# 7 - Noah & The Flood - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we explore the dramatic story of Noah and the flood, a tale of divine judgment, mercy, and the hope that emerges from the waters of destruction. Join us as we reflect on the powerful themes of renewal and redemption that resonate throughout this ancient narrative.
Episode 7 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.
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For more information about Yael Eckstein and IFCJ visit https://www.ifcj.org/
Today's opening prayer is inspired by Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.”
Listen to some of the greatest Bible stories ever told and make prayer a priority in your life by downloading the Pray.com app.
Show Notes:
(01:49) Previously on The Chosen People
(03:26) Intro with Yael Eckstein
(06:07) Noah & The Flood - Cinematic Retelling
(19:55) Reflection with Yael Eckstein
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people. Mankind was blighted by bloodshed
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Speaker 1: and discord. Noah was determined to oppose the culture. Like
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Speaker 1: his great grandfather Enoch, Noah possessed a heart attune to
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Speaker 1: God's voice.
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Speaker 2: These are dark times.
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Speaker 3: My sons remaining in the light, who require wisdom learned
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Speaker 3: to listen to the voice of God.
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Speaker 2: Behold, I would destroy them with the earth. I would
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Speaker 2: bring a flood to wipe this earth clean. Noah's heart tightened.
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Speaker 2: He fell to his knees, the weight of God's words
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Speaker 2: pressing down on him.
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Speaker 3: What am I to do with this knowledge?
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Speaker 2: I have appointed you, Noah, to build an ark.
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Speaker 1: The whole thing seemed inconceivable and far fetched.
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Speaker 4: We're building a ship in the middle of the ball Shem.
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Speaker 5: That's what wrong.
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Speaker 2: Everyone from here to the desert has visited to mock us,
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Speaker 2: and I don't blame them.
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Speaker 1: This is insane. How are these planes going to flood?
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Speaker 4: Where will the water even come from?
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Speaker 1: Charcoal clouds galloped across the sky. With them came a
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Speaker 1: chilly wind that bit at their cheeks. They hadn't heard.
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Speaker 2: The clapping of thumb.
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Speaker 1: The sound made their muscles tense, as if they were
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Speaker 1: witnessing the birth of a new predator.
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Speaker 5: And so it begins.
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Speaker 4: Amidst the relentless downpour, the promise of a new dawn
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Speaker 4: emerged from the depths of judgment. Sell, oh, my friends,
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Speaker 4: from here in the Holy Land, I'm y l ex
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Speaker 4: team with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and
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Speaker 4: this is the Chosen People. In each episode, we explore
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Speaker 4: the rich tapestry of the Hebrew Bible to uncover less
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Speaker 4: sins that still resonate today. We will traverse tales of faith, failure,
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Speaker 4: love and loss. If you've been enjoying this podcast, be
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Speaker 4: sure to follow and share with your friends. These small
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Speaker 4: steps help us get discovered by more people, spreading hope
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Speaker 4: and inspiration everywhere. And if you're interested in hearing more
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Speaker 4: about the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and our
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Speaker 4: life saving prophetic work, you can visit our website at
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Speaker 4: IFCJ dot org. Let's hoppen and begin. Have you ever
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Speaker 4: wondered about the fragility of life, the delicate dance between
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Speaker 4: creation and chaos, that balance between being and not being.
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Speaker 4: This balance certainly must have entered the minds of Noah
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Speaker 4: and his family as the floodwaters began to rise, and
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Speaker 4: a world of human frailty faced chaos, darkness, and death.
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Speaker 4: For forty days and forty nights, the earth was submerged,
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Speaker 4: the waters rising higher and higher, engulfing mountains, sweeping away cities,
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Speaker 4: and cleansing the world. In the midst of this, a
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Speaker 4: single vessel of hope in arc or as we say
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Speaker 4: in Hebrew, a teva, bore the promise of new beginnings.
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Speaker 4: A family chosen and faithful rode the waves of God's judgment,
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Speaker 4: cradled in the mercy of his perfect plan. But the
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Speaker 4: story of Noah and his faithful family survival isn't just
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Speaker 4: an ancient tale. It reflects the state of many of
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Speaker 4: our hearts today, the sins that flood our modern world
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Speaker 4: and are mighty but merciful God who is always ready
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Speaker 4: still today to rescue, to renew and redeem. Today, as
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Speaker 4: we dive into the story of Genesis seven, let's open
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Speaker 4: our hearts to the sobering reality of sin's consequences and
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Speaker 4: the awe inspiring depth of God's grace.
