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In Genesis 6:1-8, we observe man’s rapid multiplication of sin over a 1500-year period. While the focus of this passage is certainly on mankind’s turning away from God, Genesis 6:1-8 also highlights aspects of God’s character—two of which I want to draw your attention to.

First, from this passage we can see that God is just. Genesis 6:1-4, while difficult to interpret, serves as an indicator of just how far creation itself has fallen from God’s intention of Genesis 1. Gensis 6:5 reveals that “every intention of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually.” In all of this, God is greatly sorrowed (though not caught off guard by what has transpired) because of how perverse his creation has become. . . There is no wickedness with God (Cf. James 1:13), thus His intention is to “blot out man” and destroy His creation to remove the wickedness (v. 7).

Secondly, and of equal importance, we see that God is merciful. Verse 7 would be the end of man and all creation if it were not for verse 8: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” Put another way, God favored Noah. As we will see in the next section of Gensis 6, because one man feared the LORD, God chose not to destroy His creation.

These two attributes of God are still important for us today. First, we must daily remember that we are only able to live and breathe because God has extended His mercy towards us, despite our need for punishment. While it is good to praise God for this, it is also necessary to remember that man, in his sin away from God, goes from bad to worse (2 Timothy 3:13). This means that, while we are living in God’s mercy, we are still called to live a particular way, to follow and obey God. Choosing not to live that way, not walking with God, produces sorrow. May this be a reminder to all of us when Satan tempts us to pursue wickedness!

Second, God in His righteous justice, does not put up with sin forever. The application here is twofold: since God must judge wickedness, we can have hope that the wickedness we see everyday in this world will come to an end; however, because God judges’ wickedness, those today who are in sin, away from God, are a part of that future judgement, even though it may seem right now they can get away with anything.