Numbers 23:19 says “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”(NKJV)

When we look into the verse in Genesis 8:21 it is written

“Then the LORD said in His heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.’”

But then Luke 17:26-29 says,

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, ………….., and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, …..but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.”

These verses seems to contradict each other,throwing a confusing thought regarding the certainty of God’s promise… Needs clarification! —Mary P.

Hello Mary,

Consider a bit more of the Genesis passage:

And the LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:21-22 (NASB77)

The destruction of the world during the flood was total, for the water was everywhere upon the Earth. Had the water not receded, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter would all have been things of the past. While the destruction of Sodom had been total, life on the rest of the Earth was pretty much unaffected.

Regarding Jesus’ use of both events in Luke, consider how he began:

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Luke 17:20-21 (NASB77)

This whole situation arose in response to the Pharisees’ request as to when the Kingdom of God would come. Of course, behind their words was a rejection of the one who had come. They were looking for some kind of fanfare. After all, how could something so monumental occur without signs. But had they known the Scriptures and the power of God, they would have known that earth-shattering events had come about while the people were going about their every day business:

“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26-27 (NASB77)

That Jesus used both events to emphasize his meaning did not make the destruction of Sodom a contradiction to what God said after the flood.

I hope this helps.

Jim