5. THE RESULTS OF WICKEDNESS |
|
There is no doubt that we are living in troubled times. One only need to open a newspaper, watch the news, or turn on the television to see that our neighborhoods, cities, country, and world is in chaos. So it is no wonder that we hear a lot about the end of the world. Some say aliens will come and destroy us. Others say that an asteroid will strike the earth and cause all life to become extinct, just as one did millions of years ago. But the most common idea is that human induced global warming will cause the ocean's water levels to rise and flood the most important cities of the planet. Yes, according to the Bible, the end of the world is near and the judgment of God is at hand. But the problem isn't the burning of fossil fuels as much as it is the human heart!
For two days, Hamza Bey couldn’t sleep well. He didn’t understand how his daughter Begüm could do this to the family. He had sacri ced everything for her. He wanted to make her dream of going to university a reality, so they moved to the city. Jobs in Izmir are hard to nd and he wanted her to have every opportunity to focus on her studies, so he gave her spending money. He even gave her more freedom than she was entitled to. And this is how she repaid him! He couldn't believe that she would shame the whole family by getting pregnant out of wedlock. To top it off, the stress wasn’t just affecting his sleep; he was nding himself unable to concentrate at work.
The afternoon hours passed in what seemed like an eternity, he left work, and boarded the minibus (dolmuş). As he stared out the window his thoughts wandered, but it wasn’t long before he came to himself. In the row directly behind him, he overheard two ladies speaking.
“Times are changing. Everyone is behaving badly. For example the other day after I boarded the dolmus, I had to stand for 10 minutes. Two young men didn't even give me their seats."
“Gülümser, you don't need to tell me! Last month two of my neighbor's had everything stolen. Everyday our neighborhood is becoming worse. We use to leave our doors unlocked, but now we are all putting iron bars on our doors and windows. I don't even want to talk about the things I have been hearing on the news" the other woman sighed.
Hamza Bey couldn’t help but think they were right. In spite of not being perfect, he loved his country, his people, and his family. But the fact that the things he held so close to his heart were not immune to the rest of the world’s problems caused him great pain. He unlocked the apartment’s heavy, steel door, walked up the stairs, took off his shoes, and entered his home. He quietly ate dinner with his wife and younger daughter Ayşe. After dinner, he decided to go for a walk and visit some friends. Maybe some çay and a few games of ok or cards would ease his mind.
“Selam aleküm!” Hamza said.
“Aleküm selam” a few men replied.
Hamza sat down at a table and waited for some friends to come. After he finished his first glass of tea, Huseyin, Ibo and Salih arrived. After the usual greetings and small talk they began to play ok.
It didn’t take long for the men to realize that Hamza wasn’t his normal self. He was an excellent ok player and liked to move fast. But tonight his mind was somewhere else.
“Hamza what's wrong with you? You are acting strange tonight!
Where is your head? Let's go, it is your turn.” Huseyin said.
“I'm sorry, you are right my mind is all mixed up. Today, while I was on the dolmus, I was listening to two women speaking. They were complaining about the condition of our world. According to them, people are getting worse. The youth don’t want to keep our traditions and people aren't concerned with neighborliness. There are thieves, etc. Husbands are killing their wives and children are killing their parents. Everything is all messed up.” Hamza said.
“They're right, everything is changing.” Salih said.
“In my opinion, the experts know what they are talking about. The world is warming up and the weather is changing. According to them, the ice sheets and glaciers are melting and the coastal cities will be flooded. Maybe it is the end of time." Ibo added.
But Huseyin wasn’t so sure.
“Whatever happens will happen, but I don't believe what the experts are saying. That is, I believe the world's weather is changing. But if I am not mistaken, the world won't end with a flood. I can't remember where I heard this, but I think it will be different.”
“Let's go fellas, who cares! Let's play! Hamza it is your turn again.” Ibo interjected.
