Genesis 7:1-24
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Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him. Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in. The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.
Prayer:
Question: What is sin?
Answer: Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.
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Hello, Good Morning, and Welcome to our continued exposition of the book of Beginnings.
For those of you who are returning, how incredible has Genesis been this far?
So many of the answers that we have about our faith can be found in these first 11 chapters.
While Genesis as a whole is the first 50 chapters of the Bible, these 11 chapters are known as our primeval history,
If you are unfamiliar with this word primeval, I can assure it is not a villain from transformers.
It is simply a word used for the earliest history of our existence.
It is true history, it is factual history, it is what happened when God created the heavens and the earth.
Here we discover the beauty and wonder of our Creation.
The wisdom and power of our Creator.
The value, dignity, and worth given to humanity.
The reality of good versus evil, obedience versus rebellion.
We discover God’s purpose and plan in a Savior, a Snake Crusher.
And we see how our first ancestors began their journey on this planet.
This journey continues in all of its beauty, and, all of its rebellion, until we get to Noah.
Which brings us to Chapter 7 of Genesis and the ark.
Good news for today, is that even if you have never been to church, know very little of your Bible, there is a good chance you know of Noah’s ark.
A storm is brewing, final preparations are being made, righteousness is being heralded.
Rebellion is in full swing, Repentance is given a full opportunity, and the fullness of judgement leading to death is on the horizon.
Yet, even in the coming tragedy, salvation is near.
In this case, salvation is being built.
An ark is being fashioned by hand, board by board.
It is difficult to imagine a scene that is unlike anything we have ever experienced before.
However, we can get a taste when we think about certain moments in our life.
There are moments when something happens so profound, so catastrophic, that it changes our entire course and direction.
It could be the loss of a job,
The loss of a loved one,
A change in location,
An event that was unexpected.
What we are going to read about today, is greater than any event in our lives or any event in the history of the world.
This would not just change the life of one person, and one family, this would alter the entire course of history itself.
Today, we have a front row seat.
Let us now open our Bibles to chapter 7.
Instead of breaking down each verse, as is our standard exposition, we will be looking at this chapter as a whole.
There are a number of details and they are all pointing to three major topics.
If you are taking notes, these are going to be our areas of focus.
First point: This event is a real historical event. (pause & repeat)
Noah is a real person, the people are in real rebellion, and this a real judgement.
So, we will begin by showing this is a real historical event.
Second, I want us to look at God’s role in persevering and protecting Noah and His family.
God’s role in the persevering of the saints is one of the most encouraging doctrines we can embrace.
So, we will focus in on God’s protection and preservation.
Lastly, I want us to look at God’s power and God’s wrath.
God’s power will be absolutely mind blowing, God’s wrath will be intense, just, and final.
So, we will end with this unprecedented judgement.
Now, without delay, let us look at Chapter 7, one of the most incredible and terrifying scenes in all of Scripture.
Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
First, I want us to truly grasp and embrace that this is not an allegory, this is not a legend, this is not a fairytale.
The Lord is truly talking to a real man named Noah, told to build a real ark, and is embracing for a real rain and a real flood.
It is vital we make this distinction because we live down the street from make believe and fantasy.
We live down the street from the magical and the pixie dust.
We are used to watching epic stories of imagination and invention come to life.
Therefore, it is easy for us to see something of this magnitude, be just that; another story of creativity.
But, we must quickly see that God is not giving us some imaginative tale.
But, all of Scripture looks to this event, as a real event.
The Author of Hebrews looked to Noah as a real person and a real event.
The Apostle Peter looked to Noah as a real person and a real event.
Jesus Himself, looked to Noah as a real person and a real event.
(We will be looking at what Jesus specifically said about Noah at the end.)
So, Noah is a real person, about to endure a real flood, on a real ark.
Thus, we see the Lord tell Noah to go into this ark, Him and His household, because he is righteous.
Last week we spent time on this concept of Noah being righteous, but let us get a quick refresher.
What our verse is telling us is that there was no other who followed the Lord in this generation, no others who were righteous.
When it declares that Noah was righteous it is because He had a right standing before God.
We will see throughout Scripture that a right standing comes through faith.
Faith is what grants us righteousness and because of faith, we see that righteousness is produced.
We will walk by faith, and this walking is the right actions that honor and glorify God.
Remember what Hebrews 11 says:
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Thus, we can understand that in order for Noah to please God, he must have faith.
