God's Justice: Never Again

“Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” -Genesis 8:21

One of the most well known forms of ultimate justice is found in the story of Noah. God’s love and mercy gave humanity “free will,” but because of “free will,” humankind took the direction of their lives into their own hands. Evil plagued the entire world. And God was heavily displeased. God spoke to Noah, and told him to build an Ark (Big Wooden Ship) to house two of every living creature, male and female, and his family, to protect them from the flood. 

Amidst all the chaos, God gave humanity a second chance. This is hard for me to admit, but the first time I heard the story of Noah, I thought it pure evil that God flooded the Earth. It didn’t make sense. Without paying attention to context and detail, I judged The Creator. But then, I focused more on Jesus’ story.

Even though the focus of this devotional is God’s wrath in Genesis, Jesus gives us a picture of the Father’s heart that we can understand. Between the 33 years from Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, HE shows his true plan for us. HOPE and LIFE.

There are 2 distinct differences between what God spoke to Noah and what he spoke to Jesus. God told Noah there was going to be a flood, and that he would be protected from it. God told Jesus that there was going to be a flood, and he was going to suffer through it. HOLD UP!!!

What do you mean Jesus was going to go through a flood? I don’t remember that from the Bible! You’re right. I’m not talking about a flood of water, but it was an even bigger flood than the days of Noah. In His death, Jesus went through all of the horrible, bloody beatings, but ultimately, it was sin that killed HIM. Jesus took in the full FLOOD of sin and died for us, so that we may have HOPE and LIFE. When Noah and his family found land after so many weeks, God made a Promise to never destroy the world, but to give it HOPE.

We all take “free will” for granted, but we must never forget to do what is morally right in the eyes of God. Today, the wage of sin is still death, but we have a way out that is better than an ark full of animals. Jesus is the HOPE that we need to be in right standing with a just God.