Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“These are the descendants of Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth; children were born to them after the flood.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, September 15, 2026
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
God starts over, this time with six people instead of two. Maybe God was thinking the odds would be better that they wouldn’t be as disobedient as Adam and Eve if there were a few more of them. Of course we know God would wind up being disappointed. Again and again and again.
This next section of Genesis serves as an origin story for all the various Semitic peoples who lived in the land the Hebrews would one day return to, following the Exodus. What I find fascinating is this idea that all of these peoples were descended from the family God set aside as the only righteous people on the whole of the earth. When the branch of this family who was enslaved in Egypt returned to conquer, they were attacking, killing, committing genocide of their own kin. Of course, as the story goes on, we hear how each of these other branches of Noah’s descendants fall hopelessly short of what God expected of them, so, once again, it all gets reduced to a single couple—Abram and Sarai, and only their particular branch becomes worthy.
This leads me to a wondering: Isn’t it interesting that God keeps having to start over? Adam and Eve. Noah and his family. Abraham and Sarai. It seems as though God is using trial and error to try to refine what, exactly, God expects from God’s beloved children. Is this process still happening? Does all the horrific behavior of the world’s people create an environment in which those who are truly committed to the love of God and neighbor (in whatever form that takes—not necessarily according to Christian dogma) rise to the surface and teach by their example what is good? Mind you, I don’t believe God “causes” or “allows” such horrific behavior. That’s on us (and actually, that’s made clear in these passages in Genesis). But God can use even the most harrowing of circumstances to reveal God’s divine truth of love and justice to the world.
What do I believe God expects from me? How am I living my faith?
