The Flood: God would rather destroy the world than lose us
But God in His jealous love for you and I, for humanity, wiped out all of His work in order to preserve His work.
Reflection
There’s something to be said about God’s love. His persistence. His down right extreme level of stubbornness. And His unmatched jealously for His creation. Before man was created God the Father made a decision to create humanity to be a gift to God the Son ( 2 Timothy 1:8-9 and John 17:24). And here we are.
Through all of the terrible yet exciting events that have taken place since man’s inception you and I are still here. Over the last 20+ weeks we’ve barely scratched the surface but have covered a lot. Creation, Adam and Eve’s necessity for one another, God’s divine beings, The Fall, the earth’s futility, how to obtain joy in futility as well as Satan’s true role and failure. We’ve even looked ahead towards the war in Heaven.
And now we’re seeing just how much the earth was impacted by God’s fallen angels. The amount of depth within the story of our human existence is incalculable. It has been filled with such tragedy, such horrors, and yet so much grace, goodness and mercy. Here we are. Humanity.
It’s probably a surprise to you that we have not touched on Jesus…yet. This is on purpose. It’s because I want us to get God the Father right. My desire is for you to know Him as a true Father. The only Father. The Father. Not as the testing, meddling, over burdened and easily angered deity the world makes Him out to be. And so for at least half a year we’ve focused on God the Father in an effort to correct our posture towards Him. I hope and pray you’re finding this process beneficial.
But we’re not stopping. At this point in our journey we’ve met the Watchers. These Watchers have corrupted the earth with what could only be described as a plague. I’m sure you know what happens next. God floods the earth in order to cleanse it. However, I want to pause right here because you and I should let this moment in history sink in and break us.
A grieving God
When commonly talked about in Christian circles, much of the narrative around the flood typically trends towards how horrible man was. Or how righteous Noah happened to be. At times, the narrative may lean towards the event being a foreshadowing of Jesus. But what I want you to focus on something else this time around. Instead, focus on God the Father. I want you to imagine what God must have been going through at the time.
I’ve said this in previous editions, that it can be hard for us to realize God has feelings. He is a jealous God, who has children. Being omnipotent, omnipresent or omniscient doesn’t render God’s heart apathetic. Remember Jesus?
Knowing all of this, can you imagine the brokenness of God’s own heart during this time of horror? For God to look down on His creation and see their plight. His own children. His wonderful creation now swallowed by the plague of evil and corruption. How does God not reflect back to the wonderful moment where He brought Adam into being? From the dust of the ground. God breathed His own life into him. Much like a parent reminiscing on the day their child was born. Together, God and Adam walked. He later blesses Adam with a helper, Eve.
And now, God is watching His own creation eat itself alive. Literally and figuratively. Scripture tells us God was grievedin His heart. And what parent wouldn’t be?
Genesis 6:6 (ESV)
As a father myself, I can’t even imagine the depth of brokenness God must have felt, watching His own children ravage one another as well as all of creation. It was all so beautiful. Full of life, promise and it was good. Yet God is now grieved and regretting He had created man on the earth. The earth, was supposed to be man’s home. His place of work and rest. His place to glorify God. His domain where he would exercise full dominion. And now earth was nothing more than a massive grave site. My own heart breaks for what God witnessed. And yet, you and I are still here.
God, in His own brokenness decided He would do something so extreme that it almost defies all logic. He does something that could be seen as completely irrational and could cause anyone of a sound mind to question His moral compass. He cleanses the earth’s plague by destroying everything in it, save Noah, his family and unique kinds of animals. And not because He needed to do it. No one forced God’s hand. He could have stood by until the very end and did nothing.
But God in His jealous love for you and I, for humanity, wiped out all of His work in order to preserve His work. We know that God is not one to break a promise. And He kept His promise to God the Son, that we would be eternally gifted to Him. God was not about to let us go despite what havoc the fallen angels had caused or despite what sins humanity engulfed themselves in.
The flood was the first time we saw God go to extremes in order to preserve the human race. Not because He had to do it. But because He’s a God that keeps His promises and because He loves us. To the point to where He will burn it all down to the ground just to save us! Know that the flood wasn’t about punishment. It was about God’s love to preserve us. You and I. His creation.
He is our God! Our Father! And there is none like Him!