January 12, 2024 | Be God's Light
The Lord was Grieved
Scripture: Genesis 6(NIV)
1 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.
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 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. 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. 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.
Devotional
In earlier readings from this week, we have looked at the sins of Adam, Eve, and their offspring. By today’s reading, we see that evil had taken up residence in human beings. Wickedness, evil thoughts, corrupt hearts and violence were an accepted way of life. John Wesley once said, “What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” This is as true today as ever.
Some interesting phrases are used to describe God’s response to all that wickedness and sin. Verse 6 says that the Lord’s heart was deeply troubled and that He regretted creating people. Other translations say that God was grieved and that His heart was filled with pain.
Does it surprise you that our sin affects God so deeply? Think about how parents feel when their kids go off the deep end. Magnify that times eight billion and that is how our Creator feels when those made in His image shatter it. He grieves. He is deeply troubled. His heart is filled with pain.
Contrasted with the prevalent evil of the day was a man named Noah, righteous and blameless by comparison. Seeing that, God commanded Noah and his family to make an ark to preserve a remnant of life while He washed the earth of evil. Imagine how unpopular Noah was to those around him. He already didn’t fit in with the cultural trends of the day. Now he was building a big boat and mumbling about an impending flood.
It takes little effort to do what everybody else is doing. But it takes a strong person to swim against the tide… or build a boat for a tide that is not yet here. Psalm 1:1-2 says, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.”
How are you being challenged by the Holy Spirit to be fully on board with the Lord regardless of what others think, say or do? What is God saying to you?
Put your name in the blank and claim the final verse of this chapter as your own: “_____________did everything just as God commanded.”
Poem
God from heaven looked about
God from heaven looked about
Searching for some goodness
But the world was sadly marred
Filled with every wick'ness.
“I am sorry that I made
This entire creation.
I will blot out everything,
Thus destroy corruption.”
Yet, when God saw Noah there,
Blameless man and righteous,
God remembered days they shared
Walking with him, joyous.
“I will save this gentle soul,
Midst the flood of trial.
He will build an ark of sorts;
He'll learn self-denial.”
Noah heeded God's warning;
Filled his days with labor
People mocked and laughed at him;
He ignored his neighbor
In his heart he trusted God—
Followed God's direction—
Laboring year in and out
As per God's election.
God has told us what to do,
How to live together.
Calling us to build anew
For the future better.
Will we mock or will we work?
Will we join the labor?
Will we trust in God's own will?
Will we seek God's favor?
