Genesis 6 - Part 7 - Sweet Baby Jesus or God of Judgment?
We all like the picture of sweet baby Jesus in the manger at Christmas time. But is that the only understanding you have about God - a sanitised easy to handle kind of God?
We don’t like to think of God destroying mankind. We prefer the tamed version of God. The sanitized, warm, cuddly kind of God who does everything for us but tuck us in at night. The sweet baby Jesus rather than the Jesus who sits in judgment upon the world.
But Genesis 6 presents us with a God who responds to evil with judgment, who doesn’t water down our sin and say "tut, tut, it’ll be alright. I’ll just let that one go." And He’s not against killing people. He comes right out and says to Noah, "I am about to destroy them with the earth" (Genesis 6:7). That makes some people say, "Well, that’s not the kind of God I want for my life." At least that’s honest. That’s better than trying to tame God into a god of our own image.
Admitting that God is just as well as loving is probably one of the most difficult things we have to come to terms with in our Santa Claus society. If we have our way, God comes out looking like a wimp or at best a butler to our needs. He’s the throw away God that you can use only when you need Him, but He’s at your disposal. Or He has a use-by date. He’s only for Sunday School and people with problems. But is He the God of the Bible, tough with sin, giving you time to repent but without compromise?
Is your God, the God who teaches David how to use weapons of warfare and goes before Him in battle, the same God who sends plagues to Egypt and kills the firstborn sons? That’s sounds to some on equal par with Herod who killed the babies of Bethlehem. Is He the same God who opened up the earth to swallow Korah and the rebellious hordes? Is He the God who drowned the Egyptians in the sea, demands animal sacrifices (How does that make you feel? Now in Australia we want to fine people who overfeed their dogs!) Is He the God who let Satan attack Job, kill his family and cover him with sores? Is He the same God who ordered men, women and children to be killed in the promised land? We’d prefer a promised land without having to fight for it.
Our God is the God who not only healed blind eyes but also blinded the seeing eyes of Saul, not only healed those who couldn’t speak, but also made Zechariah dumb, not only raised the dead, but let Lazarus die in the first place. What it this - playing games with people’s health? He’s the God who sent boils upon the Philistines who stole the Ark of the Covenant. He’s the God who struck Uzzah dead for touching the Ark of the Covenant. He’s the God who sends famines to destroy people, and in the end sends people to hell!
What kind of God is this? The answer to that question is that He is the God of the Bible. The God who loves us and gives us time to repent. The God who heals us and saves us and forgives us our sin when we believe in Christ.
What kind of God is this? He’s the God who saw one man and his family who were willing to obey Him in the middle of a corrupt and totally perverse and wicked society, and told him to build an Ark. A lot of trouble to go to just to save one family and some animals.
Why would a loving God send a flood? Let me ask you another question - why does a sinful person think that they can dictate the kind of God they will serve?
God is just and absolutely fair, even if we don’t understand it at times. But don’t close your eyes to the just side of God. Fear Him with utmost respect as well as love Him with wholehearted devotion. God responds to us according to how we respond to Him. He "grieves" (Genesis 6:6) over our wickedness and our refusal to allow Him to rule our lives. He grieves over our arrogance and self-righteousness. The world was and is so filled with wickedness, that it was and is in danger of losing any possibility of redemption for future generations. God intervened with a flood. One day He will intervene in a final judgment of the earth.
That’s it! Trust God that He knows what He’s doing. Trust God that when He sends judgment it is because He has first allowed time, like He did in Noah’s day, for people to repent and believe, trust and rely on Him, instead of trying to make a god in our own image.
God bless you Church as you see God for who He is, trust Him implicitly to do whatever He wants, and love Him wholeheartedly because He has first loved and saved us. And watch out for Aliens!
