Third Thursday of the Great Fast

Our Venerable Father Alexis, Man of God. Our Holy Father Patrick, Enlightener of Ireland

Title

When God Judges he Delivers

Outline

Again we see in our readings two different styles

Our Proverbs reading simply indicates the results of virtue and vice

There is no much talk of divine intervention

There is reward and punishment meted out by what seems the earthly creation, including men

Honor and shame are major rewards and punishments

The Noah narrative is, on the other hand, full of divine intervention

We were told in Gen 6 that people were evil, that only Noah (as his family presumably) was righteous, and that God had decided to start over with Noah

We were told that Noah had been instructed to build a huge watertight chest that would be his salvation - it would take a long time and there was no evidence of need

Now the divine judgment comes - heavy rain - and Noah along with representative animals enter the great chest - God shut the door. That seems to be to seal them in, for there is no mention of others wanting to enter.

The divine judgment lasts more than half a year and it is thorough.

But “God remembered Noah and all the animals” and so does not make the return to the chaos of Gen 1:2 permanent. The water level drops back to normal. The rest of the chapter will be about the slow process of leaving the now-grounded chest.

What can we learn from this?

First, God will judge evil and often the judgment will seem indiscriminate.

Think about Ukraine today or the threat of world war that is in the air.

Second, God does save the righteous

It does take obedience to seemingly absurd instructions

In our age it may be a salvation in the resurrection, not in this life

Third, God is concerned about creation, all of it

We discover that the trees and the grasses live through the flood, so it is “those in whom is the breath of life” that are saved in the chest.

Fourth, God’s judgment may not look “divine”

People simply saw a flood. There were no signs from heaven. There was no voice. There were no angelic warriors. There was just water.

In our day we would say, “Climate change” or “war” or “market crash” or “COVID” - it looked like an extreme example of the natural.

Fifth, the chest or box had no steering mechanism - it was all in God’s hands

Sixth, God did save Noah and the animals in the end

he did not forget, even if it seemed a long time; he remembered.

So while the call of Noah is a call to righteous living, to following God, to obedience, it is also a call to trust in God no matter how difficult times get. God always remembers, even if he does not do it in the way that we might desire.

Readings

Byzantine Lectionary (Revised Julian) 3-24-2022: Third Thursday of Great Lent

OLD TESTAMENT

Genesis 7:11–8:3

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14 they and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And they that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.

17 The flood continued forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily upon the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered; 20 the waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, birds, cattle, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm upon the earth, and every man; 22 everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

8 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided; 2 the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters had abated;

Byzantine Lectionary (Revised Julian) 3-24-2022: Third Thursday of Great Lent

OLD TESTAMENT

Proverbs 10:1–22

10 The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

2 Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,

but righteousness delivers from death.

3 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry,

but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

4 A slack hand causes poverty,

but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

5 A son who gathers in summer is prudent,

but a son who sleeps in harvest brings shame.

6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing,

but the name of the wicked will rot.

8 The wise of heart will heed commandments,

but a prating fool will come to ruin.

9 He who walks in integrity walks securely,

but he who perverts his ways will be found out.

10 He who winks the eye causes trouble,

but he who boldly reproves makes peace.

11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

12  Hatred stirs up strife,

but love covers all offenses.

13 On the lips of him who has understanding wisdom is found,

but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.

14 Wise men lay up knowledge,

but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.

15 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city;

the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

16 The wage of the righteous leads to life,

the gain of the wicked to sin.

17 He who heeds instruction is on the path to life,

but he who rejects reproof goes astray.

18 He who conceals hatred has lying lips,

and he who utters slander is a fool.

19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking,

but he who restrains his lips is prudent.

20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;

the mind of the wicked is of little worth.

21 The lips of the righteous feed many,

but fools die for lack of sense.

22 The blessing of the LORD makes rich,

and he adds no sorrow with it.

Notes

Byzantine Lectionary (Revised Julian) (3-17-2022: Third Thursday of Great Lent)

THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2022 | TRIODION AND GREAT LENT

Byzantine Lectionary (Revised Julian) (3-24-2022: Third Thursday of Great Lent)

THIRD THURSDAY OF GREAT LENT

Dark Vestments

Old Testament Isaiah 11:10–12:2 (Sixth Hour)

Old Testament Genesis 7:11–8:3 (Vespers)

Old Testament Proverbs 10:1–22 (Vespers)