Turkey Joke & Noah Part I

Before I start my study today, I thought I would share a turkey recipe. The stuffing includes popcorn. Imagine that...

BAKED STUFFED TURKEY

6-7 lb. Turkey
1 cup melted butter
1 cup stuffing (Pepperidge Farm is Good.)
1 cup uncooked popcorn (ORVILLEREDENBACHER'S LOW FAT)
Salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush turkey well with melted butter, salt, and pepper. Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn. Place in baking pan with the neck end toward the back of the oven. Listen for the popping sounds. When the turkey's butt blows the oven door open and the turkey flies across the room, it's done. And, you thought I couldn't cook...

Ok, now for a more serious note:

Genesis 5:25
"Methuselah lived one hundred and eight-seven years, and begot Lamech."

Genesis 5:28-29
"Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, 'This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.'"

The name Noah has French origin (yeah right) and simply means relaxation. I found that interesting.

Genesis 9:20
"And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard."

Genesis 9:20 took place after the flood. The curse of the ground still remained. When Adam and Eve walked in the garden of Eden, before the curse, the vegetation was plentiful. God told them they could eat of everything, except from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil (Genesis 2:16-17). After the curse, food had to be sown from the ground.

How does this relate to today?

The natural vegetational type foods today still have to be planted every year. Not everyone is a farmer. Does that mean those who don't farm are not cursed by the ground? The answer is that we all are. What I mean by that is that we have to work to get money to buy our fruits & vegetables at the store. We may not physically be pulling weeds and planting seeds, but we are paying others to do the work for us. The ground is a curse for us in other ways too. This year there was an attack on spinach. After hurricanes last year, there was an attack on tomatoes. Farmers of corn & other vegetation have good and bad years depending on the rain and other natural events. I then ask, would the curse be taken away from us 8-5ers if farmers gave their food away for free? The answer is no. No farmer is going to just give away all of his livlihood for free. How many farmers would there be, if farmers just gave away food? There would be very few. Even farmers would stop being farmers if other farmers were tilling the ground for them. The curse still remains.

My next question is, how did Noah comfort others concerning the working of the ground? Did he live up to the prophetic words from his father?

Genesis 6:3
"And the Lord said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

Genesis 6:3 took place before the flood. Many think that God put a maximum age on people at this point to comfort them. However, there were still decendents after Noah that lived way past one hundred and twenty years. Many see it as a grace period between God's declaration of a flood and the actual time of the flood. Maybe, maybe not. All we know for sure is that "His Spirit would not strive with man forever." In a big way, the time of Noah did comfort others.

1. Those beside and before him perished and no longer had to till the ground.

2. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:8)

3. Rain was not mentioned before the flood. We don't know if rain was there to help the farming of the land before the flood.

4. After a flood that wiped out the entire earth, God declared, & gave the rainbow as a sign, that He would never again flood the earth to wipe out humanity (Genesis 9:11-13)

5. The biggest comfort, I am sure, can be found in Genesis 9:3 - Every moving thing that lives was now considered food. Vegetation was no longer the only source of food.

6. In Genesis 9:2 God made every animal in fear of man, even to dread man. They were given into the hand of man.

Many would see God as heartless because he wiped out all humanity. Those who understand sin and its nature, and realize how much sin hurts God, understand that God is full of love. He gave grace in the midst of his anger toward man. Just think if everyone you knew & have yet to know started cursing you & committing every sin against you. Without the love of God in your heart, how quick would you be to wipe out the whole of humanity? Personally, I would wipe out Noah & his family also because you never know when he might turn against you since everyone else is against you. God is Good!

Lord, I praise and thank You for preserving a people for Yourself. I praise You for the meat of the earth You have provided. Thank You for giving us grace, even in the midst of Your anger. Thank you for making the curse easier and giving comfort to Your people through Noah. You are God of all!