In the days of Noah a double curse was resting upon the earth in consequence of Adam's transgression and of the murder committed by Cain. Yet this had not greatly changed the face of nature. There were evident tokens of decay, but the earth was still rich and beautiful in the gifts of God's providence. The hills were crowned with majestic trees supporting the fruit-laden branches of the vine. The vast, gardenlike plains were clothed with verdure, and sweet with the fragrance of a thousand flowers. The fruits of the earth were in great variety, and almost without limit. The trees far surpassed in size, beauty, and perfect proportion any now to be found; their wood was of fine grain and hard substance, closely resembling stone, and hardly less enduring. Gold, silver, and precious stones existed in abundance.
The human race yet retained much of its early vigor. But a few generations had passed since Adam had access to the tree which was to prolong life; and man's existence was still measured by centuries. Had that long-lived people, with their rare powers to plan and execute, devoted themselves to the service of God, they would have made their Creator's name a praise in the earth, and would have answered the purpose for which He gave them life. But they failed to do this. There were many giants, men of great stature and strength, renowned for wisdom, skillful in devising the most cunning and wonderful works; but their guilt in giving loose rein to iniquity was in proportion to their skill and mental ability.
God bestowed upon these
antediluvians many and rich gifts; but they used His bounties
to glorify themselves, and turned them into a curse by fixing
their affections upon the gifts instead of the Giver. They employed
the gold and silver, the precious stones and the choice wood,
in the construction of habitations for themselves, and endeavored
to excel one another in beautifying their dwellings with the most
skillful workmanship. They
sought only to gratify the
desires of their own proud hearts, and reveled in scenes of pleasure
and wickedness. Not desiring to retain God in their knowledge,
they soon came to deny His existence. They adored nature in place
of the God of nature. They glorified human genius, worshiped the
works of their own hands, and taught their children to bow down
to graven images.
In the green fields and under the shadow of the goodly trees they set up the altars of their idols. Extensive groves, that retained their foliage throughout the year, were dedicated to the worship of false gods. With these groves were connected beautiful gardens, their long, winding avenues overhung with fruit-bearing trees of all descriptions, adorned with statuary, and furnished with all that could delight the senses or minister to the voluptuous desires of the people, and thus allure them to participate in the idolatrous worship.
Men put God out of their knowledge and worshiped the creatures of their own imagination; and as the result, they became more and more debased. The psalmist describes the effect produced upon the worshiper by the adoration of idols. He says, "They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." Psalm 115:8. It is a law of the human mind that by beholding we become changed. Man will rise no higher than his conceptions of truth, purity, and holiness. If the mind is never exalted above the level of humanity, if it is not uplifted by faith to contemplate infinite wisdom and love, the man will be constantly sinking lower and lower. The worshipers of false gods clothed their deities with human attributes and passions, and thus their standard of character was degraded to the likeness of sinful humanity. They were defiled in consequence. "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. . . . The earth also was corrupt before God; and the earth was filled with violence." God had given men His commandments as a rule of life, but His law was transgressed, and every conceivable sin was the result. The wickedness of men was open and daring, justice was trampled in the dust, and the cries of the oppressed reached unto heaven.
Polygamy had been early
introduced, contrary to the divine arrangement at the beginning.
The Lord gave to Adam one wife, showing His order in that respect.
But after the Fall, men chose to follow their own sinful desires;
and as the result, crime and wretchedness rapidly increased. Neither
the marriage relation nor the rights of property were respected.
Whoever coveted the wives or the possessions of his neighbor,
took them by force, and men exulted in their deeds of violence.
They delighted in destroying the life of animals; and the use
of flesh for food rendered them still more cruel and bloodthirsty,
until they came to regard human life with astonishing indifference.
The world was in its infancy; yet iniquity had become so deep and widespread that God could no longer bear with it; and He said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth." He declared that His Spirit should not always strive with the guilty race. If they did not cease to pollute with their sins the world and its rich treasures, He would blot them from His creation, and would destroy the things with which He had delighted to bless them; He would sweep away the beasts of the field, and the vegetation which furnished such an abundant supply of food, and would transform the fair earth into one vast scene of desolation and ruin.
