Noah?

Last night I watched the BBC version of Noah’s Ark.  I have not watched the Russell Crowe version, but I have read enough and heard enough that I will probably pass…  It is intriguing to me that people can’t just tell the story.

Admittedly it would be a short film.  But there were a couple of elements added in the BBC version that were actually thought provoking, the fact that they ignored that only Noah and his family were on the ark was an unnecessary.

The first thought provoking thing should have been obvious to me.  God told Noah to build the ark.  He did not tell his wife, or his kids.  So Noah had to tell them and convince them to help.  That part of the movie was really well done.

Second, in 2 Peter 2:5 Noah is called a preacher of righteousness.  The film showed Noah trying to proclaim the truth of the flood in the nearby city.  It also portrayed Noah as having friends in that city that did not believe him.  Both could be true and add an interesting dimension to the story.

Consider the second addition.  Noah would have known people who did not respond to the message.  It could be, without much stretch of the imagination be that he had close friends he lost in the flood.  That adds a personal loss to the flood event that in the past I have not considered.

But that is our experience is it not?  One of the costs of obedience can be and is the loss of some relationships.  That loss is hard.  It can cause us to question our faith and the love of God.

If you can overlook the other weird additions this is one movie that will cause you to think about a story that you know really well.