Summer At Sea: Week 1 Day 1
I love Summer! One of the main reasons I enjoy this season is the water. Swimming, boating, fishing, and just taking in the beauty of the beach make summer a delight. However, as inviting and refreshing as water can be, it also can be overwhelming and even dangerous.
We study the word of God, the Bible, because it is the way God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. The bible is full of metaphors, symbolism, and events involving water. In these stories, God shows us aspects of His character. We see His power, goodness, provision, protection, and redemption through these stories. By immersing ourselves in God’s word, we can know Him better. As you study each day, pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will give you understanding through His Holy Spirit and will teach you how to know God and make Him known.
Time to dive into the Word and enjoy a Summer at Sea!
*You will notice that certain portions of Scripture are included in different translations. These choices were intentionally made by the devotions writers to emphasize specific word choices and underscore devotional points. We trust that the Word of God is active and working, no matter the translation, so dive on in.
Genesis 6:1-6 (ESV)
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
Genesis chapter 6 begins with a description of the state of things on the earth after creation and the fall of humanity, but before the flood. It is summed up in Genesis 6:5 where God looked at the heart of mankind and saw that it was all evil. This is a bigger deal than we might think; the ancient Hebrews did not have a concept of the brain so when they used the word “heart,” they meant it not only in the physical sense, but also in the intellectual sense. The heart was also where emotions were felt and where choices were made based on desires. The heart was the all-encompassing center of a person. If you’re interested, the Bible Project has a video explaining this even better.
In Genesis 6:6, we read that when God saw the evil of the hearts of men and the wickedness filling the earth because of it, His heart was grieved. This description of the state of God’s heart is fascinating when you really ponder it. It makes sense that God would be sad and angry, but these feelings crossed over into grief. In this moment, the gap between what is and what used to be, or was meant to be, was enormous.
Even though this is before the flood killed almost every living thing on earth, I wonder if the author wanted us to realize that man was already dead in his sin?