The Ark and the Manger
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
“We have grown so accustomed to the idea of divine love and the coming at Christmas that we no longer sense the awe that God’s coming should awaken in us. We have become dulled to the message; we only register what is welcome in it, what is pleasant, forgetting the powerful seriousness of the fact that the God of the worlds is approaching our small earth and now makes claims on us. God’s coming is truly not merely a message of joy, but first of all horrifying news for every person with a conscience.
And not until we have perceived the terror of the matter can we then also appreciate this incomparable act of beneficence.”
The Ark and the Manger proclaim …
God’s invitation to protect the righteous
God’s plan to preserve and redeem life
The imminence and totality of God’s judgment
God’s enduring faithfulness to the end
I. God’s Invitation to Protect the Righteous (v. 1)
I. God’s Invitation to Protect the Righteous (v. 1)
A. Faithful in an unfaithful world
12 decades God bore in great patience with humanity. 12 decades Noah labored to proclaim the coming of God’s judgment and His invitation for salvation. 12 decades and God tells Noah, “You, and your family, alone are the only ones who are righteous before Me in this generation.”
What made Noah righteous?
Last week, we talked about how the word righteous in Genesis 6 was a habitual righteousness. How Noah was described as a man who walked with God.
Nothing Noah did made him righteous. It wasn’t that Noah was a ‘good’ person. In fact, from Genesis to Revelation we see Scripture take care to tell us “No one is good!” But righteousness was accounted to Noah for his faith. Righteousness was accounted to Noah by the grace of God.
God tells Noah, “You, and you alone, desire to seek after Me, know Me, and love Me. For that, you are righteous in My sight.”
B. Yet, God in His grace still offers up an invitation to protect the righteous
But isn’t God always offering an invitation for salvation?
In 2 Chronicles 15:4, the prophet Azariah says Israel went a long time running from God. But he says, “In their distress they turned to God, sought Him, and He let them find Him.”
In Job 22:23, God declares, “If you will return to Me, you will be restored!”
In Zechariah 1:3, God says, “Return to Me, and I will return to you!”
In Matthew 11, Jesus says:
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
The call of God from Genesis to Revelation is this: “COME! Come to Me in your sin! Come to Me in your present state! Come to Me and I will give you rest!”
C. Reconciling the heart of God with His judgment
The judgment of God is something we never really want to discuss. It’s the aspect of Scripture we believe to be true, but we struggle to wrap our minds around it. God’s judgment will come, and it will be total and complete, but God always offers up an invitation.
Genesis 18:20–33 (NASB95)
20 And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. 21 “I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.” 27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. 28 “Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” 32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” 33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
What was the problem with Sodom and Gomorrah?
There was no one righteous!
Sometimes we struggle with the totality of God’s judgement because we ask ourselves, “Why would God destroy the innocent?” Here’s what the Bible says: there is no one innocent.
D. The message of the Ark
For 120 years, Noah faithfully preached.
Scholars estimate Noah could have completed the Ark in 50-60 years.
What is he doing for the rest of the time?
Noah is proclaiming a message of salvation.
E. The message of the Manger
2000 years ago, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
120 years? Why did no one listen? What was their problem?
The same problem that exists in your heart today: sin. Why is it when you read the message of salvation with your own eyes that you say, “One day I’ll get there.” Why is it when you hear the message of salvation preached by a pastor that you say, “That sounds nice. One day I’ll commit.” Why is that you go to church week after week without giving yourself completely over to Jesus Christ? Why is it always ‘one day.’ ‘One day’ for you might be too late.
Just as the Ark was God’s invitation for salvation, the Manger, more specifically, the Child in the manger, is God’s invitation for salvation.
II. God’s Plan to Preserve and Redeem Life (vv. 2-5)
II. God’s Plan to Preserve and Redeem Life (vv. 2-5)
A. God’s plan after judgment is for life to continue
God instructs Noah to extra pairs animals that are clean (fit for sacrifice) and one pair of animals that are not clean.
As we will see later, Noah offers sacrifices to the Lord after departing from the ark. If only one pair had been brought, the species would have been wiped out.
God’s judgment is not the final act. His judgement exists to usher in a better way, to preserve life, and ultimately redeem it.
5 Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like a great deep. O Lord, You preserve man and beast. 7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
B. The message of the Ark:
The Ark existed because of God’s imminent judgment, but also His incredible grace. God offered up a way for salvation, so that life would be preserved and redeemed.
