“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 24:38 Mean?
"For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark." Jesus compares the last days to the days before Noah's flood — not to highlight wickedness specifically, but to highlight normalcy. The people before the flood weren't doing anything obviously sinful in this verse. They were eating, drinking, getting married. Ordinary life. The problem wasn't what they were doing; it was what they weren't doing. They were completely oblivious to the judgment approaching.
The phrase "until the day" marks the sudden interruption of routine by divine intervention. Life felt permanent. The patterns felt stable. And then — suddenly — it wasn't. Jesus' warning isn't about the activities themselves but about the spiritual sleepwalking that allows people to live as though nothing is coming while everything is about to change.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'ordinary life' activities have gradually crowded God to the margins of your attention?
- 2.How do you stay spiritually alert when nothing dramatic seems to be happening?
- 3.What might God be building right now that you're treating as background noise?
- 4.Is there a difference between enjoying ordinary life and being dangerously absorbed by it — and where's the line?
Devotional
Eating, drinking, getting married. There's nothing wrong with any of that. These are good, ordinary, human things. And that's exactly Jesus' point. The danger of the last days isn't that people will be doing obviously terrible things. It's that they'll be so absorbed in ordinary life that they'll miss the extraordinary thing that's about to happen.
Noah's neighbors weren't partying while the ark was being built because they were rebels. They were busy because they were normal. They had dinner plans, wedding registrations, harvest schedules. The rhythm of ordinary life had so thoroughly captured their attention that a man building a massive boat in his front yard became background noise.
This is the most subtle form of spiritual danger — not dramatic rebellion, but quiet absorption. Not rejecting God outright, but letting the good things of life crowd him to the margins. Your calendar, your plans, your routines — none of them are wrong. But if they've made you functionally oblivious to what God is doing, you're in the same position as the people eating and drinking while Noah loaded the animals.
The flood didn't send out warnings. The ark was the warning, and people treated it as entertainment. What warnings might you be treating as background noise right now?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And knew not until the flood came,.... That is, they did not advert or give heed to what Noah said to them about it:…
For as in the days ... - The things mentioned here denote attention to the affairs of this life rather than to what was…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture