1,656 Years

You, O Lord,
are a God
full of compassion,
and gracious,
Longsuffering
and abundant
in mercy and truth.
~ Psalm 86:15 ~

1,056 years separate God’s creation of Adam and the birth of Noah. Genesis 1 through 6 gives enough of a lens into the general character of humans, that if nothing else were written, you would know all you need to about our base nature apart from God. It does so more through what isn’t said than what is. We humans like to live autonomously. We like to make our own decisions and we chaff against anything that would usurp that power. Whether we live in Eden or Sodom, our general disposition derives from the thirst within us that wants to rule our own existence.

Noah comes in to the narrative at the end of Genesis 5. We are told that he finds favor with God, but we’re also told that “ALL flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” That’s pretty comprehensive. So God, having had enough of our antics, launched a massive, one time do-over. Noah was 600 years old when the flood came. When it was over, a remnant of 8 people remained to propagate the entire planet.

Want to know who we are; what makes us tick? In 1,656 years of humankinds existence (from creation to the flood), scripture speaks of only 2 humans…….just 2 that break out of the mold of egocentricity. We do hear that in the days of Enosh (Adam’s grandson), humans began to call upon the name of the Lord. But only Enoch and Noah are mentioned as men who “walked with God.” That’s it.

I marvel at this: God foreknew, that of the masses who would populate the earth pre-flood, 2 would be worth mentioning. He knew He would be heart-broken that He created mankind. He knew………and He created anyway. Why?

There is no place within my psyche can that can comprehend why anyone would knowingly move toward such heartache. But God did. WHY? All I know is that it pleased Him to do so.  He wanted to love men and women and offer them the chance to love Him.

The cavern between the depth of the love of God and the shortsighted selfish nature within me is immeasurable. It pleased God to bridge that cavern, so that I might come to Him.

“Such knowledge
is too wonderful for me;
it is high;
I cannot attain it.”
~ Psalm 139:6 ~