Basic HTML Version
As it was in the Days of Noah, February 4
Genesis 6:5-13
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of
man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in
marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came,
and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:26, 27
.
God did not condemn the antediluvians for eating and drinking; He had
given them the fruits of the earth in great abundance to supply their physical
wants. Their sin consisted in taking these gifts without gratitude to the Giver, and
debasing themselves by indulging appetite without restraint. It was lawful for
them to marry. Marriage was in God’s order; it was one of the first institutions
which He established. He gave special directions concerning this ordinance,
clothing it with sanctity and beauty; but these directions were forgotten, and
marriage was perverted and made to minister to passion.
A similar condition of things exists now. That which is lawful in itself is
carried to excess. Appetite is indulged without restraint.... Multitudes feel under
no moral obligation to curb their sensual desires, and they become the slaves of
lust. Men are living for the pleasures of sense; for this world and this life alone....
The picture which Inspiration has given of the antediluvian world represents too
truly the condition to which modern society is fast hastening....
As the time of their probation was closing, the antediluvians gave themselves
up to exciting amusements and festivities. Those who possessed influence and
power were bent on keeping the minds of the people engrossed with mirth and
pleasure, lest any should be impressed by the last solemn warning
Before the Flood God sent Noah to warn the world, that the people might
be led to repentance, and thus escape the threatened destruction. As the time
of Christ’s second appearing draws near, the Lord sends His servants with a
warning to the world to prepare for that great event. Multitudes have been living
in transgression of God’s law, and now He in mercy calls them to obey its sacred
precepts. All who will put away their sins by repentance toward God and faith
in Christ are offered pardon
[42]
12
Ibid., 103
.
13
Ibid., 102
.
41