God Promises Not to Flood the Earth Again

I live in Denver, and if you have seen the news anytime in the last week, you will know that the city – which is at a mile in elevation and in the high-plains desert – has received an abnormal amount of rain and has been flooded.  In fact, it was stated by Climate Central, an organization that analyzes and reports on climate science, that this was a 1,000 year event – meaning that the chance of this type of flood happening here, per year, is 0.1%.  The National Weather service even called the downpour "Biblical".

My sister (who lives in the Mid-West) sent me an email accounting a conversation that she had with her daughter this week regarding the flood:

I had the news on yesterday while my children were playing.  The news started showing scenes from the Colorado flooding, so we had to have the discussion about whether Aunt Alison was safe or not and then we had this conversation:

H:  But Mommy, God said he would never flood the earth again.

Me:  I know H but that flood does not cover the earth.

H:  So, Colorado is not on the earth?

Me:  No, Colorado is on the earth, it is just not the whole earth.

H:  But Mommy, God said he would never flood the earth again, you know, with Noah.

Me:  Yes H, but he said the WHOLE EARTH.  Colorado is not the WHOLE EARTH, it is just a part of the earth and God can flood part of the earth.

It is a bit interesting to me that this has all happened lately as I have been chewing on God's heart about the flood for the past couple of weeks, and the qualities of humanity expressed therein.  The story is pretty straightforward:  God created Adam & Eve, they sinned and were kicked out of the Garden.  They had two children and one killed the other.  Mankind multiplied and their evil deeds multiplied such that:

"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  The Lord said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.'"

– Gen 6.5-7

God decided to destroy all of humanity – save Noah and his family – because every intent of of the thoughts of the heart of man wasonly evil continually .God chose Noah, told him to build an ark, brought all of the animals to him two-by-two, and closed them up in the ark while He flooded the entire Earth.  After the flood receded, Noah made an offering to God and as He received the aroma of the offering, God said to Himself:

"I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done."

– Gen 8.21

Often times Scripture does not tell us why God does something.  And I believe it is extremely dangerous to try to impose our logic onto God if He does not reveal His motives to us.  But here we see clearly His motivation.  And it is the same for the occurrence of the flood and also for the promise to never do it again.  The stimulus is nothing other than the simple fact that all of humanity is evil, from the day he is born.  Only evil.  Nothing good.

Therefore, God promised to not curse again the ground and all of creation on account of man – even though we know all of creation is subjected to futility because of sin (Rom 8.20), and the very earth groans for the revelation of the Savior (Rom 8.21-22).

God exemplified His holiness and intolerance for sin in the flood.  He showed his grace by saving Noah and His family, and He established the first of five covenants that He would make with mankind throughout redemptive history.  And He did it all "Because the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth".  The flood did not change that.  Such is the plight of man.  Such is our guilt – in sin we were conceived (Ps 51.5), and we are utterly incapable of any good deed in-and-of ourselves.  There is none righteous (Rom 3.10-11), and all of our righteousness is filthy rags (Is 64.6).  We were born dead in our trespasses (Eph 2.1), we were slaves to sin (John 8.34, Rom 6), and we were of our father, the Devil (John 8.44).

But the creator of the universe who spoke all things into existence, who has the power to destroy the Earth with water, loved us enough to offer us forgiveness and salvation.  And the flood then paints imagery for us!  Jesus used is as an example of His second coming:

"For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be."

– Matt 24.37-39

Let us hear this now.  If you can repent today, repent!  Let us be not like those who did not understand until the flood waters were upon them, let us be like Noah who, though he was evil in his heart like the rest of mankind, He heard God's warning and obeyed, building an ark and trusting God's provision and plan.  And because of his faith he became an heir of Christ's righteousness:

"By faith Noah, being warnedby God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."

– Heb 11.7

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Source: https://trustingortripping.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/why-did-god-promise-to-not-flood-the-earth-again/

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