The only way to be righteous, is to put that faith into action.
We must have faith and faith produces righteousness and Noah was righteous before the Lord in this generation.
Now, just to make sure there is no confusion, there is the act of being righteous and there is the status of being righteous.
When we receive the gift of faith and the Holy Spirit applies the work of Christ to our life, before a just a Holy God we are now Righteous.
Status wise, we are in right standing with our God.
Not because of anything that we can do, but because of all that Jesus has accomplished on our behalf.
This work of Christ was then applied by the Spirit to our life.
Our hearts were softened our eyes were opened, and the Father sees us, not in the sins of our rebellion but in the grace and mercy of His Son.
When this reality is realized it transforms our actions.
We are not only righteous in status but we become righteous in action.
This is when we walk with the Lord.
Noah, like all of us who have faith, are righteous in status and righteous in action.
Now, after this slight detour, I want to bring us back to our first point of showing that this was a real person and a real event.
Our next verse in Hebrews 11 brings us into what is known as the Hall of Faith,
those who demonstrated and put into action this gift of faith.
First in this Hall of Faith, we have none other than Noah.
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
The author did not question whether this was a true event, whether Noah was a true person, and if there was true ark,
but declared it and the encouragement that comes from it.
As we continue with this being a real Noah, and a real event,
we can now discuss the real rain that caused a bit of a controversy last week.
And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
Now, last week I gave pause to several who came up after service or reached out to me during the week about some comments from last week’s sermon.
In it I shared an imaginative scene in which the people of Noah’s time did not understand the terms flood or even of rain.
When Noah said, “It’s going to flood!” They asked what is a flood? “It’s when it rains.” “What is rain?”
Up until this point in primeval history there was no flood and no rain.
Yet, several of you were not buying it.
This was certainly a proud moment as your pastor.
Why? Because you have now realized that if you don’t see it in Scripture, you shouldn’t believe it.
But also shocked at……of all things to want to pull me aside, send me a text, or shoot me an E-mail for…..it was rain?
Well, since we are here, let me go ahead and give a brief biblical defense for my statement last week.
I came to my conclusion based on evidence and reasoning that is not specifically stated in the Scriptures.
Meaning, there is no verse that says it did not rain until the flood.
But, let me share that with you the evidence and reasoning, found in Scripture, and let’s see if you come to the same conclusion.
and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—
In Chapter 2 we do not see rain, but a mist covering the ground.
We see that it was a mist that was going up from the ground, not down from the sky.
This was the means in which the whole face of the ground was being watered.
This was how the plants, animals were watered. How Adam and Eve were being hydrated.
There is no mention of any change in this process until our verse today.
Then in the verse right before it rains we see this being stated.
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
Then result of the windows of the heavens being opened is found in verse 12 when it is discovered that it rained.
There is great detail given of the year of Noah’s age, the month it took place, and even the day in which it happened.
Thus, I came to the conclusion that before this moment it had not rained on the earth.
The mist going up from the land was still sufficient and still the means in which water nourished the plants, animals, and humans.
Then at this very moment in verse 11, on this very day, water sprang forth from underneath and poured down from above.
Thus a strong biblical case can be made that up until this point, it had not rained, and there was not concept of a flood in their minds.
Now, can you have a different opinion on this and we still be friends? Absolutely.
Now, to go back to our point, what is not speculation, what is not up for debate, is that this is a real Noah, a real ark, a real flood.
If you do not believe that….we can’t be friends.
Let us journey to our second point now.
Second, I want us to look at God’s role in protecting and persevering Noah and His family.
I also want us to see that this is not just in the case of Noah, but is the reality of every believer.
And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.
God is the one who closed the door of the ark.
God is the one that sealed it shut.
God is the one who secured Salvation.
The same is true of us today. Just as God chose and protected Noah, God chose and protects those He adopted into His family.
Who are adopted sons and daughters of the most high? Everyone who hears the Gospel, receives the gift of faith, and trusts in Christ alone.
We see this incredible preservation by God in Ephesians 1:13 when we see it is the Spirit’s role that accomplishes this.
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
We were not just given the Holy Spirit, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Just like the door of the ark was closed by God and Noah’s Salvation secured, we too have this same reality as God seals and protects our Salvation.
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
It is the Spirit that is the guarantee of our inheritance until we come to glory.