C. The message of the Manger:
The Manger existed because of God’s imminent judgment. The Child in that manger, Jesus Christ, came not to destroy the world but to what:
10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” 5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
The message of the manger is one that proclaims God has a plan to preserve and redeem life.
III. The Imminence and Totality of God’s Judgment (vv. 6-24)
III. The Imminence and Totality of God’s Judgment (vv. 6-24)
A. Understanding the flood
Puts the age of the earth around 6 - 10,000 years old
Water from above and below
Why did no one believe Noah? Why did they scoff, mock, and ridicule his family as they constructed the ark?
No one had seen rain
6 But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.
Noah faithfully obeyed all that God had commanded without a complete understanding of how it would take place
Today, people also have no understanding of how the world could end
B. God shut the door
Could Noah have shut the door himself?
Physically, its likely possible Noah could have shut the door. He did, after all, build the ark.
So, why does God shut the door?
Noah could not have emotionally shut the door
Shutting the door meant the end of life for everyone Noah and his family ever knew and loved. Family, friends, and even those they were only acquainted with.
As soon as the door was shut the fate of everyone, whether on board or not, was sealed.
So, God tells Noah, “I’ve got this.” Just as God closed the door to the ark, He will one day close the door to heaven.
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
D. A global flood
Water rose more than 22 feet (15 cubits) above the highest peaks
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters were standing above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled, At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away. 8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down To the place which You established for them. 9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over, So that they will not return to cover the earth.
Where did all the water go?
Our planet is called the “Blue Planet” for a reason
70% of the earth’s surface is covered in water
Oceans cover two-thirds of the earth’s surface
Average depth of major oceans beyond the continental shelves is about 12,000 feet
Some ocean trenches are deeper than Mt. Everest is high
If you lowered the height of today’s mountains and raised the ocean valleys, there would be more than enough water to flood the earth again.
God’s judgment is total and complete. No one can escape it.
F. The Message of the Ark
The closing of the door of the ark was the inflection point, the point at which God’s imminent judgment would be poured out completely.
Verse 23 — “Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.”
Only those who had accepted the invitation of salvation survived. Anyone not found on board the Ark, died.
G. The Message of the Manger
The Child in the manger is the inflection point. Jesus’ arrival here on this earth proclaims to us the invitation has been sent and the door has been opened. But one day, it too will close.
God sent His Son into the world that the world through Him might be saved. That’s why the manger exists! Because God had offered up an invitation. The Child in the manger is a small, humble door which proclaims, “There is ONE way!”
But there is coming a day when that door will close too:
10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
IV. God’s Enduring Faithfulness to the End (Ch. 8)
IV. God’s Enduring Faithfulness to the End (Ch. 8)
A. God remembered Noah
This is covenantal language. It is always accompanied by an action when speaking of God. God remembered means God decided to act. We see several examples of this in Scripture:
God remembered Abraham after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed
God sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction
God remembered Rachel who was unable to bear children
God opened her womb
God remembered the Israelites in their suffering in Egypt
God raised up Moses to lead His people out of Egypt
Noah boarded the ark not knowing when God would intervene again. A step of faith.
God remembered Noah and all the animals
God caused the flood waters to recede
Even in the midst of His judgment, God is in complete control. It was by His command that the judgment ceased.
B. A raven and a dove
The dove finds no ground and returns
the dove returns with a freshly picked olive leaf
The dove does not return
Noah knows the floodwaters are almost dried up, but he does not leave the ark until God commands him to.
1 year and 11 days after first boarding the ark, Noah, his wife, his sons, their wives, and all the animals leave the ark.
C. Be fruitful and multiply
Fill the earth once again
D. Noah worships God
Noah’s priority in leaving the ark was to construct an altar and worship the Lord.
The aroma of the sacrifice was pleasing to God.
In other words, God recognizes the sacrifice for what it was: a sacrifice of worship and gratitude.
E. As long as the earth remains
God affirms sinful nature is innate
God promises to never again destroy the world in a global flood
Just the existence of a change in seasons is evidence of this promise
Until Christ returns, life will continue
F. The message of the Ark:
God will remain faithful to His covenant, His promise.
G. The message of the Manger:
God will remain faithful to His covenant, His promise.
The Child in the manger, Jesus Christ, is God’s covenant with humanity. A promise that for those who trust in His name, all sins will be forgiven and life will be redeemed.
20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
22 so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Conclusion
Conclusion