GENESIS 6–9
OVERVIEW
As the generations begin to multiply on the face of the earth, the world’s population greatly increases . . . and so does the world’s wickedness. Heartbroken, God prepares to destroy all living things—but one man and his family find favor with God (6:5-8). Noah obediently undertakes a century-long shipbuilding project in preparation for saving his believing family. As the floodwaters rise, Noah’s eight-member family rides high in God’s loving protection.
MY DAILY WALK
When God repeats a promise, you can be absolutely sure it isn’t because he has a problem keeping it. Is God trustworthy? Does he keep his word? Noah must have wrestled with such questions, for his very life depended on God’s promises. Spend a few minutes evaluating God’s “record” of promise keeping: “I will make the rains pour down . . . for forty days and forty nights” (7:4). Yes or no? “I [will wipe] from the earth all the living things I have created” (7:4). Yes or no? “I will never again curse the ground” (8:21). Yes or no? “I will remember my covenant” (9:15). Yes or no? The rainbow in the sky (9:12-16) is God’s eternal reminder that he will never repeat the watery horror of Noah’s day. Keep an eye out for rainbows. Let each one remind you that God has been absolutely faithful to his promise to Noah—and you can count on his faithfulness, too. GOD MAY NOT PROMISE A COMFORTABLE JOURNEY, BUT HE DOES GUARANTEE A SAFE LANDING.
Water, Water, Everywhere . . . and Very Little Else
Gen. 7:20 In the account of the Flood, you will find phrases such as “the floodwaters grew deeper” (7:17), and “the waters rose higher and higher” (7:18). God wanted to make it clear that this was no ordinary flood and that his promise to destroy “all the living things I have created” (7:4) was no idle threat.
Savior and Judge
Gen. 8:21 In Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus compares Noah’s generation to the generation that will be alive when he returns to judge the earth. In both instances, the sinful behaviors of human beings are so utterly corrupt that judgment must come. And in both instances, God comes as Savior of the faithful at the same time he comes as Judge of the faithless.
