Why would God destroy His own creation?

The global flood of Noah's day was not a natural occurrence - it was truly an "act of God." If God created the world with all its beauty, why then would such a good Creator destroy His own creation?

We are given the answer in God's own word, the Bible. In Genesis 6:5 we read that "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

God's purpose was not to destroy the earth with the flood. It was to destroy the wickedness upon it. The people of that time were ignoring the Creator and seeking their own pleasures.

God did not send judgment immediately. He gave the people of Noah's time 120 years to prepare for judgment and repent of their sin. God was willing to save everyone who would turn back to Him. But the rebellion was so universal among men that by the end of the 120 years the only people alive who obeyed the Creator and followed Him were Noah, his three sons, and their wives. Eight people in all....

Throughout the Bible, God shows his patience repeatedly. He gave the Canaanites 400 years to repent of their ways while Abraham's descendants had left Canaan to live in Egypt. It was not until the Canaanites' sin "reached its full measure" that God brought the Israelites back, to become the instruments of their destruction. (Genesis 15:13-16).

On another occasion, God sent the prophet Jonah to Ninevah to announce destruction upon that evil city within 40 days (Jonah 3:4). But unlike the Canaanites or the people of Noah's time, the Ninevites actually heeded the warning! They repented as a group - and God did not carry out judgment that He had threatened.

In the days of Noah, Abraham, and Jonah, God set forth definite expiration dates for people to come back to Him. God's patience is limited by His righteousness and holiness - He does not tolerate willful rebellion that goes on indefinitely. At other periods of history, such as our own, we do not know the amount of time He is allowing for a true change of heart. It has been almost two thousand years since God's own Son, Jesus, told us what will happen at the end of the world, which is when He will return:

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:37-39)

Yet, Jesus hung on the cross and prayed these words: "Forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). We need that same forgiveness today! We can thank the Lord that the world is still here so that we could be born. Even more so, we can thank Him that He gives everyone the opportunity to accept His gift of eternal life, or to reject it.

So for us, the Creator's judgment by flood almost five thousand years ago is a sign of His grace to this day. He has the power to judge us. He is patient. He will rejoice over those who turn back to Him - and He will save them from ... the Coming Wrath.

Written by Marko Malyj

(For historical fiction that touches on this topic, see Chapter 16: Reaction of The Coming Wrath)

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