In the Old Testament, there are several defining ‘line in the sand’ type events. There is the time before the Fall, and after the Fall; the time before the Exodus, and after the Exodus; and so on. One of the biggest lines drawn is the time before the Flood, and after the Flood.
Prior to the Flood, it says people were just plain evil (it seems likely that the world was even more full of evil than our world today)…
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)
They rejoiced in their sin, and in fact were so bad that it says God was sorry he made humans at all.
And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (Genesis 6:6)
Now, some people will say here, “How is it possible that your ‘perfect God’ was sorry He made man? I thought He didn’t make mistakes?” However, it never says that His creation was a mistake – in fact, when He creates the world, its plants, animals and humans, God says it was all ‘very good’.
If we read these verses in context (something critical yet often missed when studying the bible), it is seen that the ‘Nephilim’ (what is typically believed to be the fallen angels that were cast down with Satan), had ‘merged’ with the humans of that time, and corrupted the gene pool (I suppose everyone knows what I’m referring to when I say ‘merge’ - let's keep it clean here, folks!).
It seems here that God took some of the remaining ‘clean genes’ (Noah & family), and wiped the rest… I mean, think about it - if He really wanted to wipe us out completely because making humans was a bad idea – if we were really just a mistake - why would he bother to spare Noah and his family to replenish the earth again after the cleansing?
So, He wiped everyone else out! The entire world was flooded, and out of what we can assume were at least several thousand, perhaps millions, of people, God allowed only the 8 to survive. Why were these spared out of all of those on the earth? As usual… the answer is God’s Grace.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:8)
Was every other person on earth not worth saving? If there were thousands or millions of people on the earth, there were likely hundreds or thousands of children of various ages – did God not love them?
Of course we know that isn’t right - God’s love never fails! Just as He loves those who do not obey Him now – just as He loves those children that are abused or killed by us fallen humans now – He loves….that what He does.
If fact, it says God waited after it was obvious the humans of that day were no good, before He acted – remember, it took Noah and his boys years to complete the Ark. It isn’t like God said “You people are evil” and the rain started falling as soon as He finished saying it.
Anyway, God did eventually wipe the earth clean and started again – and what have we done with this second chance He gave us? Well, we did what humans do – we screwed up again! But thank God, we are given a chance for redemption.
This time around, however, God sent a flood not of water, but of Christ’s blood, to heal and save the undeserving:
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit… (1 Peter 3:18)
God waited before flooding the earth due to His patience, and saved some because of His Grace in the days of Noah…
… when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. (I Peter 3:20)
He waits in our day, because He is patient; and He saves still, because of His Grace.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (II Peter 3:9)
He patiently waits, because of His love; because of His grace… but He will not wait forever… and next time, He is not sending water, but fire. So “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts”!
2 Comments
Bonnie Sue Christianson
5/24/2015 11:58:09 pm
This tells me how patient God truly is. And I know he gave us choice, free will. So they are our mistakes. There are sooo many passages in the old testament when God was angry and could have wiped us all out, but because we are his children, we are his own, He forgave. I am thankful for the birth, ministry, sacrifice and the risen of Jesus Christ. This shows us how much God really cares. And so little is expected of us. We only need to honor the Lord our God and be righteous before him , bring all people to him for salvation so no one is left behind. How great is that. Jesus Christ is our hope for eternity. So let's seek the Lord our God and continue what Jesus began. Amen
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5/25/2015 10:06:08 pm
Amen Bonnie - He is ever patient! Thank you for the great comment!
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AuthorOne Won One is a pseudonym for a man who explores biblical truths throughout his every day life Archives
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