They multiplied. And multiplied. Babies. Multi-multiplied babies. And that would have been fine. Except they weren’t (fine). They grew to adults, men and women, who “corrupted their way,” chose their own wisdom, instead of His.*
And the sons of God found the women, daughters of man, fair, and multiplied more babies and more false-godhood and sin. Until it shrieked its violence up to the heavens.*
And God Himself, torn hard with their state of depravity, the corruption all mankind had proved to be, stood ready to bring the next thing.
It was time.
Time for sweeping away all the grime and blood and violence. Washing it away. Great baptism of earth. All plunged beneath the roiling, into death. But no reaching down came yet, to pull them up, to resurrect them from judgment’s flood.
Still, that time produced a baby of promise.
His father Lamech named him Noah. “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed,” he said.*
Was Lamech a prophet? Or was he thinking of, hoping for, the Child of Promise that God had spoken of to Eve (“He shall bruise the serpent’s head”)? Perhaps. Adam had lived long enough for Lamech’s father to be his contemporary. They could even have known each other and talked together, much. And what Baby Noah became certainly seems rare for his time. Amid the depravity and violence, he “was a just man, and perfect in his ways. He found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”*
He was a picture of what the Child of promise would someday be: One Who would carry a remnant to safe deliverance. The Christ Child would provide passage across the deep between Earth and Heaven as no mere man could. And Noah would picture this passage as he made it with his family over the deep that would cover all the earth.
His faithful obedience to God’s instruction saved the human race from extinction. And within the loins of one of those passengers was “the seed of the woman” – or, at least, the seed of the seed – the line of promise still held.
The child of promise was still to come…
*[To read, hover your cursor:
Genesis 5:28-29; 6:1-2,5-8,11-14; 7:1; 9:1]
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In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I am searching for prophecies and foreshadowings of the Christ child, book by book. I plan to post (nearly) every weekday (leaving myself some margin) a short peek at some hint or promise of the coming baby who would make all the difference. Like the wise men, I’ll be Seeking the Christ Child, but in the Old Testament, and sharing what I find. I hope you’ll join me, because if it turns out as rewarding as the past spring’s pre-Easter explorations, this focus could help make this one of the richest, most blessed Christmas seasons yet.
Yesterday began the series, with Seeking the Christ Child (1) – A Baby Gave Her Hope
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Linking to this Blog Hop:
Noah is such a wonderful example of ‘faithful obedience’. I actually just wrote a post on Sunday of a modern day Noah that I met in South Africa last month. She started the first AIDS hospice and has saved many, just as Noah, because she obeyed.
Wow…a prophecy post nearly every day. That is a tall commitment. I’ll be back!
Kinda scary, isn’t it? Especially since I don’t have it all mapped out in outline ahead of time. That’s why I almost backed out. And I do have to be careful not to “stretch” scripture to fit what I’m after! But I do expect to find “wonderful things in” God’s word. So, we’ll see…
I read your post about Corinne in South Africa, and just loved it! I love how God shows His “fingerprints” – and provision – that way when we take the brave step of obeying what’s going to look crazy to the world! I hope everyone who reads these comments reads that post of yours!
Rich blessings from God to you! Thanks for your comment.