Now you may say that seals are made to be broken.
If you are resting on your own ability to keep your Salvation, you would have every right to be nervous and scared.
But, if you are trusting in the almighty power of God to preserve, protect, and save, then we have great confidence in the work of Christ.
Because as Paul tells the church of Ephesus, it is not their works that seal and guarantee their salvation, it is the Holy Spirit.
Charles Spurgeon once wrote this: Noah fell many times in the ark, but never fell out of the ark.
A testament to God’s hand upon Noah’s life.
We too will fall, we will stumble, we will get sick and trip up, but we will never fall into the waters and drown in flood like those who do not have Christ.
This is the confidence that Noah had in The Lord,
This is the confidence that Noah had because of Faith.
This is the confidence that you and I also receive as we trust not in ourselves but we trust in the finished work of Jesus.
Noah absolutely needed this supernatural protection.
Because it was a supernatural fury and judgement that was about to be poured out.
Our final point this morning is on the wrath and power of God.
For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.”
To “blot out” is to remove completely as if it was never there.
Everyone and everything that was not under God’s protection would be under God’s just judgement and incomprehensible wrath.
This would be unlike anything we have ever seen or has ever been seen in the history of our world.
Just recently we saw the Palestinian attack on Israel and the wide spread kidnapping, death, and destruction it caused.
We’ve seen videos of the war taking place in Ukraine and Russia.
When I was about to turn 21 I remember very vividly the pictures on my TV screen of 9/11 and the towers falling.
On March 19th 2003 President announced operation Iraqi Freedom
An unprecedented military attack that would come to be known as Shock and Awe began.
I remember watching a live feed on the news of bomb after bomb raining down on the country that was said to be responsible.
My brain struggled to comprehend what I was actually witnessing.
It was constant, it was continual, it did not cease.
When we think about these horrific man made attacks, they all pale in comparison to the God made attack on humanity in Noah’s day.
Take any moment in history that you can remember, and compare it to the complete and total destruction we see here.
Where there is much debate and uncertainty on who was in the right, who was in the wrong, who is justified and who is not…
When it comes to these attacks I just mentioned.
There was no such debate or uncertainty on God’s judgement and execution.
God made everyone and everything.
God is the sovereign Creator, Sustainer, and Judge.
God does what is right and just for He is Holy.
This was not a localized event, but a world-wide and truly shock and awe event, known as the flood.
And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind.
We often think so wrongly about this day and we have done such a great disservice to our children when we teach of this day.
Many will paint their children’s room with pictures of an ark with cute animals smiling and Noah waving.
Sunday School rooms would have a boat with birds chirping and lions cuddling and as if it was a beautiful day at the beach.
We look in kid Bibles and see smiles, happiness, and joy.
Yet, this is not what we see in Scripture.
What we see is the most dreadful, horrendous, and frightful event in human history.
We see power unimaginable, wrath unthinkable, and death and destruction incalculable.
Our Scriptures say that the waters prevailed.
The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.
The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.
When something is repeated 3 times it is to elevate it to the highest imaginable place.
It is why God is Holy, Holy, Holy.
God is Holy, God is Holy-er, God is Holy-ist.
The waters prevailed, meaning animals could not hold it back.
The waters prevailed, meaning humans could do nothing to stop it.
The waters prevailed, meaning even the tallest mountains could not stand tall enough to overcome.
There was no one, and no thing, that would be able to hold back God’s just judgement.
The only thing that could withstand God’s wrath was the ark that God gave Himself.
It was God who put forth the plan for the ark, it is God who declared how it would be built.
It would be God that would provide the talent and abilities to build it and God that would provide the materials through His creation it would require.
God would provide the sentence of destruction and it is God who would provide the salvation of the ark. (Pause)
Today, we too must recognize our need for Salvation.
We too are given refuge and safety from the coming judgement of God.
Except this time it is not because of WHAT the Father provided, but WHO the Father provided.
It is not the wood of a boat that will provide for us salvation but the wood of a cross.
It would not be a structure that would rescue us but a Son.
But, just like the days of Noah, there is only so much time given before the waters prevail.
Today, we too are anticipating the coming judgement, not in the rain coming from the sky, but the Son of Man coming down.
For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,
and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
People will be eating, they will be dancing, they will be drinking, they will be celebrating a marriage, they very well could have a DJ.
There would be much joy and festivities happening.
