Silent Noah

Scripture – Genesis 9:8-11 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Observation – (Write down what you see in the scripture.) In all the years I’ve known this story, I never noticed Noah is silent throughout the whole adventure. At least, there is no recorded speech from him in the Biblical accounts. I’ve seen and heard a lot of adaptations of Noah’s story – films, plays, sermons, etc. Of course they all have Noah saying a lot. And I just assume that’s in the Bible. But, as we can see, Noah speaks only through his actions.

Application – (Write how you will be different today because of what you have just read.) One of the neat things about doing this kind of regular reading and reflecting is that I discover things like this. I find myself wondering, how much of my Biblical understanding is informed by non-Biblical sources? (For example, how many wise men came to Bethlehem?) I will keep myself open to God’s written word. I’ll pay attention to what is there and to what is not. It’s easy to get lazy. Rather than guessing, I will look up Biblical references before I quote them.

Prayer – (Write out a brief prayer.) Thank you for your written word, Lord. Keep me open to what’s in the Bible and what’s in my imagination. Help me recognize traditional beliefs for what they are. Thank you again for your living Word.