The Century Before The Flood

by R. Hickling, Nottingham, England | Category: Across The Bible Centuries | Feb 1988

The overruling hand of God is clearly seen in the history of the human race, for God is working out His purposes, as He has declared. "Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand" (Is. 14:24). Yet, from the human point of view, the events of any one century are largely influenced by those of the preceding ones. So it was with the century before the Flood.

The Expansion of the Human Race

During the long years that passed from the time of Adam to that of Noah, "men began to multiply on the face of the ground" (Gen. 6:1). The Scripture does not record the extent of this expansion of population. Even so, it must have been very considerable. In his book The Scripture of Truth, Sidney Collett shows how it is possible that Adam could have lived to see a world population of over 19,000,000 people. This conjecture, based as it is on a reasonably sound premise, does demonstrate how rapidly the numbers of the human race must have increased. Chapters 4 and 5 of Genesis give a remarkable, even if brief, insight into the development of mankind from the time of Adam to the time of Noah. God has chosen to give us some details of the life and descendants of two of Adam's sons, Cain and Seth. Yet it is important to remember that in Genesis 5:4 we read

that Adam had other sons and daughters. We do not know how many children were born to Adam and Eve, but we do know that Adam lived for 930 years (Gen. 5:5). Possibly one of the reasons why men were granted such lengthy life spans in this period was that they might fulfil the divine injunction to "Be fruitful, and multiply" (Gen. 1:28).

In considering the details of Genesis chapter 5, we note in passing that a period of more than 1500 years of human life is recorded from verses one to thirty. Also we learn that men were contemporary with their descendants over several generations: for example, Adam was still living at the time of Lamech, the father of Noah. Herein we see the grace of God toward man, in that it would be possible for men to pass on accurately what they had learned of God, creation, the fall and other important lessons, right on to the generation before the Flood.

The descendants of Seth and Cain

Chapter 4 of Genesis presents some detail of the line of Cain. It stands in contrast to that of Seth, which is given in chapter 5. Seth's line was one of God-fearing men and outstanding among them is Enoch who "walked (i.e. walked habitually) with God" (Gen. 5:22). Of Cain we read he "went Out from the presence of the LORD" (Gen. 4:16), and the resulting downward path led his descendants to further and further departure from God. Their increasing sinfulness seems to be emphasized in the more detailed reference to Lamech (Gen. 4:19,23,24). He flouted God's law by taking two wives, then, far from feeling any sense of shame or repentance, he boasted that he was a murderer, and arrogated to himself a greater exemption from God's judgement than was granted to Cain (Gen. 4:24).

Not only were people increasing in number, they were also exhibiting ability, skill and invention. In Genesis chapter 4 we read of the building of a city, which would require knowledge and skill. Tubal-cain used his abilities to produce cutting instruments of brass and iron, while Jabal engaged in cattle rearing and lived a nomadic life. In the field of cultural arts, Jubal was the inventor of musical instruments. Yet there seemed to be little thought of God in the minds and hearts of those so actively engaged, and the truth of the Scripture "They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable" (1:om. 3:12), is clearly demonstrated (Gen. 6:1-7). Such was the background to the century before the Flood.

A time of crisis

The Lord Jesus Christ said of the time we are considering, "They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage" (Luke 17:27). The Scripture declares, "The LORD looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men" (Ps. 33:13). So, as the LORD looked down from the eternal throne in these the early days of man, He "saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5). God said to Noah that the end of all flesh had come before Him because the earth was "filled with violence through them" (Gen. 6:13). It was a time of crisis; the cup of man's sin was full. The corruption and violence, the welter of sin, grieved God at His heart. Even some of the line of Seth seem to have been drawn into sinful ways by inter-marrying with those of Cain's line. It is impossible for us who are human creatures to reckon and assess sin as does God. He is holy, and against His holiness sin is totally abhorrent. We accept this on the authority of Scripture, but cannot fully understand it. Our tendency is to measure against human standards. What the Lord saw as He looked from heaven is beyond description. The whole system, the human cosmos, had reached an irreparable state. The time of reckoning had come; sin must be judged. "Behold, I will destroy them", said God, (Gen. 6:13). But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and the message of mercy to Noah was: "Make thee an ark of gopher wood" (Gen. 6:14).

Sin, judgement and mercy

Mankind is inherently sinful (Rom. 5:12). The inclination to sin is in his heart; "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it"? (Jer. 17:9 AV). God cannot tolerate sin, for "The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD" (Prov. 15:9). Judgement must fall on sinners, for "sin, when it is full grown, bringeth forth death" (James 1:15). Yet the judgements of God are always tempered with His mercy. This line of truth; sin, judgement and mercy, can be traced clearly throughout the Scriptures. That which is in man's heart is manifested in his ways, and he proceeds in his rebellion against God, pursuing his course of lawlessness; the volume of sin increases reaching times when, in the sight of God, it comes to a peak. Of old, the Lord could say to Abram, "the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full" (Gen. 15:16), but there came a time when God acted in judgement. Just as God "brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly", so did He turn the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes and condemned those who were pursuing their evil ways, thus making them "an example" (2 Pet. 2:5,6).

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle writes, "For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work" (2 Thess. 2:7). Elsewhere he warns Timothy of the advancing state of sin which would characterize the grievous last days of this period of grace, and catalogues some of the ways in which men would display their godlessness. So, even in those days, now so long ago, Paul realized the sweeping tide of sin which was true of the world of the time and, with the Spirit's guidance, foresaw how even more intense this would be in a future day.

There must be very few spiritually minded believers who are not appalled at the growing evil which surrounds us in our time. We are in the world and cannot help but recognize the rapid decline and increasing departure from God; we see only part of the evil, but all is known to God in heaven. That which was true of the century before the Flood must be true today: the wickedness of man is great in the earth.

Although men choose to go on in increasing indifference to God and His laws and demands, and although He is longsuffering towards all, not wishing that any should perish, rebellious men will be brought to account and to know that God is in control. Man cannot sin with impunity. There have been times in history when we believe the hand of God has been on the nations in judgement. War with all its devastation and suffering has been a common feature in human experience. Whatever might be the cause of war from the human standpoint, we see the judgement of God and His call to repentance. Many of the evils prevalent before the Flood are common today, and will continue and increase until there comes a time of unprecedented lawlessness when a man will set himself up as God and his fellows will worship him (2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:4). Sin will have reached its highest peak. Then the fearful judgements of God will fall on this earth as described in the book of Revelation; then will men know the fierce wrath of the Judge and will call upon the mountains and the rocks to fall on them (Rev. 6:16,17).

The preacher of righteousness

Even in man's darkest days God has not left Himself without a witness on earth. In his time, Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet. 2:5), and a clear message of warning would be presented by him to all who would listen. The very building of the Ark would be a silent testimony, no doubt meeting with a mixed reception, including much hostility and mockery. Yet, in spite of a long period of faithful preaching only eight souls were saved when the Flood came. Myriads perished.

As the century drew to its close the building of the Ark was finished. Noah would be careful to make it according to divine instruction. Such an immense vessel must have appeared absurd to unbelieving people who saw it. But as we reflect on these days we see in the many aspects of the Ark and its construction a type of our Saviour. Noah responded to the Lord's invitation, "Come ... into the Ark" (Gen. 7:1), and "the LORD shut him in" (Gen. 7:16). How happy believers should be as they consider their eternal security in Christ and how concerned for the unsaved that the gospel might reach their hearts so that they do not perish as did so many in the century before the Flood!

R. Hickling, Nottingham, England | Feb 1988
Across The Bible Centuries