Genesis 7:1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. 9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
The day before the flood was just like any other day, for God continued to provide the necessities of life for the doomed race even after their probation was permanently closed. The sun came up as usual and fruit trees were laden with fruit for man and beast, and birds sang their favorite songs and the clear blue skies spoke of nothing but serenity and tranquility. Absolutely nothing changed for God does not change, and He continues to love the sinner right up until the day of their destruction, if the necessary repentance and changes are not made.
This fact about God's consistency in showing loving-kindness often leads many people to take His goodness for granted, and some even go to further lengths to ridicule the idea of coming judgements. This predicament that we often find ourselves in is described in the scriptures as presumption and should be avoided under all circumstances like the plague. Let's read:
Ecclesiastes 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: 13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
Because God is merciful and takes no delight in the death of the sinner, His character of love is often mistaken as license to do evil, and therefore, as the above passage correctly states, the majority of people erroneously conclude that God is too good to destroy, and so we often go deeper and deeper into sin until His judgments are manifest.
One of the greatest realizations that we can come to about God is that His character is fair and balanced, for He is merciful and kind, but He is also fair and just, and so with this balanced view of Him, we are saved from pushing the envelope of God's grace into the red zone, where His judgments then become necessary.
In our day, just as in days gone by, God continues to provide for our every need, even though we are now teaching that He did not create us. In our educational systems we have banished Him, and the thoughts and concepts of God which abound today, do a great disservice to present and future generations. Yet God, faithful to His every word and promise, continues to supply all of our needs from day to day, and so we must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of the Antediluvians, by making light of His promise of coming judgments. The teachings of infidels and those who mock and scorn at the idea of God's destructive power are symptoms of the days in which we live, and therefore, as Christians, we should avoid as far as possible the snare of falling into this error. Let's read:
1st Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
May the lessons of the past be as beacons of light for the future, for God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. God bless!