Unfortunately, that seems to be the attitude of a lot people. "Who cares" they say, "Life is short, eat, drink, and be happy!" It is a motto that has been chanted for thousands of years. It is hard to imagine, but there was a time when people lived just as bad, maybe even worse than they do now. They didn't want to answer to anyone and they thought that life would never end. They were not only desensitized to the sin they were committing, they were ignoring the message that God was giving them. A message that would have saved their lives.
After Adam and Eve were forced to leave the Garden and started having children, it became quite clear that the future would be different. The peaceful days of the garden and the opportunity to live forever where replaced with toil, murder, and sorrow. It wasn't long before humanity split into two groups. Those who chose to follow God were called the sons of God, while those who didn’t were called the sons of man. Even without access to the tree of life, people lived a long time. But rather than using those years to bene t others; they found ways to satisfy their own lusts and desires. Men became unsatisfied with their wives, began to sleep with other women, and used violence to obtain that which they wanted. The Bible tells us that several generations had passed since Adam and Eve and as the in uence and numbers of the sons of God diminished, so to did the hope that life would ever resemble what God had intended. Let's continue the story in Genesis chapter 6 verses 5-7:
5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention 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 it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the LORD said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.
The culmination of God's creation, that which had been declared very good, had become something worse than bad. It had become wicked and evil. Humanity was no longer interested in the things of God, but rather self-gratification. God, much like Hamza Bey, reflected on all that had transpired and was heart-broken. He had already punished Adam and Eve for their sin, and yet He found himself in the same situation. Humans had not learned their lesson and the problem of sin was a like an infection that spread from person to person and no antibiotic could kill. Humanity as a whole needed to be punished and they left God no other recourse than to destroy all that he had created. Fortunately for us, among the sons of God, there was a man named Noah who found favor, or grace, in God’s eyes. Let's continue in Genesis chapter 6 verses 9-22:
9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21 Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them. 22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
Noah was righteous and blameless. He was one of the few who knew God and lived according to his commandments; a man who didn’t follow the practices of a corrupt society. God, in his mercy, spoke to Noah and told him that he was going to destroy the wicked.
But, he would provide a way of escape for those who would heed the warning. God ordered Noah to build a large vessel that would be a safe-haven from the coming storm. It was built according to precise measurements, covered with a roof, had three floors and is still the largest wooden ship ever built.
Before God gave these instructions to Noah, he had declared that mankind would only have 120 more years. So during those 120 years, Noah, his sons, and the other sons of God built the ark. Imagine the ridicule that was heaped upon the builders by those who didn't believe the world would be destroyed. They probably yelled insults and laughed at them for building a boat when it had never even rained before. The water had always descended as a mist and bubbled up from the ground into springs. These were the natural laws of the earth, why would they change? But Noah and his sons ignored the wicked and did all that the Lord commanded. They knew that the time would come when even the wicked would call upon the name of God to be saved. Unfortunately for the wicked, it would be too late. The story continues in verse 7. Let’s read verses 1-10:
1 Then the LORD said to Noah, Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3 and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground. 5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
As Noah and his family entered the ark, the animals followed. It is has been observed that animals have a sixth sense regarding natural disasters. They are known to run, hide, and climb to higher ground just before a cataclysmic event. Perhaps it is an instinct that stems from this very event because the Bible says that two of every animal and seven of all the clean ones entered the ark. Rows of animals and flocks of birds marching towards the ark must have been an amazing sight. It must have been peculiar to the wicked that animals would behave this way; after all it was against their natural habits. But even this extraordinary event couldn't convince them.
