The Purpose

The thunder was crashing. The lightning was snapping.
It was the worst of all storms of the sea.
The rain kept on pounding. The water kept on rising.
Why, oh my, why, must this be?

Plants were uprooted. Trees were demolished.
Sea creatures died under debris.
Air-breathing land animals, yes, even people,
Were drowned in the depths of the sea.

So what was the reason for this severe action?
Why should a storm like this be?
It was epic, catastrophic, once-in-a lifetime,
A happening few could foresee!

The Bible, our history book, has all the answers.
Let’s go there to get a good start.
What was the purpose? Please give me the details
Of the storm that tore earth apart.

The Purpose

When God first created our world, it was perfect. There was no disease. There was no pain. There was no suffering. There was no death. And in that perfect world, God created the first man and the first woman, Adam and Eve. He told them to take care of their garden home. He gave them permission to eat the fruit of the trees for their food. There was just one “do-not-do” garden rule God commanded them to obey. They were never to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would surely die. Adam and Eve knew what God said and obeyed for a time.

Creation Museum, Petersburg, KY

But God has an enemy who was active even back then. His name is Satan. One day Satan spoke out of the mouth of a snake and tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. She thought it would make her wise. She thought she would become like God, but just the opposite happened. She took a bite and gave the fruit to her husband to eat. In the moment they did, all of world history changed because sin entered the perfect garden home. Sin is anything we say or think or do that disobeys God.

Creation Museum, Petersburg, KY

Sin always has consequences, and one result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience was that they had to leave their garden home. Their sin had ruined the perfect world God created. Another consequence was that everyone born into the human race since that time has been born with a sin problem that separates them from God.

Creation Museum, Petersburg, KY

Adam and Eve had children and grandchildren and great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren, and all of these were born with sinful hearts. Soon, the whole world was filled with people whose thoughts and behavior were totally wicked.

How Many People Were on the Earth at the Time of the Flood?

Because people lived very long ages and had lots of kids, it is possible that there were hundreds of millions of people living at this time.

I don’t know what you would have done,
If your perfect world got ruined by sin.
But I know that God sent
a most remarkable event.

The purpose?
To punish the wickedness of men.
And even though people were the source of the problem,
Amazingly, God found one man whose heart loved Him.

The man’s name was Noah.
"Who was he?" you ask.
Was he ready to help
with this incredible task?