Noah: Is it real?

A friend in the United Church of Christ gave a sermon titled: "Noah, is it a true story? Probably not." I told her that was a gutsy sermon. It is gutsy to share that from the pulpit because there are many people in even the most liberal church, and the UCC is liberal, that need to believe these Bible stories are the absolute dictated word of God.

They are inspired by God and taken from cataclysmic events, but they are not historical fact. God inspired these stories for specific reasons for a specific messages. Having said that, a thousand people can read the stories and God will speak to each of them in the same way and different ways.

There were horrific floods all over the world and almost every ancient society has flood stories with a moral or a meaning. The meaning is almost always, "Watch your back when it starts to rain."

The flood story from which the Noah story comes is the Gilgamesh Epic of Mesopotamia. One can find much information on that subject online.

The Jews were taken into captivity by the Babylonians from around 587 to 533 BCE (Before the Common Era- or before the year 0. While in captivity they learned the Babylonian creation stories and formed their own creation stories and flood story as found in Genesis.

After Cain did away with his brother Able for being a show-off, Cain went into the world and built cities, and children and grandchildren by the thousands I guess. Although CIS Nod investigated the murder, no one was ever brought to justice on on the Able murder. God has the final word however and Cains offspring were not unlike the old man. So in the sixth chapter of Genesis we find God annoyed with humankind and God's self.

Genesis 6.5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created--people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the sight of the LORD.
9 These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. (Genesis 6.5-12 NRSV).

You know the rest of the story. But here it is in a nutshell. Noah built the ark and God brought the rain for 40 days and 40 nights. After the flood was over God made a covenant with human kind and the sign thereof was the rainbow.

Why is the story important? A few reasons perhaps but I think it was to establish the first covenant between God and God's people. The covenant is found in chapter 9 of Genesis and is the first covenant between God and God's creation. At this time in history there were people but not Jews or Hebrews or any other nation. This was one family from which all people would come. These are called the Noahide Laws by the Jews today and in Jewish culture it is the means by which non Jews can go to heaven.

Genesis 9.1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life.
6 Whoever sheds the blood of a human,by a human shall that person’s blood be shed;
for in his own image God made humankind. 7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it.” 8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9“As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” (Genesis 9. 1-17 NRSV)

There are 7 laws here. 1. Be fruitful and multiply. 2 Be stewards of all creation. 3 Eat all animals and plants. 4. Do not eat flesh with blood in it. 5. Do not kill other people. 6. The person that kills another shall be killed. 7. Value life of men and women because they are made in the image of God.

I think the reason for the story of Noah is to establish this covenant between God and people and all creatures on the earth.

The careful reader will see that in Chapter 6.20 God tells Noah to take two of every creature and in chapter 7.2 the LORD says take 7 of each creature. As mentioned in the study of Cain and Able different authors wrote about the same things at different times with different agendas. Notice too, that in chapter 6 the author uses the name God while the chapter 7 author uses the name LORD in all caps. This too shows two different authors. While our translation of the ancient Hebrew does not tell us the difference, God means Yahweh and LORD is Elohim. They mean two different things about God.

The chapter 7 author wants 7 of each creature because he is a priestly writer and wants animals for sacrifice when the Ark comes to rest.

Any questions?