A Marred Image, A Rebellious Creation, and A Merciful God (Genesis 4-6)

How are you doing so far? Are you hanging in there with your reading? Beginning something is usually easy - just think of all your New Year's resolutions! But finishing something - well, that takes God's power to sustain us. Yet, let's rejoice in the "small" victories because every major victory is just a combination of many small ones!

Okay, Genesis 4-6 - we're seeing a pattern, aren't we? Sin is taking hold, but God isn't letting go of His renegade creation. Here's what we mean. Did you notice what Genesis 5:1 says? God created Adam in HIS (i.e., God's) image. Of course, we already know this from Genesis 1:26-27. But then Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, and now Genesis 5:3 tells us Adam's son, Seth, is born in HIS (i.e., fallen and sinful Adam's) image and likeness. So every natural-born person comes into the world as sinful with the marks of a fallen image all over their life (see Romans 6:12-14).

And we can see how every person lives in rebellion against God. In the very next chapter, we read one of the most comprehensive statements describing human depravity anywhere in the Bible - Genesis 6:5. All the thoughts of humanity were only evil continually! Wow! Talk about a "blanket-statement" if there ever was one!

But while you might be tempted to think: Okay, the world is sinful now because of Adam's sin. But isn't it "harsh" for God just to wipe everyone out in the Flood? Listen, this question needs a two-pronged response. First, this question doesn't really take into account the holiness of God and the sinfulness of humanity. In other words, if we think of the Flood and scream, "This isn't fair!" Wait a minute. God said that if Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would die (see Genesis 2:16-17). They ate, and they died. They died an immediate spiritual death in that they were separated from God's presence (see Genesis 3:6-23), and Adam eventually died physically (see Genesis 5:5).

So, if we want to talk about "fairness," we should really wonder why anyone even lived long enough to fill the space of three chapters in the Bible after Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 4-6)! In other words, if God gave us what we deserved, the Bible would be a very short book. Basically, it would read: God created. We sinned. The END! You see, you would already be finished reading God's Word! In fact, we probably wouldn't even talk about reading "God's Word" - it would be more like reading God's "pamphlet". And then again, as my wife says, we wouldn't even be around to read it if God gave us what we deserved!

But the truth is God is merciful. This is God's mercy by definition. It's been well-said that God's mercy means He holds back from us what we really deserve. And this is the second part of our response to the question about God's "fairness". We can see a glimpse of God's mercy in the life of Noah. After the sweeping statement of human depravity in Genesis 6:5, we find this statement in Genesis 6:8, "Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (HSCB).

Now, we know Noah didn't find "favor" because he deserved it or he was perfect. No, indeed. Just read Genesis 9:18-23 - Noah and his family were far from perfect. The point is that in the same way God spoke of promised redemption in the middle of His judgment in Genesis 3:14-19 (Remember: Genesis 3:15 is the protoevangelium or the "first Gospel"), God also gives us an insight into His mercy in the midst of humanity's sinful rebellion.

This is the whole story of Scripture - God's working out His plan to save us in the midst of our sin through His Son, Jesus Christ (see John 3:16 and Romans 5:8)! Let's keep going...