Stray thoughts on questions Noah raises for me about God

God said to Noah... "I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth." (Gen. 9:8, 11)
No wonder the insurance companies call natural disasters, "Acts of God." It's right there in the Bible. Acts of God are beyond one's comprehension. And while this story of Noah seems to end well - with a new beginning - it is a little unsettling when we consider that the same God who sent a Savior for us, is said to once have send a storm to wipe everyone but eight people away.

Is this how we understand God?  Wiping out most of life as punishment for sin?  Is this an example of the sharp contrast between the First and Second (Old and New) Testaments? 

I can sympathize with Noah's God, however. I have had times when I would have liked to go back and start all over again.  It seems that God wanted to do this when he saw how wicked his human creatures were.  It seems like God had a change of heart at the end.  Did God wish for a do-over? 

Wiping out sin; isn't this what support for capital punishment is about? 

If you knew that someone had a previous history of violence, wouldn't you be on your guard around them?  The story of Noah seems to attribute a history of violence to God.  It also seems to attribute a history of repentance to God.  Is Noah's story about God's repentance?  Is Noah's story about our new beginning? 

I have to admit, I have trouble sorting out the understanding of God in this story.  I usually try to look at it as a God who means no harm to us now. But we only get to that through an avenging God as the starting point of the story.  Did God change?  If so, will God change again? 

Somehow I believe in a God who would not have sent the flood.  I want God's metaphorical flood waters (the waters of baptism) to wash away my sins.  This is where I see the plant to include this story in our Lenten lectionary.  Lent is about preparation to renew our baptismal covenant with God in Christ Jesus. 

As I "appeal to God for a clear conscience" (1 Peter 3:21) I ask you to sit with me in the tension of multiple understandings of God presented in our faith tradition - understandings that sit along side in tension with each other.  And let us consider what those images not only say of God, but also of us.
May God renew his covenant with us each day.