How did the world fall to such depths that Hashem decided to destroy it, sparing only Noach and his family?
The Ketav Sofer traces the origins of this process back to Noach's name.
When Noach was born, his father – Lemech – declared: זה ינחמנו ממעשנו ומעצבון ידינו מן האדמה אשר אררה ה' – "This one shall console us from our work and the sorrow of our hands because of the land which was cursed by G-d" (5:29). Rashi explains that Noach invented farming tools which made farming easier and more efficient.
Before Noach's time, people would just drop seeds on the ground and hope for the best. Noach invented the plow, which ensured that the seeds would penetrate the ground, take root, and grow. Farming became far more successful.
The Ketav Sofer writes that this invention had the effect of distancing the people from Hashem. Until then, they realized full well that their success and good fortune depended on Hashem. But with the invention of the new tools, they felt confident and self-assured. They no longer saw themselves as dependent on Hashem, and this led them to act as they wished, without any restraint.
No matter what we do, no matter how good we are at what we do, no matter what kind of skills, talents and resources we have, we must never forget that we depend on Hashem. Nothing we do can ever succeed without His assistance.
Of course, this does not mean we can just sit back and relax, waiting for Him to do the job for us. Not at all.
The Midrash speaks of how Noach worked tirelessly throughout the year spent on the ark, running around feeding all the animals. The Torah tells, וישאר אך נח – "Only Noach remained" (7:23), and Rashi brings a Midrash that explains this to mean that Noach was barely alive. He was exhausted and worn from the hard work he had to invest to keep the animals alive.
Hashem arranged it this way because if the world was going to be rebuilt, it would need hard work and effort. He could not allow Noach to relax and take things easy, because Noach was charged with the responsibility of rebuilding – and this would require a considerable amount of exertion.
And this is true of all of us. We are not here to relax and take it easy. We are here to work hard, to build, to achieve, to produce, to make a significant impact on the word, each in his own way.
But we need to do this together with Hashem, placing our trust in Him and recognizing that nothing we do can succeed without Him.
By all means, we should use all the "tools" at our disposal, and take full advantage of all the remarkable technological breakthroughs that can help us achieve. But we must never forget that no "tool" can take the place of Hashem, as only He determines the outcome of our efforts.