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The Great Flood
by Mike Johnson
Genesis Chapters 6-9 give the account of the great flood in ancient times. Previously, Chapters 4 and 5 tell about the descendants of Cain and Seth, the sons of Adam and Eve. From the text, we can conclude that Cain’s descendants were generally wicked, and Seth’s were generally righteous. It appears from Chapter 6 that the two lines intermarried. In verse 2, the sons of God (descendants of Seth) married the daughters of men (Cain’s offspring).
Righteous men made the mistake of choosing women to marry based only on their physical beauty instead of their character. This resulted in the world becoming a very sinful and ungodly place. God saw that the wickedness of man was great “. . . and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (6:5). God was sorrowful that He had even created mankind and decided to destroy the world by a great flood. However, Noah, a just man, “walked with God,” so the Lord decided to deliver him and his family (6:9).
According to particular specifications, God told Noah to build an ark, and He would save him and his family. To preserve the animals, God told Noah to bring onboard the ark a male and female of every unclean animal and seven pairs of every clean animal (7:2). It rained for forty days and forty nights and, by this flood, God destroyed every living thing (both human and animal) on the face of the earth (7:17-24). The water eventually receded, and life started anew (8:13-19). God then made a covenant with Noah that He would never again destroy the world by water. The rainbow, which God would put in the sky, would be symbolic of this agreement (9:9-17).
There are various helpful applications for us today, which we can learn from this great flood. Consider them now.
1. God was conscious of the activities of people on earth. He did not create the world and then became oblivious to events taking place. Instead, we learn that He “saw” the wickedness on earth and became sorrowful (6:5-6). Hebrews 4:13 reminds us, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” God knows what is going on, and He hates sin (Isaiah 59:1-2; Revelation 2:6; Proverbs 6:16-19). As in the days of Noah, God expects people today to obey Him (Hebrews 5:8-9).
2. God was longsuffering with mankind. When God warned of the coming of the flood, He said it would be 120 years before it would happen (Genesis 6:3). God was very patient, giving the world ample opportunity for repentance. Throughout history, God has given people warnings before punishment. For example, during the divided kingdom, God regularly sent prophets to encourage people to repent before a judgment would come (2 Chronicles 11:1-3; 12:5-6; 15:1-2; 24:18-22). The reason for this is simple — God does not want anyone to be lost. Second Peter 3:9 says, “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.” Today, God is warning us through the Scriptures.
3. God fulfills His promises. As noted, God said He would destroy the earth in 120 years, which is a long time. No doubt, as time passed, many questioned whether God would keep His promise. With people, the more time that passes after a promise is made, the less chance of it being fulfilled. With God, that is not the case. When God makes a promise, 10,000 years may pass, and the same certainty exists of fulfilling the promise. In 2 Peter 3, we learn some were saying that since Christ had not come back, He was not going to return. Peter cites the case of Noah to prove that there can be an interruption of the ordinary course of events and, in this case, His return was not due to “slowness,” as the scoffers claimed. Instead, it was due to God’s longsuffering nature with mankind, wanting everyone to be saved.
4. God will destroy that which He has created. Some may say, “God is a God of love, He will not destroy the earth and punish people.” From the account of the flood, we see that the opposite is true. From the New Testament, we discover that Christ will return, and the punishment of the wicked, along with the destruction of the earth, will take place (Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; 2 Peter 3:10-11).
5. Few people were saved. In the days of the flood, only eight people were saved (Genesis 7:13; 1 Peter 3:20), and the rest of the population of the earth died. From the Bible, we also learn that when Christ returns, there will be few saved and many lost (Matthew 7:13-14).
6. Noah was faithful in a wicked world. Can you imagine what it must have been like for Noah and his family? As the ark began to take shape, people must have sneered, laughed, and ridiculed them. There is no indication that this type of mistreatment ever caused them to falter — they never stopped! This situation can happen today. People may make fun of and speak evil against Christians. God’s people should not be surprised when this happens and must remain steadfast (1 Peter 3:13-14; 4:3; Matthew 5:11-12).
7. Noah patiently preached his message. In the New Testament, Peter describes Noah as a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5-6). Think about the following. When God told Noah to build an ark, 120 years passed before the flood took place. There is no indication that he changed anyone during this time with his preaching. Sometimes we get discouraged when people do not respond to our preaching, teaching, or words meant to encourage. When this happens, think about Noah. He kept going, no matter what.
There is much to be admired about Noah. Over 100 years went by, and he continued to believe that God would do what He said. Although almost everyone else ignored God’s teaching, he continued to adhere to it, and even though he apparently could not convince anyone outside of his family, he did not let that deter him.
What was the secret of Noah’s success? It was his faith. Hebrews 11:7 says, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Today our faith, like Noah’s, must be the kind that prompts us to obey God, having full confidence and trust in Him. There is a lot to learn from the great flood!