We know God is a loving God and wants the best for people, but why did He destroy all except one family by sending the Great Flood?
This catastrophic event in Genesis didn’t just happen because God was feeling particularly angry one day, but rather because of what humans had been doing for a long time…
Let’s jump into the Bible and figure out why God flooded the Earth!
The wickedness of humanity before the flood
God had been pretty upset with what humans were doing and how they were living for a while.
They did whatever they desired, not caring about morals or consequences – and they definitely didn’t care about serving God.
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.
Genesis 6:5-6, NIV
Humans were giving into sin and living in it without thought, and the generations since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were getting worse and worse.
7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created – and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground – for I regret that I have made them.”
Genesis 6:7, NIV
Free will was being abused, and things had gotten so bad that God decided to wipe everything out.
But then there was Noah.
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 6:8, NIV
Noah and his family were found to be diamonds in the rough, living faithfully and serving God despite the horrible state of the world.
God saw that Noah would be a great new start of the human race after wiping the slate clean.
Noah: the world’s last hope
9 Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
Genesis 6:9, NIV
Noah wasn’t perfect – after all, he was human!
But he walked with God, and was “blameless” amongst a world of evil.
And so, God chose him to be a vessel through which humanity – and even animals – were to be preserved.
The flood becomes a symbol of God’s justice, sparing the righteous while condemning the unrepentant.
Noah’s ark: salvation
Before unleashing justice in the form of the flood, God gave Noah instructions to build the ark that would keep his family and the animals safe.
Noah, despite being around 600 years old at the time, immediately got to work.
If the flood represents justice, then the ark can represent salvation, as God uses it to show mercy and provision for those who follow Him.
1 The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.”
Genesis 7:1, NIV
If you think about it, the ark is essentially a representation of God’s redemptive plan for humanity, as it allows Him to clean the Earth of filth and give humans a new start.
What does God flooding the world teach us?
The flood, although catastrophic, was a pivotal moment in history.
It became a symbol of washing away sin, and becoming clean:
20 …God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…
1 Peter 3:20-21, NIV
Baptism is not required to go to heaven, but Peter is expressing how the Great Flood symbolizes a cleansing of sin and the renewal of a believer, just like God renewed the world with the flood.
It teaches us to walk with God, and not to turn away to live in sin.
Instead, we should be renewed in Jesus Christ, and begin our new life after becoming believers.
God sent a rainbow after flooding the world
God established a covenant with Noah and all living creatures on Earth by sending a beautiful rainbow.
12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:
13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,
15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.”
Genesis 9:12-15, NIV
The rainbow, a breathtaking display indeed, became a symbol of the covenant that God made, which is God’s promise that He’ll never destroy the Earth by flood again.
It’s a reminder of God’s mercy and His enduring commitment to humanity, and acts as a beacon of hope in a world that’s gone faithless…
Final thoughts on why God flooded the world
God flooded the world because humans had decided to live evil lives and turn away from Him.
However, He had mercy within His justice, giving Noah safe passage through the flood and allowing humans to restart again.
It shows how devastating it is to live apart from God, and represents how we too must wash ourselves of our sin – which we can only do through the grace of Jesus Christ.
Make sure to give us a shout if you have any questions!
FAQs
Genesis 7:6 tells us that Noah was 600 years old when the flood came.
God sent a beautiful rainbow to represent the promise that He’ll never destroy the world with a flood again.
God found Noah to be “blameless” and faithful to God, and saved him from the flood to become (essentially) the new Adam, as him and his family restarted human life on Earth.