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Speaker 3: The man's gone mad. Look at it, a boat in
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Speaker 3: the middle of the valley.
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Speaker 5: His mind's made of clay, A lunatic thinks he's gonna
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Speaker 5: sail away to the sea from the valley.
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Speaker 1: A glob of mud and ox dung flew through the
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Speaker 1: air and hit Noah square in the face. It stuck
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Speaker 1: to his beard, contrasting with the white streaks that had
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Speaker 1: formed since the beginning of the x construction. The mud
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Speaker 1: smeared across his face, mingling with the sweat and grime
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Speaker 1: of relentless toil. He ignored their mockery and kept his
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Speaker 1: head low. He buffed out a piece of lumber before
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Speaker 1: hoisting it onto his shoulder. No his arms were thick
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Speaker 1: and tight like a rope. Months of crafting the ark
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Speaker 1: added more great his beard and muscle to his body.
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Speaker 1: Behind him, his son's toiled in silence, their hands calloused
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Speaker 1: and their spirits weary under the weight of the village's ridicule.
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Speaker 1: The valley echoed with hammers striking nails and saws biting
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Speaker 1: into wood, a symphony of determination and despair.
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Speaker 6: I'm not sure I can endure the ridicule much longer,
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Speaker 6: and it's only a matter of time before they oh
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Speaker 6: more than dune. These people hate us already, and now
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Speaker 6: we've given them more reasons to be estranged from us.
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Speaker 1: Ignore them, Jabeth, your father isn't worked up than neither
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Speaker 1: am I.
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Speaker 4: What do you care what they think your father's right?
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Speaker 4: They'll I'll be underwater soon. Next time they insult me,
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Speaker 4: I'll ask them how good they are at swimming.
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Speaker 1: Noah hurled the gleam from his shoulders, slamming it onto
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Speaker 1: the ground with a jarring thud, his eyes like storm
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Speaker 1: clouds towards his son's. Fury and sorrow intertwined in his gaze.
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Speaker 3: You think you're funny, Ham? What about you, Jacob? Do
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Speaker 3: you find the idea of millions drowning under the weight
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Speaker 3: of the sky amusing?
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Speaker 1: The boys fell silent, their faces paling. Their father's nostrils flared,
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Speaker 1: and the creases of his brow deepened with anger.
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Speaker 3: You laugh now, But I assure you one thing. When
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Speaker 3: you hear the screams of people as they thrash against mountains,
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Speaker 3: you won't be laughing. You'll never laugh again.
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Speaker 1: Noah stormed off into a grove of fern and pine,
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Speaker 1: his chest heaving with the weight of unspoken fears. He
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Speaker 1: glanced at his hands, which trembled with anxiety.
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Speaker 3: How I endure this?
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Speaker 2: In seven days time? The waters will come for forty days,
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Speaker 2: the heavens and the earth shall weep. Their tears will
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Speaker 2: drown all life from the ground.
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Speaker 3: I don't know if I'll be able to bear it.
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Speaker 3: Who am I to carry this responsibility?
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Speaker 2: You are righteous, Noah, You are set apart in this
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Speaker 2: generation I have appointed you. Now go into the Ark, Noah,
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Speaker 2: go with the pairs of animals that I send you
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Speaker 2: as you wish.
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Speaker 1: Noah dragged his feet through the soft earth, grazing a
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Speaker 1: damp firm with his hands and rubbing the dew on
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Speaker 1: his neck. He sighed, stepping into a patch of sunlight
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Speaker 1: piercing the storm clouds. Noah gazed at the Ark, a
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Speaker 1: towering monolith against the sky, its shadow stretching over the valley.
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Speaker 1: He watched his sons, no longer boys but men bound
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Speaker 1: by duty and the promise of future generations, saw chop,
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Speaker 1: hammer and sand the vessel's final touches they still hadn't
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Speaker 1: grasped or Noah fell deep in his bones. This calling
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Speaker 1: was a curse as much as a blessing. Noah steadied
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Speaker 1: his trembling hands and drew a deep breath. Before he
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Speaker 1: could take another step, a massive hand gripped his shoulder.
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Speaker 1: It was the Tanner, his face contorted with rage and confusion.
