One of the most well-known stories in the entire Bible is the story of Noah and the flood recorded in Genesis 6-8. This is a story of God’s mercy and God’s judgment both occurring at the same time.
The instrument of judgment God used in this story to judge the people of the earth was water. Have you ever stopped to wonder why did God flood the earth? He could have used any means of judgment yet for some reason he chose to use water which makes you wonder if there is any significance to that?
While there may not be a definitive answer to that question, I think there are some good speculations and arguments you can make as to why God did flood the earth.
What was Happening on the Earth?
As we begin this conversation, I think it is important to recognize why judgment was necessary in the first place. To put it in the simplest of terms, the hearts of men were wicked and evil.
The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:5-8
What we see here is how truly wicked the hearts of men were. Imagine a world where every thought of a person’s heart was only evil? I know our society may not be there yet, but it feels like this is the direction it is heading in.
Because of the evil in men’s hearts God brought judgment because it reached a point where he could not allow the sinful condition to continue any longer. The sobering lesson here is that sin will not run rampant forever for there will come a time when God will judge sin just as he judged it in the days of Noah.
Knowing this about the condition of men’s hearts helps us understand why God brought judgment but it doesn’t answer why did God flood the earth or maybe it does.
God's Judgement Through the Flood
I am going to give you two thoughts here as to why God flooded the earth. The answers are judgment and creation. God used water as a matter of judging, purging and cleansing the earth from its sinful condition.
By the way water as purification was not just an Old Testament concept it appears in the New Testament as well. The difference is the cleansing and purifying agent, God uses in the New Testament is the water of his word.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25-27
However, water has a dual purpose and here is where I tie it back to creation. Remember in creation God separated the waters and called back the waters to create boundaries of dry land. Could it be possible that God was doing the same thing with the flood waters in Noah’s day?
The flooding of the earth was like giving an artist a brand-new canvas to create on. Since God was not interested in destroying the earth but recreating the earth this could be why God chose to flood the earth. Had God wanted to destroy the earth completely he would have used fire and not water. Also remember that God had to preserve the life of Noah, his family, as well as the living creatures that were in the ark.
By flooding the earth, God could judge the earth and at the same time preserve life. Because God used a flood the earth remained intact and when the waters receded life was allowed to continue as before the flood.
But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down. Genesis 8:1-3
The First Flood and the Last Flood
I think it is fair to say that God used the flood as a way of preservation and judgment. The flood was the first one to destroy the earth and it will be the last one to destroy the earth. God will still judge the sinner and preserve the saint just as he did with Noah, however, he has chosen to never again do it by means of a flood.
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Genesis 9:8-11
I hope I have provided some credible thoughts as to why God used the flood but even if he did for a different reason it is something we won’t have to worry about again.
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Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club. He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.