Friday, December 19, 2014

Deja Vu Blogfest: My Thoughts about a Favorite Story



          D.L. Hammons has hosted the Deja Vu Blogfest for a couple of years now.  In this event bloggers have the opportunity to give a second chance to neglected posts that appeared over the previous year.  This is a time when we're also able to allow other bloggers who might be unfamiliar with what we do take a look at an example of our work.

           A Few Words is but one of four blogs that I publish.  I normally post on this blog on Sundays only unless there is a special reason for posting such as this blogfest or the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.    This is my least visited blog, partly due the nature of its subject matter of spirituality and probably because I typically lead off with a Bible verse which I realize might be an immediate turn-off to some visitors.  It's what I do here and I can only hope that those who do manage to make their ways here might be open minded enough to just read through and consider what I have to offer.   For my look back I am offering a post from March 30th which deals with one of my favorite stories from the Bible. 

  Noah

       
The Rainbow set as the symbol of the Covenant ...
The Rainbow set as the symbol of the Covenant with Noah after the Great Flood of the Bible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


He set the earth on its foundations;
    it can never be moved.
You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
But at your rebuke the waters fled,
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
    they went down into the valleys,
    to the place you assigned for them.
You set a boundary they cannot cross;
    never again will they cover the earth.

Psalm 104:5-9

New International Version (NIV)

        The story of Noah is among my favorites in the Bible.   Like so many Bible stories, this account does not go into great detail about all that happened, but there is enough to not only have a clear picture of the event, but also to infer many other possibilities of the consequences of such a great flood.  A worldwide deluge would have catastrophic impact.

          Just thinking of the massive mudslide in the state of Washington recently, we can glean some idea of how forty days of rain would affect the world.   Waters high and deep enough to cover all of the mountains of Earth would cause significant erosion.  The shifting of land as waters receded would have a tumultuous effect upon the geological makeup of our planet.   We can only imagine, but we can probably also come to some pretty good conclusions.

         The epic Bible stories of the Old Testament can fuel some interesting speculation, but ultimately that is not the point of those stories.  For example, the story of Noah is about the faith of a man, the evil of the world, and obedience to God.  But the real story is what is still ultimately to come to this world.   Noah's story was amazing, but nothing like the story of Jesus.  

         We may be the modern version of Noah.   Or we may be like those lost in the flood.  Who do you want to be?


“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.   As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.   For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."

Matthew 24:36-39

New International Version (NIV)