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, the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved. 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.” Noah, however, found favor with the Lord (Genesis 6:5-8, CSB).

Sixteen hundred years after Adam and Eve’s initial act of corruption the moral and spiritual condition of humanity had declined to the extent that God was ready to destroy His creation–or at least the part of it that breathed.

But, to gain the full impact of the story of Noah’s ark, it is helpful to understand some of the wordplay between the creation story and the flood story.

The Hebrew word, ruach, translated as “breath” is a versatile term in Hebrew and can be translated as “breath,” “wind,” or “spirit,” depending on the context. In the creation story God created all the “breathing” creatures on the sixth day. The wildlife, birds, and ground creatures that populated the earth were described as having the “breath of life” (Genesis 1:30). God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into him and he became a living being (Genesis 2:7).

Now, in Genesis 6:17 God is ready to destroy all His creation that has the “breath of life” and similarly, after the flood, “Everything with the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils—everything on dry land died” (Genesis 7:22, CSB).

This Hebrew wordplay using ruach underscored the comprehensive nature of the planned destruction, affecting all living beings that were created with the breath of life. In the creation story ruach is associated with the divine act of giving life to humanity. In the flood story, ruach is associated with the impending destruction of life due to divine judgment. In the creation story, the giving of ruach is selective to humanity. In the flood story, the destruction is comprehensive, affecting all creatures with the breath of life.

There is another notable wordplay at work in the flood story with the Hebrew word for “destroy” in vs. 6:13. It is the same as the Hebrew word for “corrupt” in 6:11-12. In other words, because human beings had corrupted the earth with wickedness so God would corrupt (destroy) them.

So, God decided to destroy all the air-breathing creatures of His corrupted creation and start over with the human race. God decided in Genesis 6-7 to uncreate His creation of Genesis 1-2–or at least that part of it that was corrupted.

God’s act of uncreation by flooding the earth was, really, a story of redemption for humanity and all the breathing creatures of the earth. In spite of the corruption that pervaded humanity , God still found humanity worth saving.

“Noah found favor with the Lord” (vs. 6:8) and God redeemed humanity through the bloodline of the uncorrupted Noah and his family and all the creatures on the ark.

There’s a constant theme that runs through all the pages of the Bible–your salvation is always God’s plan. Whether it’s flood, captivity or even tribulation, God’s intention is for your redemption!

By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11:7, CSB)