One of my parents’ favorite phrases to say when stressed was; “things are going from bad to worse!” When I heard the words, as they sighed heavily; I would worry, too, picking up on their stressed, furrowed brows, with that look of dread in their eyes. As the oldest child, I knew the signs of stress in my parents. My heart would be sad for them even though I might not fully understand the challenging circumstance.
Could this be how Noah felt as he watched the godless world around him grow more so violent and harsh with each passing day? Was Noah, who “walked faithfully with God” and known as blameless in the community, stressed to live with the wicked? Was he always on “high alert” at all times just to walk through his community with his family? Did he hunker down and hide out? Did he try to convince the wicked that there actions were grieving the heart of God? Did his sons and daughters in law pick up on the stress and worry caused by an unkind, unpredictable, world of people bent on violence? We have questions, right? How bad to worse did it get until God intervened?
Genesis 6
Wickedness in the World
When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah and the Flood
9 This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[c] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[d] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[e] high all around.[f] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
We might be thinking that it is time for God’s intervention again. But God promised to never flood the earth again and God has kept His promise since Noah’s time on earth. God had a better plan for mankind’s sin problem—Jesus. We must hold that thought as we read “in the beginning, God” stories of truth showing us how he related to and interacted His perfect creation that was made imperfect when Adam and Eve did not do what God commanded them to be and do—or rather not do!
God looked over the earth and regretted the creation of those who were extremely violent, cold hearted and abusive to their own and others who came close to them. They had nothing of God within them. Evil intermarried with God’s created and produced more evil. As God grieved; He looked over the earth, to see Noah—the only one who stood firmly planted in his belief and faith in Him—no matter what was happening around him. This passage reveals what breaks the heart of God—His broken relationship with His created who chose to live life without Him. How does this happen?
We first blame the devil. “The devil made me do it” or “I was tempted beyond my ability to resist so I did it.” Some say, “God tempted me so I would make the right choice.” But this thinking presents us as mindless beings with no choice. No, we choose. And we are responsible for the choices we make. The devil has limited power over us. He tempts us, makes lies look like the truth of what is best for us.
God does not tempt us but reveals Truth so that we can make the right choice. When we call on His Name and ask for help and wisdom; He delivers with wisdom and power beyond human intellect, insight and understanding! We make a million decisions each day. Who’s leading us as we make good to better choices as opposed to bad to worse decisions that give birth to more sin?
I am reminded of what James wrote about the temptation to sin;
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” James 1:13-17, NIV
God created us to love, trust and obey Him for all that is right, good, and perfect for us—His best for our good and His glory! Satan, the enemy of God, can only offer a facsimile to entice us based on our own desires within us. The enemy tempts to lead us from bad to worse—death forever.
Noah did fall for the enemy. He didn’t conform to the world around him, even for his own safety and the safety of his family. He didn’t succumb to the violence, abusive behaviors of others in efforts to merely survive. Noah chose to walk with God faithfully. Even those who did know or believe in God gave Noah the reputation as “one who was blameless.” Noah chose to live for God ready to do exactly what God told him to be and do. As a result, Noah (and his family) lived to tell the story of God that we read today—all because “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”
Lord,
We live and work among some whose only answer for life’s problems is self-preservation lived in perverted, violent, murderous ways. They have fallen for the enemy’s scheme to distract us from you, deceive us with lies about You, while trying to prevent a relationship with you. All of us have sinned and fall short of your glory—when we choose evil. We reject all that could be.
I pray for your wisdom and power to seek Your first, surrender to your will, and choose to walk with you daily like Noah did. I pray that our decision will lead us to do everything that you command us to be and do. Help us to remember that what you have for us are the gifts of love, eternal life, salvation, and freedom from our sins, along with the help to live a life that produces more life which gives birth to more joy and peace in all circumstances. Yes, I choose you.
In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 