middlemonk

God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”

— Genesis 9:1.

Now that the Earth has been created — and the first attempt at humanity washed away — God is starting to lay down the law. Again, it’s the promises in these early books I think the most about; the laws God is choosing to lay down.

These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was peopled.

— Genesis 9:19.

I’m not sure the timing lines up, but some part of me imagines Adam and Eve watching the flood slowly take the Earth, knowing full well they lost their chance to helm the world. I know they made a movie about Noah’s journey, but I think you could make another one just about the people who didn’t make it.

In hindsight, it’s strange that Earth’s creation, destruction and recreation are all captured in the first book of the Bible. The first six chapters Genesis showed us an entire world that no longer exists; a world neither we nor Noah would ever see again.

I would read a hundred books about that world.