What did flooding the world accomplish for God?

[BornInMarch]

One of the famous scenes in The Bible is an event called The Deluge, when God resolves to flood the Earth.

“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh,[for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”" - Genesis 6:11-13 (English Standard Version)

God floods the Earth, but because he told Noah to build an Ark he and his descendants survived. Everyone and everything else did not. My question is, what did this accomplish? If the problem was mankind’s wickedness and violence, the Deluge didn’t solve that as things seemed to remain just as bad after the Flood as before. For a long time I thought it got rid of the worst of it, that the pre-Flood world was so vile that it would have made Sodom and Gomorrah sick, but then I noticed a verse in Matthew 24 that suggests otherwise. In it, when describing how sudden his return would be, Jesus describes the pre-flood world thusly:

“For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” - Matthew 24:38-39 (English Standard Version)

Based on this, what goal did the flood accomplish? It didn’t rid the world of sin, or even mitigate the sin in the world. If it was to show God’s power, I’m not sure that worked either because even after the flood people still doubted that.

 

[OsculeturMeOsculo]

You don’t know the degree of immorality that those people possessed.

 

[TK421]

The flood is a prefiguring of the sacrament of baptism: how death gives way to new life.
The ark is also frequently used as a symbol of the Church & the safety therein, for example, in this vision by St John Bosco:

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The ship is steered between the Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin, as gateways to salvation.

The account in Genesis is based on some very major flooding that occurred at some point in ancient Mesopotamia & probably elsewhere. You can see a flood story present in other ancient stories of the period as well as in Hinduism with Lord Vishnu, in his first avatar, Matsyavatara.

Peace.

 

[Reuben_J]

It was never meant to stop sin. It was to destroy sins (people) when it reached a certain level to save the world to be completely overwhelmed by it. Similarly Sodom and Gomorrhah.

God’s plan of salvation would be through some good men and thus he had to destroy the world so that His plan of salvation could be achieved.

Secondly, God intervened when the level of sin is too great.

 

[boldlygo]

…

You can see a flood story present in other ancient stories of the period

True…it’s been said that the story of Noah and the Flood is a retelling of the parallel in the Epic of Gilgamesh, with changes made to stress monotheism…

 

[Todd_Easton]

Based on this, what goal did the flood accomplish? It didn’t rid the world of sin, or even mitigate the sin in the world. If it was to show God’s power, I’m not sure that worked either because even after the flood people still doubted that.

It was not merely a show of God’s power but, because the wicked were destroyed and righteous Noah and his family survived, the Flood was also a show of God’s justice.

 

[Seagull]

As a kid, the flood didn’t really bother me that much.
I knew it was an act of God.
People were acting like selfish devils and animals.
Anytime it rained, down pour -
school kids would laugh and clap saying, “ Noah’s Ark “

The one thing that made the flood interesting for me,
at that young age, upon first hearing the story,
was how the ark was filled with giraffes, hippos, zebras, etc.
I could easily see the punishment of God - and the mercy too !

 

[Vico]

…
Based on this, what goal did the flood accomplish?..

Noah, Abraham, Moses

It communicates that the disobedient shall suffer and those that are obedient will receive fulfillment. God does not abandon them. Notice that Abraham and Moses were also disobedient and with consequences.

Numbers 14 (to Noah)

20 And the Lord said: I have forgiven according to thy word.
21 As I live: and the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
22 But yet all the men that have seen my majesty, and the signs that I have done in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now ten times, and have not obeyed my voice,
23 Shall not see the land for which I aware to their fathers, neither shall any one of them that hath detracted me behold it.
24 My servant Caleb, who being full of another spirit hath followed me, I will bring into this land which he hath gone round: and his seed shall possess it.

To Abraham in Harran:

Genesis 12

1 And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of they father’s house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

He journeyed to Caanan where he made the first altar to the Lord (Gen. 12:6, 7).
He journeyed to Bethel where he made the second altar to the Lord (Genesis 12:8).
He journeyed to Hebron where he made the third altar to the Lord (Gen. 13:10-18).
Abraham sinned an Ishmael was born (Gen. 16: 1-16). But he was commanded to be perfect and did then father Issac from which came Jacob and later Joseph,

Genesis 17

1 And after he began to be ninety and nine years old, the Lord appeared to him: and said unto him: I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be perfect.

Moses was born in Egypt and did not enter the land of Canaan for his and the peoples sin.

Deuteronomy (to Moses)

4 And the Lord said to him: This is the land, for which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to thy seed. Thou hast seen it with thy eyes, and shalt not pass over to it.

