Genesis 4-11: Man's Overwhelming Wickedness

Genesis 6:5 "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

The above verse summarizes well for us this second portion of Genesis that we look at this morning. As we read this verse, let us ask ourselves a question: do we truly realize how sinful we are? The narrative today is going to show us how quickly man's wickedness grew after the fall of Adam. Yet the very same sin that was in the hearts of men back then is the very same sin that is in our hearts now. Left alone without a Savior, we would be just as sinful as the men we read about today.

First, in Genesis 4, we find the first homicide in all of creation. Jealous because of his brother's sacrifice, Cain murders Abel and is cursed to a horrible fate. After this, many years pass, but scripture tells us that corruption continued greatly on planet earth. When we get to Genesis 6, we find the Lord regretting that he had made mankind because they were so sinful. Yet amidst all the chaos and wickedness, there was one man by the name of Noah who stood above the crowd. God had already resolved to blot out the earth, but through Noah he would save the race of humanity. Thus, he called Noah to build an ark for him, his family, and two of every kind of animal, that they all might escape the coming world-wide flood. The flood then comes, and all of the earth is blotted out. When they all go out from the ark, God covenants with Noah that he will never flood the earth again, giving him a rainbow as a sign of the covenant. Noah's sons then bear other sons and multiply throughout the earth, and eventually we find ourselves at the Tower of Babel, where men try to "make a name for themselves," which was the opposite of God's perfect Edenic plan for creation. We thus find men deeply intertwined with sin once again. It seems as if man cannot get away from his own wickedness; he is stuck in a trap that he can't get out of.

From these great chapters, we find two truths: that man is sinful, and God is Savior. Left alone in his own sin, men become vile, evil creatures who murder and self-exalt. They deserve to be destroyed. Yet amidst the chaos, God has a redemptive plan that comes to pass through his chosen child. In the days of Noah that we read today, Noah was the chosen child of God who would redeem the world from its sin. Yet, we must understand how this all pointed to Christ, the ultimate, righteous man who would stand as a pillar of light in the overwhelming darkness of the world, and who would as well redeem the world.

So, from this text we find that we are sinful and God is Savior. If we are left to our own sin, we would end up just as bad as the men destroyed in the flood and confused at the Tower of Babel. Yet, God has saved us. To him be the glory, and to him be our song of praise. Amen!