Mankind became wicked. The sons of God compromised with sinners. Evil filled the earth. God decided to pour out His wrath upon the wickedness. And “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:6).

What may have been an advanced civilization was eliminated. An entire world full of plants, animals, and men was destroyed. The face of the earth was reshaped. But astride the waves that pummeled the world into oblivion, a great box—an “ark”—carried the forebears of new life on a new earth.

In Psalms 38:9, David gives us an unusual perspective on desires that may help us to understand better why we need to be content: “Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.” We desire things. I doubt there’s one of us who hasn’t wanted something at some point. And David shows us that God knows the things we desire. He sees what things attract us. They are spread out before Him, every one of them, and we can’t hide them.

This article is part of a series.

In the last article in this series, I discussed how religion was linked to the nation in Old Covenant Israel. The true religion was tied to Israel, and it was disadvantageous to be a Gentile. In the New Covenant, however, the true religion is decoupled from the state. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) Paul is saying here that now the people of God no longer have a national identity; rather, they are distributed throughout the nations of the world. Their identity is in Christ instead of their country. “But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” (Acts 10:35)

This article is part of a series.

God gave Old Testament Israel the Law, His commands for them to follow. The Law basically seems to consist of two different parts, the national law for Israel as a nation, and the personal law for each follower of God in the nation (and also for those of other nations who would follow God with the Israelites).

During the Christmas season, the phrase “Peace on Earth” is sometimes displayed. It is probably taken from what the angels said to the shepherds when telling them about the birth of Christ.

To the Pharisees, ritual and ceremony were the most important parts of religion. To them, paying tithes, offering sacrifices, praying publicly, and other such things, which were done as a ceremony, as a demonstration, were the central focus of religious experience.