The Natural Man on the New Earth

The Natural Man on the New Earth
>>>>> Read Genesis 9:1 – 11:8 <<<<<

The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.1Cor. 2:14

In the pre-flood days of Noah, man was governed by his own conscience. In those days, God did not regulate or interfere with the ways of the world; instead, He allowed things to progress according to the desires of men’s hearts. Unfortunately, the heart of man was not inclined to seek God. However, God did set men apart to demonstrate His ways and to represent Himself to the defiant world (men such as Abel, Enoch and Noah). These ‘righteous’ men are written into the pages of Scripture in a way that deliberately sets them in contrast to those who are unrighteous.

When we see men set apart in Scripture, we should pay close attention – not so much to the men themselves – but more importantly, to what God is doing and how He is doing it. Most of the time, the men and women God calls for His special purposes are flawed in obvious ways. We will become confused or misled if we focus on them; we can only mature spiritually as we grow in our understanding of God Himself. Keep in mind that the people He uses are secondary to His purposes.

In Chapter 9, Noah proves himself to be one of those flawed men. In many ways, his life parallels the life of Adam. Both men were told to ‘be fruitful and multiply’ and both were given a dominion over the earth. Dominion for Adam was illustrated by naming the animals and managing their care. Noah’s dominion was embodied in his power over the animals, in that they would serve his need for food. The last parallel is a sad one: both Adam and Noah have shame in common – each man required a covering due to shameful weakness and failure.

God’s only instructions to Adam – the representative head of creation in his day – were ‘do not eat of this tree’ and ‘be fruitful and multiply.’ Following Adam’s sin, corruption reigned and unrestrained violence became commonplace on the earth. Noah was made the representative of human government; God instructed him in the area of restraint of men’s conduct. First, mankind was to fill the earth – he was not to congregate in one place – instead he was to spread out over the whole earth. Secondly, although men were now allowed to kill animals for food, they were not to kill their fellow man. God brings man under His own protection when He says, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.” By this, God elevated a man’s position in the eyes of other men – human life should be sacred to man because it is sacred to God. The third directive was that man should not consume the blood of animals, for ‘the life is in the blood’ (and God does not give life to man through any blood apart from that of the Savior). These are the mandates Noah received to govern the renewed earth.

The Spirit of God wastes no time showing us Noah’s failure to govern. We find him drunk in his tent where he is dishonored when Ham publicized the fact that his father was ‘uncovered.’ Ham was a man who did not understand that his sin is covered; he had no thoughts of God’s mercy. Shem and Japheth exhibit the divine method of dealing with human nakedness – their action illustrates acceptance of God’s covering for man’s sinfulness.

Noah cursed Ham, and his legacy became an extension of Cain’s corrupt, rebellious line. His descendants built cities such as Babylon, Nineveh, Sodom and Gomorrah – but the first notable city was the well-known city of Babel. Chapter 11 gives an account of this city-building project – and the whole process gives us a picture of the man without God. First, they journeyed all together and settled in one place instead of scattering over all the earth as God had commanded them to do. Then the builders used man-made materials (bricks and tar) rather than stones and mortar from the earth. Next, they plotted to make a tower to reach up to heaven – an ancient ziggurat (used in idolatry) like the ones in Assyria and Babylonia. Once again, God intervened.

He knew there was nothing they could not accomplish if they stuck together. This is exactly what they planned – in defiance of God’s directive to fill the whole earth – they were going to stick together and conduct their lives as if they had never heard of God. The Creator of the universe meant nothing to them; they were going to make a name for themselves.

God foiled their plan and scattered them out over the face of the globe. He remembered His covenant of mercy – what else would keep Him from decimating the earth and every person on it? God knows the heart of man and will entrust nothing to him; His covenant is the only sure ground upon which man can stand. God desires for mankind to be fruitful – He longs to have many children who will experience His abundance and His love, therefore He will continue to give “seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night” (Gen. 8:22). LJ 7/09