Overwhelmed

Genesis 7 is an overwhelming chapter to me. As a child I saw lots of pictures of Noah and the ark. But the pictures I remember seeing were mostly of Noah’s family and the animals coming out of the ark on dry land with the sun shining. I have even seen advertised Noah’s ark playsets where you can get a plastic ark and two of several different kinds of animals. I don’t remember seeing pictures of dead carcasses and bodies floating in the water or the overwhelming darkness of rain for forty days and nights. Both all of that is part of the whole picture of the flood. When I read chapter 7 I am overwhelmed by the devastation and destruction. “So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.” Can you sit with that sentence for a few minutes? If you are inclined to believe that God is not a God of judgment can you explain what those words are intended to mean? I hope that you have a complete picture of the God of the Bible; at least as well as a human mind can fathom that picture. Let’s live with the sober reality of the judgment of God.