Why Did God Flood The Earth?

The idea that God flooded the world is well-known. But did God really do it? If so, why did God flood the earth? I believe you came here for the answer to that particular question, and I'm here to offer some insights.

A few years ago, I felt the need to consider some controversial discussions surrounding the flood story, especially the one recorded in the Bible. This was because I was preparing for potential arguments against the event, as I believed it happened. I looked at the discussion about dinosaurs and the Ark of Noah, considering whether or not they entered the ark, survived the flood, or what happened to them. So, what did I find?

I encountered a platform called Answers In Genesis, where I learned the explanation that dinosaurs made it onto the Ark as young creatures, allowing for their accommodation. Initially, I was excited by that information and shared it with a brother. But upon further reflection, I wonder how they know that. Eventually, this exploration led me to reconsider a more fundamental question: why was there a flood in the first place?

For our discussion, we'll consider the events in the story leading to the flood. While that still won't tell us if dinosaurs made it onto the Ark, it will help us explore whether God truly flooded the world. Our primary focus, however, will be on the question: why did God flood the earth? Let's start with the question of whether God did.

Did God Flood The Earth?

Generally, if I were to randomly pick a number of people to answer the question, Did God flood the world? I believe the answers will differ for individual reasons. Many would say, “Yes, God did,” while a few might object. Their reasons would be influenced largely by their view of the source of the flood story, and the scientific facts about the Earth.

Did God flood the earth? According to the Bible, Yes, God flooded the earth. But considering the nature of the flood, even those who believe God did, differ on what he did. Did he flood the whole earth or a particular region within a specific timeframe? Most people would opt for the global flood, interpreting the scriptural claim to support that kind of flood.

However, scientifically, there's currently no evidence to support the claim that a global flood ever happened within the geological timeframe drawn from the biblical account of Noah's Ark and the flood. Geological formations and sediment formation, radiometric dating, fossil sorting, among other findings, suggest the contrary. The logical and logistic impossibilities of sustaining all species in an Ark for a period of one year and absence of a global flood layer further support reconsideration for this claim. Based on the observable evidence (and lack thereof), it is more likely that there were regional floods at different times in history. Therefore, a global flood, as described, would be unlikely from a scientific perspective.

Also, there are other flood stories that parallel the biblical flood narratives and are perhaps much older. For instance, the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Epic of Atrahasis, generally considered to be regional flood events in Mesopotamia. It is considerably true that the biblical flood narratives could have been drawn from these flood myths.

However, we can agree that, according to the Bible, God did flood the earth. Whether this flood story describes a global or regional event remains subject to personal interpretations among believers that affirm the biblical account. Now that we've considered whether God did flood the earth, let's get into the Bible and find out why God flooded the earth. How about that?

Why Did God Flood the Earth?

Genesis 6 opens up with the idea that men began to have daughters and gave them out for marriage, even to ones identified as “the sons of God,” leading to an increase in the population. With such increase came increased acts of wickedness, and God, seeing what happened, appeared worried. We will use the New American Standard Bible (NASB) for this exploration. 

Genesis 6:3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

Genesis 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

According to the narrative, the wickedness of man and the evil thoughts of his heart troubled God so much that he regretted creating man and felt really disappointed. I'm not exaggerating; I'm simply trying to communicate the idea the narrative is passing across in simple terms. Yes, it appears anthropomorphic, but it's also describing a certain reality within the story. This very reactionary act in Genesis 6:6 was a setup for subsequent actions that God took.

Genesis 6:7 The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”

This reminds me of how many people feel sorry about their existence and those of others. If you ever feel regrets for being here, according to the Bible, God first felt that way. But the good thing is that you could find someone that would give you a reason to keep living. For God, it seems that person was Noah. The Bible says, “But Noah found favor in the sight of God.” God found the man called Noah to be useful in bringing about a new face after he (God) successfully carried out his intention to bring about destruction. Today, the same destruction is viewed by many as the typology of a future destruction that God would bring eventually. Back to Noah.

According to the scriptures, Noah was a righteous man who worked with God and was blameless in his time. He has three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. With the scriptural emphasis on how the earth was corrupt in God's sight, God decided to communicate with Noah.

Genesis 6:13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

Genesis 6:14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.

Genesis 6:15 This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

Genesis 6:16 You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.

Genesis 6:17 Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.

Hold on. There are a number of things I'd like to point out here.

• God told Noah his intention.

• God told Noah to build an ark and instructed him on how to go about it.

• I read the instruction to make a window of one cubit for the Ark. Ok. That should be for the bird (see Gen. 8:6), but how about breeding and breathing?

• Finally, God announced the destruction of all flesh on the earth would be by a flood of water.

• Now, this really sounds like a global flood.

And that leads to the question, Why did God flood the earth? But let me note that the structure of the destruction was specifically to take out those living things that existed on the earth; the Ark enabled Noah, his sons, their wives, and the animals with them to be above the earth at the time of the destruction. I think that was a salvific idea God gave to Noah: “I'm making a covenant with you and yours, so, do this and stay above, while I destroy those below.”

And so, in Genesis 7, it is written that God rained water on the earth for 40 days and nights, and flooded it, while Noah, his family, and the animals in the Ark survived, floating on the surface of the water. Noah was six hundred years old when the earth was flooded with water. Every living thing on the earth was taken out by the flood. While that's a powerful story, it has led many, myself included, to question the nature of such a God. What justification does he have to offer? Is it simply because he is God, as some say, or is there something tangible to reason with?

Why did God flood the earth? According to the Bible, there was continued evil in man's heart, and that would be a reason for the great wickedness that was on the earth. But some people offer that as the reason for the flood. I promise to offer you a very simple answer, which isn't the evil in man's heart. However, let's consider something very interesting.

I listened to a preacher who said the reason why God flooded the earth was to give man the radiotherapy for survival. The analogy he offered supposed the people that were destroyed by the flood were cancerous and their destruction was for the better. How true. Why didn't God make them pass out in their sleep? Perhaps that would be painless and wouldn't make a powerful story, would it?

When people ask, What about fire? It is said that the flood was better because water is life; the aftermath of the flood enabled plants to grow on the earth. While that sounds like something, God didn't think of the future destruction by flood to be a good idea but regretted doing it in the first place. He even promised not to destroy the earth by flood again. So, why did God promise not to flood the earth again? Don't you think God knows best?

The reason God flooded the earth was God's decision. He decided to do it. Yes, the Bible clearly states that point. Human wickedness and evil thoughts were factors leading to the decision, but it was ultimately his choice that sealed the deal. However, there are those who assume God had hidden reasons (such as stopping the people at the time from increasing their evil to affect other generations) to avoid acknowledging God's own self-initiative. Some even go as far as saying there could have been no children at the time to avoid the absurdity of their God deleting innocent children for God knows why. Therein lies the challenge to reconcile a moral dilemma with the problem of evil.

If God intended to end the wickedness and evil in man's heart, then it appears that he failed to achieve that with the flood story. Perhaps he destroyed the people by flood to set a premise for another destruction (by fire) that he would bring about, to depopulate and repopulate the earth, and to give us an interesting story to talk about. As the popular saying goes, “What God cannot do does not exist.” Feel free to share your thoughts.