God Chooses Noah to Save Mankind

Today I read Genesis 6 where God commands Noah to build the ark and to take 2 of every kind of animal. As I was reading the chapter today I started thinking about a few things. The first thing was how part of the problem was the children of the righteous not marrying in the covenant. They were turning their back on everything they had been taught and were going into the world instead of remaining true to the covenants their fathers had secured. It is the same danger that all people who marry someone not who does not believe in their faith endures. When we choose to date and finally marry someone who does not share our beliefs, it can cause friction and make life more challenging than it needs to be. And this goes for any religious belief, not just Latter-day Saints.

The second idea that I had as I read the scriptures this morning was, why did God kill all the animals too? The scriptures say that the earth was full of violence, does that include the animals too? Did the spirit of Satan and his influence infect the animals as well and they were choosing to go against the wishes of God and were behaving in ways that did not fulfill the measure of their creation? I truly do not know. But God doesn't do things like that just willy nilly, there was a reason behind it, of that you can be sure. We have explored the idea in the past that animals have agency just as we do and can choose to disobey God and follow Satan instead. I even once read an article that as a species that is what happened to the dinosaurs. It was a very interesting concept that's for sure. But the ultimate reason is we don't know exactly why God destroyed all the animals as well as all the people.

The third idea that came to my mind is related to the second. Why did God use a flood? I mean, he could easily have killed only the wicked the same way he killed all the first born in Egypt in the days of Moses. He could have caused a plague to kill only the humans and only the bad ones at that. So why a flood? For this one, I believe I have an answer and it comes from the Lord Himself. I will admit that I don't right at this moment remember who He was talking to, I think it was Enoch though, the Lord mentions that the earth had been baptized by water and in the last days would be baptized by fire, just as we all must be. I think that the earth, just like us, had to be baptized by water and her imperfections, mankind, needed to be washed away. And God knowing all things from the beginning, that this was as wicked as it was going to get until the last days, used this opportunity to baptize with water. That is just my theory anyway.

Whatever His reasons, God caused the flood and chose Noah, because of his righteousness, to save the human race and all the animals. I am very grateful that he listened to God and that through him we are all here today and have all these wonderful animals to enjoy in nature and in our homes. It is true that if it hadn't been Noah, it would have been someone else, but I still feel grateful that Noah heeded the call and did not frustrate the plans of God. Someday we will know the real reason why God did it the way He did it. And I suspect it will make perfect sense! Until tomorrow.