Verse for the Day

12 February 2014.

Genesis 6:5-9  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.  (6)  And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.  (7)  So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them."  (8)  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.  (9)  These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

This is both a sobering and remarkable passage in Scripture. Sobering because it reveals to us the exceeding sinfulness of mankind, to the point that man has become utterly evil, and has fallen so far from his created state. This causes God great grief, for God knows how He created us, what purpose He created us for and now what our eternal end will be because of our sinfulness. The Apostle Peter tells us later that God desires for none to perish but for all to come to salvation. God takes no delight in sending sinful men and women to eternal punishment in hell. God is greatly grieved by our sin; this fact alone should be a source of motivation to keep us from sinning.

This passage is also remarkable because we read of God’s sovereign saving grace. In the midst of these wicked men, God sets His favour upon one man, one man whom He will save in His sovereign grace and power. It is important for us to note that Noah was not saved because he was a righteous man, rather as the text so clearly shows us, Noah is saved by God first and then he is declared to be righteous, made blameless by God and enabled by God to walk in obedience.

In this passage we are reminded that we are sinful; utterly sin, to the point that we are rightly and justly condemned to eternal suffering. But God is gracious and just, and thus He has provided a salvation for us, one we could not earn or merit, but one that He chooses to give to those upon whom His favour rests. God is not obliged to save anyone, thus we should greatly rejoice that He has chosen to act both in justice and grace, by saving many through His sovereign grace.

Sovereign Father, we confess that we are sinful, sinful to our very core; so much of our time, thinking, feeling and acting is given over to sin. How we thank You that You have acted in Your sovereign grace and extended Your undeserved favour towards us through the Lord Jesus Christ. May the knowledge that our sin grieves You, and that You have filled us with Your Spirit causes us to resist sin and temptation and walk in holiness today. Amen