God’s Response to Sin

KEY VERSE: “I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a Flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.” —Genesis 9:11

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Genesis 3:14-24; 6:5-8; 9:8-13

ADAM’S DISOBEDIENCE BROUGHT the death penalty upon himself and his offspring. God expelled the first pair from Eden to make the sentence effective. (Gen. 3:22-24) It was not long before the reality of death became evident when Cain slew Abel in a fit of passion. Adam himself, however, did not actually succumb to death until he was 930 years old, despite the fact that the aging and dying process began immediately. (Gen. 5:5) He did die within the ‘day’ in which he disobeyed, according to God’s reckoning of time. The Apostle Peter wrote, “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”—II Pet. 3:8

God’s response to sin was not only immediate upon Adam, but far-reaching as well—a sentencing from which none of Adam’s children escaped. “As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”—Rom. 5:12

Some of the angels, the “sons of God,” in a misguided way—perhaps thinking to help mankind—“saw the daughters of men that they were fair,” and married them and brought forth children. (Gen. 6:1-4) But their efforts made matters worse. These hybrid offspring were wicked and did evil, and filled the earth with violence. God’s response to this evil was to allow it to exist only a limited number of years, ending in destruction by a flood of waters.

Of all the inhabitants in the earth at that time, Noah and his immediate family found grace in the eyes of God. “Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generation, and Noah walked with God.” (Gen. 6:8,9) Because of his faith, God took Noah into his confidence, outlining what he had to do so that he and his family would survive the great Flood which would come upon the earth to destroy the wicked order then existing. Noah did as God commanded, and built an ark which carried him and his wife and three sons and their wives to safety, along with the animals that were preserved. The Apostle Peter alluded to these events, saying, “The patience of God was waiting in the days of Noah while an ark was being prepared in which a few, that is, eight persons were carried safely through the water.” (I Pet. 3:20, Wilson’s Diaglott) This was the ending of the “world that then was.”—II Pet. 3:6

About a year later when Noah left the ark, God made a covenant with him, vowing never again to destroy all life upon earth with a flood of waters. As a token of this covenant, God caused the phenomena of the rainbow to be seen. This beautiful symbol is a reminder that God has promised to make a New Covenant with all mankind including Adam, through which they may regain life and perfection. God will forgive their iniquity and remember their sins no more.—Jer. 31:31-34

Just as Noah’s world came to an end, so the “heavens and earth, which are now”—the world that now is (II Pet. 3:7)—this “present evil world” (Gal. 1:4), will also pass away. In its place will be brought forth the “new heavens and a new earth,” “wherein dwelleth righteousness.”—II Pet. 3:13

God’s response to sin provides a valuable and lasting lesson demonstrating the consequences of disobedience, thus ensuring that the mistakes of the past might not be repeated. In the future world, God’s response to righteousness will bring blessings, life, and peace.

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