On the Comfort Seen in the Flood

Nearly everyone in the world is familiar with the Story of the Great Flood and Noah’s
Ark.  However, most people, even some who call themselves Christian, do not hold the story to be true.  For many it is just too terrible to imagine that God could be so disappointed with his creation that he felt the need to destroy it.  However, it did happen.  The Lord did see the need to destroy it and did cover the entire world with water for at least 150 days.  This water did kill every person and land animal that was not in Noah’s
Ark.  The Lord had shown his wrath.  There is a time coming when his wrath will be shown again.

Even in the midst of this rather unpleasant story, there are many things in which we Christians can find comfort.  The first and most obvious point in which we can find comfort is that God protected the faithful, his Elect from the punishment.  God is in control of his judgments and he will not execute them without providing for the safety of his people.  We see God providing Noah with safety in this story by giving him the exact information he needed to build the ark, and when he needed to enter it.  After they entered the ark, we find that it was the Lord himself who shut Noah and his family safely in the ark (Gen 7:16).   

This same attitude is shown by God when he rescues Lot and his family before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.  In verse 16 we see that even after the Lord sent angels to personally warn lot, he still hesitated in leaving the city.  Nevertheless, because of God’s compassion, the Angels physically took hold of them and brought them out of the city.  After it was decided that Lot and his family would take refuge in the small city of Zoar, God tells him “Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”  Even after having to physically remove Lot and his family from the cities about to be destroyed, he refuses to do anything until
Lot was in a place where he would be safe.

In Egypt, the Lord provided for the safety of his chosen people when he inflicted the Hebrew’s captors with the ten plagues.  When it was the plague causing the death of the livestock, the Hebrews were protected from the plague by God.  In the same way we are told that the Boils only affected the Egyptians.  The Plague of hail did not affect the land of
Goshen, where the Israelites were.  The Lord protected the Israelites in the same way from the darkness and the Death of the first-born.  In this time of great tribulation for the entire country of Egypt, God protected his chosen people, his Elect.  He did not need to remove them from Egypt to protect them, he simply provided safety and security to them.

 As Christians, we know that we too have God looking out for us.  In our time of great tribulation, we know that God will provide for our safety and our security, just has He has done for his people through the ages.  This does not mean that we will have an easy life, or that we will not be persecuted, we will.  However we will continue to be strengthened by the Lord and will eventually be brought home to be with him. 

The next item of comfort we see in the account of the flood is one that many probably overlook, it is simply the fact that God chose to take 40 days to destroy the world (and an additional 150 for the water to subside.  Compared to the six days that Good took to create the world, this is an extraordinarily long time.  He could have done it in the blink of an eye, but he chose to do it much more slowly.  I certainly see this as a comfort, a reminder that God is slow to anger.  It shows us that this was something that God saw as necessary to do, not desirable.  We know that God desires the salvation of all men (Eze 33:11, 1 Tim 2:3-4), the destruction of the entire world, save Noah’s family, must have been something that God would not have done if it was not absolutely necessary.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we know that the waters of the flood are a type of the waters of Holy Baptism. 

When God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. [1Pe 3:20-22 ESV]

When we look at the flood, we do see death and destruction, but we also see God saving lives through water.  This naturally reminds us of the Sacrament of Baptism in which we are granted new life through God’s Word connected with the water.  We are reborn and given new life, just as those who came through the flood started a new life after being saved through God’s promise connected with the water of the flood. 

Although on first glance we see nothing but death and destruction in the account of the flood, upon a closer inspection we also see many examples of God’s Grace being shown to his Elect.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

   

Christ’s Regal Office

Christ’s third and final office is that of a King.  I have kind of struggled with where I wanted to go with this Third and Final office.  There are many different applications and even interpretations of Christ’s regal office.  There are also many errors and misinterpretations that have been made regarding his office. 

I recently read through Second Samuel, and was struck by chapter 5 when David becomes King over Israel.  What did God tell him about his new role as King?  He said that “You will Shepherd my people Israel.”  Israel’s greatest Earthly king was a simple shepherd.  After he became King, he remained a shepherd. 

