Sturm und Drang

The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them."

- Genesis 6:5-7, NIV

How much time passed between Adam and Noah? Some Biblical scholars believe that the genealogy in Genesis 5 is comprehensive, that it is possible to "crunch" the numbers to get an accurate time span. Others argue that Moses had "summarized" the lineage, that listing to listing could actually cover tens, hundreds, if not thousands of generations.

Whether the time measurement was around a thousand years as suggested by the former, or possibly millions of years as implied by the latter, my interest rests in this question, "How long did it take for human kind to become so corrupt that its Creator decided to wipe it from the face of the earth because He was 'grieved that [He] had made them'?"

The previous post, The Antagonist, pointed to the fact that God created men and woman as free beings able to exercise their wills independently, even when their actions disobeyed God's commands. While there were consequences, He allowed them to continue to exist, to continue to behave freely.

This scripture passage, Genesis 6, reveals two insights into God's relationship with the human beings:

1) A level of insubordination can exist that God will no longer tolerate, one where He will exercise swift and global judgment. Not only did He intend to extinguish the entire human race, but verse 7 reported that He planned to take out the "...animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air." He wasn't "playin' around" anymore.

2) As the Supreme Judge and Executioner, He was still willing to spare those who remained loyal. Except for one man, His entire creation had turned its back, and yet His love and compassion bore one last chance at mercy.

Of course, as the story recounts, God commanded Noah to build an ark informing Noah that He would soon flood the earth and destroy the inhabitants. Noah obeyed, the rains came, the people and the animals drowned. God did as He said He would. He destroyed the earth. He saved Noah and his family.

Considering the state-of-the-world described in Genesis 6:1-7, it is quite possible that Noah had thought to himself, "the world is crazy, now what?" In this case, the "Sturm und Drang" was right around the corner. God answered his question.

Get in the ark, Noah. I am about to address the insanity...


Read the previous post in this series:
1) The World Is Crazy: Now What?
2) Cue The Lights
3) The Antagonist

Read the next post in this series:
5) Enters Stage Right: Israel