Hollywood is finding religion. Between God's Not Dead, The Son of God, Noah, and the future Ten Commandments remake, movie studios are turning to the Bible as source material almost as much as they have turned to comic books in recent years. Personally, I'm interested in seeing these 'Christian movies', but unfortunately not in a financial position to take my wife on dates to the theater to see each and every one. I'll wait for them to come out on DVD - Redbox is received much better by our bank account right now.
I will probably see them, but it's been the Church's responses to these films that have really grabbed my attention. Nationally and locally, I've observed a variety of responses from
Christians - everything from adamant rejection to wholesale endorsement.
Skepticism and ambivalence can also be seen from church-going folk as
well. Hopefully enough of us evangelicals can take a look in the mirror and resist an uninformed knee-jerk response and interact with this cultural trend in a wiser way.
I found this particular discussion to strike the right notes. The bulk of the first half specifically discusses the Noah movie. It was fair and balanced. At around the 27:00 mark however, the focus turns to how we as Christ-followers ought to engage with 'biblical' movies and movies in general. It's this last part of the video I found the most beneficial. Props to Dr. Darrell Bock, Naima Lett, and Dallas Theological Seminary for providing an excellent thought-provoking presentation.
After the Flood, in Genesis 9, God established his covenant with Noah and all of his creation:
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you10 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.11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
God promises never to destroy the earth with a world-wide flood. He signifies His enduring promise with the rainbow:
12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth."
God's promises never fail and His Word endures forever. I was reminded of this Chris Tomlin song as I studied up on Genesis 9. Beyond just the promise of safety from a flood though, the Rainbow also prompts me to think of Christ and the New Covenant He established in the New Testament.
Both the Noahic Covenant and the New Covenant (Luke 22:20-22) are symbolized by visual aids: The Rainbow and the Bread & Cup. Both are promises of 'wrath-avoidance'. Noah's dealt with the Flood and the New Covenant deals more directly with the spiritual condemnation that we deserve because of our sins. Both are beautiful promises of God's grace and salvation.
"Give Thanks to our Lord, Our God and King - His love endures forever!"
Have you ever achieved a long-held goal or been able to live out a dream? When was the last time you felt your heart beating fast and adrenaline coursing pure excitement through your veins? I relate that kind of experience to Genesis 9. Ok, the Flood (in ch.6-8) was more of a nightmare than a dream, but it certainly seems to me a lot like those moments after you get off a super-fast roller coaster. "Now what?" "What's next?" "Where's the bathroom?" Scripture follows Noah and his family as God sets forth his desire for them to rebuild and replenish the earth. And to guide them in the right direction, God confirms some special privileges for mankind moving forward. They involve having babies, eating meat, and asserting one's dominance over other creatures. The privileges also involve security, peace, and confidence, symbolized by beauty. It's against this backdrop that the end of the chapter seems awkward. But this final record of Noah's life teaches us about the importance of how we handle our privileges. Do we exploit them, use them for our advantage or amusement (Ham-9:20-23) or do we use them properly and purely as Shem and Japheth (9:23)?
Spiderman comics have famously promoted the wisdom that "with great power comes great responsibility" - and Noah and his sons graphically personify it.
This past weekend, we continued to follow the life of Noah, specifically looking at The Flood episode. The previous week's passage (ch.6) detailed everything leading up to the historic catastrophe, and the following chapters leave no doubt about God's powerful judgment. While The Flood is largely about God's punishment of humanity for their pervasive sin, it is equally as much about God's grace to Noah, his family, and the animals on the Ark. God graciously directs, protects, remembers, and restores Noah. Noah's response of obedience, patience, and worship provide examples for us to emulate. "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" is quite possibly my favorite older hymn and it echoes those same themes found in Genesis 7-8. It expresses commitment, praise, and humility much like Noah did through the most trying year of his life.
The Flood renewed the physical creation that was Earth. It did not permanently renew the human heart (8:21) however, but God still promises blessing and we know ultimately had a solution in mind with Jesus. This great hymn likewise recognizes our continuing proclivity to sin and turns to Christ our Savior for the victory and forgiveness we need.
Maybe the most well-known stories of the early chapters of Genesis is that of Noah and the Ark. Humanity is so depraved and wicked, God is left with no other option but to punish the world with a catastrophic flood that will destroy all living things - except Noah and his family. And the animals God sends their way.
Maybe no other song is as directly tied to the stories of Genesis as this one. It came out while I was in high school and I actually remember a non-Christian friend asking me about it before I'd even heard it. He had heard it on a secular alt. rock station. It took the imagery of The Flood and allegorized it a little so it applied to us personally. We all are weak, dying, and in need of God's help to save us.
