Genesis 6
Genesis 6:1-22 (NLT)
1 Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them.
2 The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives.
3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”
4 In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.
5 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.
6 So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.
7 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.”
8 But Noah found favor with the LORD.
9 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.
10 Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence.
12 God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt.
13 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!
14 “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior.
15 Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
16 Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.
17 “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die.
18 But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives.
19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.
20 Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive.
21 And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”
22 So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.
Though there is the culmination of an evil working, producing what seems to be an overwhelming and all-encompassing realm of wickedness, there is somehow yet a single heart that was kept from this influence by its nearness to and honor of God. While this was evident in Noah’s separation from the worldliness around him, what really confirmed him as someone God could use for the salvation of humanity was his willingness to respond immediately to a directive that could not have made the slightest sense to him. Just knowing and loving God himself was great, but for Him to be useful in the working of deliverance it required more that just a personal relationship, it required full adherence to what God gave him to do as an unquestioning servant.
God is desiring to draw us close to His side. He’s looking over the whole earth for a heart that hasn’t been taken in by the enticements of evil and wickedness. Rather than being overhwelmed by what seems to be the dominant trend, there is an opportunity to join with the heart of Noah in separation from the world, but also in full compliance and devotion to whatever He asks of us. It’s in this response that our relationship goes from just personal to kingdom and eternal. What a tragedy it is that most of humanity has fallen prey to the corruption and perversion of evil’s offspring, but there is an escape from its cloak of darkness for the hearts that will find their refuge not just in the comforts of God’s embrace, but the fulfillment of His purposes and will. The way of the righteous will not just be to the secret place of personal safety, but for them there will be continuation to the role of proclaiming this same opportunity for everyone everwhere, not to perish but have eternal life.