There are many flood stories from the ancient near eastern world. These ancient agricultural civilizations all relied on the dependability of the rivers flooding and receding at predictable times. Floods were seen as action taken by the gods to punish humans for some misdeeds.
In the Great Deluge stories of the ancient world (i.e. “world-wide” floods) the reasons for the gods flooding the world either had to do with overpopulation (“the humans are too noisy!”) or complete capriciousness (“this seems like a fun thing to do”).
There’s a big difference in the Noah Flood story, however. God floods the earth due to the corruption (the word is used 3 times in Genesis 6) that humanity has wreaked upon creation and upon themselves.
How does that change your reading of the story? If you were an ancient reader, what would that reveal to you about God’s character?
Matthew 2:1-12
Today we take a one-day break from John and hop back to the story of the magi. Why? Because today the worldwide church celebrates something called Epiphany, commenting the day the magi (sometimes called wise men or kings) visited Jesus.
Epiphany has many themes, including the breaking of dawn and the coming of light; the ability of non-Jews to become Christian; and the recognition that all truth is God’s truth, no matter where you come from.
The Magi did not visit Jesus the same night as the shepherds did (aka the night Jesus was born). It was around 2 years later (we know this because Herod ordered the killing of all the 2 year old children in Bethlehem).
You can read more about Epiphany here: https://www.ncregister.com/blog/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-epiphany