One week later the rains began to fall and the springs of the earth burst forth like a ruptured water line. One only need to witness the force of a geyser or heavy storm to imagine the scene. Trees were knocked over, the ground shook, houses were destroyed, and the gently owing springs became raging rivers. There must have been a mad rush by the wicked to board the ark, but it was sealed shut and no human hand could open it's door. No matter how hard they pounded or scratched at it's tar covered boards, they would never get inside. The very thing that God had foretold happened. The rains continued for forty days and every living thing, not inside the ark, was destroyed. The Bible says that the waters prevailed for 150 days and as far as the eye could see, there was only water. The once green fields and hills were submerged and forever forgotten. But God didn’t forget about Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark. How could He forget the one that he called righteous and who chose to follow God instead of the ways of the world? Let’s read Genesis chapter 8 verses 1-5:
1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the
rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, 4 and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
The earth that Noah was about to encounter would be completely different than the one he knew before and he needed to be sure that it was inhabitable. So he released a raven, but all it did was circle in the air. He then released a dove, but it returned because there was no place to land. He waited another week and released the dove again; this time he returned with an olive leaf. God had given him a sign that the waters had dried up. One week later, Noah again released the dove but it didn’t return. The time had come to exit the ark.
The first thing Noah did after exiting the ark was to build an altar and offer up burnt sacrifices. He used some of the clean animals and birds that God had provided and when God saw Noah’s appreciation and praise he was pleased. He blessed Noah and his family, told them to scatter across the lands, and gave them the responsibility to repopulate the whole planet. God not only wanted to give humanity a second chance, he made a covenant to never flood the entire earth again. We can read the end of the story in chapter 9 verses 8-17:
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 And God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. 17 God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.
God's culling of the wicked and preservation of the righteous during the flood is like a grape grower who wants to produce the best grapes. Every year he tenderly digs around the base of the vines, adds manure, and gives them plenty of water. If he sees something threatening his vines (e.g., fungus, bugs, etc.), he eliminates the threat. God knew the hearts of all the people living on the earth in Noah’s time and he knew that only Noah’s family would respond to the second chance he would provide. Just like the grape grower and his vineyards, if God didn’t do something to save Noah and his family, they too would have been destroyed. So He eliminated the wicked to preserve the righteous. Huseyin was right; although the end is near God will not use a flood to destroy the world again. But one question remains, are there any modern-day Noahs worth saving? If there are, what will God do to make their fate different from everyone else's?
Discussion Questions
For two days, Hamza Bey couldn’t sleep well. He didn’t understand how his daughter Begüm could do this to the family. He had sacri ced everything for her. He wanted to make her dream of going to university a reality, so they moved to the city. Jobs in Izmir are hard to nd and he wanted her to have every opportunity to focus on her studies, so he gave her spending money. He even gave her more freedom than she was entitled to. And this is how she repaid him! He couldn't believe that she would shame the whole family by getting pregnant out of wedlock. To top it off, the stress wasn’t just affecting his sleep; he was nding himself unable to concentrate at work.
The afternoon hours passed in what seemed like an eternity, he left work, and boarded the minibus (dolmuş). As he stared out the window his thoughts wandered, but it wasn’t long before he came to himself. In the row directly behind him, he overheard two ladies speaking.
“Times are changing. Everyone is behaving badly. For example the other day after I boarded the dolmus, I had to stand for 10 minutes. Two young men didn't even give me their seats."
“Gülümser, you don't need to tell me! Last month two of my neighbor's had everything stolen. Everyday our neighborhood is becoming worse. We use to leave our doors unlocked, but now we are all putting iron bars on our doors and windows. I don't even want to talk about the things I have been hearing on the news" the other woman sighed.
Hamza Bey couldn’t help but think they were right. In spite of not being perfect, he loved his country, his people, and his family. But the fact that the things he held so close to his heart were not immune to the rest of the world’s problems caused him great pain. He unlocked the apartment’s heavy, steel door, walked up the stairs, took off his shoes, and entered his home. He quietly ate dinner with his wife and younger daughter Ayşe. After dinner, he decided to go for a walk and visit some friends. Maybe some çay and a few games of ok or cards would ease his mind.
“Selam aleküm!” Hamza said.
“Aleküm selam” a few men replied.
