Luke 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
This passage of scripture describes in detail the activities that the people in Noah's day were engaged in, before the flood came and swept them all away. The same daily routine was also followed by the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, before their twin cities were suddenly destroyed by fire and brimstone from heaven. It's worthy of note that none of the activities that are here mentioned by Christ are wrong in and of themselves, for it is good and necessary to eat and drink, and building homes and other necessary structures are activities that the saved will also engage in. Furthermore, marrying and giving in marriage is not only right, but is also commanded by God, it being the foundation of all society. Let's read:
Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
So the question is what went wrong that caused God to bring a flood of water upon the earth to destroy all flesh, and what could possibly have been the problem in the days of Lot that resulted in fire and brimstone being rained from heaven? There are several answers to these questions, among which is the tendency of human beings to take that which is lawful and right to excess. Too much of a good thing is just as bad as a little of that which is not good, and that's just one of the issues that went completely out of control in the days of Noah and Lot. They drank and ate to excess with no regards to sound judgment or the knowledge of God, and even when The Spirit of God pleaded with them through their consciences to reason from cause to effect, they plunged themselves all the more into intemperate habits. Let's read:
Genesis 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 "And they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh" ....5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Another problem that surfaced in those days was that of perverting the marriage institution which was ordained by God, and beginning with the practice of polygamy, the inhabitants of the earth went on to pervert marriage in ways too appalling to mention, and because of these soul-destroying indulgences, that which was originally ordained by God as a blessing, was then turned into a curse. Let's read:
Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
But the Bible predicts that the same situations and worse will occur in the last days of earth's history, in which we are now living, and we are seeing with our own eyes from day to day, very strange developments and grave departures from that which God has laid down as laws and instructions for us to live by. In our day the unrestrained indulgence in eating and drinking has resulted in an epidemic of deadly diseases that are responsible for the daily loss of life, more than all terrorist activities combined. Those who are dying from eating the wrong types of food in unreasonable amounts, number in the millions, and it is now an undisputed fact that more marriages end in divorce than those that are sustained over a lifetime, as God originally intended.
In our day and in our own experience, it is important for us to let blessings be blessings, by not only doing that which is right, but also doing it temperately so that the blessings God had originally intended for us might be ours, to benefit and up-build. The practice of eating snacks constantly between meals, or nibbling on chocolate and candy at work, just because they are available and free, is productive of the most pernicious results, because the entire digestive system is being forced to carry a constant load with no intervals of rest in between, and because of this, its efficiency in processing and handling food is greatly diminished. This then leads to a plethora of evil side effects such as faintness, lack of energy, exhaustion, insomnia, diabetes, liver problems and a host of other digestive disorders, which bring upon us and our children, unnecessary evils and premature death.
The general rule of thumb to be followed by the Christian is to avoid anything that is harmful and to use judiciously only that which is good, for when this rule is adopted and implemented, the blessings of God rest upon our heads, and His name is honored and glorified in our lives. We therefore end with two passages of scripture which encourage us to exercise sound judgment based on scripture, in whatsoever we eat, drink or do, for why should we die before our time when God has promised to the obedient, length of days and good health? Let's read:
1st Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
1st Corinthians 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!