2Peter 3v9: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
This verse has been painted beautiful in my mind by the Bible and knowing the character of God. God indeed does not want anyone to perish and gives periods of repentance so that we may turn to him and “agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you” Job22v21.
So the story as I understand it starts with Cain. I heard a quote “the sin of the first man caused the second to kill the third”. Why? Cain was filled with envy so much that God told him that he was in a precarious position and asked him why he was sad. God even asked a question that he didn’t answer, he was asked if you do well won’t you be accepted? My thinking is he didn’t answer because he had made up his mind about killing his brother. He them went ahead and did it. From then you read of how he build a city (God made man a garden and man makes himself a city), you read of his genealogy with nothing much except that you are told of his descendant Lamech who also kills someone for wounding him. Incidentally, Tubal Cain Lamech’s son by Zillah starts making instruments of bronce and iron. Could these be the first weapons?
Cain’s lineage does not paint a clear positive picture. Cain later had a brother named Seth. Seth had a son Enosh and at that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. This seems like a new lineage different to one of Cain. This lineage is detailed with how old people lived and what ages they had children. Parenthetical thought: I still cant visualise people living that old but the point is people died, why cause of Adam’s obedience. At this point we meet Methuselah, whose name means “when he dies it will happen”. Methuselah is the longest living human being known. This is an important bit of information because you start to see the picture of God’s patience coming out clearer. Hold the thought of Methuselah being oldest living being.
As you read the story further, you encounter man’s depravity and rebellion against God. God’s heart was grieved bu man’s conduct because the thought of his heart was only evil continually. As a result God regretted that he made man and wanted to destroy them, but Noah found grace in God’s eyes because he was blameless in his generation. So God tells Noah to build an ark of gopher wood and gave him instructions of how to save animals. and when Noah was 600 years the flood came.
Now doing the maths from Gen 5 we realise that Methuselah was 393 when Noah his grandson was born. Add 600 years of Noah’s age when it started to rain, we get 969 years. That is the year Methuselah died. Methuselah’s name means “when he dies it will happen”, and the flood was that event that happened. How patient is God that he would wait so long, giving people a chance to repent but they would not. We usually teach Noah’s story as a kids story and we need to go further and highlight God’s patient in dealing with us. This type of patience is divine, wonderful, beautiful, holy and stirs up my heart and makes me bold to share God’s patience more. This longsuffering of God is beyond my mind and is seen with the heart. Let us not take it for granted.
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? Romans 2v4
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