AUGUST 17 , 2023 – WICKEDNESS

READ: Gen. 6:1-8: …  Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. … But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Gen. 6:1-7 is one of the saddest passages in the Bible. The line that Cain had set in motion after the fall and the mother promise now takes root in the church. The sinful nature takes control: the majority is wicked in the eyes of the LORD. Above all, the heart of man is wicked. This means turning away from God. In most people, faith is no longer found. This evil spreads like cancer, even within the church (2 Tim. 2:17). How can this be explained?

The sin in the Garden of Eden was the result of yielding to temptation. The desirable fruit cast its spell when the hearts of Adam and Eve did not turn to God. The same thing is happening now in the church in the days of Enoch.

The sons of God, included in God’s covenant, members of His church, see that the daughters of the world are beautiful. They succumb to that temptation because there is no true persevering faith. They take wives from the world. And so, the church adapts to the world and is in danger of perishing.

The LORD, through His Spirit, has indeed called His prophets, including Enoch, to call His church to repentance and reformation. But who has responded to this call? The LORD sees the general corruption and  unwillingness to repent and comes to His conclusion: My Spirit will not contend with man forever.

He gives them a further period of 120 years. If they do not repent, the promised death for all humanity will definitely follow. For God regrets that He has created man!

God will now execute His covenantal vengeance since man has forsaken Him despite His covenantal love and goodness. In doing so, God shows Himself unchanging but responds to the corruption of man. God’s counsel is not at stake here. God fulfills the threat of His covenant.

Do you see any resemblance to the situation in our time?

Singing: Ps. 14:3,4