Today in our series “Family Business” we will see that life situations outside of his family can cause stress and pressure on a father. If these are not handled well, failure inside the family can result. Let’s begin by reading Genesis 6:1-7:
When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. 3 And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men. 5 When the Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, 6 the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 Then the Lord said, “I will wipe off from the face of the earth mankind, whom I created, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.”
Every child in Sunday School learns the story of Noah and the Great Flood. Geologists, archeologists, and other scholars have debated whether this flood happened or not, but none have been able to prove that it didn’t happen the way that the Bible says it did. In truth, every ancient civilization includes a flood in the story of their beginnings.
Of course, since we accept the Bible to be God’s Inspired Word, we know that the Flood did happen, and we must come to grips with what it means in terms of Gods eternal plan.
When I think of the Flood, I think of Noah, and when I think of Noah, I think of Ernest Thayer’s poem, “Casey at The Bat”. So, why does this poem remind me of the flood? Well, because the hero of both stories had feet of clay.
First, we can See the Failure of Creation:
The poem begins with the Mudville nine in a dire situation,
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day, The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play. And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same, a pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game. A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast. They thought, "if only Casey could but get a whack at that. We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat." But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake; and the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake. So upon that stricken multitude, grim melancholy sat; for there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.
At this time, the condition of this world was also dire! God had made a perfect, beautiful world. Satan had struck back at Him through His creation and had spoiled it through sin. Now man had followed suit and was wallowing in his rebellion, like a child playing with a cake at a first birthday party. Go big or go home, right?
God had had it; He was fed-up with human sin! God is perfect and He cannot abide sin. God is also righteous, and He cannot allow sin. Like Popeye, God had “stood all He could stands, and he couldn’t stands no more,” or as a friend might say, people had, “. . . gotten on God’s very last nerve.” Yet God was loving; He gave them 120 years of probation to change their way of life. Still, they refused to repent.
James Dobson has taught for many years that the key to child discipline is not to yell or scream, but to act, and God decided to act. He decided to blot out sinful humanity. Yet, like the poem “Casey at the Bat,” there was a possible hero, a man named Noah. Let’s read Genesis 6:8-22,
Noah, however, found favor in the sight of the Lord. 9 These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with wickedness. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth was, for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth. 13 Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth. 14 “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside. 15 This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 You are to make a roof, finishing the sides of the ark to within 18 inches of the roof. You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper decks. 17 “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 die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. 19 You are also to bring into the ark two of all the living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 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. 21 Take with you every kind of food that is eaten; gather it as food for you and for them.” 22 And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.
Next, we can See the Faithfulness of Noah:
Like a diamond in Mudville, Noah’s character shined. He found favor in God’s sight, and he was just towards people. Noah also walked with God like Enoch had done. He was not perfect, but he was righteous in serving God, and so he was chosen to save the remnant of humanity.
One might say, that like Casey was for his baseball team, Noah was humanity’s only hope. This was not only a great honor, but a huge challenge!
I once counseled with a young pastor who had been told that he was the last hope of a struggling church. No pressure, right? Well, in truth that church had great expectations of him, in the same way that the crowd did when they saw that Casey was going to get to bat:
But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all, and Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball; and when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred, there was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third. Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell; it rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell; it pounded through on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat; for Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat. There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place, there was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face. And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat, no stranger in the crowd could doubt t'was Casey at the bat. Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt. Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Like Casey, Noah seemed to be up to the challenge. And for the most part, he was. He was given an outrageous task, but he was both obedient and diligent to accomplish it. The Ark was probably a 450 foot-long, 75 foot-wide, 4,000-ton ship. Can you imagine what his neighbors said? His wife? And yet Noah did it all! Not part, not most, but all of it!
Not only that, but Noah did it without arguing or delaying in any way. He was like Abraham, who got up and went when called by God, or like the Disciples who became fishers of men when called by Jesus.