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Speaker 1: He shoved Noah against the trunk of a dying tree.
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Speaker 5: What's your place, son of Death? What's the point of
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Speaker 5: having a boat in the middle of the valley?
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Speaker 3: Eh, it's for the coming flood. Soon, the skies will
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Speaker 3: burst forth with water and the earth will open up.
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Speaker 5: Ha. I have swine with sharper minds than you. You
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Speaker 5: expect me to believe the sky he's gonna open up
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Speaker 5: like a river.
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Speaker 3: You're a mad man.
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Speaker 1: The Tanner drew out a blade and pressed it against
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Speaker 1: Noah's throat.
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Speaker 5: You got a lot of resources to make a boat
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Speaker 5: this big, ay, Maybe they'd be better off with someone
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Speaker 5: who still has his wits about em.
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Speaker 3: All I have has been given by the Creator. You'd
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Speaker 3: rob from him.
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Speaker 5: I do what I want to whom I want, Son
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Speaker 5: of Seth, you live my rules. Nobody else does. That's
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Speaker 5: your weakness. It's why you spend your days with sawdust
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Speaker 5: in your.
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Speaker 2: Throat instead of a good meat.
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Speaker 1: The Tanner pressed the edge of the blade further into
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Speaker 1: Noah's skin. A crimson streak dropped down his neck and
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Speaker 1: on to his collar bone. Just then, the ground began
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Speaker 1: to shake, the tanner stepped back and turned. In an instant,
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Speaker 1: the man was trampled by a large beast bursting from
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Speaker 1: the forest. Its legs were larger than tree trunks, with
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Speaker 1: ivory tusks curling upward. Noah ran beside the beast and
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Speaker 1: out of the tree, covering. His eyes widened to behold
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Speaker 1: thousands of animals galloping, crawling, ying, and skulking toward the ark.
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Speaker 1: Noah pressed his hands on his head in disbelief. He
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Speaker 1: shouted to his sons.
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Speaker 3: Shem, Jafith, open the ark door, Ham, get our wives,
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Speaker 3: and tell them to gather the sheaves of hay.
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Speaker 1: Noah sprinted alongside two gazelle's, leaping over lumber and sliding
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Speaker 1: to the ropes beside the ark. He pulled with Shem
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Speaker 1: and Jaffith, heaving to open the large door for the
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Speaker 1: ungumming animals. Thousands of creatures, two by two, ran into
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Speaker 1: the ark, their hoons, paws and claws thumping and scratching
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Speaker 1: against the ark's floor.
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Speaker 2: How do they know where to go?
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Speaker 3: You know the answer to that, Shem.
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Speaker 2: They're following the creator's command, just like us.
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Speaker 1: A flash of lightning split the skies, followed by a
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Speaker 1: crack of thunder. Noah's gaze turned intense as he watched
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Speaker 1: the clouds churn like deep chaotic waters. He looked back
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Speaker 1: at the forest where the Tanner lay. This was just
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Speaker 1: the beginning. Soon everyone outside the Awk would perish. The
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Speaker 1: earth was still, The birds had flown away, and the
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Speaker 1: beasts had fled to their burrows. They knew what the
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Speaker 1: city did not. A storm was coming to claim them.
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Speaker 1: Noah and Imzara stood atop a cliff, the wind tugging
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Speaker 1: at their garments like the persistent whispers of the doomed.
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Speaker 1: To their left, the Ark stood complete and filled with
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Speaker 1: creatures of all kinds, a lifeboat amidst a notion of inevitability.
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Speaker 1: Lights flickered from within torches lit by their children as
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Speaker 1: they tended to the animals. To the right, the city
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Speaker 1: was aglow with bonfires, the faint sounds of laughter and
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Speaker 1: screams echoing through the breeze, a cacophony of ignorance and defiance.
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Speaker 3: This world is sick. These people are plagued by evil.
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Speaker 3: I know what they deserve, but I can't bring myself
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Speaker 3: to fully accept it. They're all going to die.
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Speaker 5: I find some solace in knowing our children will at
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Speaker 5: least be safe.
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Speaker 3: But what about the other children, What of those who
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Speaker 3: haven't done anything wrong?
