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When the World Was Destroyed by Water
This chapter is based on Genesis 6 and 7.
In the days of Noah a double curse was resting upon the earth as
a result of Adam’s sin and the murder committed by Cain, yet the
earth was still beautiful. The hills were crowned with majestic trees;
the plains were sweet with the fragrance of a thousand flowers. The
fruits of the earth were almost without limit. The trees far surpassed
in size and perfect proportion any that now exist. Their wood was
of fine grain and hard substance, resembling stone and hardly less
enduring. Gold, silver, and precious stones existed in abundance.
The human race still retained much of its early energy and
strength. There were many giants known for their wisdom, skillful
in devising the most ingenious and wonderful works, but letting
iniquity run loose.
God bestowed rich gifts on these pre-Flood people, but they used
His bounties to glorify themselves and turned them into a curse by
setting their affections on the gifts instead of the Giver. They tried
to outdo one another in beautifying their dwellings with skillful
workmanship. They reveled in scenes of pleasure and wickedness.
Not wanting to keep God in their knowledge, they soon came to
deny the He exists. They glorified human genius, worshiped the
works of their own hands, and taught their children to bow down to
idols.
The psalmist describes the effect produced on the worshiper
by loving and respecting idols: “Those who make them are like
them; so is everyone who trusts in them” (
Psalm 115:8
). It is a
law of the human mind that by beholding we become changed. If
the mind is never raised above the level of humanity, if it is not
uplifted to contemplate infinite wisdom and love, mankind will
be constantly sinking lower and lower. “The Lord saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ... The earth also was
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