Daily Devotions
Genesis
"Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end. But establish the just; for the righteous God tests the hearts and minds." Psalm 7:9
Text: Genesis 6:1-22
THE SPREAD OF WICKEDNESS
Three separate statements were made to describe the horrific spread of wickedness on the face of the earth.
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man
was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually.”GENESIS 6:5
“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled
with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed
it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”GENESIS 6:11-12
“And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me,
for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold,
I will destroy them with the earth.'”GENESIS 6:13
Let’s tabulate the list of sins recorded in these passages. Four aspects were specifically mentioned!
- “Wickedness of man was great in the earth”.
- “Every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”.
- “The earth also was corrupt before God” (three mentions).
- “The earth was filled with violence” (two mentions).
ATTEMPTS TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM OF WICKEDNESS
There were two things that God did to confront man with his wickedness. The following text gives us a clue as to what He did.
“And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever,
for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred
and twenty years.”GENESIS 6:3
1. God did “strive with man”
One of the ways in which He strove with man would be to speak to the conscience of man. Obviously, His attempts were rebuffed.
2. Limitation of Years
Another way in which He dealt with man’s wickedness was to limit the longevity of man to a span of 120 years (instead of hundreds of years). By limiting the number of years, wickedness should have been less rampant! An “early” death should have sobered the living!
These two attempts represented the grace of God to man. But man failed to respond appropriately. There was only one alternative left – Judgment!