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Speaker 1: Noah's voice cracked like thin ice. His heart was breaking,
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Speaker 1: peace by peace. He gazed out at the horizon, where
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Speaker 1: the sun had not been seen in a week. It's
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Speaker 1: light fainting, dimly, illuminating the storm clouds. Before sinking past
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Speaker 1: the valley, Emzara squeezed his hand, her voice a soothing
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Speaker 1: balm to his wounded soul.
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Speaker 5: You've walked with God this far. Continue your stride and
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Speaker 5: don't look back.
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Speaker 3: Tonight I will walk into that Ark. I feel I
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Speaker 3: will not be the man I will I walk out.
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Speaker 2: Nothing will be the same, you, me, the world, everything
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Speaker 2: will be new.
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Speaker 1: Flashes of lightning replaced the sun's light, and thunder roared
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Speaker 1: like a predator ready to kill. The voice of the
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Speaker 1: Creator spoke through the tempest, through the Ark Noah. Noah
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Speaker 1: and Emzara scaled down the cliff back to the Ark.
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Speaker 1: As they strode, the skies opened and rain descended upon
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Speaker 1: the land. The rain grew heavier with each moment, softening
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Speaker 1: the earth below. The two quickened their pace. When the
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Speaker 1: ground began to quake. There were only a few paces
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Speaker 1: from the ark when the ground burst open with geezers
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Speaker 1: of rushing water. Mzara flew backward while Noah was caught
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Speaker 1: in a torrent of water cascading from above and bursting
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Speaker 1: from below.
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Speaker 7: Ah, help me hold on.
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Speaker 1: Noah gripped a stone with his arms and pulled himself up.
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Speaker 1: He scanned the rushing water for sign of his wife.
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Speaker 1: His eyes darted back and forth, desperately trying to see
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Speaker 1: through the rain. Finally, he spotted her hanging onto a
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Speaker 1: pine branch. Noah forced his way through the torrent, driving
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Speaker 1: his feet through the rushing water, and picked her up.
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Speaker 1: Jafforth stood at the ARC's entrance. Reaching out, he took
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Speaker 1: his mother and pointed out to the valley.
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Speaker 5: Father ham and Shem missing, what where should they be?
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Speaker 5: Hamard was returning from the city, and Shem went looking
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Speaker 5: for him.
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Speaker 3: When the waters began to fall, stay here with the others.
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Speaker 1: Noah leaped from stone to stone, avoiding the rushing waters beneath.
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Speaker 1: He reached the hill sloping upward into the forest. The
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Speaker 1: rains were relentless, falling like arrows on Noah's back. The
00:14:44
Speaker 1: earth trembled under foot all around water irerupted from below.
00:14:50
Speaker 1: Noah looked up to the mountains, where falls tumbled violently,
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Speaker 1: swelling rivers with mighty.
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Speaker 3: Force, Am, Shem, ye are the foolish boys?
00:15:03
Speaker 1: Father? Noah saw Ham and Shem running with their hands
00:15:06
Speaker 1: tied behind their backs. A mob of men pursued them
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Speaker 1: from behind. Shen leaped over a stone, but Han's feet
00:15:13
Speaker 1: were immediately caught on a route. Ham looked back at
00:15:16
Speaker 1: his pursuers and braced for their attacks, but before they
00:15:19
Speaker 1: could lay a hand on him, another geezer burst before them,
00:15:22
Speaker 1: sending each of them tumbling down the hills. Noah helped
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Speaker 1: his boys to their feet and unbound them. The three
00:15:29
Speaker 1: dodged rolling stones and falling trees, eventually reaching the Heart's entrance.
00:15:34
Speaker 1: Men from the city marched through the rapids with spears
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Speaker 1: in hand, prepared to strike them down and commandeer the ship.
00:15:41
Speaker 1: But before they could, Noah held the creefleld wood. A
00:15:45
Speaker 1: mighty wind blew, raising the Ark's door and slamming it shut.
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Speaker 1: No Noah ran to the door and pounded his fists
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Speaker 1: against it. His shouts were surprising to the others.
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Speaker 2: What's wrong?
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Speaker 3: We made it exactly, Han, We made it.
00:16:02
Speaker 6: Everyone else is either dead or dying as we speak.
00:16:05
Speaker 5: They didn't care about us.
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Speaker 1: Seconds ago, they were trying to skewer us and steal
00:16:10
Speaker 1: the arc.
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Speaker 3: Why are you so upset? Where's your soul? Listen closely?
00:16:18
Speaker 3: Everyone listened.
