3: NOAH - How God Saved One Family - Genesis 5:28-9:17

This story starts at 8:10

Here is another storyteller's version: https://vimeo.com/78321561


HIS WORDS: Genesis 5:28-9:17

MY WORDS

In place of my own paraphrase, I typed out J.O. Terry's words from a book about oral storytelling called God and Woman. 

(On the copyright page, full permission is given for the story lessons to be "reproduced, photocopied, translated into other languages, or adapted in part or the whole, for the glory of God and to the benefit of women living in oral cultures. . .")

"How God Saved One Family"

One of Seth's descendants was a man named Noah which means comfort because his parents said "he will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands because the earth was cursed by the Lord." At that time there were many men and women living on the earth. They were doing things not pleasing to God. God saw their wickedness and that their hearts were filled with evil thoughts. Because of their great wickedness, God was going to destroy all people that He had created and all the animals and birds from the face of the earth.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord for he was a righteous man and blameless among the people of his day. It was said that Noah "walked with God." Noah had a wife and three sons: Japheth, Shem, and Ham. So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence and their wickedness. So make yourself an ark (boat) of wood with rooms inside it. Seal it with pitch (tar) inside and out." God also said, "I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life. Everything on earth with the breath of life will perish.

But I will establish my covenant with you. And you will enter the ark with your wife and your sons and your sons' wives. You are to bring into the ark two of every kind of creature -- a male and a female of all animals and every kind of food for them and for your family" Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Then the Lord said, "Go into the ark and take your whole family because I have found you righteous among all the people. Seven days from now I will send rain upon the earth." So Noah took his wife and his sons Japheth, Shem, and Ham, and his sons' wives, eight in all, and entered the ark, along with all the animals. Then the Lord closed the door.

It happened as the Lord said. It began to rain for 40 days and nights. The heavens burst open and every living thing with the breath of life perished except those safe with Noah inside the ark. The waters continued a long time until God remembered Noah and sent a wind over the earth to dry the waters.

One day Noah sent out a raven to see if the earth were dry. Again he sent out a dove which brought back a leaf in its beak. Then Noah knew the earth was dry at last. God said to Noah, "Come out of the ark, you and your wife, your sons and your sons' wives. Bring out all the animals." 

Noah built an altar to the Lord and offered a thanksgiving sacrifice. God was pleased and promised never again to destroy the earth by water. Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Have many children and replenish the earth. Everything that lives and moves will now be food for you. But you must not eat meat that still has lifeblood in it." And God placed the rainbow in the sky as a sign of God's covenant with man. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, people will remember God's covenant with Noah never to destroy the earth again by water. 

I WILL (DID)

Do EVERYTHING the Lord commands me to do today. No partial obedience. Listen and FULL obey! 

(Also went and saw Noah in the movie theatre for an impromptu date. It is a Hollywood version with silly distortions for dramatic effect, but I still think it has its merits for helping me visualize the Biblical narrative.)