Human society and culture were not static things at Noah's time. They never are. Rather they had been developing for about 1,600 years. At Adam's time everyone knew about God. But after Cain killed his brother and left God's presence the knowledge of God and the fear of God began to decline. Eventually most people were giving themselves to live according to the lusts of their flesh. This opened the way for the evil angels to come in and pollute the human race. The result was that God decided to judge that whole society.
If God had destroyed all mankind then Satan would have been able to boast that he had fully won in their struggle for men's hearts. God's purpose for man would have failed. But praise the Lord that even in the darkest time, God still found someone who was true to Him and willing to cooperate with Him. By building the ark Noah not only made a way for the salvation of his whole family, he also gave God a way to judge all the corruption of that society (Heb. 11:7).
The story of the society at Noah's time and God's judgement coming upon it is a close parallel to the end of this age. The general situation of the world will be more and more against God. Most people will be fully occupied with the ordinary things of human life such as eating, drinking, and marriage (Matt. 24:37-39). Only a few will, like Noah, cooperate with God for the accomplishment of His purpose. Nevertheless, God will gain what He wants in them and then the Lord will return to end this age.
[Genesis] [Story of the Great Flood] [Previous] [Next]