00:16:21
Speaker 1: Underneath the white noise of falling rain and rushing water,
00:16:25
Speaker 1: the screams became audible, desperate, blood curdling screams.
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Speaker 3: If you don't weep with their suffering, you'd know better
00:16:35
Speaker 3: than them.
00:16:37
Speaker 1: Silence fell among them. The sound of animals braying and purring,
00:16:42
Speaker 1: mingled with the rain and wind, and Zara threw a
00:16:45
Speaker 1: blanket over Noah's shoulders and led him away. He kept
00:16:49
Speaker 1: his gaze fixed on Hand, who scowled back, then turned
00:16:53
Speaker 1: to his brothers, who wore concerned expressions. Outside. The skies
00:16:59
Speaker 1: wept and the earth quivered. God's wrath poured forth, but
00:17:04
Speaker 1: it did not blease him. He sent the flood with
00:17:08
Speaker 1: regret and sorrow. The waters prevailed over the earth, and
00:17:12
Speaker 1: the seas swallowed every creature given the breath of life.
00:17:16
Speaker 1: It rained for forty days. Streams turned to rapids, which
00:17:21
Speaker 1: turned to seas. They rose above the mountains, lifting the
00:17:25
Speaker 1: ark with them. The ark floated over the massacre in
00:17:29
Speaker 1: a sea of judgment. Noah was spared. When the forty
00:17:34
Speaker 1: days of rain had ceased and the sun's rays gently
00:17:38
Speaker 1: peeked through the dissipating clouds, Noah opened one of the windows.
00:17:43
Speaker 1: He looked out, seeing a vast expanse of nothingness. Choppy,
00:17:49
Speaker 1: dark and unruly waters stretched as far as the eye
00:17:52
Speaker 1: could see. Floating on the surface were remnants of desolation.
00:17:59
Speaker 1: Every one it perished. Wow.
00:18:07
Speaker 4: What a harrowing story. A deluge of death, a sea
00:18:12
Speaker 4: of sorrow, a world drowning in its own wickedness. The
00:18:17
Speaker 4: waters rose, the skies wept, and creation groaned as the
00:18:22
Speaker 4: depth swallowed all of life. This is so tragic to
00:18:29
Speaker 4: read about, hear about, and think about. But in the
00:18:33
Speaker 4: midst of God's judgment, we all see that there is mercy.
00:18:39
Speaker 4: A remnant is preserved, a family in a wooden vessel,
00:18:43
Speaker 4: a floating sanctuary. The storm rages, but within the arc,
00:18:48
Speaker 4: within the Teva, there is hope. This is not the end,
00:18:53
Speaker 4: but rather a new beginning, a chance to start over.
00:18:58
Speaker 4: Out of the depths, life will rise again, The waters
00:19:03
Speaker 4: will recede, the sun will break through the clouds, and
00:19:08
Speaker 4: the earth will be reborn. Genesis seven is a story
00:19:13
Speaker 4: of judgment, yes, but also of grace. Of destruction yes,
00:19:17
Speaker 4: but also of deliverance. Noah and his family were preserved
00:19:23
Speaker 4: and chosen as a remnant to start anew. This is
00:19:28
Speaker 4: a reoccurring theme if you realize throughout the Hebrew Bible,
00:19:33
Speaker 4: God allows judgment, yes, but never without remnant of people
00:19:38
Speaker 4: to carry on his story, the story of his chosen people.
00:19:45
Speaker 4: As the flood began, there's an interesting bit of thinking
00:19:49
Speaker 4: from Jewish tradition that underscores just how merciful our loving
00:19:53
Speaker 4: God is. Genesis chapter seven, Verse seven might sound straightforward.
00:19:59
Speaker 4: Here's how it reads in English. Noah and his sons,
00:20:03
Speaker 4: and his wife and his son's wives entered the ark
00:20:07
Speaker 4: to escape the waters of the flood. Yeah, that seems
00:20:11
Speaker 4: pretty straightforward. But the Bible never has any wasted words,
00:20:15
Speaker 4: and this is a perfect example. The first says Noah
00:20:20
Speaker 4: and his family went into the ark quote to escape
00:20:24
Speaker 4: the waters of the flood. Of course, that's why they
00:20:28
Speaker 4: entered the ark, right, we know that. But Jewish tradition
00:20:32
Speaker 4: sees that phrase as a deeper analysis of Noah's thinking
00:20:37
Speaker 4: in that tense moment. On one hand, Noah believed that
00:20:41
Speaker 4: there would be a flood. He believed it because God
00:20:44
Speaker 4: told him so, and Noah had spent one hundred and
00:20:47
Speaker 4: twenty years building an ark and warning his neighbors of
00:20:50
Speaker 4: the impending disaster. But on the other hand, Noah couldn't
00:20:54
Speaker 4: fully convince himself that God would actually destroy the entire world,
00:20:59
Speaker 4: even though he knew that creation had become completely corrupt.
