Gen. 8:2-4
Here we see
God's wrath ended and the start of a new world.
No matter how
deep the sin, where there is still life there is the certainty of God's total
and unconditional love. Even when that sin leads to awful consequences for the
person. He still is willing to hear and answer that single, sincere prayer of
repentance that leads to eternal life when one first call upon Jesus Christ for
salvation, and which - when one is already saved - leads to God forgiving and
cleansing them, as in the case of David after he sinned with Bathsheba. Once
that person has trusted Christ as Saviour, they are a new creature in Christ,
old things are passed away and all things are become new. 2nd Corinthians 5:17. The
Holy Spirit then lives in them and works in them to guide them to become more
loving, gentle, etc.; this is why Heaven will have no sin in it, because those
who have trusted Christ as Saviour will have been transformed so they don’t
have that desire to sin anymore, and they won’t have that sin nature either which
we still have once we get saved.
God is willing
to hear that sinner because God loves everyone, and that includes every sinner.
He must punish sin, but His plan from the foundation of the world(1 Pet. 1:20)
was to take that punishment upon Himself; remember Jesus is the Creator as He
and the Father are one.(John 10:10)
However, just
because the waters begin to subside doesn't mean they were automatically able
to get out of the Ark Remember that it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, and
the waters of the deep – the springs – were bursting forth in incredible force.
Those waters might easily have been the entire canopy which was likely covering
the earth. Then, the waters had to remain on the earth for such a long time to
totally destroy the evil foundation which mankind had laid.
Noah and his
family, and all the animals, continued to need to remain in the ark, though.
Whenever sin occurs, there are consequences, and those affect innocent people.
When those consequences occur, however, God provides protection.
Such protection
doesn't mean total freedom from the consequences of others sin, of course.
Sometimes it means great loss of worldly things - even of lives. After all,
only our Heavenly treasures will last. Noah and his family had to leave a
potentially very advanced world like outs and start from scratch, after all.
However, God saw them through and they were able to rely on Him in the same way
any of us can rely on Jesus if that person has called on Him by faith and
trusted Him to forgive them and save them from their sins through what He did
for them on the cross. This is why Jesus, in John 16:33 promises, in this world you will have tribulation
but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.