Amid the prevailing corruption, Methuselah, Noah, and many others labored to keep alive the knowledge of the true God and to stay the tide of moral evil. A hundred and twenty years before the Flood, the Lord by a holy angel declared to Noah His purpose, and directed him to build an ark. While building the ark he was to preach that God would bring a flood of water upon the earth to destroy the wicked. Those who would believe the message, and would prepare for that event by repentance and reformation, should find pardon and be saved. Enoch had repeated to his children what God had shown him in regard to the Flood, and Methuselah and his sons, who lived to hear the preaching of Noah, assisted in building the ark.
God gave Noah the exact
dimensions of the ark and explicit directions in regard to its
construction in every particular. Human wisdom could not have
devised a structure of so great strength and durability. God was
the designer, and Noah the master builder. It was constructed
like the hull of a ship, that it might float upon the water, but
in some respects it more nearly resembled a house. It was three
stories high, with but one door, which was in the side. The light
was admitted at the top, and the different apartments were so
arranged that all were lighted. The material employed in the construction
of the ark was the cypress, or gopher wood, which would be untouched
by decay for hundreds of years. The building of this immense structure
was a slow and laborious process. On account of the great size
of the trees and the nature of the wood, much more labor was required
then than now to prepare timber, even with the greater strength
which men then possessed. All that man could do was done to render
the work perfect, yet the ark could not of itself have withstood
the storm which was to come upon the earth. God alone could preserve
His servants upon the tempestuous waters.
"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." Hebrews 11:7. While Noah was giving his warning message to the world, his works testified of his sincerity. It was thus that his faith was perfected and made evident. He gave the world an example of believing just what God says. All that he possessed, he invested in the ark. As he began to construct that immense boat on dry ground, multitudes came from every direction to see the strange sight and to hear the earnest, fervent words of the singular preacher. Every blow struck upon the ark was a witness to the people.
Many at first appeared to receive the warning; yet they did not turn to God with true repentance. They were unwilling to renounce their sins. During the time that elapsed before the coming of the Flood, their faith was tested, and they failed to endure the trial. Overcome by the prevailing unbelief, they finally joined their former associates in rejecting the solemn message. Some were deeply convicted, and would have heeded the words of warning; but there were so many to jest and ridicule, that they partook of the same spirit, resisted the invitations of mercy, and were soon among the boldest and most defiant scoffers; for none are so reckless and go to such lengths in sin as do those who have once had light, but have resisted the convicting Spirit of God.
The men of that generation were not all, in the fullest acceptation of the term, idolaters. Many professed to be worshipers of God. They claimed that their idols were representations of the Deity, and that through them the people could obtain a clearer conception of the divine Being. This class were foremost in rejecting the preaching of Noah. As they endeavored to represent God by material objects, their minds were blinded to His majesty and power; they ceased to realize the holiness of His character, or the sacred, unchanging nature of His requirements. As sin became general, it appeared less and less sinful, and they finally declared that the divine law was no longer in force; that it was contrary to the character of God to punish transgression; and they denied that His judgments were to be visited upon the earth. Had the men of that generation obeyed the divine law, they would have recognized the voice of God in the warning of His servant; but their minds had become so blinded by rejection of light that they really believed Noah's message to be a delusion.
It was not multitudes or majorities that were on the side of right. The world was arrayed against God's justice and His laws, and Noah was regarded as a fanatic. Satan, when tempting Eve to disobey God, said to her, "Ye shall not surely die." Genesis 3:4. Great men, worldly, honored, and wise men, repeated the same. "The threatenings of God," they said, "are for the purpose of intimidating, and will never be verified. You need not be alarmed. Such an event as the destruction of the world by the God who made it, and the punishment of the beings He has created, will never take place. Be at peace; fear not. Noah is a wild fanatic." The world made merry at the folly of the deluded old man. Instead of humbling the heart before God, they continued their disobedience and wickedness, the same as though God had not spoken to them through His servant.
But Noah stood like a rock amid the tempest. Surrounded by popular contempt and ridicule, he distinguished himself by his holy integrity and unwavering faithfulness. A power attended his words, for it was the voice of God to man through His servant. Connection with God made him strong in the strength of infinite power, while for one hundred and twenty years his solemn voice fell upon the ears of that generation in regard to events, which, so far as human wisdom could judge, were impossible.
The world before the Flood
reasoned that for centuries the laws of nature had been fixed.
The recurring seasons had come in their order. Heretofore rain
had never fallen; the earth had been watered by a mist or dew.
The rivers had never yet passed their boundaries, but had borne
their waters safely to the sea. Fixed decrees had kept the waters
from overflowing their banks. But these reasoners did not recognize
the hand of Him who had stayed the waters, saying, "Hitherto
shalt thou come, but no further." Job 38:11.
