Prompt: Global Positioning System (GPS) by Makoto Shinkai

In a time when there was no GPS (Global Positioning System) tracker or Google map, I had several experiences in the past losing my way while going to an unknown place. After getting tired of finding the place, I would finally ask someone for directions. It was comforting to know that at last even though I was still far from the exact location, at least I was heading in the right direction.

This also happens in life. Our situations are not perfect, and most of the time they’re far from our goals. We face lots of problems and challenges. Yet, we are glad that it is still better to stay in the right direction, rather than choosing our way.

In our study of Genesis, we learned that God created a perfect world, humanity lost paradise, and the world keeps on filling this world with violence.

In Genesis 6:9-11:9, we are going to explore the direction God provided for his people to follow after the great flood in the days of Noah. This lesson is important not only for Moses' time but also for our time. And so as we reflect on this article, I want to share with you the nature of the direction that God has given us.

The right direction started with a covenant.

Many people these days are not familiar with this biblical term. The closest analogy is a "contract" either between a couple or between business partners.

Before and after the flood, the role of the covenant was very important. As I already shared in the previous article, the entire human race has been filled with violence, and so the Lord decided to start all over again by making Noah the new head of humanity. To assure Noah, God entered into a covenant.

In Genesis 6:17-18, we read:

Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark — you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you (Genesis 6:17-18).

And then God returned to Noah after the flood and gave this word:

I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth . . . I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind (Genesis 9:11-15).

So we see that the story of Noah’s flood ends with the covenant promise that a flood will never again destroy the earth, and with God setting his bow in the clouds as a sure sign that he would never forget this promise. This signals a new start for humanity in the right direction.

Application to Moses' generation and the New Testament

The emphasis on covenant was also important during Moses' time. Their destiny as a nation was dependent on their faithfulness to the covenant. The reason Israel suffered captivity was because of their persistent violation of God's covenant. And so the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

However, the prophet Jeremiah predicted that God would redeem a people out of the fire of exile by establishing a new covenant in the future. In Jeremiah 31:31 the prophet announced:

"The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."

This covenant was fulfilled in the coming of Christ. The New Testament teaches that Jesus came to this earth as the mediator of this new covenant. He brought deliverance to his people using a covenant that rescued them from the judgment of God. So we see here the relationship between Noah and Jesus. Just as Noah delivered from judgment as the mediator of a divine covenant, Jesus in his first coming delivered those who trusted him from judgment by mediating the new covenant through his blood. For us, this is our starting point toward a new direction in life.

Secondly, the right direction requires an ongoing warfare.

In Genesis 9:25-27, the theme of conflict plays a major role:

“Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.” He also said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave” (Genesis 9:25-27).

Moses stressed the certainty of conflict by repeating Canaan’s curse three times in this passage. In verse 25, he pronounced the curse that Canaan would be the “lowest of slaves,” or the lowest kind of slave imaginable. In verse 26, Noah predicted that Canaan would be the slave of Shem. And in verse 27, Moses added that Canaan would become Japheth’s slave as well. Through this repetition, Moses stressed the fact that Canaan would certainly be conquered by his brothers.

Besides this, these verses portray Shem as the principal victor over Canaan. In verse 27, the words “may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave,” may be better translated, “may Japheth live in the tents of Shem so that Canaan may be his slave.” Noah’s idea seems to be that Canaan will become subservient to Japheth only to the extent that Japheth joins forces with Shem. In effect, Moses believed that Shem was to take the lead in subjugating Canaan.

So we see in this passage that Moses established an important feature of the new order after the flood, which could hardly have been expected. He understood that the future of humanity would entail a dramatic conflict in which the descendants of Shem would subjugate the descendants of Canaan.

Application to Moses' time and the New Testament

Moses had a very specific reason for mentioning these words. The conflict between Shem and Canaan spoke directly to the needs of his generation. It was designed to give a background to Moses’ call to Israel to move forward into the conquest of the Promised Land.

In the New Testament, the theme of conflict and conquest is relevant to spiritual warfare in Christian life. Listen to the way Paul put the matter in Ephesians 6:11-12:

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

This and other New Testament passages teach that Christians today are at war with evil. Unfortunately, many Christians today fail to embrace this dimension of their spiritual lives, much like the Israelites following Moses tried to avoid the conquest of Canaan. But the New Testament’s perspective is clear. We must join in this spiritual battle. As Paul put it in Ephesians 6:13:

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

If we put on the armor of God, we will be victorious in our spiritual warfare. And this is part of the new direction that God gave to his people.

Grace and peace!