What does our generation look like in the Bible? This theme is not a formal theme like love or repentance etc. But it's a question that gives us all pause and the answer can be found in the Bible.
In the Bible there are several examples of generations that prophetically resemble to our generation, one of the generations closest to our generation is Noah's generation and in the New Testament we see Jesus making the comparison in Matthew 24:37- 39 between the generation of Noah and the generation of the end times which is probably our generation.
Regarding this title, we will base it on what happened in Noah's time and try to know the things that angered God in their time and forced God to exterminate their world.
NB:Through this teaching we will learn to understand the things that affecting our generation and what God expects of us in this century.
NOAH’S STORY:
Who was Noah? He was the son of a man called The Lamech and The Lamech was the descendant of Adam. At 182 years old, the man has a child and gives him the first name Noah. Which means consolation. According to the Bible, Lamech, Noah's father, lived to be 777 years old and then died.
Genesis 5:28-32
28 When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son. 29 He called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us for our labor and for the pain that this ground brings to our hands because the LORD has cursed it.” 30 Lamech lived 595 years after the birth of Noah and had sons and daughters. 31 Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died. 32 Noah was 500 years old when he had Shem, Ham and Japheth.
WHY DID NOAH BUILD THE ARK?
(Genesis 6:1-22)
HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
In Genesis 1, God created the world and in Genesis 2, God created man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to live. He told the man and woman to multiply and fill the earth. And in Genesis 6, men begin to multiply on the face of the earth.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE START TO MULTIPLY ON THE EARTH?
Genesis 6:1-6
When men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives from among all those they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not always contend with man, for man is flesh. He will live 120 years.”
4 There were giants on the earth at that time. This was also the case after the sons of God were united with the daughters of men and they bore them children. They were the famous heroes of Antiquity. 5 The LORD saw that men were doing much evil in the earth, and that all the thoughts of their hearts were always and only toward evil. 6 The LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth and was grieved in heart.
NB: According to Genesis 6:1-6, two things happened that affected the lives of the human race and forced God to make the decision to destroy all men on the face of the earth.
1) The appearance of hybrid races:
The hybrids considered to be giants of the time were the result of the sexual mixture of the human race and Satan's fallen angels. They were men who were half human and half demon. Thus, the human race on earth was no longer pure as God had created it in Genesis 1.
2) The multiplication of evil (sin) on earth:
It is written in the Bible that the Lord saw that men were doing much evil on earth and that every day every thought of men's hearts was directed toward evil. And it is for this reason that the Lord regretted having created man on earth. The earth was corrupt and full of violence.
GOD’S DECISION:
According to Genesis 6:1-6, we see two things happening that affected the life of the human race and its relationship with God. And in Genesis 6:7, God regrets having created man and decides to destroy all men on the face of the earth.
Genesis 6:7
The LORD said, “I will destroy from the face of the earth man whom I have created, from man to cattle and creeping things and birds, for I am sorry that I have made them.
THE GRACE OF GOD ON NOAH AND HIS FAMILY:
At that time, in all the world, Noah and his family were the only recipients of God's grace who escaped God's wrath. It is written that Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord, because he was a righteous and upright man in his generation and walked with God.
Genesis 6:8
However, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 9 This is the story of Noah. He was a righteous and upright man in his generation, a man who walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ARK:
In Genesis 6:14, God commanded Noah to build the ark because he was going to destroy the earth with the flood.
Genesis 6:13-14
Then God said to Noah: “The end of all men is decided before me, because they have filled the earth with violence. I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself a boat of resinous trees. You will arrange this ark into compartments and cover it with pitch inside and out.
GOD SENDS THE FLOOD:
In Genesis 7:1-4, God commanded Noah to enter the ark with his family and all the animals that the Lord had commanded him; the rain will start soon.
Genesis 7:1-9
The Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark with all your family, for I have seen you righteous before me in this generation. 2 You shall take with you 7 pairs of all clean animals, the male and his female, a pair of the unclean animals, the male and his female, 3 and 7 pairs of birds, male and female, to keep their species alive over the entire surface of the earth. 4 Indeed, seven more days and I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will thus exterminate from the face of the earth all the beings that I have created.”
