Sermon Tone Analysis

Genesis 8:1-19

When I was a young (10 Y.O?) I had plans to go to the NE State Fair with my cousin.

My aunt was going to pick me up from the house at a certain time—of course going to the state fair meant carnival rides.

This happened to be on a Sunday pm and my folks had already gone to the evening service at the church—leaving me at home by myself.

Greatly anticipating all the fun at the fair, I was watching the minutes go by until my aunt arrived—except she wasn’t coming.

I kept waiting and waiting.

It didn’t help that my church had recently shown the old films about the rapture (Thief in the Night, Distant Thunder, Image of the Beast, Prodigal Planet) and the song that haunted those who watched it “You’ve been left behind.”

I thought— “I missed the rapture.”

So I’m frightened—I called the church and asked whoever answered the phone to have my mother removed from the service so she could talk to me—to give me a little reassurance.

When I heard her voice, I knew it wasn’t the rapture, but I still couldn’t help but feel forgotten.

My mom said—that’s your aunt—she tends to run late (of course that’s what happened—she came and we had a great time at the fair).

The emotions of fear and sadness are very real at that age—at any age really.

And yet those emotions are immediately cast aside at the presence of my aunt’s car.

I can imagine that some of you have accounts of your own—being stricken with fear and sadness.

It may even have been recently—and in despair you’ve asked “God, where are you?”

b/c it appears that He has forgotten you.

Well, our passage today should be of tremendous encouragement to you and like the sight of my aunt’s car to a 10 year old casting aside fear—the reminder of our God’s character should cause those fears, sadness and despair to flee—in the example before us that God remembered Noah.

If you remember several weeks ago, I pointed out that the flood narrative uses a literary device known as a “chiasm” where a sequence of ideas is presented and then repeated in reverse order.

Moses gives great attention to detail as he writes this account and right in the middle of the chiasm (the hinge b/t 2 halves of the narrative), which presents the main idea of the passage is “But God Remembered Noah.”

Wenham’s Chart:

7 days of waiting for flood (7:4)

7 days of waiting for flood (7:10)

40 days of flood (7:17a)

150 days of water triumphing (7:24)

150 days of water waning (8:3)

40 days of waiting (8:6)

7 days of waiting (8:10)

7 days of waiting (8:12)

God Remembered Noah

Notice how 8:1 begins “but” Martin Lloyd-Jones “Praise God for the buts in the Bible.”

I’ll guarantee you this mattered to Noah.

Noah was a man and I’m sure he had thoughts as we all have, in tough circumstances we begin to wonder: has God forgotten us?

God has destroyed billions of people thru this worldwide flood.

Animals along with humans have perished in this judgment of the flood.

Only 8 people were saved on the ark and Moses breaks the tension by recording this statement: “But God remembered Noah.”

Now, what does this mean?

The Heb term is a general word that refers to remembering, calling to mind, to remind.

When applied to God, there are 2 dif.

persepctives: God’s and man’s.

God’s Perspective

God does not remember anything b/c He has never forgotten anything.

God’s knowledge is immediate, comprehensive, perfect, complete, eternal.

There is nothing that lies outside of God’s absolute knowledge.

He doesn’t learn.

He doesn’t grow in knowledge or understanding.

His omniscience is unqualified and the reason he knows everything and never learns anything is b/c of His eternal sovereign decree that was put in place before the foundation of the world.

God foreordained all things—making them part of His eternal purpose.

God has never learned anything so He cannot remember something that has been forgotten.

God does not need reminders b/c something slipped His mind.

It’s not as though the flood wiped out all those humans and animals and God lost sight of Noah and those on the ark—and snapped His fingers and said “Oh yeah—I forgot”—that’s not what Gen 8:1 means.

Man’s Perspective

Looking at this from our perspective, keeping in mind that God never forgets so His remembrance is something different than ours (this is why it is not a simple anthropomorphism).

Brevard Childs has does extensive studies on this Heb term (zachar—iah) and he writes “God’s remembering always implies his movement toward the object.…

The essence of God’s remembering lies in his acting toward someone because of a previous commitment.”

When God remembers it is not a recollection but action.

When God remembers, He acts.

And the reason He acts is b/c of the counsel of His eternal purpose.

For Noah and those with him on the ark—we have no record of whether God spoke to them while on the ark but for 1 year and 10 days they were the only humans on the earth.

And it would be natural (for we know our own hearts) to become greatly discouraged, feeling abandoned—on account of this—God remembered Noah.

This is not the only time God is said to remember someone/something...

Genesis 30:22 (NASB95) Giving birth to Joseph

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb.

When God remembers—He acts, moves toward the object that is in view…in Gen it is Noah.

There are 3 of God’s activities highlighted in relation to Noah and the flood, that pertain to His remembering.

1. God Removes the Water

Gen 8:1b-5 “God caused a wind...”

The term “wind” is the same used in Gen 1:2 in the beginning of the creation account

This is not simply a natural wind but a work of the divine Creator causing the water to begin to subside.

Along with the wind, God also closed the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky—lit.

restraining the rain that had fallen previously.

Now, the point of contention by critics who deny a global flood is “Where did all that water go?”

If it covered all mtns by 15 cubits, that water had to go somewhere.

Jonathan Sarfati explained the catastrophic plate tectonics that caused the mtns we have today were quickly and largely uplifted during and after the flood.

“This very uplift, combined with the sinking of the ocean floors, would produce the unevenness required” (for water to decrease and for land to emerge).

The waters that covered the earth in the flood receded into the seas that we have today.

I don’t believe we can fully know all the fine details of the extreme forces at work in the flood judgment or even how God miraculously caused the waters to decrease to the point where it was safe for Noah all the inhabitants of the ark to safely exit.

vs 4…this is exactly 5 months from the beginning of the rain to the time when the ark grounded on the mtns of Ararat.

The land wasn’t visible but the bottom of the ark rested on what is described as “mtns” plural of Ararat.

The precise location is uncertain b/c it involves a range of mtns that includes the high peak of Mt Ararat (17K’).

That mtn is likely a post-flood volcano and b/c of the volcanic activity the ark may have been destroyed by magma—or else Noah and his family might have used the wood of the ark for other structures and to simply survive.

For the next 5 months, the water continues to decrease when the tops of the mtns become visible—what a sight that must have been for Noah and the comfort he derives from God remembering him.

2. God Gives a Sign

vs 6

The next way God acts is by giving Noah a sign thru the dove that was sent.

Notice the timing of this “at the end of forty days”—this is now the 11th month and 10th day (reference to Noah’s life).

Noah opened the window (refer back to previous discussion about the window).

This was not the door but an opening from which Noah could send out the birds beginning with raven.

Moses explains that the raven kept flying here and there until the water dried up.

Kenneth Mathews “As the stronger bird and a consumer of carrion, the raven could remain in flight longer, going back and forth while deriving its food from floating carcasses (v. 7).

The foremost significance of the raven is its symbolic value as an “unclean” bird, unfit for consumption (Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14).”

Since the raven did not return Noah knew that the water had receded to a specific degree.

The other raven would have joined this one at some point in order to begin repopulating the earth (since we have ravens today).

Next was the dove.

Moses also explains Noah’s purpose in releasing the dove “to see...” (vs 8).

Water still covered the bulk of the land (valleys and meadows).

So Noah reached out his hand and took her (female dove) back into the ark.

This is a valuable expression of Noah’s care for the animals—a tenderness that ensured the animals were bought safely thru the flood.

So Noah waited (vs 10) with great patience another 7 days and released the dove again.

Here’s the sign: it returned with an olive leaf.

Olive trees are beginning to sprout.