Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
Genesis 6:14
Dear members and friends,
The story of Noah is interesting and disturbing at the same time. It is interesting because one man was commissioned by God to build an ark that would save the entire animal kingdom on earth from a flood! Yet it is deeply disturbing because it depicts a God who could kill and destroy all life forms on earth except just a few from each species, simply because of the evil ways of human beings. This was especially problematic for me when I was told to believe the story literally, because in my understanding if God were to kill and restart, God should have done it when Adam and Eve disobeyed. In that way, God could have done the reboot of humanity by just killing two instead of millions of humans and countless animals. In addition, the entire earth was flooded and kept completely underwater for 150 days. Then, it took another 150 days for the water to recede. According to botanical facts, there are no plants that could survive submerged over 300 days. That is one reason that such a story should be read and understood allegorically.
Swedenborg explains the metaphorical meaning of Noah, his ark, and the flood in his Secrets of Heaven in length. Briefly, according to Swedenborg, the ark symbolizes the minds of ancient people which were under the inundation of falsities. The details of the ark itself illustrate the conditions in which God protected the minds of the people from the flood of falsities, which is symbolized especially with “covering it inside and outside with pitch.” Pitch is made from tree resin, and has been used historically for sealing ships, roofs, and containers, due to its waterproof nature. Thus, in this case pitch symbolizes the divine protection against the flood of falsity. Consequently, the story of the flood is not about a God who kills and destroys, rather about a God who loves, saves, and protects despite the fact that humans were continually and persistently walking away from the path taught by God.
My brothers and sisters in God, let us take a time and place for a prayer this week. Let us reflect on what and how we think and believe of the nature of God Creator. If anything but love and care come to our minds, we must pray deeply with open hearts. The loving and caring God from eternity is always present within and around us.
Blessings,
Rev. Junchol Lee