On behalf of the 63rd RD.
House Cleaning, Noah Part 3
Genesis 6: 17-21
“Understand that I am bringing a flood---floodwaters on the earth to destroy every creature under heaven with the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. You are also to bring into the ark two of all the living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of everything—from the birds according to their kinds, from the livestock according to their kinds and from the animals that crawl on the ground according to their kinds—will come to you so that you can keep them alive. Take with you every kind of food that is eaten; gather it as food for you and for them.” (HCSB)
Housekeeping is important when living in a small apartment as I have come to learn living in mine. I don’t have a separate room to hide my mess. I have to use all of my cupboard space wisely, and keep organized or the disorganization spreads out into the open spaces. I am using my only table, a breakfast bar, for my office, so keeping the dishes washed and put away has become number one priority or the food mess intrudes into my office mess and so on. I think you get the picture. My only window/patio door to my apartment is in the bed area, so if my bed is un-made when guests come they will see it, but if I shut the bedroom sliding door I have no natural light coming in.
I can only imagine that housekeeping for Noah and his family would have been a fulltime job. They had to have enough food to feed the animals for a year while in the ark. The ark had no windows and only one door that God shut. What did they do with animal waste product? If animals eat they also…you get my meaning. Did Noah design a waste ejection system, a stove pipe for smoke while cooking, and did they have enough water to do laundry? Did the waste just accumulate at the bottom of the ark creating a continuous aroma? Did they only have Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) for a year and few months. Did they just wear dirty clothes that smelled like the barn for a year and some months? These questions come to my mind when I read the above passage.
It’s difficult to keep my little apartment in orderly fashion all the time, but how orderly or disorderly did the ark become during the year+ that the earth flooded? I bet they were glad when they left the ark. I don’t think Noah and his family, if still living today, would be desirous of finding the ark. Often, we only look at disorder as an outward appearance, but God looks at the inward man.
Putting our self-right first is necessary before we can put others right. When we have put our own hearts right first then putting others right seems less important. God is more concerned with our inward wellbeing, and less concerned with the places where we live, work and eat. I think Noah gained a good understanding of this when he lived in that ark for over a year trying to get along with humans and animals. The day he exited the ark he had a better appreciation of caring for others selflessly, or in the process of negotiating compromise in a situation where no one could get out of each other’s space.
When we look back on this past year think about Noah stuck in an ark on an ocean of water not his decision or making. We didn’t plan on living through a pandemic and I ‘m pretty sure Noah didn’t plan on living through a flood, but now that we are here how can we make the best of it? One of these days the pandemic will be a thing of the past so let us make sure we live today considering ourselves and others we interact with as if our future depends on it because in way, it does.
Prayer for you today:
Where ever our symbolic ark lands I pray that we are more concerned with the wellbeing of others and of ourselves instead of the messiness around us. May we bear one another up, and when we fail, I pray that forgiveness and grace be fast on our lips and reflected in our actions. Amen.
CH (MAJ) Dawn Siebold
Here is the direct email and phone number for anyone requesting support from the 63d RD Chaplain office,
usarmy.usarc.63-rsc.list.chaplain-all-users@mail.mil
650-526-9668