Sermon snippet: “God, Where Are You?” (or, A Theodicy Odyssey) – Part III
INTRODUCTION – Genesis 7:9-12, 19-24 – Was this judgment too extreme? Was it unfair? We continue on our theodicy odyssey, defending the ways of God in the face of the existence of evil. Unquestionably, the evil was great, with only eight people caring at all about God and His goodness. As we shall see, God is longsuffering.
- GOD SPEAKS EVEN THROUGH SILENCE
Genesis 5:21-24 – Enoch was delivered from the overwhelming evil of his day by being taken directly to heaven. He was a prophet (see Hebrews 11:5-6; Jude 14-15). His unusual absence and the ensuing silence spoke powerfully. Contrast Enoch with his contemporary Lamech (not the second Lamech, Enoch’s grandson). In Genesis 4:23-24, we find Lamech’s loud boasting about his personal evil (possibly the first rap song). The silence of Enoch speaks eloquently of God’s eternal goodness.
- GOD IS ALWAYS DOING MORE THAN ONE THING
Genesis 5:25-27 – Why was Methuselah, Enoch’s son, granted the longest life recorded in the Bible? Certainly it was an individual blessing and an extended blessing to his family. It is his name that is especially important: it means “when he is dead, it shall come.” As we have seen, Enoch was a prophet, and he named his son prophetically to prepare the world for God’s necessary judgment. Methuselah died the very year of the Flood. For almost a thousand years, he was a walking warning to anyone who knew him even slightly. God is good in reaching out to us in multiple ways.
- GOD’S ARK REVEALS THAT GRACE IS AVAILABLE TO ALL
Genesis 6:3 indicates that the building of the ark was 120 years in the making. Verse 14 begins the specific details that God gave to Noah. We know that the specifications given by God made the ark nearly impossible to overturn: it was the most stable vessel possible. It was also large enough for all of the world’s animals and ample fodder. What an object lesson the ark was! For more than 100 years, it was a visible reminder that all could enter into the grace of God as Noah had (see verse 8). God is good in offering His grace to all.
- GOD’S REMNANT DEMONSTRATES THAT SALVATION IS EVER AVAILABLE
Genesis 7:7 – Only eight people believed. In the history of mankind, this was the smallest percentage of people with faith in God. Noah and his family did not waver, did not turn back. The door was open for this ragged remnant; the door was open for all. Each one had to make a choice whether or not to respond to God’s good gift of salvation.
CONCLUSION – II Peter 3:9-10 – The greatest example of God’s longsuffering goodness is the Cross upon which Jesus Christ, God the Son, died for our sins. Each one of us must decide if we will receive the gift of salvation that is offered. If we respond to Jesus in faith, then we are assured of His eternal goodness. We find that in the face of the existence of evil, God remains good, for He can never change.