00:21:04
Speaker 4: So Noah only entered the arc, no doubt, with the
00:21:08
Speaker 4: heaviest of hearts, after the rain and the flood had
00:21:13
Speaker 4: actually begun. So Noah entered the ark. He entered the
00:21:19
Speaker 4: Teva when the rain started, but then came the flood.
00:21:24
Speaker 4: And let's dive into scriptures a little bit deeper here
00:21:26
Speaker 4: once again, consider the word teva, which is used in
00:21:31
Speaker 4: the story of Noah and the Flood. As we've been
00:21:34
Speaker 4: talking about, teva means arc or basket in Hebrew. This
00:21:41
Speaker 4: word appears only twice in the entire Hebrew Bible. Can
00:21:47
Speaker 4: you guess where you probably got it? Once in the
00:21:51
Speaker 4: flood narrative, where the word teva means arc, and once
00:21:55
Speaker 4: in the story of Moses, where it's translated as a basket.
00:22:01
Speaker 4: Do you remember the story under the threat of death
00:22:05
Speaker 4: Moses's mother places him in a teva in a basket
00:22:10
Speaker 4: and sets him adrift on the Nile. There is so
00:22:14
Speaker 4: much similarity between these two stories of Noah and Moses.
00:22:20
Speaker 4: It's two stories of salvation. It's two vessels of deliverance.
00:22:25
Speaker 4: Noah's arc or tiva is a floating sanctuary amidst the
00:22:30
Speaker 4: harsh waters, preserving life for a new beginning, and Moses's basket,
00:22:36
Speaker 4: Moses's teva is a small, fragile vessel carrying the future
00:22:41
Speaker 4: deliver of Israel through the waters of death to life.
00:22:47
Speaker 4: The great eighteenth century Racidic rabbi named Rabbe Nachmann of
00:22:52
Speaker 4: Breslav had us saying that in our modern times has
00:22:56
Speaker 4: been turned into a beautiful, haunting Hebrew hymn. His saying
00:23:00
Speaker 4: is this call haulam koulo gescher tsarmod the hay car
00:23:07
Speaker 4: lole fahreed klal. That's how you say it in Hebrew.
00:23:12
Speaker 4: In English it translates to the whole world is a
00:23:16
Speaker 4: very narrow bridge, but the essence of life is not
00:23:22
Speaker 4: to be afraid. Let me say that again, the whole
00:23:27
Speaker 4: world is a very narrow bridge, but the essence of
00:23:31
Speaker 4: life is not to be afraid. I share this because
00:23:36
Speaker 4: it applies to both the teva of Noah and the
00:23:39
Speaker 4: keeva of Moses. Each one of these was a very
00:23:45
Speaker 4: narrow bridge, and both of these biblical heroes were not afraid.
00:23:53
Speaker 4: One a false move by Noah, and this most righteous
00:23:57
Speaker 4: of men from his generation would have fallen into the
00:24:00
Speaker 4: floods raging waters. One small step mishap on the Nile,
00:24:05
Speaker 4: and the future lawgiver and redeemer of the entire nation
00:24:09
Speaker 4: of Israel would have drowned in the river's angry torrents.
00:24:14
Speaker 4: So we see how these two saviors, Noah and Moses
00:24:21
Speaker 4: in the Bible, they were walking a narrow bridge. And
00:24:25
Speaker 4: this was the whole future of our faith, Jews and
00:24:29
Speaker 4: Christians that was at stake. And so we have to
00:24:33
Speaker 4: ask ourselves they weren't afraid. How can we not be
00:24:38
Speaker 4: afraid in a world that gives us so many reasons
00:24:42
Speaker 4: to be fearful, How can we not be afraid like
00:24:45
Speaker 4: Noah and Moses when we're constantly and precariously walking a
00:24:51
Speaker 4: very narrow bridge. Well, this story, the story of the flood,
00:24:56
Speaker 4: gives us an answer. And here's what summarizes it for us.
