The Devotional Journey
Bible Reading 4
Yahweh prepares to judge the world
Read Genesis 6:1–22.
Adam and Eve had many descendants but instead of learning from their original parents’ bad choices, most of the descendants chose to live wicked lives independent of Yahweh. In other words, they didn’t want God in their lives and so they rebelled against Him. As a result, there was more and more evil in the world. There was corruption and violence everywhere. This was not how Yahweh wanted mankind to live.
God has righteous standards and He doesn’t let evil get completely out of control. When the people on earth sinned beyond what God was willing to tolerate, He decided to judge their wickedness by sending a global flood to destroy all of evil mankind. But in His mercy, He warned the people about the coming judgment and gave them time to repent, that is, to change their minds about how they were living and to turn to Him.
God spoke to one of the few righteous people on earth: Noah. God gave him very clear and specific instructions on how to build an enormous boat that would save his family from the coming flood judgment. The boat was also to contain all types of land animals so that the world could be repopulated after the Flood.
Noah and his family believed God’s words and they followed His instructions carefully and built the boat. And thus God prepared to destroy every last evil person in the world but He would save those who believed Him—Noah and his family, eight people in total.
Today, we see a smilier situation. Wickedness, violence, evil and sin are rampant across the world. And sometimes, we wonder if God is powerless to act against so much evil. But we learn something about God from the event of the global flood during Noah’s day. Yahweh is patient with mankind’s wickedness. Just because He is not punishing all sin right away, it doesn’t mean that He is powerless, and it doesn’t mean He will not judge the world for its evil. As the righteous Creator-God, He will bring about final judgment. He will bring an end to evil in His creation. As it was in the days leading up to the global flood, God is extending mercy to people everywhere, giving them time and opportunity to change their minds and turn to Him.
Let’s pray and thank God for His mercy and patience during this current age. And we should also ask Him to help us take Him seriously and live in a way that honours Him every day. And let’s pray for our unbelieving loved ones, that God will guide them to know Him and be saved so they will not be a rebellious person when God’s judgment comes.
Also, as we read the plans of how Noah was to build the ark, let’s thank God that He is a God of details. He cared enough to give specific building plans for the boat. God cares for each of us and all the details of our lives as well. He is intimately interested in us. Let’s thank Him for that.