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. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 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. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:5-8 NIV
Thousands of years have passed since the days of Noah, but we still live in a world where evil abounds. Watch the news, pick up a newspaper or browse the internet and it won’t take long to hear about a horrific act from one man toward another. Human trafficing, hate crimes, suicide bombings and many other travesties make me wonder how our era compares to the days of the Nephilim. If we aren’t careful, we will can overwhelmed by the evil we hear about every day, and easily be depressed or anxious.
Let’s focus on a few things the story of Noah teaches us.
- The first is this, the evil we see never escapes the attention of God. As in the days of Noah, God’s heart is deeply troubled by evil. It may seem that God is unaffected, but that’s never the case.
- God will, as he did with the flood, always bring judgement against sin. We may not see it play out, but we can be sure that no sin goes unpunished.
- We live in the midst of evil, but we, as Noah, can find favor in the eyes of God. We can live differently, we have a choice. What was it about Noah that gained him favor in God’s eyes?
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. Genesis 6:9 NIV
Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Genesis 6:22 NIV
I imagine as God sees the evil of our day, his heart is deeply troubled. As he looks at the human race, I pray he will see you and I making righteousness a priority, and that we will be listed among those who find favor in his eyes.