Once When the World Was Wicked

Genesis 6: 5-8 (ESV) “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. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 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.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

Few passages in the Old Testament reveal the heart and mind of God like this one does. Here we encounter a God who is truly merciful and gracious. God’s love for mankind is so deep that it breaks his heart to be rejected by man and to watch as man goes his own selfish way. What God saw on the earth was so painful for him that he was ready to wipe out the human race along with all living creatures.

The population was increasing and God saw a world of people so corrupt and violent that he regretted having ever created them. After Adam’s fall and after fellowship had been broken between God and man, sin was rampant. The reason is because now man is possessed with a sin nature. The most natural thing for a man with a sin nature to do is sin.

However, I want you to notice something. In the midst of all the evil that had possessed the creation of God, there was one man who walked with integrity. There was a man who walked with God in spite of all the evil that went on around him. The man’s name was Noah. He was a righteous man, and he walked with God (Genesis 6:8-12).

What a testimony, Noah walked with God. For me it is only a wish that my epitaph could read as such. Noah lived counter to the prevailing culture of his day. He listened not to the desires and passions of the world, but he listened to the voice of God. He honored and respected (feared) the almighty God of the universe.

You see, Noah was saved by grace through faith. Hebrews 11:7 tells you, “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”

Not only did Noah become an heir of righteousness which in itself is sufficient to cause one to walk with God, but when he stepped off the boat, Noah owned the whole world and everything in it.