Jesse Tree - Day 4: Noah

I last published these Jesse Tree posts in 2019. I want to revisit them this Advent so you're coming along for the ride!

The Jesse Tree helps us prepare for Christ's coming by studying His roots and Salvation History. 

Day 4: Noah

Symbols: ark, animals, dove, rainbow

Building of the ark, Illumination on parchment,
41 x 28 cm, British Library, London, ca 1423.
Via Wikipedia

Gen. 6:5-8, 13-22; 7:17, 23, 24; 8:1, 6-22

I love the story of Noah. It is relatively short but has such a wealth of material for reflection. It's a bit of a shock to realize how quickly mankind became so wicked that the best solution was to eliminate almost everything. Except, of course, Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark. It's sobering to think how intimately we are connected with creation that our wickedness affected nature too.

I know many people didn't like it, but for me one of the best aids to reflecting on this story is the 2014 movie Noah. (You can hear my conversation with Scott Danielson about it at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.) It vividly expresses the wickedness of those ancient times, the flood, and the love that is felt at the end when God's rainbow fills the sky as a merciful promise never to destroy the earth like that again.

Noah's Thanks Offering, Jacopo Amigoni
via Wikimedia Commons