Hamza sat down at a table and waited for some friends to come. After he finished his first glass of tea, Huseyin, Ibo and Salih arrived. After the usual greetings and small talk they began to play ok.
It didn’t take long for the men to realize that Hamza wasn’t his normal self. He was an excellent ok player and liked to move fast. But tonight his mind was somewhere else.
“Hamza what's wrong with you? You are acting strange tonight!
Where is your head? Let's go, it is your turn.” Huseyin said.
“I'm sorry, you are right my mind is all mixed up. Today, while I was on the dolmus, I was listening to two women speaking. They were complaining about the condition of our world. According to them, people are getting worse. The youth don’t want to keep our traditions and people aren't concerned with neighborliness. There are thieves, etc. Husbands are killing their wives and children are killing their parents. Everything is all messed up.” Hamza said.
“They're right, everything is changing.” Salih said.
“In my opinion, the experts know what they are talking about. The world is warming up and the weather is changing. According to them, the ice sheets and glaciers are melting and the coastal cities will be flooded. Maybe it is the end of time." Ibo added.
But Huseyin wasn’t so sure.
“Whatever happens will happen, but I don't believe what the experts are saying. That is, I believe the world's weather is changing. But if I am not mistaken, the world won't end with a flood. I can't remember where I heard this, but I think it will be different.”
“Let's go fellas, who cares! Let's play! Hamza it is your turn again.” Ibo interjected.
Unfortunately, that seems to be the attitude of a lot people. "Who cares" they say, "Life is short, eat, drink, and be happy!" It is a motto that has been chanted for thousands of years. It is hard to imagine, but there was a time when people lived just as bad, maybe even worse than they do now. They didn't want to answer to anyone and they thought that life would never end. They were not only desensitized to the sin they were committing, they were ignoring the message that God was giving them. A message that would have saved their lives.
After Adam and Eve were forced to leave the Garden and started having children, it became quite clear that the future would be different. The peaceful days of the garden and the opportunity to live forever where replaced with toil, murder, and sorrow. It wasn't long before humanity split into two groups. Those who chose to follow God were called the sons of God, while those who didn’t were called the sons of man. Even without access to the tree of life, people lived a long time. But rather than using those years to bene t others; they found ways to satisfy their own lusts and desires. Men became unsatisfied with their wives, began to sleep with other women, and used violence to obtain that which they wanted. The Bible tells us that several generations had passed since Adam and Eve and as the in uence and numbers of the sons of God diminished, so to did the hope that life would ever resemble what God had intended. Let's continue the story in Genesis chapter 6 verses 5-7:
5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention 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 it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the LORD said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.
The culmination of God's creation, that which had been declared very good, had become something worse than bad. It had become wicked and evil. Humanity was no longer interested in the things of God, but rather self-gratification. God, much like Hamza Bey, reflected on all that had transpired and was heart-broken. He had already punished Adam and Eve for their sin, and yet He found himself in the same situation. Humans had not learned their lesson and the problem of sin was a like an infection that spread from person to person and no antibiotic could kill. Humanity as a whole needed to be punished and they left God no other recourse than to destroy all that he had created. Fortunately for us, among the sons of God, there was a man named Noah who found favor, or grace, in God’s eyes. Let's continue in Genesis chapter 6 verses 9-22:
9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21 Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them. 22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
Noah was righteous and blameless. He was one of the few who knew God and lived according to his commandments; a man who didn’t follow the practices of a corrupt society. God, in his mercy, spoke to Noah and told him that he was going to destroy the wicked.
But, he would provide a way of escape for those who would heed the warning. God ordered Noah to build a large vessel that would be a safe-haven from the coming storm. It was built according to precise measurements, covered with a roof, had three floors and is still the largest wooden ship ever built.
