The Flood
by Chris Hendrix
Advent Devotional ~ Day 3
Read Genesis 6-9
Growing up, I associated the flood narrative with felt boards having pictures of Noah, his wife, his children, and animals posted on it. In Sunday School, we would reenact the story on the felt board and laugh while moving the characters around. It’s easy to associate the flood story with Noah building a boat, all the animals in the world miraculously fitting on this boat, and then ending the story with a brightly colored rainbow. While these associations capture facts of the story, they miss a crucial point.
Genesis 6:6 gives us the driving point in this passage, and it’s one we don’t often grasp. God was greatly grieved over humanity. God regretted. He regretted not in the sense of making a mistake, but in the sense of an emotional, deep seated, intense grief over the wickedness of mankind. As He looked upon His special creation, the Imago Dei, people made in the image of God, it was mixed and tainted with original sin, pouring out of each person in the form of sinful desires, thoughts, and actions.
Yet, God was waiting patiently. Wrath was being stored up, and creation would soon turn in on itself at the command of God to rain judgment down upon the wicked. Yet, we see in 1 Peter 3:20 that this was an act of saving mankind. Through God’s deep grief, He saved Noah and his family. Hebrews 11:7 tells us that Noah’s God given faith was on display through Noah’s reverence for God, and righteousness was the fruit of this. God was the mastermind behind the scenes orchestrating salvation for humanity, even in the righteousness of Noah amidst a wicked and perverse world. God formed a covenant with Noah, as a representative for all of humanity, and His grace and mercy was shown.
When we think of Christmas, we don’t think of God’s intense grief and wrath over humanity. It’s not exactly festive. Yet, as Alistair Begg puts it, “It is because God’s wrath is real, that his mercy is relevant. Unless you have a real wrath, a real anger, the biblical concepts of long-suffering, or mercy, and of grace are robbed of their meaning.” As magnificent as the revelation of Christ is, humanity did not recognize it as such, except for a few. In fact, it would only be in a short 33 years that humanity would reject Jesus Christ. Just as creation turned in on itself at the hand of God in the Flood, we see that creation would turn against its creator in the crucifixion of Christ. Scripture informs us that this was carried out by God, and ultimately for the purpose of salvation for believers in Jesus Christ. This is what we refer to as the New Covenant in which we are saved by grace through faith, and not by our works. To God be the glory for His phenomenal work of appeasing His wrath and paving the way for us to be with Him through repentance and faith.
Application questions
1. After reading Genesis 6-9, make note of God’s response to sin. Take time to pray and confess your sin to God.
2. Meditate on this truth that God is grieved by our sin. Why do you think that is?
3. As Christians, how should we think about Christmas with the truth from Scripture regarding the New Covenant? What are some practical ways to celebrate this with your spouse, children, friends, and co-workers?