Reader’s Guide – “The Word for Today” Wednesday, September 12, 2012 Read Genesis 8 & 9 If the flood story begins by proclaiming the awful truth that all of humankind – including us, of course – had become greatly wicked it ends with bold promises of God. God promises that never again will he destroy the earth. And God gives a sign in the clouds – the rainbow – to remind us and God of that promise. It is interesting to notice that God says he put the rainbow in the sky so that God will see it and not destroy the earth again. Perhaps even God needs reminders. The flood is a frightening story. And it does not take long before the washed earth is back in the depths of wickedness. Even Noah, who in one version of the story at least was described as righteous and walking with God, gets drunk on the wine of the earth. God has a huge problem to confront when it comes to dealing with the creatures God has made. Built upon the foundation of the second creation story, the fall of “Adam and Eve”, and the story of “Cain and Abel”, the story of the flood moves us almost onto the stage of human history. There is one more story that will complete the set of foundation stories we find in Genesis 1-11.