Did God Really Do That?

Genesis 6 is one of the more distressing chapters of the Bible, at least the first part. Let this paragraph sink in for a few moments: 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” First, the words of verse 5 are very grave and serious words. These words don’t paint a very flattering picture of mankind do they? I believe that when I come to agree with God that these words apply to me (and you), I am much more able to see how much I need God to transform me. More than I would like to admit my thoughts are not what they should be…that this is a continual battle.

I suppose the most important part of the beginning of this chapter is the statement that God makes that He will destroy man from the face of the earth; and the animals as well. How does this fit with your understanding of God? Do you accept this as truth or do you explain it away as a story written by man? If you want to explain this away as a story of man that never really happened then where do you stop with this reasoning? If you are willing to believe that Adam, Eve and Noah were not real people, then what about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Isaiah, Jeremiah or Micah? The book of Genesis is a foundational book. The creation, fall and flood histories are foundational to an understanding of salvation and the ministry and work of Jesus Christ. I believe that God wants the flood to serve as a reminder to us today that God is a God of judgment. If God destroyed the earth once, He can certainly do it again as He has promised to do. Yes, God really destroyed the earth via a flood but that is not the end of the story. Yes, it was the end of the story for those who lost their lives but we rob the flood narrative of great value if we deny its historicity. And again, if you deny the flood you face the inevitable question of what else will you deny…and are you qualified to determine what is truth and what is fiction? I know I’m not qualified to do that and if you’re honest, I suspect you would agree that you’re not really qualified to do that either.