Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

SIN GOES VIRAL

This entry was posted on 01-25-2010 and is filed under STUDIES IN GENESIS.

We have seen the terrible consequences of sin in the life of the first family. Adam and Eve were expelled from the beautiful Garden of Eden (Cherubim were even placed east of Eden with a flaming sword to keep them attempting a reentry, Gen. 3:24). Eve would bring forth children in pain and Adam would have to battle the earth just to put bread on the table. Then one of their sons (Cain) kills their second-born (Abel). God marks him for life. Lamech kills a young man and brags about it. Adam finally dies and sets off a death march that is temporarily halted when Enoch is translated. Then sin goes viral!

"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5). What a contrast this verse is from all those times when God saw everything He had made and declared it to be good! Now God sees that everything is bad - very bad! Where once He saw goodness now He beholds wickedness. And that wickedness is described as being great in the earth. The Hebrew word here is rab meaning "abundant, exceedingly, full." Sin had spread from Eden throughout all the earth. God also saw that every intent ("inclination" - NIV) of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually ("evil all the time" NIV). The human race was now infected with the virus of sin to the point that it had total domination over their mind, words, and actions. Notice God's divine commentary on man even after the flood: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood" (Gen. 8:21 NIV). The NKJV uses the word "youth." The Hebrew word is neurah meaning "the state (juvenility) or the persons (young people) - childhood, youth." Notice that the Bible does not say that every inclination of man's heart is evil from birth but from childhood. But, as we shall see tomorrow, even in a world like this there was a man who stood out like a candle in the night. There remained a remnant of righteousness on the earth, and God took note of him.

Prayer: Holy Father, how it must have grieved You to see what man became in such a short time. How our sin must grieve Your heart. Look upon us in mercy and we be found faithful in Your sight ~ through Christ our sin-covering Savior!