Wednesday Quote: The Jesus Storybook Bible (again)

I wonder if I should be embarrassed to admit publicly how often the Lord teaches me through material meant for small children? I guess the Lord will use whatever is available to Him!!

Here’s part of the story on Noah, which is certainly familiar enough to me, but I was really struck by this version last night:

…Now Noah was God’s friend (which was odd in those days because no one else was). Noah listened to God. He talked to God. He just loved being with God, like you do with your best friend.

“Noah,” God said. “Things have gone wrong. People have filled my world with hate instead of love. They are destroying themselves…and each other…and my world. I must stop them. First, we’ll build an ark.” (Do you know how to build an ark? Neither did Noah. Luckily, God knew and He would show Noah.)

“A storm is coming,” God told Noah. “But I will rescue you. I promise. I’ll send the animals to you – ones that creep and crawl and slither and slime and gallop and hop and bound and climb. And don’t forget to pack everyone’s food.”

The storm was going to wash away all the hate and sadness and everything that had gone wrong, and make the world clean again. God had thought up a way to keep Noah safe, but Noah would have to trust God and do exactly what God told him.

So Noah built an ark.

I love the emphasis in this version of the story. Whenever I’ve considered Noah in Genesis 6, or heard that passage taught, the emphasis is almost always on Noah’s obedience, particularly in the face of public ridicule. Last night as I read the version above, it occurred to me for the first time: Noah wasn’t obeying a God he didn’t know. Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9), He “was God’s friend… Noah listened to God. He talked to God. He just loved being with God, like you do with your best friend.”

I wonder how often I put obedience before relationship. I focus on doing what God wants before KNOWING God. I want to be obedient, but don’t take time to be God’s friend. Maybe that’s why we struggle with obeying God – because we’re trying to obey God without first knowing God.  I don’t think that means you excuse disobeying God’s Word until you can get to know Him better… But I do think my focus should be on walking with God first, being His friend. Then when I come to lessons of obedience, I can trust God and do what He tells me.

After all, He is trustworthy. Here’s the end of the story:

And like a warrior who puts away his bow and arrow at the end of a great battle, God said, “See I have hung up my bow in the clouds. And there, in the clouds – just where the storm meets the sun – was a beautiful bow made of light.

It was a new beginning in God’s world.

It wasn’t long before everything went wrong again, but God wasn’t surprised, He knew this would happen. That’s why, before the beginning of time, He had another plan – a better plan. A plan not to destroy the world, but to rescue it – a plan to one day send His own Son, the Rescuer.

God’s strong anger against hate and sadness and death would come down once more – but not on His people, or His world. No, God’s war bow was not pointing down at His people.

It was pointing up, into the heart of heaven.