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2 Peter 2:5
5 And [kai] spared [pheidomai] not [ou] the old [archaios] world [kosmos], but [alla] saved [phulasso] Noah [Noe] the eighth [ogdoos] person,
a preacher [kerux] of righteousness [dikaiosune], bringing in [epago] the
flood [kataklusmos] upon the world [kosmos] of the ungodly [asebes]; KJV-Interlinear
5 and did not spare the ancient
world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when
He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; NASB
Some sixteen-hundred
and fifty-six years after Adam was created, a great flood occurred on the
earth.We call this the flood of Noah,
since he was the principle person mentioned in the Bible surrounding the time
of the flood.
God saw the corruption of
mankind.Humanity had presumed to sin
with impunity and the patterns of evil were only getting worse and worse.God told Noah that the world would have only
120 years left before judgment would come.At that time, Methuselah was about 849 years old.He had only 120 years left in his life as God
would graciously take him just prior to the flood.
Noah represented a
minority of only eight positive believers on the planet when he boarded the
ark.Presumably there were others, just
as Methuselah was, but God took them in the normal course of their lives prior
to the flood.
Since Adam left the
Garden, there must have been a huge population explosion, since humanity lived
for over 1600 years until the flood.What the population was, is anyone's guess.But what we know was that people lived very
long life spans.That means they were
probably very healthy.That implies that
they had lots of children.And that
implies a huge population growth during those sixteen centuries.
We are not told the
total numbers, but with common sense, we can see that there is an immediate
contrast in the number of people who will be saved (eight), and the number of
people destroyed in the flood (perhaps millions, perhaps many more).
Having lots of people
on your side, or agreeing with the majority of the general opinions of the
world, will not save you from Gods judgment.
Noah and his wife
boarded the ark.His three sons and
their three wives (six people), boarded the ark.That makes eight people out of perhaps
millions.
Also, we read between
the lines and from common sense again, we know that there would be old folks,
middle age folks, young folks and even babies within the population that did
not board the ark.
God is not cruel, but
God is just, and in His judgment of all of humanity for their corruption, He
was correct in His decision to destroy the wickedness that existed on the
earth.Otherwise, corruption would have
destroyed everyone.
Recall verse one in our
chapter. Corrupt people bring destruction on themselves.And here we see the other side of the coin as
God brings destruction on evil people.
God gives every person
an opportunity to get their life in order.They had 120 years to make the corrections to their beliefs. They
rejected God and doctrine, as it was made available to them in their day.
The ark was the first
and only of its kind.Rain had never
before occurred on the earth as everything was watered through springs and
mists, etc.So the idea of rain was
something to ridicule.After all, how
can the air possibly hold buckets of water.A silly thought!!
And yet Noah and his family
continued to build an ark despite the ridicule and despite never having seen
rain, or even understanding what it was.They continued to build for 120 years.More than enough time to convince those who refused to believe, and more
than enough time to test the faith of Noah s family.
Evil will be judged
regardless of its number.God is
steadfast in His policies of truth and unyielding in his policies against
rejection of truth.
Whether you are an
unbeliever or an indifferent believer, or a stubborn believer with odd ideas
about life, makes no difference.Rejection for truth will result in the appropriate judgment or
discipline against you, whichever is appropriate.
You cannot reject
truth, you cannot live your life as only you see fit, without repercussions.
God is immutable.That means that truth does not change for
your convenience.Gods policies of
today, are the very same policies that He imposed on humanity back in Noah s
day. Gods policies of today, are the very same as His policies against the
angels, when they disobeyed.
Truth is truth.There is not one set of rules for angels and
another set of rules for humanity.There
is not one set of rules for ancient history, and another set of rules for
contemporary history.
And so Peter is laying
out a very clear policy for life.Obey
and follow Gods rules and reap the blessings that accompany that life style, or
remain indifferent, disregard Gods rules for life and suffer the consequences.
The choices are always
yours, but the results are under Gods control.
Now is the time to post a prayer.
End Of Lesson
Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
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