Magnificent and Terrible Power

Genesis 7:17-24

¹⁷The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.

¹⁸The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters.

¹⁹And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.

²⁰The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.

²¹And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind.

²²Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.

²³He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.

²⁴And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

This morning I woke up to the sound of thunder and rain. It’s a great sound for me. It makes me wonder at the beauty of God’s creation that is sustained by something as beautiful as rain. But then I watched the news and learned that several people were without power and that there were trees down all over the area. It was a hard rain and there were high winds. The power of one little and fairly short storm effected lives.

There is simply no way to wrap our minds around the devastation that a global flood would bring. We are stunned into shocked silence when faced with storm damage that hits only one town or area. Just imagine the entire globe destroyed in one event. Noah and his family ride out this terrifying event in the ark surrounded by hundreds of animals. That boat was their home and their lifeline for the better part of a year. They have no idea what is truly happening outside of the ark, except to know that those who weren’t in the ark with them perished. It would have been a tough 6 (or so) months. What these verses remind us of is that God is not to be trifled with at any time. He expressed His displeasure, but the people didn’t care. He gave them a chance to repent, but the people didn’t care. He told them of the coming judgment and disaster, but the people didn’t care. Not taking God seriously is always going to end badly.

There are some who believe the concept of a global flood is myth. There’s an example of not taking God seriously. If He was able to create this planet in 7 days, there’s no reason to believe He couldn’t bring about a flood that would destroy it as well. The archeological evidence would support such an event. This same God who is able to bring about such an event was also able to send His Son to deal with the debt of sin in our lives. He takes our sin seriously enough to have shed His own blood for that sin. God’s judgments are righteous and His mercy is perfect. We do well to take that seriously.