Reboot.

** from order to disorder

I love new computers and new phones. They are clean, fast, uncorrupted. Over time with the introductions of more apps/programs, viruses and large amounts of data and downloads, they can get pretty mucked up. That is when I do a “factory reset”

DEFINE that from a tech manufacturer (apple? Samsung?)

We started our journey on the mission of God by looking at the original design; the divine blueprint for mankind and creation.

All of life exists to declare the supremacy of God.

In the beginning God created…. and it was good. As a matter of fact, at the end of six days of creation this is the declaration:

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day. // CSB

Creation was powerfully good. Very good. Extremely good. That is where we started.

By the time we get

Adam 130

· Seth 105

Seth 105

Enosh 90

Kenan 70

Mahalalel 65

Jared 162

Enoch 65

Methuselah 185 (died about 85 years before the flood)

Lamech 182 (died about 15 years before the flood)

Noah was around 500 years old when God declared the wickedness of mankind.

10 generations and 1,554 years from the creation of Adam. The flood happened when Noah was 600 years old, so that would be approx. 1,664 years after creation.

[wow… just noticed that the line of Cain has NO reference to years. Does not matter as they are wiped out, I guess?!]

But then there is a reality check:

5 When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, 6 the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved. 7 Then the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” 8 Noah, however, found favor with the Lord. // CSB

Wickedness was widespread

Every inclination of the heart evil

God regretted, 2 times

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with wickedness. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth was, for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth. 13 Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth. // CSB

o Earth was corrupt

o Earth was filled with wickedness

o Earth is filled with wickedness

o I will destroy earth

So, God wipes out mankind, all except Noah.

· Approx. 100 years building the ark

· The ark, according to some calculations of a cubit, would have been approximately 1,518,750 cubic feet. Our building is about 32,000 – you could fit about 47 of our building INSIDE the ark!

o NOTE: there is a life size version of the ark in the US and it is the largest wooden structure on the planet.

· 40 days of rain

· The flood surge continued 150 days until the highest mountains were covered by 20 feet

· NN days in the ark waiting for things to recede

· NN days TOTAL from the initial rain until the day they can walk on dry ground again.

15 Then God spoke to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, those that crawl on the earth—and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah, along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, came out. 19 All the animals, all the creatures that crawl, and all the flying creatures—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ark by their families. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took some of every kind of clean animal and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, he said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of human beings, even though the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth onward. And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done. 22 As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.” // CSB

Then, in chapter 9 we have the reset:

1 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. 3 Every creature that lives and moves will be food for you; as I gave the green plants, I have given you everything. 4 However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. 5 And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood; I will require it from any animal and from any human; if someone murders a fellow human, I will require that person’s life. 6 Whoever sheds human blood, by humans his blood will be shed, for God made humans in his image. 7 But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.” // CSB

Does this sound familiar? God says, I made you in my image. GO and take my image to the ends of the earth. Honor me. Hold life sacred for I am the giver of life and mankind is valuable because men and women were made in the Image of God.

Man is given dominion and not may also eat meat as well as plants. Animals will fear humans and capital punishment is instituted for any animal or human that takes the life of a human.

Noah was a part of the first and only global reset. If God wiped out everyone that was evil and only kept the good people, that would make everyone after that good, right? Isn’t that why we reset things? For a clean start so things run well?

· Reset our modems

· Reset our phones

· God reset mankind

It does not take long, and man messes up.

Noah gets drunk

Noah’s son (ham) dishonors him.

Family relationships continue to get strained.

Eventually, mankind wants to replace God with accomplishment and industry. God temporarily avoids this by scattering them at the towel of Babel.

This spiraling of mankind, to be rebuked and cursed, spared and then to fall again, is the unavoidable pattern. God’s conclusion is, “I cannot do a reset because the heart of man is constantly evil.” He would have to wipe all of us out, but that is not his passion. He created us. He loves us. He made us with a purpose.

Our culture wrestles with the idea that a loving God would allow evil or bad things to happen. Yet, if God were to do away with all that is evil He would have to wipe all of us out. Even a reset with just good people is not enough.

The inclination of man’s heart is evil all the time.

It is a loving God that continues to pursue a fallen, broken humanity in an effort to restore them to their original glory. It is a loving God that has created a way for blessing and contentment. It is a wicked society that demands that it be accomplished our way instead of God’s way.