Then the rain fell…….or in this case…..the trumpet will sound.
An utter blast will fill the air and the time of grace extended for repentance will be up.
What was a gathering of joy will be turned into a gathering of horrors.
Those who thought they had more time to trust in God, rest in God, look to God, and believe in God, will find that their time is up.
Instead of peace and joy everlasting they will be greeted with the sorrow, shame, guilt and regret.
Song and dance will be replaced with weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In this moment there will be two options.
There will either be unimaginable jubilee for those who were anticipating Christ.
or sheer horror and panic of those who are in continued rebellion against Christ.
It is sheer horror and panic because grace and mercy for the unrepentant has ceased.
God’s patience and longsuffering will have come to an end.
God’s call to forsake the world and embrace His Son will be finished.
On that day, which would have began with such optimism, would end in great tragedy for the one who rejected Christ.
Today, we are given a gift in Chapter 7 of the book of Genesis.
Today we are given the real account of Noah, the real account of the ark, and the real account of the flood.
We are reminded of God’s amazing grace and His ability to save to the uttermost.
Today we are also reminded of the consequences of rebellion and the limited time that this world is given to repent.
But, how is this a gift when there seems to be so much death and destruction?
Because, while time expired for those in the days of Noah, time is still left for those of us who are here.
If you are here today and you do not have the confidence and the assurance of Salvation, then do not delay in making this calling sure in your life.
Do not put off any longer what should be your priority right here and right now.
In just a moment we will call upon the name of the Lord, and the Bible tells us all who do so will be saved.
Are you putting your faith and trust for this life and the next upon anyone but Jesus?
If so, then you must confess, you must repent, you must embrace the gift of Christ that is being offered to you.
Not only is Noah real, not only is the ark real, not only is the flood real, but God is real.
God is your maker and your sustainer.
God is who woke you up this morning, who granted you breath in your lungs, and a beat in your chest.
It is God who has brought you here this morning to hear His message of Salvation.
God in His mercy has not brought judgement upon you and has given you an opportunity to hear of the good news, of the Gospel.
The Gospel though, is not just recognizing that God exists.
The Gospel is also recognizing that the One who made you, is also the One who has a reason for your very existence.
God calls you to follow Him, to obey Him, to be about His purpose and plan for you.
Have you done this? Have you loved God with all of your heart with all of your soul, with all of your mind, with all of your strength?
Have you done this unceasing, unending, and unrelenting?
Have you obeyed His commands and prioritized His statutes?
The reality is that there is no scale that you can measure and hope that your good has outweighed your bad.
The question is not have you done this mostly, have you done this frequently, have you given it your best effort?
No, it is either you do this, or you have not.
What is your answer? (Pause)
I can help you with the answer, because it is the same answer that I had to come to the conclusion of as well.
Our answers collectively is no, we have not done this.
There is none who are righteous in and of themselves, no not one.
Yet, even in our rebellion, God provides an ark of Salvation in His Son Jesus.
Jesus came and obeyed the law that we have failed to follow.
Jesus gives us His righteousness in exchange for the sins we have committed.
This is a gift of grace, it is not based on anything you can or will do.
Jesus lays down His life, takes the wrath of God upon Himself, and atones for our sins.
What should our response be to this incredible act of Salvation?
The same as Noah’s.
Noah, upon the call to go into the ark, went into the ark, and God sealed the door shut.
Our call is to go to Jesus, and we must go to Jesus, and God will seal us to Him.
We then trust in Jesus, rest in Jesus, and look to Jesus.
If this is our reality, then the Holy Spirit will grant us assurance of this faith.
This is our hope and call to everyone, before time runs out.
In closing, Salvation is a work and a gift of God.
But secondly, in response to our salvation we will believe.
We will confess our sins.
We will trust in God.
We will be baptized, and we will follow God. (Pause)
Today, we saw one of the most well known and incredible events in all of our history.
We were reminded that this is a real event.
We were encouraged in the real preservation that God provides.
And we were warned of the real judgement and wrath to come.
Our hope is the same Salvation that God offered Noah is offered to us.
Chapter 7 is a terrifying yet encouraging chapter in our Bibles.
Next week we will move away from the horror and begin to see the grace provided.
The rain will have ceased, the clouds will have parted, and a new object would fill the sky.
I can’t wait to share this with you…..next week.
Let us pray.
