(The whole story, which I recommend, is Genesis 6:5-9:17)
"God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, 'I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I'm sorry I made them.But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah. This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. As far as God was concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere. God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting—life itself corrupt to the core. God said to Noah, "It's all over. It's the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I'm making a clean sweep."
You know that one about too many cooks in the kitchen? The Noah story is a great reminder that the bible could have used a good editor. Instead we got four editors who couldn't bring themselves to actually edit. Was the flood 40 days or 150 days? Eh....put them both in! Were there 2 of each animal or 14 of each animal? Let's just put the 14 part in a few paragraphs later!
Reading through the Hebrew scriptures can make short work of a purely literal understanding the bible. (Did anyone catch that bit at the beginning of Genesis 6 about "the Sons of heaven" getting it on with "the daughters of Man?" Dude.) In Catholic circles, we understand a lot of these stories as Mythic. Not mythic as in a silly make-believe story, but mythic how your favorite novel is Mythic. The character may not have actually existed, but her story is a true rendering of the human experience.
And that's how I'm coming at the Noah story. Was there a big ol' flood around Israel a long time ago? Probably. Did all the animals on earth fit into a boat the size of a cruise ship? Probably not.
For me, the higher level of truth- the beyond literal truth- is what I see in how God is feeling. Have you ever been so disappointed that you just wanted to give up? Maybe you've quit a job in a huff, or threatened to sell you kids to the circus. Maybe you've come home exhausted, week after week wondering if your life will ever change.
I imagine this is how God felt. Exhausted. Disappointed. Frustrated. His beloved people were so far fallen from his hopes for them, so depraved, that he just gave up on them. He gave up. God gave up, and chaos took over.
I'm not going to turn this into some trite moral about never giving up. I think a well timed give-up can sometimes be exactly the right thing. But sometimes it's not. In this case, God seemed to regret His decision. And he makes his first big promise to all of us- never again. And with that promise, God begins a whole campaign of promises and pleas, intervention and visits throughout our history. And so far, He has not given up.
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