Noah - Peacemaker

After a break, I'm back to writing my journal - and I want to finish up the seven days of thinking about Noah.

As in many of the stories in the bible, the final concept is peacemaking. So it goes with the story of Noah:

Noah also said, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.”

After the flood Noah lived 350 years. Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.

There are the statements that Canaan will be a slave to his brothers (see my last post), but there are also blessings towards Shem and Japheth.

- Praise to the Lord, the God of Shem (the older son)
- May God extend Japheth's territory (the middle son)
- May Japheth live in the tents of Shem

In essence, Noah is asking God to bless both his two older sons, and that they would be friends and live in peace together.

Up to now, this is something I have never done: Blessed my children together, out load, asking for there to be peace and friendship among them. I've often told them they should be friends, and I have prayed for that - but never blessed them in this way. I wonder what they and I have been missing out on...

God, remind me to bless my family. Remind me to do it out loud. Remind me to be a peacemaker.

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Sundays | Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

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