00:25:00
Speaker 4: All God has a plan. We may not always understand it,
00:25:07
Speaker 4: and we may not even know what it is. But
00:25:10
Speaker 4: we only have reason to fear if we think that
00:25:14
Speaker 4: the world is just chaos and not God in control.
00:25:19
Speaker 4: We saw with Noah, God had his plan for his family.
00:25:23
Speaker 4: He had a confidant with humanity that we'll talk about
00:25:26
Speaker 4: in the next episode, which came through Noah. God certainly
00:25:30
Speaker 4: had a plan for Moses, the greatest of his prophets,
00:25:34
Speaker 4: to transmit his Torah, this bible that we are studying
00:25:37
Speaker 4: right now, to his people for thousands of years, and
00:25:41
Speaker 4: to lead them to the Promised Land. Well, if we
00:25:44
Speaker 4: believe and know that God had a plan for Noah
00:25:47
Speaker 4: and for Moses, then we must believe and be certain
00:25:51
Speaker 4: that God has a plan for each and every one
00:25:53
Speaker 4: of us right now today. Despite it all his chosen
00:26:00
Speaker 4: and people, we are chosen to have faith in God
00:26:06
Speaker 4: and to know that He is active in our lives,
00:26:08
Speaker 4: in our world, and that He has the perfect plan
00:26:11
Speaker 4: for us, even if we don't see it. As the
00:26:15
Speaker 4: Great Rabbi said, the essence of life is not to
00:26:19
Speaker 4: be afraid. We are called to not be afraid, just
00:26:24
Speaker 4: as Noah wasn't afraid in his arc in his Tiva
00:26:29
Speaker 4: that Hebrew word again, tava. It's a word pregnant with
00:26:34
Speaker 4: so much meaning. It's a symbol of God's saving grace.
00:26:40
Speaker 4: It's a symbol and a reminder that God has his
00:26:45
Speaker 4: plans for us in our lives, just like Noah and Moses,
00:26:51
Speaker 4: because we see in both stories of Noah and Moses,
00:26:55
Speaker 4: the teva's God's instrument of preservation, and God is sending
00:26:59
Speaker 4: us a teva today as well, despite the very choppy waters.
00:27:06
Speaker 4: In both stories, the waters represent chaos and danger, but
00:27:10
Speaker 4: the teva floats above the waters as a promise of
00:27:13
Speaker 4: life in the midst of death. From Noah to Moses
00:27:18
Speaker 4: to us today, we see a God who delivers. From
00:27:24
Speaker 4: the floodwaters of Genesis to the waters of the Red Sea,
00:27:27
Speaker 4: to the stormy waters of our modern world. We see
00:27:31
Speaker 4: God's hand at work preserving, protecting, and saving his people.
00:27:38
Speaker 4: To expand upon this idea of our God as merciful
00:27:42
Speaker 4: and protective despite our human imperfections and our broken world,
00:27:47
Speaker 4: I welcome my good friend, Bishop paulineer Ah.
00:27:51
Speaker 7: Yes, ma'am, His mercies are you every day. I thank
00:27:55
Speaker 7: God that when I search the scriptures, even in this story,
00:28:00
Speaker 7: find there is a Goshan in the ocean, the keeping
00:28:06
Speaker 7: power of God, who sustains us and never leaves us,
00:28:10
Speaker 7: never forsakes us, but sticks closer than a brother. And
00:28:15
Speaker 7: when I look in the Bible, I find this keeping
00:28:18
Speaker 7: power in a number. I'm not kidding you, the number forty.
00:28:25
Speaker 7: Now you know, in this story, the Bible says that
00:28:28
Speaker 7: Noah was in the boat and it rained forty days
00:28:32
Speaker 7: and forty nights. And that sounds like judgment, understandably. But
00:28:35
Speaker 7: we keep looking at that number and we find Moses.