5 Noah obeyed all the commands that God gave him. 6 Noah was 600 years old when the flood struck the earth. 7 Noah entered the ark with his sons, his wife and his sons' wives to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of the clean animals and the unclean animals, the birds and everything that moves on the ground, 9 a male and a female entered the ark with Noah, two by two, as God had commanded Noah.
THE WORLD DESTROYED BY THE WRATH OF GOD:
Genesis 7:21-24 The Bible describes to us that the world was completely destroyed by the flood which was the manifestation of God's great wrath on the earth.
Genesis 7:21-24
Everything that lived on the earth died, including birds, cattle and animals, everything that swarmed on the earth and all men. 22 Everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils and was on dry land died. 23 God destroyed everything that was on the face of the earth, from man to cattle and creeping things and birds; they were wiped out from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained. 24 The flood of water on the earth lasted 150 days.
AN UNBELIEVING GENERATION LIKE IN THE TIMES OF NOAH:
Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:37-44 that the same scenario that happened in Noah's day will also happen again in the end times, which mean in our generation.
That is to say that in the time of Noah, men ate and drank, married and married off their children, thinking that life would continue, refused to convert to Noah's preaching and above all they remained incredulous until the flood comes to take them away.
Matthew 24:37-44
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood men were eating and drinking, marrying and marrying their children, until the day that Noah entered the ark; 39and they suspected nothing until the flood came and took them all away: so it will be at the coming of the Son of man. 40Then of two men in a field, one will be taken and the other left; 41If two women grind at the mill, one will be taken and the other left.
42Watch therefore, since you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 Know this well, if the master of the house knew on what watch of night the thief would come, he would watch and not let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man will come in such an hour as you do not think.
ANSWER THE CALL TO SALVATION:
Genesis7:1
“The Lord said to Noah, “Enter into the ark with all your family, for I have seen you right before me in this generation.”
An important lesson we can learn from Genesis 7:1 Even though Noah was the person who built this ark, but to enter the ark, he waited for God to call him to enter the ark, the same way, no one can come to God or be saved unless God calls him.
It is written in John 6:44
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”
Reply to God's call is therefore obligatory for all those who want to enter the ark to be saved. And those who refuse to answer God's call according to the Bible are already condemned.
NB: We are talking here about the call to salvation
It is written in Hebrews 3:15
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion. »
Through this teaching, God calls us to enter the ark before the flood comes into our lives. This ark symbolises Jesus Christ the savior of the world.
God always sends prophets to warn his people before destruction, and through this prophetic voice God warns us to come to the ark who is Jesus to be saved because the end is coming soon.
The people of Noah's generation died because they refused to enter the ark with Noah. Likewise, many people in our generation will go to hell because they refuse to come to Jesus to be saved.
IT'S TOO LATE! GOD SHUT THE DOOR:
Why did God see fit to close the door of the ark himself and leave with the key?
It is written in Genesis 7:16
“Then the Lord closed the door on him.”
God already knew that Noah was a big-hearted, kind, and social man. It is for this reason that he has not given him the authority to have the key of the ark with him otherwise he will open the ark for his friends and others by compassion when they will begin to push the cry of distress in the water.
This is why he resolved to close the door himself and leave with the key so that none of these people who had refused to hear his voice through the prophet Noah would be saved because it was too late to repent.
In the same way that no man of God or Christian will be able to open the door of heaven to give access to his brothers, sisters or friends because no one will have the key. Thus, only God himself will have full power and final say in entering to heaven.
TO REMEMBER:
In the same way our generation refuses to repent of its sins and return to God and despite the presence of preachers who preach every day in different media and in local churches but people refuse to change because of the pleasure of this world. As a result, hell awaits them all.
Don't wait until it's too late to give your life to Jesus, the end of the world is coming and we must prepare to meet our God and the last judgment awaits us and no one will escape it.
Mark 8:36-37
And what good does it profit a man to gain all the world, if he loses his own soul? 37What would a man give for his soul?
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