(I Thessalonians 1:10)
The consistency of God in saving His people before judgment, is remarkable and reliable. We see it in Noah’s days, when God saw the condition of the inhabitants on the earth, how degenerate, debased and vicious it was, for all humanity had corrupted their way upon the earth and lost their true direction (Gen. 6:12). He was grieved of heart for having created men. But He saw that Noah was a just and righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God (Gen. 6:9). So, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord (V. 8). God, in His mercy, always warns His servants before His judgment comes and, in those days, it was no different. He commanded Noah to build an ark for his salvation and that of his family, for God declared to him that He was going to bring judgment on the earth through a great flood, because of the wickedness of men. One hundred twenty years took for Noah to build the ark and warn the people. Time sufficient enough for people to repent of their wicked ways. In the year 1656 God sent judgment on the earth, 726 years after Adam died. Noah was then 600 hundred years old. He was born 126 years after Adam died, which was in the year 1056.
The earth was relatively young when God’s judgment fell upon it, but it was absolutely ripe for judgment, due to wickedness abounding. We cannot fathom what was going on in those days; it is beyond our understanding, when we read the accounts of Genesis six. When Satan rebelled against God, one third of the angels rebelled with him. Satan’s purpose was and always is to steal, to kill and destroy men. He started in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve followed him, he brought down the entire human race under his control. Therefore, we live in a cursed world under condemnation of sin, with the exception of those who have accepted YAHSHUA’S gift of salvation. One thing nonetheless, we can be sure: God did not destroy the righteous Noah with the wicked people of those days, neither will He do in the future. He spared Noah and his family for his righteousness. So, God was consistent and just in His act of judgment yesterday, and He is today and He will always be. David prayed, Gather me not with sinners and sweep me not away [with them], nor my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands is wickedness, and their right hands are full of bribes, but as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful and gracious to me (Psalm 26:9-11).
