Noah’s Story
Because of your desire to see Muslims grow spiritually, Noah’s Story has been translated into 19 Muslim languages.
What if you didn’t know why God flooded the earth?
The earth was ruined in the sight of God; the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful. (Genesis 6:11-12, NET)
The last word in the quote above, "sinful," is a translation of the Hebrew expression, "had corrupted its way." In other words, though God had created humanity with the capacity to worship Him and reflect his character, they had created a society that went the opposite direction. Humanity no longer desired healthy relationships with one another, and individuals thought only of selfish achievement through the oppression and abuse of others.
The verse above says that the earth "was ruined"—it had become corrupt. When Cain murdered Abel in Genesis 4, the blood of that act of violence tainted the ground and bore witness to it. "The blood of your brother cries out to me," says God. As humanity replicated this murderous act, violence became characteristic of the human race.
God flooded the earth to cleanse it—to wash away the blood that evidenced humanity's corruption and restored their God-given potential for virtue and goodness.