“These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9)
Belizeans, as we look at the need for justice and perfection as necessary ingredients for good living and good government in Belize, the application of Biblical commentaries on the above verse appears relevant and potentially rewarding in its application to our Socio–economic situation.
There are two words in Genesis 6:9 that present problems in appreciating the true meaning of this verse; and the crux of the matter is in the meaning of the second word – perfect.
In the Hebrew text, this is tamîm, and its basic meaning is “complete” or “entire.” It does not mean “perfect” as we think of it today, as “without fault, flaw, or defect.” Other English words that translate tamîm better than “perfect” are “whole,” “full,” “finished,” “well-rounded,” “balanced,” “sound,” “healthful,” “sincere,” “innocent,” or “wholehearted.” In the main, however, modern translators have rendered it as “blameless” in Genesis 6:9.
This does not mean that Noah never sinned, but that he was spiritually mature, and that he had a wholehearted, healthy relationship with God, who had forgiven him of his sins, rendering him guiltless. The thought in Genesis 6:9 extends to the fact that Noah was head-and-shoulders above his contemporaries in spiritual maturity. In fact, the text suggests that he was God’s only logical choice to do His work.
The New Testament concept of perfection, found in the Greek word téleios, is similar to tamîm. Perhaps, the best known occurrence of téleios occurs in Matthew 5:48: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
Certainly, Jesus desires that the child of God become as flawless as we can humanly be, using the utter perfection of the Father as our model, but His use of téleios suggests something else. His aim is that a Child of God be completely committed to living God’s way of life, maturing in it until he can perform the duties God entrusts to him, both now and in His Kingdom.
Belizeans, whom do many of us, as individuals, tend to model in our daily lives? When we are told that “no individual is bigger than the Party”, what really is “the Party”, and in whom is the Party personified? More likely than not, the personification of the Party is wrapped up in the leadership of the Party. Therefore, when we elect political leaders from different political parties to govern this nation, we must remember that the Government is comprised of men and women to whom we have given the responsibility to manage, for us, the affairs of our nation. Our understanding of the meaning of perfection, purity, will therefore help each one of us to recognize the imperfect among them and remove them as is appropriate.
It is worth noting that, unlike Greek, biblical Hebrew is a rather concrete language, expressing itself in colorful, often earthy terms, and emphasizing its meaning with repetition and rephrasing. Because his vocabulary was limited by a relatively small number of words, a Hebrew writer relied on syntax, metaphors, puns, and other figures of speech to make his meaning clear. Perhaps, chief in his figures of speech was parallelism.
Parallelism is similar to the use of apposition in English. When we say, “Fred Jones, the pharmacist, often rode his bicycle to work,” we restate the subject of our sentence and add information at the same time. The Hebrew writer did the same thing, but he was not limited merely to renaming nouns; he worked in phrases, clauses, and whole sentences. For instance, a well-known parallelism appears in Psalm 51:2, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” Many of the proverbs of Solomon also follow this form, for example, “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
In the same way, “perfect in his generations” acts as a parallel thought to Noah being “a just man.” Justrepresents the Hebrew tsaddîq, meaning “just,” “righteous,” “lawful” (in accord with a standard), “correct.” Noah was a man who lived in accordance with God’s revealed will, unlike all others of his time. In writing this description of Noah, Moses’ use of parallelism emphasizes Noah’s unusual righteousness, for a man living among the spiritually degenerate humanity of his day.
“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace [favor, acceptance] in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:5-8)
His fear of God, exhibited in his obedience to God’s instructions, and his righteousness is why God chose Noah, not his supposed racial perfection!
In fact, the verse contains no connotation of race at all, but is entirely interested in Noah’s spiritual résumé. God wanted Noah, a man of integrity and morality, to build the ark and reestablish human society on a godly footing. The biblical account testifies that he performed his responsibility as well as any man could.
From what we have seen, a fair translation of verse 9 would be: These are the records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries. Noah walked with God.
Belizeans, in a nation in which we say that God is Supreme, can we say the same of many of our leaders, whether as individuals or collectively as Political Parties, as was said of Noah? Is it any wonder, then, that we are slowly sinking in a quagmire of corruption, while being seemingly oblivious to what is happening to us?
Belizeans, nevertheless, in this election year, there is the reality of the Word of God in Genesis 7:1, in which the Lord says to Noah, “. . . I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.” Now that we, as Belizeans, can look at what has truly transpired in this nation, “From August 28, 1998 to the Present”; and as we remember those things “They would like us to forget”; isn’t the Word of God in the days of Noah as applicable to the People of Belize today, as we consider the upcoming elections?
The apostle Paul writes in Galatians 3:26-28, as he spoke to those Galatians who had been born again, as sons of God, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus”.
Belizeans, physical traits—such as genetic “perfection,” social status or gender – are not high on God’s list of priorities regarding His children, but putting on the faith and righteousness of Jesus Christ is what impresses Him. In Noah’s case, these qualities are what led to his salvation – not anything as insignificant as the color of his skin.
Belizeans, it is therefore extremely important that, in a multicultural society such as Belize is, a culture born out of different ethnic and racial backgrounds, nationalities and languages, that we do not become victims of the propaganda to divide us along any such demographic lines, as opposed to the reality that “we – are all one”. This means thatall of us must see ourselves first and foremost as Belizeans – Citizens of the Nation of Belize, patriots who are loyal to Belize.
Belizeans, any attempt to introduce divisiveness, whether subtle or otherwise, is despotic in nature and must be resisted, as despotic in nature; and, in the words of our national anthem, we will “drive back the tyrants”, and “let despots flee” – from the land of the free. And we will be able to remove the despotic if we, as Belizeans collectively, renounce the propaganda that a particular Political Party is the “Natural Party of Government”. Such propaganda is among the many small but subtle steps on the road to a dictatorship over time.
`Belizeans, let us remind ourselvesin this election year, between “Now and July 3, 2008”, of the Word of God to Noah in Genesis 7:1, in which the Lord said to Noah, “. . . I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.”
` Belizeans, could this not be the same Word of God to the People of Belize today, as we look at what has truly transpired in this nation, “From August 28, 1998 to the Present”? Let us remember those things “They would like us to forget”; especially, “Between Now and July 3, 2008”.