Kwestin From Reader
Genesis 6:3 sei: “Bae mi no patient witim olketa man for olowe. Olketa day bilong hem bae kasem wan handred and twenti year.” Waswe, datwan minim Jehovah letem olketa man savve laef go kasem 120 year nomoa? and waswe, Noah preach for 120 year bifor Flood kam?
Ansa bilong tufala kwestin hem nomoa.
Bifor Flood kam, pipol savve laef for staka handred year. Noah hem 600 year taem Flood kam, and hem dae taem hem 950 year. (Gen. 7:6; 9:29) Samfala wea born bihaen long Flood laef for winim 120 year. Arpachshad dae taem hem 438 year and Shelah dae taem hem 433 year. (Gen. 11:10-15) Bat long taem bilong Moses, staka pipol savve laef for 70 or 80 year nomoa. (Ps. 90:10) So toktok long Genesis 6:3 no minim olketa man savve laef for 120 year nomoa.
So waswe, God talem datfala toktok long Genesis 6:3 long Noah, for warnim pipol hao bihaen 120 year hem bae mekem Flood kam? Nomoa. Hem tru, God story witim Noah staka taem. Genesis 6:13 sei: “God sei long Noah: ‘From pipol long world barava raf tumas, bae mi finisim evri samting wea laef.’ ” Long olketa year bihaen, Noah hem finis for wakem ark, and long datfala taem “Jehovah sei long Noah: ‘Iu and famili bilong iu mas go insaed long ark.’ ” (Gen. 7:1) And Jehovah story witim Noah abaotem samfala nara important samting tu.—Gen. 8:15; 9:1, 8, 17.
Bat Genesis 6:3 no storyim Noah and hem no sei God story kam long hem. Toktok long datfala scripture hem olsem God talemaot nomoa plan bilong hem or wanem hem disaed for duim. (Markem witim Genesis 8:21.) Bifor God wakem Adam, staka taem scripture sei: “God hem tok olsem.” (Gen. 1:6, 9, 14, 20, 24) Long datfala taem, Jehovah no story long eniwan long earth bikos hem no wakem eni man yet.
So long Genesis 6:3, God talemaot nomoa disison bilong hem for finisim olketa nogud pipol long earth. So long datfala taem, Jehovah talemaot hem bae duim datwan long 120 year bihaen, bat Noah no savve long datfala plan. Bat why nao Jehovah markem datfala taem? Why nao hem disaed for weit firstaem?
Aposol Peter sei: “God hem patient long pipol long taem wea Noah gohed for wakem ark and hem sevem eitfala pipol nomoa long wata.” (1 Pet. 3:20) Tru tumas, taem God markem datfala 120 year, hem laekem samfala samting for happen firstaem. Samting olsem 20 year bihaen God talem datfala toktok, Noah and waef bilong hem garem olketa pikinini. (Gen. 5:32; 7:6) Taem thrifala son bilong Noah big, olketa marit. So “eitfala” nao long famili bilong Noah. Then olketa mas wakem ark, wea hem bigfala waka for famili bilong Noah wea no staka. Tru tumas, from God patient for 120 year datwan mekem Noah garem taem for duim olketa samting hia and for eitfala pipol wea faithful for stap ‘sef long wata.’
Bible no talem wanem year nao Jehovah story long Noah abaotem taem wea Flood bae kam. From olketa pikinini bilong Noah big finis and olketa marit, luk olsem 40 or 50 year stap yet bifor Flood kam. Long datfala taem Jehovah sei long Noah: “Bae mi finisim evri samting wea laef.” Hem talem Noah tu for wakem wanfala big ark and for hem and famili bilong hem go insaed. (Gen. 6:13-18) Noah showimaot gudfala example long olketa year bihaen and hem “preach abaotem olketa stretfala samting” tu. Hem warnim pipol God bae finisim olketa wea no followim standard bilong God. Noah no savve wanem year nao Flood bae kam, bat hem savve hem bae kam. And iu tu savve Flood hem kam.—2 Pet. 2:5.