As time passed on, with no apparent change in nature, men whose hearts had at times trembled with fear, began to be reassured. They reasoned, as many reason now, that nature is above the God of nature, and that her laws are so firmly established that God Himself could not change them. Reasoning that if the message of Noah were correct, nature would be turned out of her course, they made that message, in the minds of the world, a delusion--a grand deception. They manifested their contempt for the warning of God by doing just as they had done before the warning was given. They continued their festivities and their gluttonous feasts; they ate and drank, planted and builded, laying their plans in reference to advantages they hoped to gain in the future; and they went to greater lengths in wickedness, and in defiant disregard of God's requirements, to testify that they had no fear of the Infinite One. They asserted that if there were any truth in what Noah had said, the men of renown--the wise, the prudent, the great men--would understand the matter.
Had the antediluvians believed the warning, and repented of their evil deeds, the Lord would have turned aside His wrath, as He afterward did from Nineveh. But by their obstinate resistance to the reproofs of conscience and the warnings of God's prophet, that generation filled up the measure of their iniquity, and became ripe for destruction.
The period of their probation
was about to expire. Noah had faithfully followed the instructions
which he had received from God. The ark was finished in every
part as the Lord had directed, and was stored with food for man
and beast. And now the servant of God made his last solemn appeal
to the people. With an agony of desire that words cannot express,
he entreated them to seek a refuge while it might be found. Again
they rejected his words, and raised their voices in jest and scoffing.
Suddenly a silence fell upon the mocking throng. Beasts of every
description, the fiercest as well as the most gentle, were seen
coming from mountain and forest and quietly making their way toward
the ark. A noise as of a rushing wind was heard, and lo, birds
were flocking from all directions, their numbers darkening the
heavens, and in perfect order they passed to the ark. Animals
obeyed the command of God, while men were disobedient. Guided
by holy angels, they "went in two and two unto Noah into
the ark," and the clean beasts by sevens. The world looked
on in wonder, some in fear. Philosophers were called upon to account
for the singular occurrence, but in vain. It was a mystery which
they could not fathom. But men had become so hardened by their
persistent rejection of light that even this scene produced but
a momentary impression. As the doomed race beheld the sun shining
in its glory, and the earth clad in almost Eden beauty, they banished
their rising fears by boisterous merriment, and by their deeds
of violence they seemed to invite upon themselves the visitation
of the already awakened wrath of God.
God commanded Noah, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation." Noah's warnings had been rejected by the world, but his influence and example resulted in blessings to his family. As a reward for his faithfulness and integrity, God saved all the members of his family with him. What encouragement to parental fidelity!
Mercy had ceased its pleadings for the guilty race. The beasts of the field and the birds of the air had entered the place of refuge. Noah and his household were within the ark, "and the Lord shut him in." A flash of dazzling light was seen, and a cloud of glory more vivid than the lightning descended from heaven and hovered before the entrance of the ark. The massive door, which it was impossible for those within to close, was slowly swung to its place by unseen hands. Noah was shut in, and the rejecters of God's mercy were shut out. The seal of Heaven was on that door; God had shut it, and God alone could open it. So when Christ shall cease His intercession for guilty men, before His coming in the clouds of heaven, the door of mercy will be shut. Then divine grace will no longer restrain the wicked, and Satan will have full control of those who have rejected mercy. They will endeavor to destroy God's people; but as Noah was shut into the ark, so the righteous will be shielded by divine power.
For seven days after Noah
and his family entered the ark, there appeared no sign of the
coming storm. During this period their faith was tested. It was
a time of triumph to the world without. The apparent delay confirmed
them in the belief that Noah's message was a delusion, and that
the Flood would never come. Notwithstanding the solemn scenes
which they had witnessed--the beasts and birds entering the ark,
and the angel of God closing the door--they still continued their
sport and revelry, even making a jest of these signal manifestations
of God's power. They gathered in crowds about the ark, deriding
its inmates with a daring violence which they had never ventured
upon before.
But upon the eighth day dark clouds overspread the heavens. There followed the muttering of thunder and the flash of lightning. Soon large drops of rain began to fall. The world had never witnessed anything like this, and the hearts of men were struck with fear. All were secretly inquiring, "Can it be that Noah was in the right, and that the world is doomed to destruction?" Darker and darker grew the heavens, and faster came the fal
