Take with
you . . . two of every kind of unclean animal. (Genesis 7:2)
When my boys
were small, we had a beautiful Noah’s Ark print framed in their bedroom. Of the
many artists’ renderings of Noah’s Ark I’ve seen, I think every single one had
the animals assembled two-by-two. Even a casual reading of the story reveals
that whereas chapter 6 calls for two of every kind of animal, chapter 7 calls
for 7 (or maybe 7 pairs) of every kind of bird and every kind of clean animal.
Never mind
this is pre-Moses and pre-law, and that animals have not yet been catalogued as
clean and unclean; or for that matter never mind that it would seem humanity is
still vegetarian (it is not until chapter 9 that God gives man permission to
eat meat, so what would an unclean designation even mean?); it is nonetheless
interesting that God specifies the rescue of unclean animals.
If God cares
enough to orchestrate the preservation of the human race, of whom the writer of
Genesis states: Every inclination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time (6:5), and even went the
extra mile to rescue not only clean but also unclean animals, should it come as
any surprise when God hears our prayers when we find ourselves in deep waters?
Maybe this
isn’t just a kids’ story. How often has God preserved you through difficult
times?
What’s
that say for approaching storms on your radar?
Why did Noah have such a harsh reaction to having his son see him naked? There were only 8 people on the earth and yet he curses his son to be a slave to others.
ReplyDeleteNot a question, just a comment here -- I have always found it weird that none of the wives were named - Noah's and his son's wives - even though there were only 8 people on the earth at that time and all the people from Noah's time on would be born from those women.
Awkward! That might merit a little more thought before I blurt out an answer.
ReplyDelete