16 EVIL EVERYWHERE F O O T ================================
- H O L D
READING
16 EVIL EVERYWHERE
PRAY ‘Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide thee, though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see; only thou art holy, there is none beside thee, perfect in power, in love and purity.’ (Reginald Heber) —————————————————————– READ Genesis 6:1-22. —————————————————————– THINK How does this chapter describe Noah (9) and his neighbours (5)? What kind of picture does it give of God? —————————————————————– FOCUS A PICTURE OF REBELLION (1-8). The world had grown steadily worse. There was violence, evil and lust everywhere. Look back to 1:31 to see how God felt about his original creation. Now look at verse 6. Our God is not hard or uncaring. He is not remote. He is involved and he feels very deeply. Things had become so bad that a complete new start was needed. This reminds us of the truth we saw in chapter 3. God cannot let sin go. But the act of judgement is one that hurts God deeply. A PICTURE OF SALVATION (9-12). Side by side with the picture of judgement another important Bible truth emerges. God longs to save people, to take them away from evil and its consequences. In verse 18 a very important word occurs for the first time in the Bible – ‘covenant’. It refers to the special agreement God makes with people. This is not a deal or contract between equal parties. Her God takes the initiative and makes certain promises. He looks for a response of obedience and love. A PICTURE OF OBEDIENCE (22). Imagine the scene. There was no water and yet Noah built this boat to exact specifications. No doubt some people mocked him. It is easy enough to obey when it makes sense – but what happens when we are sure what God wants us to do, but people laugh? God looks for people who will obey him completely – always. —————————————————————— PRAY Pray that you may be aware of God’s will for you and obedient to his commands. ==========