The Days of Noah: The Ark and the Heart of God

Genesis 6:3,5-7,13-22

Noah and the flood were both historic, Noah was a real person, a man of faith, a preacher of righteousness, a family man.  His world was a real world, a sinful world that was characterized by certain things: an evil mind-set, the thoughts and imaginations were only evil continually.  It was a foul society, a violent society.  It was also characterized by perverted religion that had corrupted the true religion.  This society was characterized by materialism and pleasure.  Those are the conditions for calamity.  That is the type of lifestyle that brought the flood.  In the light of those things, it all led to something.

What did it lead to?
Gen 6:6 "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."    grieved means to suffer pain in one's own heart.  It grieved God at his heart, that is what it led to, grief.  God is not sitting up there in heaven uncaring about the people he created, he is grieved at their behaviour and their lifestyle like you are when your little children grow up and they scorn and mock and throw off the standards that you have tried to teach them..  Don't think less of God, it grieved him at his heart.  It also led to judgment pronounced and carried out.  Gen 6:7,13 "And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth."  There are consequences for sin and rebellion and the consequences taught in this passage teach a very important lesson, a lesson that is largely forgotten today even in churches where they have a view of a God that has just one attribute and that is love.  That is a heresy.  Sin leads to consequences.  This passage teaches us the consequences.  God is warning mankind of the limitation of his mercy and grace.  

This passage teaches that human beings through their willful sin and willful neglect of salvation can put themselves beyond grace.  Beyond God's mercy.  By gross willful rebellion you can put yourself in the place where God says, "it is now over for you, there is no possibility of recall.  Beyond grace, mercy and redemption forever.  Where the only thing is judgment.  Noah's world was in precisely that position.  120 years and that is it, God says "enough"  There is a limit to God's mercy and grace.  And how much grace has been poured on you week by week, unbeliever.  How many times has God spoken to you in grace and mercy.  But you have scorned his love, rejected his forgiveness.  The lesson this passage is teaching is very simple, you need to be aware that the grace of God is not everlasting.  If God's grace was everlasting the flood would not have come.  If you are not a Christian, one day, if you continue rejecting the gospel, one day you will be one day too late.