Previously we saw that although Adam and Eve were tricked by Satan, they forgave one another, continued together, and believed to have a son named Seth. From Seth came children who carried on the lineage leading to Jesus Christ.
Now we will see the faithful obedience of Noah to carry out all that God commanded so that he could save life upon the earth. Along with his wife, he was able to keep his three sons and their wives alive when all other people died. From Noah’s son, Shem, descended Jesus Christ.
Why the Flood Came: Satan’s Attacks
God is light and in Him is absolutely no darkness at all (I John 1:5). He is all good without any trace of unrighteousness or evil (Psalms 92:15). He is a loving heavenly Father.
God is all good and has never changed. At times in the Old Testament, it appears that God is doing or causing evil to happen. In Bible culture, it was not accepted to speak the name of other gods, but to give only glory to the true God (Exodus 23:13; Jude 25). That is why few Old Testament scriptures directly mention the Devil. Instead, they speak of God, or the Lord, doing evil things. This actually meant that God allowed them to happen.
The Bible is very clear that Lucifer, because of his pride, tried to stand against his loving Creator. To protect the rest of His creation, God cast Lucifer (and the one-third of the angels that went with him) from heaven (Revelation 12:4). Since that time, Lucifer—as Satan, the Devil, the old serpent—has walked “up and down” seeking to harm mankind (Job 1:7; 2:2). He is vicious and unrelenting, because he knows that his time is limited (Revelation 12:12).
As we saw previously, Satan attacked Adam and Eve and tried to get them to think that they would “be as gods” (Genesis 3:5). Rather than trusting in their loving Creator Who had provided all things that they needed, Satan got Adam and Eve to become their own sufficiency. That always causes us to fail—when we no longer trust our loving heavenly Father.
Even though Adam and Eve admitted their error and were forgiven, Satan did not stop attacking God’s people. God had promised a seed of the woman that would bruise Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). When Eve conceived a son, she said she had gotten the man from the Lord.
Genesis 4:1:
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
But God clearly shows in Genesis 4:2-15 how Cain did not love and worship the true God as his younger brother Abel did. Cain brought gifts to God, but Abel gave the Lord his very best—the firstlings and the fat (Genesis 4:4; Hebrews 11:4).
Rather than changing his heart toward God, Cain jealously slew his brother, becoming the first murderer. He was directly motivated by the Devil and was “of that wicked one” (I John 3:12). When confronted by God about his evil deed, Cain did not seek forgiveness but continued in his evil ways. And he taught his children to also go “out from the presence of the Lord.”
Why the Flood Came: Cain and His Offspring
Genesis 4:16-18:
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch [meaning “dedicated”].
And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech [meaning “to make low”].
Cain in his pride left the Lord and built a city, naming it after his son. Cain wanted to control others and pass on his “legacy” to his offspring. So often today we see people being controlled when gathered into cities and locations where they are led to forget God and His goodness.
Cain’s son Enoch was dedicated to carrying out his father’s plans. Without God’s help, these people began to forget how God designed life, including marriage. Enoch’s great, great-grandson was named Lamech. He lived up to his name in “making low” what God had perfectly designed. He is the first mentioned in the Bible to take more than one wife.
Genesis 4:19:
And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
Yet despite this evil in the land of Nod, Adam and Eve believed to have a son, Seth, who would follow in their more godly ways. Adam and Eve knew how to fellowship with their Creator. God had given them a spiritual connection. They knew how to walk and talk with the Lord. This time, Eve said that God had appointed her another seed.
Genesis 4:25,26:
And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
Why the Flood Came: Continual Evil
Adam’s offspring multiplied on the earth. Some had a spiritual connection with God and others did not. Adam’s line through Shem was taught about the Lord God. Cain’s line through Lamech learned to go “from the presence of the Lord” and to depend upon their own resources and abilities, rather than on God. Satan used the sexual attraction that God beautifully designed in man and woman to lure Shem’s offspring into marrying Cain’s offspring. The “sons of God,” who should have listened to God, were distracted by the physical beauty of the “daughters of men.”
Genesis 6:1,2:
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
When God saw how so many had turned from His goodness, it saddened His heart. He knew that Satan would try to destroy mankind. People, by their free will, had so rejected the Lord that the Devil was able to physically attack them. The dominion that God had given Adam had been surrendered to God’s adversary. Now the Devil would try to destroy all of mankind.
Genesis 6:5-7:
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy [allow to be destroyed] 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.
Victory and Salvation: Noah and His Family
The Devil wanted to wipe out mankind, including the Messiah that God had promised would come and bruise the Devil’s head (Genesis 3:15). It almost seemed that all was lost. But there was one man who honored his Creator, and found grace in God’s sight!
Genesis 6:8:
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Why did the Lord grace Noah so mightily? Noah only had one wife. Noah faithfully obeyed God. When God warned Noah of the evil that would come to pass, he respectfully built an ark to save himself, his family, and life upon the earth.
Hebrews 11:7:
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear [respect], prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Genesis 6:22:
Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Noah and his wife worked together as a couple. They raised three sons who supported their parents in getting the ark ready. They served as an example of a married couple, so that their sons’ wives also entered the ark and were saved.
Genesis 7:1,5,7:
And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.
And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
When the flood had receded, God said it was time for Noah and his family to repopulate the earth. Noah and his wife faithfully obeyed, and so did their sons and their wives.
Genesis 8:15-18:
And God spake unto Noah, saying,
Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him.
Noah’s sons did go forth and repopulate the earth. His son, Shem, became the ancestor of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and later Jesus Christ. We can be so thankful for Noah and his family!
One of the great joys of married life is that we can faithfully obey our heavenly Father together! We become examples, acting as a powerful pair to carry out His will. As God loads us with blessings, our children can build their vision of living in fellowship with the Father and with a believing spouse.
So far in this series, we have seen the great examples of married couples like Adam and Eve, and Noah and his wife. Next time, we will see Abraham and Sarah faithfully trusting God to have a son so that all of mankind could later receive the benefits of God’s promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.