 

[Cruciferi]

Well, at least everything got watered. That’s my takeaway from it…

 

[mythbuster1]

Jewish scholars say that homosexual marriages were practiced in the days before the Flood, but not even Sodom did such a thing. Also, I note that Noah’s father, Lamech, died five years before the Flood, at an age younger than all the other antedeluvian patriarchs (save Enoch, who walked with God). This leads me to believe that the reason that only eight people were on the Ark was because all the other righteous people had been martyred leading up to the Flood. Jewish tradition holds that the last thing Noah’s family did before entering the Ark was to bury Methuselah, and that the Flood began seven days later, after they had spent the week in mourning.

 

[joseie]

Don’t break your head on this.It was God’s decision. Who are we to question it? Similar question would be:What did creation of Adam accomplish?

 

[joseie]

Pray that God may not intervene now for a similar catastrophe.The level of sin and sinful
thinking appears to have now reached an unprecedental level.Gay /same sex marriage made legal and just now the news that Irish people voted in favour of abortion!

 

[Zaccheus]

it’s been said that the story of Noah and the Flood is a retelling of the parallel in the Epic of Gilgamesh, with changes made to stress monotheism…

Or the Gilgamesh story could be a retelling of the Flood of Noah.

 

[Dovekin]

The flood brought rainbows to the world!

 

[OsculeturMeOsculo]

I also heard that the ark was a type of Mary except that the beasts or sinners that come out are changed into something better.

 

[BoomerangToo]

Well, according to Enoch, fallen angels bred with human women and animals and contaminated the genetics of all creatures on earth except Noah and his family. Like genetic engineering on steroids, so God wiped them out, chained the angels that sinned, and started over with a clean slate.

 

[TheOldColonel]

Water is all mystery
Marking all of history
Touched by Spirit
Touched by Faith
Touched by God’s eternal breath
Bubbling up
To birth the land
Crashing down
To crush the sands
Raining down to flood the earth
Flowing back to give new birth
Pouring forth from desert rocks
As faithless people stood and mocked
Parting at Good Moses’ hands
Leading to the promised land
Giving life to meadows green
Where the Messiah would one day be
In the Jordan where he stood
Being Baptized for our good
In the sea on which he walked
Upon the shore where he did talk
In the tears that he did weep
Raising Lazarus from his sleep
In the bowl as he washed our feet
In mercy’s hands upon the street
As he did journey to his cross
To save us from eternal loss
Flowing from his side with grace
Washing clean that brutal place
Washing clean the whole of earth
Offering to all a new rebirth
Washing him before the tomb
Where he entered the earthly womb
And rising up to give new life
Washing away our eternal strife
Washing clean the ones he sent
Though their faith was tried and spent
In shallow water of Peter’s net
When casting deeper the Lord he met
Who washed him with forgiving grace
Bid him to wash the human race
So now this water leads us home
Along this river of Babylon
Beyond the hour of final breath
Over the darkened waters of death
To that shining sea of light
Where we shall gather in his sight

 

[Reuben_J]

Perhaps no more similar catastrophe sent by God now because His plan of salvation has been achieved. If it is, it will be either man made like nuclear war or natural catastrophe like large asteroid striking the earth.

Ancient catastrophe like the flood was mainly for the protection of the lineage of Jesus through the chosen people so that when the time comes, a Savior would be born.

Had the wicked not been destroyed by the flood, perhaps for another thousand of years there would be no righteous people left. God had to intervene for the sake of His plan of salvation. … the delivery of slavery from Eygpt, the wars, the return from Babylon, … until finally the birth of Jesus and the ensuing crucifixion of the Lord.

But yes, God is with us, we can expect divine intervention in our lives but perhaps not in the scale of the OT.

God bless.

 

[Zaccheus]

Well, according to Enoch, fallen angels bred with human women and animals and contaminated the genetics of all creatures on earth except Noah and his family. Like genetic engineering on steroids, so God wiped them out, chained the angels that sinned, and started over with a clean slate.

Angels are pure spirits. They have no bodies, need no bodies and desire no bodies. Angels cannot breed with mortals and have no reason to want to.

Genesis speaks of the sons of God breeding with the daughters of men. But ‘sons of God’ in that passage clearly does not mean angels.
More likely this is descendants of Seth taking wives from among the descendants of Cain.

 

[Aulef]

God is so Good and Merciful that He took those people out of their great misery.

Wicked times, they were.