Within the span of the first 5 chapters of Genesis, the first of 66 books in the Bible, man had already shamed God into wiping the slate clean. The serpent was able to so easily convince Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and then she corrupted Adam. God sent both from the Garden of Eden as punishment for their disobedience. But when God saw what had become of his creation during the age of Noah, he was sickened.
"The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-- for I am grieved that I have made them." [Genesis 6:5-7 NIV]
After the flood had wiped the earth clean of all living creatures, except for Noah, his family, and the animals God commanded him to save, God made a covenant to Noah that he would never again destroy life on earth with a flood. Genesis 9 outlines this covenant and this sets a basis for the faith in his future promises.
I am amazed at the dedication, steadfast commitment, enduring strength and resolve of God for sticking to this covenant. God saw what had become of his creation then and destroyed everything. But look at what we have become now... and he has let us live. The earth is filled with so much sin. Murder, greed, envy, pride, lust, sexual immorality, theft, lies, disobedience, idolatry, guilt, jealousy, poverty, inequality, racism, sexism, discrimination, human trafficking, drugs, prostitution, starvation, disease and pollution.
I can't imagine the pain he feels now seeing how we have corrupted his creation. I wonder how badly he wants to start over again... wipe the earth clean and try for a third time. But he won't. He can't. He made a covenant to Noah and God keeps his promises. That is one of the greatest things about God. We can always trust that he keeps his word.
Remember, God had a plan from the very beginning. He knew we would sin and the entire Bible tells the story of redemption. Jesus crucified was a part of the plan before the beginning of the world. God's plan also involves putting Satan in his place. He is just, but He is also love. He doesn't want any to perish. Keep reading through your Bible. You will begin to see the picture of God's plan throughout the Word.
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