An understanding of the nature
and process of the primordial creation, as discussed in my
lesson three, is central to understanding the Genesis account
of Noah and the flood. The flood narrative is in essence
a return to that primordial chaos from which a new creation
comes forth. This lesson will take a look at the flood, the
sacred space that is brought forth from the flood, and its
relevance to modern-day temples and us. It will conclude
with an interpretation of the confusing curse of Canaan and
the priesthood.
The Return to Chaos
As God looked upon the earth
that he had created, he saw that “the wickedness of man was
great … and that every imagination of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil” (Genesis 6:5). At that point, God decided
to “destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life”
(Genesis 6:17). The Hebrew word for breath is ruah,
which is also interpreted throughout the Old Testament as
“spirit.” The spirit of God, which in the beginning had moved
upon the “face of the deep” — giving birth to the world and
life to man — was now being taken away from all creation.
In the flood narrative, chaos
prevailed upon man and the earth as “all the fountains of
the great deep (were) broken up, and the windows of heaven
were opened” (Genesis 7:11). The primordial creation, which
resulted in the separating of the waters above the firmament
from those under the firmament, was being undone as the elements,
the waters above and below, returned to their primordial unity.
The result was the state in which
the “waters prevailed upon the earth; and all the high hills
… were covered … And all flesh died …both of fowl, and of
cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing” (Genesis
7:19-21).
By means of the flood, the earth
returned to a state of chaos. In the beginning, the earth
was without form and void, which was characterized by the
fact that it was covered in darkness and water. Now in Genesis chapter 7, the earth
was again completely covered by water.
The Ark
The mechanism that gave rise
to a new creation (of both man and earth) was set in place
when God commanded Noah to, “Make thee an ark of gopher wood;
rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within
and without with pitch” (Genesis 6:14). The purpose of the
ark was to move man from a fallen world to a higher world.
Like Jacob’s ladder that reached from heaven to earth at Beth-el,
the temple is the place that allows passage between the two
realms. In the analogy between Noah and Jacob, Beth-el,
literally “house of God” in Hebrew, is the parallel with the
mount upon which the ark rests. The ark, like the ladder,
allows for ascending and descending. This section will explore
the characteristics of the ark that make it an ideal vehicle
for this purpose:
- Pitch: The first thing
we learn about the ark is the fact that it was pitched within
and without. The word “pitch” comes from the Hebrew root
“kippur,” which means, “to cover,” and generally
has the meaning of bringing two things together. The more
common translation of “kippur” is “atone.” Thus,
in a sense, the ark is an “ark of atonement” with a central
purpose of bringing or gathering two things together.
The ark is starkly contrasted
in the Genesis narrative with the tower of babel. “Babel”
from the Assyrian “Bab-ilu” has a literal translation
of “gate of God.” According to Genesis 11:4, the people said,
“let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto
heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad
upon the face of the whole earth.” As stated in these verses,
the purpose of the tower is to reach unto heaven. Like the
ark that carries its contents between worlds, the tower was meant to be a gate
to a different world. Of interest is the fact that the tower,
like all sacred space, would have kept them from being “scattered”
upon the whole earth. One of the purposes of the temple is
the gathering of man to Christ through the power of the at-one-ment.
Having been authorized and planned
by God, the ark has the ability “to gather” just as the tower
of Babel would have gathered had it been a true temple, built
under the order and authority of God.
- Three Stories: Genesis
6:16 states that Noah was instructed to build the ark with
three stories. I would suggest that three stories represented
the telestial, terrestrial, and celestial realms. Again,
as stated above, the purpose of sacred space is to move
the individual from a telestial, fallen realm, to a heavenly
abode. Consistent with the manner of the Jews, the physical
reality of the ship demonstrated eternal, spiritual truths.
- Window/Sacrifice: Most
ancient temples had windows or holes in the ceilings. Given
that incense and offerings were burnt in the temples, the
windows probably had a practical purpose as well as symbolic
purpose. That Noah took with him seven of each clean beast
may explain why the ark had a window. The ark was a place
of sacrifice. After the ark came to a rest on the top of
a mountain and they come
forth from the ark, “Noah builded an altar unto the Lord;
and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl,
and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” As the smoke
from the offerings rise, the hole in the ceiling allows
the smell to ascend to heaven. Thus, “the Lord smelled
a sweet savour”
and his anger abated. As an aside, the Hebrew word for
anger, aph, is also interpreted as “nose”. The lesson
of law of sacrifice is that the sweet smell of sacrifice
softens the anger of God’s nose.
- Covenants: Prior to
entering into the ark, Jehovah promised Noah “with thee
will I establish my covenant.” After passing through the flood, offering
sacrifice, and receiving the terms of the covenant, God
spoke unto Noah saying, “behold, I establish my covenant
with you.” The ark is a place of covenant
making and apparently the covenant that Noah entered into
was that of the Fathers through Enoch (JST Gen. 8:23).
- Dove: After a period
of time, Noah sent forth a dove. “And the dove came in
to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive
leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated
from off the earth” (Genesis 8:11). The presence of the
dove, the foreordained symbol of the Holy Ghost according
to Joseph Smith, represents the culmination and conclusion
of the creative process. After immersion in water, the
Holy Ghost places a seal on the newly created world.
The Curse of Canaan
Following the story of the flood,
the narrative gives an unusual account, which results in the
cursing of Canaan. In order to understand this account, we
must attempt to answer the following questions:
1)
What is the “nakedness” of Noah?
2)
What did Ham do?
3)
Why was Canaan Cursed?
Nakedness of Noah: As
Noah came forth from the ark into his new world, he, like
Adam entered “his new world clothed with a special garment.” According to Jewish legend, this
was the garment given to Adam in the Garden of Eden and then
passed down through the patriarchs until it was “worn by Noah
when he sacrificed on an altar.” It was a garment of power, the garment
of the firstborn. It was by possessing this garment that
legitimized Joseph as having the rights of the firstborn among
his brothers; and thus, the reason for their jealousy of him
and his tunic.
Ham: According to Genesis
11:21, Noah was uncovered or stripped of this garment as he
lay drunk in his tent. Jewish tradition as preserved in the
Book of Jasher, states, “Ham stole those garments from
Noah his father.” Now, if Ham was he who stole the garment, this
begs the question as to why Canaan, his son, appears to receive
the punishment and not Ham. From the Biblical narrative,
it would appear that the fact that Ham sees his father’s nakedness
causes the cursing; however, if that were so, he would have
been cursed. I would suggest that a previous curse caused,
or at least was the impetus behind, the need to steal his
father’s garment, leaving him naked.
Canaan’s Curse: From
the book of Abraham, we learn that Pharaoh was “the eldest
son of Egyptus, the daughter of Ham” (Abraham 1:26). This
passage clearly implies that because of his lineage, the Pharaoh
had been “cursed …as pertaining to the priesthood” (Abraham
1:26). If Ham’s descendants could not have the priesthood,
this would explain why Ham was attempting to steal the garment,
which he believed authorized priesthood authority. It would
also explain why Ham was not cursed himself, being a legitimate
heir through his lineage of the priesthood; but rather the
cursing is placed upon Canaan as a symbol of all those who
were Ham’s descendants, who were not rightful heirs due to
their matriarchal lineage.
May we seek to enter into God's latter-day
arks by exercising "exceeding faith and good works"
(see Alma 13:10), and thereafter keeping our covenants and
sacrificing our all to God. By so doing, we are qualified
for a fullness of His Holy Order to which we were foreordained,
with the end result of gathering us back into His presence.