So, all was good right? Noah was like the U.S. Cavalry in an old west movie, charging in to save the day, right? Not so fast! In fact, he was more like Casey than he should have been. Our poem ends the same way that Noah’s service ended:
The sneer has fled from Casey's lip, the teeth are clenched in hate. He pounds, with cruel violence, his bat upon the plate. And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go, and now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow. Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright. The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light. And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout, but there is no joy in Mudville -- mighty Casey has struck out.
We also can See the Failure of Noah:
Noah was given a unique opportunity to do something that no other human since him has been given the chance to do as we can see in Genesis 9:1-7,
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. 3 Every living creature will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. 4 However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. 5 I will require the life of every animal and every man for your life and your blood. I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life. 6 Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in His image. 7 But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”
Noah could have worked with God in creating a new life for humanity. He could have become the father of a renewed race of faithful people of God and thus erase the stain of sin upon mankind. We can only imagine what our lives here on earth would be like if Noah had fulfilled his potential in God. But, like Casey, Noah struck out as we can see in Genesis 9:18-27,
Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were Noah’s sons, and from them the whole earth was populated. 20 Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine, became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a cloak and placed it over both their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father naked. 24 When Noah awoke from his drinking and learned what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said: Canaan will be cursed. He will be the lowest of slaves to his brothers. 26 He also said: Praise the Lord, the God of Shem; Canaan will be his slave. 27 God will extend Japheth; he will dwell in the tents of Shem; Canaan will be his slave.
In the end, Noah could not stand the strain. Even Noah, as good as he was, could not do it. He was not perfect, and his flesh was weak. He crumbled under the pressure. He “choked”.
Noah was like Casey who struck out, and he was also like Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner who missed an easy ground ball in the 6th game of the 1986 World Series. His error allowed the New York Mets to tie the series and then go on to win the championship in the 7th game.
Noah’s error had much greater consequences, but not only did he perpetuate the sin that God had wanted to eliminate, but he also wasted all his own gargantuan efforts.
Noah’s real failure, his real sin, was that he failed to continue to walk with God. He lost sight of what God was to him and he lost sight of what God wanted to do through him. He got wrapped up in his own problems and he had a pity party. Like many people who experience stress today and who react poorly to it, Noah self-medicated. With Noah’s collapse, all seemed to be lost, but . . . God . . . Genesis 9:9-17 tells us,
“Understand that I am confirming My covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you—birds, livestock, and all wildlife of the earth that are with you—all the animals of the earth that came out of the ark. 11 I confirm My covenant with you that never again will every creature be wiped out by the waters of a flood; there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 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 future generations: 13 I have placed My bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember My covenant between Me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature. 16 The bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all the living creatures on earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between Me and every creature on earth.”
Finally, however, let’s See the Faithfulness of God:
God has made a covenant with Noah and his descendants, including us! He will never destroy the Earth again by a flood, and the rainbow is the symbol of that promise. When we see the bow we will remember God’s promise, like putting our Bible by the bedside to remember to read it.
Noah may have wasted his promise, but God is perfect and faithful and has made many promises to us. Unlike Noah, God always realizes His promise. He loves us and wants the best for us. He wants to help us and bless us, and He does.
God also knows that we are frail and weak, and that we can only withstand so much pressure before we, too, choke like Casey and like Noah. He knows we want to do right, but we can’t. God loves us so much that he gave His very best to help our weakness. That way, of course, is Jesus.
Jesus can help us withstand the external pressures of life, and He can also help us withstand the internal pressures of life as well. Jesus can do this because He walked in our shoes, and He overcame the stresses that trip us up. He mastered them, and He offers us the power to master them as well!
Conclusion:
Have you ever felt that, like Casey, you let your team down? Have you ever been stressed out because you felt the weight of the world on your shoulders? Have you ever let the stress of life and work affect your relationships at home? Have you ever felt like you let God down?
If so, you probably have. If you haven’t, you probably will.
The good news for all of us the help of God to overcome our frailties and to help us bear up under the loads of life. Will you accept His help today?
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