June 7, 2026:

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.^‘ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (Genesis 6.7-8)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

In my study and reading of the Old Testament, I found there are to main story threads. One thread is that which is influenced by the Law and thus the “law keepers.” They would represent the judges and rulers. The other thread is that which is influenced by the Spirit. Yes, while I recognize the entire Word of God exists solely by the presence of the Holy Spirit, the theme of the work of the Spirit is a powerful influencer. It would exist in and through those whose decisions were of a mind and heart for worship such as the priests and the prophets. There are times when the difference is slight between them. There the Law and the Spirit are interwoven. We may be able to discern the independence of these threads in the presentation of “pairs.” There are a great number of “pairs” in scripture starting from the very beginning with the creation of “the heavens and the earth.” Do you not find it interesting how the creation story’s “formless and empty,” some interpret it as “chaos,” is universally applied? Yet, with the creation of “the heavens and the earth,” it is only the earth that is indeed “formless and void.” By the time Satan enters the story, “chaos” becomes a part of the whole picture. So, let us consider for a moment the threads which I have mentioned. Going back to Genesis 1.2 we read, “…and the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the deep.” Throughout the whole of this vignette of God’s creation in chapter one, God commands and the Spirit acts. God’s work is a reflection of His own image from beginning to end. It comes alive in reality by the very ruach of God, the presence and indwelling (including, I would suggest, an on-dwelling) of the Holy Spirit. The very formation of the conclusion of God’s creative effort, the Sabbath Day as it will become known, demonstrates the internal defining the external. When Jesus declared, while defending the actions of the disciples harvesting grain on the Sabbath for a midday snack on their journey (which itself could have been seen as a violation of the Sabbath), “Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath,” (Mark 2.27) He was alluding to 1 Samuel 21.1-6. In that reflection, David declares that eating the shewbread was not a violation as it represented God’s provision for His anointed. This, by the way, would also help to blend the threads of Law and Spirit with the presented understanding of David as a true shepherd being both king (Law) and priest (Spirit). Those interwoven threads strengthened the fabric of David’s identity and authority. It was become a major element in discerning and projecting the angst of the story in the visible pair of Saul and David. Looking for other such “pairs” throughout scripture help us to read and discern the message which is being presented by those who are governed by the mind of the Law and those who are led by the Spirit.

It is with this in mind that I can read the passage from Genesis 6 presented for today’s reflection (building on the previous one from last Friday). “God regretted He had even made humankind,” does not speak to their physical presence and existence in the midst of all that God had made. A human person as one of the elements of creation in the whole detailed presentation of God’s work produced by the Holy Spirit at His command is not at fault. That would make as much sense as saying creation was flawed with a tree, a bird, a fish, a flower, a planet, a star, a cloud or any one of a myriad of created things. What sets human beings apart from all creation is the very defined inclusion of the Holy Spirit as more than just an actor through whom the Word of God is presented on the stage of the cosmos, primarily on the earth which exists in the midst of the heavens. When God “breathes” His ruach into humanity and gives them His life, it is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit which is truly at work on them and in them. It is a spirit of discernment which would lead them to know how to manage the difference between themselves and all other creatures including the difference between themselves and God. This is where I believe we will find God’s “regret” over ever creating human beings. It is not in their physical presence but in separating them out from all other creatures. Does this mean God made a mistake? Is His regret truly a lament which leads to a need for repentance on His part? Who would receive His confession and thus offer forgiveness, mercy and grace that would restore Him to wholeness? Uh, that would not be happening! So, what then are we left with? The answer to that question is a great reminder of what we already know from the beginning of the “eighth” day. It is the powerful and strategic thread of “but….”

In the story, we hear of God’s regret, or God’s lament, for seeing the possibility of “something going wrong” being placed alongside the reality of “something going right.” The interjection of “but Noah…”, is the redeeming truth where the Law and the Spirit keeping the cord of two threads from unravelling. In Noah, God found hope for a better future. It was no different really than the hope God found in the Garden with Adam and Eve when they weakly confessed their wrongdoing. I say “weakly” because they confessed their actions were the result of another. Eve would blame the Serpent. She should have, if you remember, blamed Adam for not standing his ground as the head of the family. He should have put distance between her and the Serpent in order to draw themselves closer to God and abide by His command (the first Law given to humanity. It was a law because it carried with it a consequence that could not be deferred.) Adam, of course, blamed Eve while actually blaming God for ever giving him such a creature that would lead him into temptation. How quickly Adam forgot that Eve was “bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh whom he would call ‘woman’ for she was taken out or man.” (Genesis 2.23) The Serpent, meanwhile, had no one to blame but himself. This demonstration shows that “the Serpent,” Satan, was not a creature of the earth except for in appearance. He had chosen the image he would present himself as to the world. While he will choose other images to mask himself, he will forever in the realm of God be known as a serpent. In Noah, however, we do not hear of a “fatal flaw.” We would learn of that later in his drunken affection for his own work being a vinedresser. It was as if he, too, would blame God for his problem. He would say, “If You hadn’t made grapes for wine, I wouldn’t drink it and get drunk.” Of course, it is not the wine that is at fault but the indulgence. This is the commonality every human being has and it is the definition of the outcome of what sin does to humanity. Still, Noah was found to be the redeeming factor in all of creation. Perhaps he was a bit like Enoch who walked with God for 365 years and then God simply “took him.” God took Noah on a different journey. It was a journey of a spiritual deliverance which would save humanity from the full wrath of God. It was a journey that would exhibit the common theme of scripture: mercy and grace.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.