Context: Recently, I’ve been thinking about the flood narrative in Genesis, which illustrates the disastrous consequences of sinful, human behaviour:
YHWH saw the great wickedness of the people of the earth, that the thoughts in their hearts fashioned nothing but evil. YHWH was sorry that humankind had been created on earth; it pained God’s heart. YHWH said, “I will wipe this human race that I have created from the face of the earth – not only the humans, but also the animals, the reptiles, and the birds of the heavens. I am sorry I ever made them” (Genesis 6:5-7; TIB).
So God sent a great flood to wipe out all living things:
For forty days the flood continued… The waters rose so high over the earth that all the high mountains under heaven were covered… All life on the earth perished – birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all swarming creatures, and all humankind (Genesis 7:17-21; TIB).
The TIB translation includes an interesting scholarly footnote for this passage:
“Some commentators feel the story of the Flood speaks of the ending of the last ice age, when the melt from the receding glaciers raised the sea level high enough to submerge much of what had before been dry land.”
The Biblical flood story is usually seen as being safely in the past, but it recently occurred to me that it can also be understood as a prophecy, for as global warming melts the polar ice-caps, similarly catastrophic flooding is becoming inevitable.
Of course, some readers may rightly point out that after the flood God promised never to cause such terrible destruction again (Genesis 8:21; TIB). However, modern climate change is not an act of God. Rather, it is caused by human over-exploitation of finite earthly resources. The causes and consequences of global warming are therefore ours alone, as we move ever further from our original commission to, “cultivate and care for the land” (Genesis 2:15; TIB).
So, flowing from these reflections, here is today’s prayer:
From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed.
(Jeremiah 6:13; NLT).
Lord,
How can you bear our wastefulness?
How can you bear our greed?
How can you bear our selfishness?
How can you bear our hate?
How can you bear our ignorance?
How can you bear our pride?
How can you bear our foolishness?
You weep in us all, and wait.
How can you bear our bitterness?
How can you bear our strife?
How can you bear our wickedness?
How can you bear our sin?
How can you bear our cruelty?
How can you bear our wars?
How can you bear our lovelessness?
You weep, Lord, and wait within.
he LORD must wait for you to come to him
so he can show you his love and compassion.
(Isaiah 30:18; NLT).
You are the temple of the living God.
(2 Corinthians 6:16; NKJV).