The Warnings in Genesis 7: 21-24
In these verses, we learn that God tried to warn his children, but on the day of the flood, they were still eating and drinking without abandon. They did not heed the final warning. This demonstrates that God was not set on his resolve to destroy humankind. He was acting the part of the father, giving his children one last time to change their ways. God gives his children many chances to repent. It is clear that he wishes them to repent, rather than to destroy them. First, he gives them 120 years, then a final week, and then on the day set for the flood to occur, he gives them one final chance. They can save themselves at any point in this time period by simply giving up their sin and returning to the grace of God. However, in the end, man's nature wins out, leading to his ultimate destruction.
The multiple warnings and grace periods given by God also demonstrate that man has a choice in his own destiny. Although God has the ultimate control over when his chosen people live and when they die, they still have choices to make. They are not like puppets or dolls, where the master determines their every move. They have a choice, indicating a certain degree of independence. They can choose to turn from sin and return to God, once again returning to his good graces, or they can continue to sin and suffer the ultimate consequences.
The argument of how much control God has over our lives is a key point of contention that divides Christians into many denominations. Some feel that we have no control; others feel that God allows us some control, but that we must be willing to suffer the consequences, for good or bad, of our actions. In the flood story, God does not say directly that he will cancel the flood if man returns to his graces, but it is strongly implied by God's actions in giving them many chances to repent and return to Godly ways. The flood was not a one way train with any brakes. God's multiple warnings before the flood suggest that man could have prevented his own destruction by a few simple acts, but he chose not to in the end, trading earthly pleasures for eternal peace.
The Rains Came
Genesis Chapter 7: 11-24 are the most widely debated among both Christians and non-Christians. The real question on everyone's mind is how big the flood actually was and how much devastation it entailed. This is a question that may never actually be answered by man, but it has become the key point of contention between scientists and theologians. Therefore, to not at least state the arguments of both sides would not do the flood narrative justice. The differences in interpretation of the flood differ as to whether the flood was universal, or whether it is simply a local event blown out of proportion.
When examining the two primary sides of the flood issue, one finds extremes on both sides. However, an examination of these sides appears to follow two basic patterns. Those that argue for wholesale destruction of the earth often do so through an exegesis of the flood narrative, Randy Hardy's exegesis falls into this category. His exegesis focuses on four keywords in the text, Machah (blot out), tehom (the deep), mayan (fountain or spring), and mabbul (cataclysm). The single point of this exegesis was to support his own position as to the size and scope of the flood, missing the deeper meanings of the rest of the flood narrative entirely.
Researchers who agree with the interpretation that the flood was a localized event often use outside evidence to support their argument. Mark Isaak's work is a prime example of this type of work. Mark Isaak poses many questions regarding logistics and the implications of the flood in an attempt to "prove" that the story of a global flood simply is not true. Hardy and Isaak exemplify the extremes of these two opposing viewpoints of the flood narrative. There are others that are somewhere in between these two extremes, but a majority of the writing regarding flood narrative gravitates heavily towards one of these extremes or the other.
The first point that needs to be made in this regard is that had the flood occurred in modern times with out satellites and communication...
Flood Narratives: A Comparison of Genesis vs. Gilgamesh Both the Hebrew Bible and the Babylonian "Gilgamesh" contain flood narratives of destruction and creation. However, while the Bible deploys the flood narrative as a moral judgment of God upon a particular generation of humanity, "Gilgamesh" merely uses the flood as an example of the fragile reality of the mortal human state. In the Bible, God looks upon the immorality of humankind, and
Sons of God" in Genesis 6 are human, by using the following verses as background on the subject: Deuteronomy 9:18, Joshua 7:6, Psalm 112, Genesis 4:26, Numbers 13:33, Job 1:6, 2:1. The Sons of God referred to so briefly in Genesis 6 are indeed human, because they have the distinct human vice of "wickedness," which in the end seals their fate. They are Sons of God who came to
According to the concept of homoousion, Christ the Son was consubstantial (sharing the same substance) with the Father." (Gill, 2006) Only then was it resolved that although Jesus was the Son of God, the unique nature of Jesus as Son meant that Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit all were won. The interpretation of the term "Son of God" continues to divide Judaism from Christianity, theologically and linguistically,
Creation Myth Analysis Case Study of the History of Biblical Creation Narratives What Is Myth? What Is History? Manetho Josephus Jeroboam Is Genesis 1:1-2:4 Myth? Is Genesis 1:1-2:4 History? Is Genesis 1:1-2:4 Both Myth and History? An Analysis of the Biblical Creation Narrative of Genesis 1:1-25 and Egypt's Possible Influence on the Historical Record God created the world in just six days, and rested on the seventh, but scholars have not rested at all over the millennia in their investigation of
King David as Described in 2 Samuel 11 Samuel 11 describes the events surrounding the sin of King David with regard to Uriah, whom he essentially had executed so that David's adultery with Uriah's wife would not be made known to him. This shameful action on the part of David displeased the Lord immensely, which is described in the following chapters. This chapter, however, reveals a side of David's character
Janie in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Celie in Alice Walker's the Color Purple The main character and narrator of Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), Janie, has much in common with the narrator and main character Celie within Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple (1982). Each speaks authentically, in her own voice: the too-often ignored voice of an African-American female in
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now