00:28:39
Speaker 7: Moses was a shepherd, and again it was during a
00:28:42
Speaker 7: time of judgment, but he was a shepherd under his
00:28:45
Speaker 7: father in law, Jethro. Came another moment when he treked
00:28:50
Speaker 7: up Mount Signai, and the earth shook, and the heavens
00:28:54
Speaker 7: were brilliant with the shakina of God's glory. And it
00:28:58
Speaker 7: was then and there that God filled him with the
00:29:01
Speaker 7: revelation of Torah. But when the children of Israel rebelled
00:29:08
Speaker 7: against God, we find that they were forced to wonder,
00:29:13
Speaker 7: not wonder. They knew exactly where they were and why
00:29:18
Speaker 7: they were there. They were not able to enter the
00:29:20
Speaker 7: Promised Land, but spent the next forty years wondering you
00:29:27
Speaker 7: look in the Christian scriptures. The Bible says that Jesus
00:29:31
Speaker 7: fasted for forty days and forty nights before his ministry.
00:29:36
Speaker 7: So what we're discovering is not only is the number
00:29:40
Speaker 7: forty sometimes seen in the context of judgment, but more
00:29:45
Speaker 7: likely it's related to your generational transfer. We talked about that,
00:29:52
Speaker 7: didn't we The plan of God for your life is
00:29:55
Speaker 7: so much greater than your life. It requires another generation
00:30:00
Speaker 7: to fulfill it. And I warn you there's nothing more
00:30:05
Speaker 7: spiritually violent than the generational transfer of identity and blessings.
00:30:12
Speaker 7: God has a plan for your life, something he wants
00:30:15
Speaker 7: accomplished through you. And how important is a Rebecca in
00:30:23
Speaker 7: the promise of Abraham and Sarah? How important are the
00:30:28
Speaker 7: daughters in law of Noah and his wife? You know,
00:30:34
Speaker 7: I say to this congregation of a church, I serve
00:30:38
Speaker 7: I thank God we are inner. Rachel. I'm excited that
00:30:41
Speaker 7: it is inter denominational. It thrills me that it's international,
00:30:47
Speaker 7: But none of that matters if it's not intergenerational. If
00:30:53
Speaker 7: we don't have Abraham and Isaac and Jacobs, Sarah and
00:30:57
Speaker 7: Rebecca and Leah and Rachel, we're that close to losing it.
00:31:01
Speaker 5: All.
00:31:03
Speaker 7: Can I pray during this season of your generational transfer,
00:31:08
Speaker 7: that God will touch, not simply touch you, but touch
00:31:14
Speaker 7: through you.
00:31:16
Speaker 5: Amen.
00:31:19
Speaker 4: In times of uncertainty, hold on to God's promises. When
00:31:24
Speaker 4: the world seems to spin out of control, in the
00:31:27
Speaker 4: storms of life rage around you, remember Noah. Picture him
00:31:32
Speaker 4: standing firm amidst the ragency, surrounded by chaos, yet anchored
00:31:38
Speaker 4: in faith. Just as Noah trusted God amid the storm,
00:31:43
Speaker 4: we too can find peace in his faithfulness. In Isaiah
00:31:48
Speaker 4: forty one ten, we read, so do not fear, for
00:31:52
Speaker 4: I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I
00:31:55
Speaker 4: am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.
00:31:59
Speaker 4: I will uphold you with my righteous hand. I will
00:32:02
Speaker 4: uphold you with my righteous right hand. Like Noah, we
00:32:07
Speaker 4: are called to trust in God even when the waves
00:32:10
Speaker 4: are high and the night is dark. Remember, my friends,
00:32:14
Speaker 4: his faithfulness to those who have faith in Him. He
00:32:19
Speaker 4: has brought you through before, and he will bring you
00:32:24
Speaker 4: through again as always. I leave you with this blessing
00:32:28
Speaker 4: words of hope and faith from the Book of Numbers.
00:32:34
Speaker 4: Varra Hashem vi ish morehra yea er hashempanave lera ver
00:32:39
Speaker 4: negra ye sa hashempanave shaloon. May the Lord bless you
00:32:45
Speaker 4: and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine
00:32:49
Speaker 4: upon you. May the Lord be gracious to you. And
00:32:52
Speaker 4: may the Lord turn his face towards you and give
00:32:56
Speaker 4: you shalom. Give you peace with blessings from the Holy Land.
00:33:02
Speaker 4: This is y El Eckstein, and you are listening to
00:33:05
Speaker 4: the Chosen People.
00:33:09
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00:33:29
Speaker 1: producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by
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Speaker 1: Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
00:33:37
Speaker 1: Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
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Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore.
00:33:46
Speaker 1: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and
00:33:51
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