Genesis 6:13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence [Hamas] through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Psalms 11:5 The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence [Hamas].
2 Peter 2:5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
If these really are the “Days of Noah,” we would expect to see a world filled with increasing violence. The Hebrew for “violence” is “Hamas”(חָמָס), by coincidence, the name of the terrorist organization Israel has been fighting for decades. And simply perusing my news briefs in recent years gives abundant evidence for the conclusion that this terrible season is well underway. Noah’s day was filled with violence and also false witness, which is a second meaning for the word “Hamas” [e.g., Deut. 19:16; Psalm 35:11]; violence and lies, then and now…
What greater test for individuals and communities of righteousness could there be but days like these? “The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence, (and false witness)”; [hamas]. How often do we need to hear it, “your faith is being, will be, tested”? [1 Peter 4:12] Yeshua (Jesus) was tested in the wilderness, for 40 days, and by the devil himself, and we read that there was no violence (Hamas) found in Him, nor any deceit in his mouth [Isaiah 53:9]. If it was necessary for the Messiah Himself to be tested, should it be strange for us to be so subjected?
Noah was also tested while he built and preached during those dark days. There must have been plenty of mocking and false witnesses circulating throughout the violent community surrounding him. It is the same today, with Hamas– the media portraying any report given by terrorists as fact. Indeed, we too, are surrounded by false witnesses seeking to provoke and fill the world with violence.
Noah was called a “preacher of righteousness” in a violent world. Yeshua was surrounded by false witnesses, and yet “Hamas” was not found in Him. It can be done. God doesn’t test us to prove we will fail and succumb to this wicked generation. He tests us to build faith and transform our character [James 1:2-4]. We can prove the authenticity of Yeshua in this violent and deceitful age, if we stand the testing intended to transform us. And then, both our lives and our words will be the message in the present Days of Noah.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
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In the parable of the unmerciful servant, the servant mistakenly thought that he could demand justice from another servant all the while asking mercy for himself from the king. When the king found out about this servant’s awful behavior, he became enraged and said to him “You wicked servant, I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to; couldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”
I read a story about a new young partner in a law firm. The senior partners had set extremely high standards and had coached him carefully. He did well in some minor trials but he lost his first big case. When the partners reviewed the trial, they pointed out his errors and suggested different strategies. Even with all their critique, he lost the next big one. He felt terrible. Were they ready to give him the boot?
As Scotland was declaring its independence from England in the 1300’s, the English were hunting for Robert Bruce of Scotland in an attempt to prevent his accession to the Scottish throne. In the search, the English put Bruce’s own bloodhounds on his trail. As they grew closer to apprehending him, Robert the Bruce found a small river, and he said to his foster-brother who was with him, “Let us wade down this stream for a great way, instead of going straight across, and so these unhappy hounds will lose the scent; for if we were once clear of them, I should not be afraid of getting away from the pursuers.”
The first man was called “Ah-dom”, we know him as “Adam”. The word used for “man”, as in “mankind”, in Genesis 1, is also the same word – “Ah-dom”. “Ah-dom” is rooted in the three Hebrew letters, aleph-dalet-mem, and one of the Hebrew words for earth is “Adamah”, which contains the same three letters, however it ends with the Hebrew letter “hay”. “Adamah” means “red earth”, or “red clay”, and this word points to the natural earth elements, the “earth dust” that composed Adam’s body, and the body of every human being since. “Man” is “ah-dom”, in a very real sense, “clay”.
There are two kinds of birds that roam the desert: vultures and hummingbirds. The vulture thrives on a diet of rotting meat. He flies overhead searching for traces of leftover carcasses from slow-footed critters eaten by wild animals who’ve already had their fill.
In Biblical Hebrew, the verb tenses are not like our “past”, “present”, and “future” – there are only two: “perfect” and “imperfect”. The “imperfect” tense is that which is not yet, not done, or not completed. The “perfect” is that which is done, complete and finished.
In 2nd Samuel Chapter 9 we read of the story of King David and Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan and the grandson of the first king of Israel, King Saul. After Jonathan’s death, David went forth to show kindness to Saul’s house. Mephibosheth had become lame at the young age of five — he had lived his entire life as a cripple.