Reading: Genesis 4-6, Psalm 2

C-3PO: You will therefore be taken to the Dune Sea and cast into the Pit of Carkoon, the nesting place of the all-powerful Sarlacc.
Han Solo: Doesn’t sound so bad.
C-3PO: In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering, as you are slowly digested over a thousand years.
Han Solo: On second thought, let’s pass on that, huh?

Well, that’s cheery. We left off with the humans, banished from their correct place in the garden, wandering to the east to try and make a life for themselves from the cursed ground. Beginning in chapter 4 and continuing really until almost the end of chapter 11, we get to see in dramatic overview the deterioration of the human life due to the human declaration of independence from God. It doesn’t take long to realize these humans are in the belly of the Sarlacc. Enormous pain and suffering as humanity is slowly digested by rebellious sin. It is not a pretty story. Some of the elements we find out about are obviously problematic to us, some less so due to our present culture. Let’s review some of the dysfunction:

• Murder: within a single generation, the humans are killing each other.
• Distortion of Male-Female relationship: A couple of generations later, Lamech is collecting multiple wives, and some time after that, we get a story where the “sons of God” were taking any of the “daughter of men” they chose as wives. The language in both stories suggests these men were collecting women as prizes or property, rather than seeking out one woman as a partner, as God set up in Genesis 2.
• Revenge replaces justice: This same character Lamech sings a song to his wives, and it’s no love song. Lamech proudly claims to have killed at least two people for minor offences against him, and promises terrible vengeance against anyone who harms him. That he is telling this to his wives tells you something about the kind of relationship he had with them.

Finally in chapter 6, we are told that violence and evil have filled the earth wherever humans have grown and gone to live, and it has grieved God’s heart. But, there is a hopeful character that appears on the scene. Noah.

Parallel to the downward spiral story of Cain, Lamech, the sons of God, and eventually all humanity, is this single line descended from Seth, Adam and Eve’s third son. While we aren’t told much about them, we do know that at least some of them are considered righteous. Twice we are told one of the descendants of Adam through Seth “walked with God.” The first, an interesting and enigmatic character named Enoch, “walked with God” until he was taken away. The other is our second hero character after the failed Adam, Noah. Noah is held up as the only righteous man of his generation, and God tells him his plan to reboot creation.

All Things New

God sets out a plan to restart the fallen creation by wiping the earth clean of life outside of Noah and his family. He gives Noah instructions for the Ark, a big boat, in which Noah’s family and a bunch of animals will ride out a gigantic destructive flood. The flood comes and wipes out the evil and violent kingdoms of the earth, leaving Noah and his family with a bunch of animals to soon emerge into a clean and pristine world. Sounds familiar? Maybe take a moment to look back at Genesis 2 and the charge God lays on Adam and Eve. Tomorrow we will see God’s charge to Noah and whether Noah can rise to the challenge that Adam could not.