Noah - Poor in Spirit

The story of Noah is a hard one to understand. Once I get past the mental picture of the ark and animals, I realize its a story of great evil, death and a restart of mankind.

All of mankind was poor in spirit:

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 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.

The story is clear about how bad people were at that time, and that Noah was the only good one.

I'm fascinated that God regretted his decision to make mankind. Some versions say God repented.

I thought God didn't make mistakes, or change his mind, or regret anything. If he knew all that would happen, how did he come to this point, deciding to kill almost everyone?

I think God is not definable. He is, for the most part, unknowable while I'm here on earth. I only see little glimpses that give me clues to how he thinks. To try to bring him down to my level, where he made a bad decision that he tried to fix, is foolish.

I like this quote from Einstein: "I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details."

So I accept that this was the way God decided to work it out. He didn't wipe out everyone, he kept the best seed for planting - Noah. Mankind would survive and  grow.

God, forgive me for all the evil I have done. Thank you for creating me and allowing me to live. I want to know your thoughts, even just a few of them.

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Mondays | Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.

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