Like Noah's Day

Thursday, May 11, 2023

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.  So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth.  It broke his heart.  And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth.  Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.”  But Noah found favor with the Lord.  This is the account of Noah and his family.  Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.  Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.  Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence.  God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt.  So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence.  Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!  Genesis 6:5-13

Scripture points out that God is always watching the unfolding of His creation.  In Noah’s day it was not a pretty sight.  Imagine God, Who is holy, looking at the activities, thoughts, and hearts of human beings, and finding nothing but darkness.  In the 21^st century we are accustomed to hearing of the grace and mercy of God; Genesis introduces us to the justice of God. 

This passage of Scripture sets the tone for all theologically-sound doctrine, what we can say with confidence about the nature of God.  God’s evaluation of all human activity was evil wickedness, including our thoughts and intentions. 

The result of such is that we have filled the earth with wickedness and violence.  Who could argue with that, considering the state of our world.

·       In the 21^st-Century life is daily filled with news of disasters and tragic accounts of loss and doom. 

·       Every possible dark thing that takes place on earth is streaming on the Internet. 

·       There has never been a time in the history of human existence without a war going on somewhere on the planet; Cain killing Abel originated the murderous mele.

·       Deceit, greed, and selfishness have pervasively become the norm for interpersonal relationships.  And all of that has systematically unravelled the hope of family and even civil relationships in communities.

·       Sodom and Gomorrah are thriving!

It’s not stretching the truth to say that, had God not promised Noah the destruction of all life would never again be forthcoming, planet earth and all it holds would be in flames. 

And what our world looks like today is precisely what Jesus predicted would characterize the imminence of His return, bringing judgment to the earth:

“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.  In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.  Matthew 24:37-38

For You Today 

Judgment is unavoidable.  Every action, according to the laws of nature and physics, has an equal and opposite reaction.  Evil requires good to mitigate, as does evil attempting to undo good.  God is entirely good; evil will not last.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:   When It Hurts So Much  and  Good and Evil; the War   

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©