The Destruction of Humanity

Genesis 4-9, Luke 17:26-27

Just as it happened in the days of Noah, so also it will be in the days of the Son of Man-- they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were given in marriage— until the day Noah entered the boat and the flood came and destroyed everything. Luke 17:26-27

Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in the image of God.
Genesis 9:1-6

When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of men, he fixed the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. Deuteronomy 32:8

Chaos Theory
The first man and woman had children—many, many of them. These children had children and humans spread out to rule over the land as far as they could. Thus, humans ruled over the earth, but not in justice. They killed each other and killed whatever they saw, without reason. They drank the blood of animals in order to gain strength. The first son, Cain, killed his brother, Abel, because God refused his shoddy offering. God punished him, yet another rose in his place, Nimrod who killed a man for lightly offending him. Warriors arose in those days, beginning wars and increasing the violence on the earth. Murder was commonplace.

Erase the Board
Yahweh looked at the earth and sorrow filled his heart. He said, “I deeply regret ever making humans. I will destroy them. I will destroy them all—all men and all the creatures that they rule over.” But Yahweh looked down again and saw a man without violence, a man who desired to do only what Yahweh told him. And Yahweh was pleased with him. So Yahweh spoke to Noah and said, “Noah, I am about to destroy everything living. I will cause the waters of heaven to come down and they will flood the earth and all flesh will die. But as for you, I want you to build a boat. It will be huge—enough for you and two of every kind of animal in the world. Do it quickly, for I will destroy the world soon.” Noah listened to Yahweh and obeyed him.

Lifetime Hobby
Noah finished the boat after 120 years. He sometimes told his neighbors about the coming flood, but no one listened to him. They were too busy with their daily lives to give any attention to his message that their world would be destroyed soon. But that didn’t stop Noah—he still worked, faithfully, as God desired. After the boat was finished, the animals were collected. Noah and his family were ready—and so was Yahweh.

Using Bad Guys Against Bad Guys
Yahweh used waters from heaven to judge the people. These waters fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights, and so flooded all the inhabited earth. The waters were given control over the earth for one hundred and fifty days. But Yahweh remembered his promise to humankind that they would rule the earth. So as the waters went back to the heavens, Yahweh returned control of the earth to Noah and his family.

A Promise is a Promise
Yahweh promised Noah—and through him all humankind—that He would never again destroy the earth by the waters and that the normal times and seasons of the earth would continue until the final time of the earth. Yahweh also gave some laws by which all humans must abide, even if they are in rebellion. Humans must fill the whole earth in order to take control of it. Humans may eat the meat of animals, but they must never drink blood. And no one—no human or animal—must murder another human. If anyone kills a human, then they will be destroyed by humans.

The Beginning of the World
Noah’s sons had many children and they spread out throughout the earth, developing peoples, nations and languages. As humankind separated themselves into nations, Yahweh placed a heavenly power over each nation in order to keep the rebellious humans in check.

Q&A

Why did Cain kill his brother?
The first murder occurred because God liked Abel better than Cain. We don’t know why God liked Abel better, but he did. And Cain was intensely jealous of Abel and angry at God. So he killed his brother. Perhaps that seems petty, but that’s how violence starts—about something petty. And it grew not only in Cain, but from generation to generation until the world became a murderous mess.

Why did God destroy humanity?
Because humanity’s violence was getting out of control. Everyone was a murderer, thinking of how they can get violent revenge on each other. It was a terrible place to live, and just the opposite of God’s intentions for the world.

Why did God chose someone to survive?
Why didn’t he just choose to wipe them all out? Because God had made a promise. He promised humanity to rule the earth. So he couldn’t destroy them all. And also because Noah didn’t sin like his fellow citizens did. So God chose him out of everyone to survive the terrible trial he was putting the earth through.

Is it important that God used water to kill?
Yes. You see, God was re-creating the situation the earth was like before he started creating—Genesis 1:2. The water rebelled against God and God punished the water by separating it. This time, God is using the water to do what it originally did in rebellion—to cover the earth. So the Sea—one of the original bad guys—was tamed by God to do His work.

Could God destroy the earth some other way?
Technically, he could. The earth, it is said, will be covered with fire, it says in II Peter. But even with that, God will re-create the world through his Son first. God will change the governments and allow his son to rule before he makes the big change and everything begins from scratch again.

Why did God give rules to Noah?
In order to keep humanity from becoming as violent as they had before. God set up a system of vengeance in order to prevent people from murdering. While it worked generally, there are still vicious murderers in the land. So God needed a new system. And he chose Jesus as the better way of transforming humanity. Noah was just a stop-gap.