody in it needs this cleansing and then needs this spiritual.

B (51:27)

A second chance, an awakening, a moment to be better. And then what is so interesting to me is the story that comes next, because the people get out, and Noah starts. All his people start spreading throughout the whole entire Earth. And then there's the story of the Tower of Babel. And it's the group of people that says, oh, we can open all, like, kind of talk. We all have the same language. And you know what we need to do? We need to make a tower to reach. This is chapter 11, by the way. Genesis 11. You start seeing them decide they're going to build the tower in verse number four. And it's this group of people, and they're like, you know what we need to do? Let's build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven. And let us make a name, lest we be scattered across the whole face of the whole entire Earth. He said, we need to make a tower and. And we need to get to heaven. And what's so interesting is that they were trying to do what only God could do. That's what happened when they built the tower. And we know what's gonna happen is God's gonna look down. And this part is interesting. Let me just do another side note that I think is so funny is that they built a tower to reach heaven. But by verse number five, you see that the Lord came down to see the city. The tower wasn't tall enough, and it never was going to be.

A (52:37)

He still had to come down.

B (52:39)

He still had to come down. It wasn't about the height of the tower. It was about the goodness of the Lord. We can never do anything good enough to get to heaven. We need the Lord to come down. That's the story of the Tower of Babel. That's the lesson there.

A (52:53)

It's the story of the plan of salvation. Yeah, right. It's like you build as high as you want after all you can do God came down.

B (53:01)

Yeah, that's it. That's it. He still, he still was gonna have to come down. And we know what happens is that he's like, okay, this is a disaster. Because your pride and your, honestly, your like, self reliance was so much that, like, you actually stopped relying on me and it's not gonna work out anymore. And so the Lord's like, we need to confuse all the languages and you're all gonna be separated and you're all gonna have to figure this out on your own because you can't do it on your own. And it's not helpful for you to all be together because you start riling each other up and you're getting all these crazy ideas. So I need to separate all. But what I really couldn't get out of my head this time as I read is how interesting that this is the story that comes after the second chance that the world got that he looked at humanity and he said, let's give you a rebirth. Let's give you a baptism. Let's start over and do a little better. And then this is the next. This is the next story. And it's like, well, shoot, we didn't. We didn't do any better. We still messed up. And you still had to show up and you still had to set us right. And that is the story of life, that is the story of humanity, that we believe in a God who's good enough to look down and say, I will cleanse you and I will give you a fresh start. But we also believe in a God that when we mess that fresh start up, he looks and he says, I'll come down again and I will save the day again. And I will not give up on you. And the evidence is that the end of the story isn't gentle. Genesis 11. There's a chapter 12 and then a whole book after that and after that and after that and after that. And we believe in a God who looks at the situation and says, you had a fresh start and you messed that one up. But don't worry, I don't run out of fresh starts.

A (54:39)

Yeah, and that's the lesson from all of this, that God's not the problem, he's the, he's the solution. Right? He's the, he's the answer and he keeps coming down. And we'll provide all the these things for us in the meantime. God's so good all the time. All the time. God is good. Grace, you didn't even help me say that. My little phrase. So we're just going to end on that. Okay. We will see you next week. If you want to follow along in everything we're doing, you can find us on Instagram at Don't miss this study, at this week's Grace and at MrDave Butler.

B (55:13)

And if you want to subscribe to the app or get our weekly newsletter, all of the information can be found at don'tmissthisudy. Com.

A (55:19)

See you next week.