The most comforting aspect of Christ’s regal office is that of the Good Shepherd.  I had written much about this, but though of a hymn, based on psalm 23, that says it all better than I ever could, so I will simply leave you with that as the conclusion of this look at Christ’s Threefold office.

The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Henry W. Baker

The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never,
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thy unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

On The Concept of a Clean Heart

“Create In Me a Clean Heart O God!”  These words should be familiar to most of us.  We sing them every Sunday.  The words come from Psalm 51, and they are the epitome of Repentance.  This is what it means to be repentant, to have God create a clean heart in you.  It is not something that you can do yourself, it is the Very Work of the Holy Spirit.  When we say “Create in me a Clean Heart” what is it that we are asking for?

 According to Psalm 51, a clean heart is a combination of Three different things: 

Oddly enough, the first characteristic of a Clean Heart is that it recognizes its uncleanness, its sin.  David Specifically references his own sin and guilt in verses 3 and 14 of this psalm.  David had stolen another man’s wife, tried to cover it up, and when that didn’t work, eventually had the man killed.  The Lord knew and sent a prophet to accuse him, to preach the law and show him his sin.  (2 Sam 11 and 2 Sam 12)  Being Shown his sin was the first part of having a clean heart created in him. 

 It is the same for us.  We too commit sins on a daily basis.  We commit sins of Omissions and sins of Commission.  Whenever we have broken onerule of God, we have broken the entire Law of God. (James 2:10)  We too need to be shown our sin.  Unlike David, God does not send us a prophet to point it out.  However God himself will point out our sin through the work Law (Romans 3:20, 7:7) and convicts us of that sin through the Holy Spirit (John 16:5-11).  We do not traditionally think of the Spirit as convicting us, but it is true.  The Holy Spirit uses the Law to convict us of our sin and show us our need for a savior.  Thus, through the Holy Spirit, the Law leads us towards Christ. (Gal 3:24)

In addition to recognizing our actual sins, we need to recognize our guilt for Original Sin (v. 5).  We are all Guilty before God for Adam’s sin.  (Rom 5:12,18).  Because of this original sin, our Nature is completely corrupt (Gen 8:21, John3:6)  Even if we could stop ourselves from committing actual sins, we would still be guilty of this sin that we inherited.

 An important part of recognizing this sin is also recognizing the punishment we deserve for this sin.  According to v.11 the punishment for sin is the removal of the Holy Spirit from ones Life, as well as being cast away from God’s presence.  (this punishment is referred to in two ways: temporarily as hardening of the heart, eternally as hell) David had seen this happen all too closely in his predecessor, King Saul.  (See 1 Sam 16)  he knew what God’s punishment looked like.  He knew what he deserved.  All of this encompasses the first part of a clean heart.

 The second part of a clean heart is that it rejoices in its savior. David here knows that even though he sinned, God had planned and promised his salvation (v. 12).  We know that this Savior was Jesus Christ who kept the Law perfectly for us (Jn 8:46), suffered God’s Punishment (Isaiah 53, especially vs. 5), and sealed this salvation for us by his resurrection (Rom 4:25).  All of this we receive by Grace though Faith as a gift of God (Eph 2:8-9).  This Faith, a new Spiritual Life, is created in us by the Holy Spirit (John 6:63).  This Salvation brings Joy and Peace to our troubled and sin filled hearts.  This salvation is the second part of a clean heart.

Finally, a clean heart is a thankful and serving heart.  A clean heart will confess its God, like David (v.13).  A clean heart will sing God’ Praises, like David (v. 15).  A clean heart has been given a willing spirit and happily does God’s will (v. 12, psa 110:3, 119:32).  A clean heart is steadfast in God’s Truth (v. 10, Heb 13:9).

 These three things together make up a clean heart, a new heart to replace our dead, sinful heart.  We cannot create this our self, only God can do so for us.  This is the true essence of repentance, to be completely dependant on God for all things.  When we sing this portion of Psalm 51, this is what we are asking for.  Not for strength to make ourselves right with God, not for God to accept us as who we are, but for God to remake us and use us as he sees fit.

 SOLI DEO GLORIA