Field of Streams

FIELD OF STREAMS (Ge 6-9)
If you have ever seen the movie Field of DREAMS you will know  it’s about an Iowa farmer who hears voices telling him to plow under his corn crop and build a baseball field where the ghosts of old pro players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, would play.  Now of course, the neighbors and the town folk think he is nuts, and that he is risking his farm for the sake of old baseball players that no one can see but himself.

The decision for this Iowa farmer to listen to whispering voices saying, “If you build it, they will come”, and then to build a ballpark without having a real explanation of what this is all about takes some faith.  So what about Noah? 

The Bible tells us that Noah was a righteous man, and faithful to God in a world of sin.  
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The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. Genesis 6:5-6

and so God tells Noah, If you build it, they will come.  Genesis 6:13-21 in this case THEY are a literal ‘boat-load’ of animals.

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If you think an Iowa farmer got funny looks plowing under his crop/ livelihood, so that he could build a ballpark, I am sure that's nothing compared to Noah building a humungous boat in the middle of a desert.  It became Noah’s “Field of Streams”.

Of course this Desert Ark Building attracted some serious ridicule, or at the very least a few chuckles and smirks from the town folk. 
 
Noah builds this ark out of cypress wood.  It is 450 feet, 75 feet wide, and 40 feet tall. 

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Next, please note the Ark Project was constructed by 600 yr. old  Noah with the assistance of  his 100 year old sons.  

Think about it, Noah was approximately 10 times older than me, and his three 'boys' were 3 times older than my two sons.
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ALL ABOARD!
Anyways, the ark is built, and then the collection and storing of the animal pairs begins.

Let me add a little perspective here..

• if my ONE DOG was in line to board the ark, and spied Mr. & Mrs. Squirrel about to board.. he would be gone with any chance of him getting back in line before the rain falls is almost NILL.
• Then there would be the other house pet of choice.. THE CAT. There is a reason why the phrase 'like herding cats' is used to describe near impossible tasks, and so it goes without saying boarding two cats onto a big boat filled with numerous other animal sounds and smells is not a given.

and Regarding dogs & cats folklore has it if not for Noah’s keen 600 year old eyes and senses, the demise of the common house cat would have been a certainty.  

Also illustrated below are a few more boarding the Ark highlights.. including the demise of the Unicorn.

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GRAB YOUR UMBRELLA
Once the animals were all boarded, God seals the Ark and the skies opened up which not one local Weather channel predicted, and those left behind did perish.  These flood waters go higher and higher until on I believe the 40th day the highest mountains are covered.

​I know the question sometimes arises as to whether or not this was a local or world widen flood.  What I do know is it was a WHOLE  LOT OF  WATER.

LIFE AT SEA..
So now there is a time where God floats the boat. Loaded with animals of every kind I cannot imagine how this all worked out.  I am challenged to get my one rescue dog out several times a day to ensure he does not do his 'bizness' on the carpet so 'say-no-more' bout' waste management on this sea sick petting zoo. But on the bright side the excursions and amenities not found on any other Cruise line, and since they would be in the Ark for I believe 371 days, they might as well make the best of what Noah's Luxury Cruise had to offer..

• Good time for FISHING, or
• maybe WATER-SKI, or
• enjoy the irony of having two GOLDFISH on the Ark
• and let's not forget Noah's summit of MT EVEREST.  

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ALL ASHORE THAT'S GOING ASHORE!
Finally the the waters subsided and the ark settled on one of the mountains of Ararat .

Once it became safe to leave the Ark, the animals were let go,  must have been as interesting as the boarding), and shortly there after the first pooper scooper was invented.

In all seriousness now, this was the new beginning for manking, and God signed with a RAINBOW His promise that he would never destroy the Earth by flood again.
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Noah was a righteous man, and lived to be an incredible 950 years, just 19 years less than longevity king Methuselah.  

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THIS WAS ONE CRAZY BOAT RIDE..
I have to be honest the story of Noah, the Ark, the boarding of every animal two by two, all culminating with a Flood killing all life leaves me scratching my head.  BUT just like the flood was an act of God, so was this animal control process.  So I must distinguish between hard to understand and don’t believe.  I believe, but can I tell you how it happened.. NOPE.  It's as they say.. 'above my pay grade'.

I believe God hears our honest questions, and our lack of understanding, and in reply he may simply say, “Of course you don’t”. 

​One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 55:8,9 where God declares, “My ways are not your ways.  Neither are my thoughts your thoughts.  For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways than your ways and my thoughts than yours.” 

So again.. when I don’t understand – but still I believe! ​
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CUTE STORY? SOBERING TRUTH? or both?
In summary, the story of Noah has today often is told as a children’s story. Christian Gift Shops have cute figurines of Noah, and his Ark all filled with smiling animals. Also, in my cartoon world the story of Noah's Ark is loaded with silly fodder.  BUT the story of Noah has a sobering message balancing perfectly God’s providence for the faithful and obedient with harsh judgment of a wicked world. 

The story of Noah and the ark is our story
This is a world of great sin where the hearts of man (just like in Ge 6:5-6) appears to be on evil all the time. The Great News is those who love God receive His Amazing Love & Grace… but again realize..  HOW WE CONDUCT OUR LIVES MATTERS ETERNALLY. if we choose self over God than our eternity is the same as those outside the Ark. We may not get all wet by a supernatural Great Flood, but we will be just as lost, just as judged, and just as damned.

May God bless each of you to be faithful and obedient to God while living in this self indulgent world.  

Jeff (wearing my waterwings today) Larson

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