Before God gave these instructions to Noah, he had declared that mankind would only have 120 more years. So during those 120 years, Noah, his sons, and the other sons of God built the ark. Imagine the ridicule that was heaped upon the builders by those who didn't believe the world would be destroyed. They probably yelled insults and laughed at them for building a boat when it had never even rained before. The water had always descended as a mist and bubbled up from the ground into springs. These were the natural laws of the earth, why would they change? But Noah and his sons ignored the wicked and did all that the Lord commanded. They knew that the time would come when even the wicked would call upon the name of God to be saved. Unfortunately for the wicked, it would be too late. The story continues in verse 7. Let’s read verses 1-10:
1 Then the LORD said to Noah, Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3 and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground. 5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
As Noah and his family entered the ark, the animals followed. It is has been observed that animals have a sixth sense regarding natural disasters. They are known to run, hide, and climb to higher ground just before a cataclysmic event. Perhaps it is an instinct that stems from this very event because the Bible says that two of every animal and seven of all the clean ones entered the ark. Rows of animals and flocks of birds marching towards the ark must have been an amazing sight. It must have been peculiar to the wicked that animals would behave this way; after all it was against their natural habits. But even this extraordinary event couldn't convince them.
One week later the rains began to fall and the springs of the earth burst forth like a ruptured water line. One only need to witness the force of a geyser or heavy storm to imagine the scene. Trees were knocked over, the ground shook, houses were destroyed, and the gently owing springs became raging rivers. There must have been a mad rush by the wicked to board the ark, but it was sealed shut and no human hand could open it's door. No matter how hard they pounded or scratched at it's tar covered boards, they would never get inside. The very thing that God had foretold happened. The rains continued for forty days and every living thing, not inside the ark, was destroyed. The Bible says that the waters prevailed for 150 days and as far as the eye could see, there was only water. The once green fields and hills were submerged and forever forgotten. But God didn’t forget about Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark. How could He forget the one that he called righteous and who chose to follow God instead of the ways of the world? Let’s read Genesis chapter 8 verses 1-5:
1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the
rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, 4 and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
The earth that Noah was about to encounter would be completely different than the one he knew before and he needed to be sure that it was inhabitable. So he released a raven, but all it did was circle in the air. He then released a dove, but it returned because there was no place to land. He waited another week and released the dove again; this time he returned with an olive leaf. God had given him a sign that the waters had dried up. One week later, Noah again released the dove but it didn’t return. The time had come to exit the ark.
The first thing Noah did after exiting the ark was to build an altar and offer up burnt sacrifices. He used some of the clean animals and birds that God had provided and when God saw Noah’s appreciation and praise he was pleased. He blessed Noah and his family, told them to scatter across the lands, and gave them the responsibility to repopulate the whole planet. God not only wanted to give humanity a second chance, he made a covenant to never flood the entire earth again. We can read the end of the story in chapter 9 verses 8-17:
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 And God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. 17 God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.
God's culling of the wicked and preservation of the righteous during the flood is like a grape grower who wants to produce the best grapes. Every year he tenderly digs around the base of the vines, adds manure, and gives them plenty of water. If he sees something threatening his vines (e.g., fungus, bugs, etc.), he eliminates the threat. God knew the hearts of all the people living on the earth in Noah’s time and he knew that only Noah’s family would respond to the second chance he would provide. Just like the grape grower and his vineyards, if God didn’t do something to save Noah and his family, they too would have been destroyed. So He eliminated the wicked to preserve the righteous. Huseyin was right; although the end is near God will not use a flood to destroy the world again. But one question remains, are there any modern-day Noahs worth saving? If there are, what will God do to make their fate different from everyone else's?
Discussion Questions
- Some people think that God is wrong to punish, while oth- ers wonder why God doesn't punish more often. Why do you think he allows bad things to happen?
- When God judges can he do it with love? If so, can you find love in the story of the flood?
- Is it possible that there can only be two groups of people on the earth, those who follow God and those who don't? If so, how should those who follow God relate to those who don't?
- How can you be like Noah in our time?