How It All Began: “Ark-aeology”

Genesis means “beginning”. And that’s what the book of Genesis is. It is the God given real life history of the beginning of all things.

In this series, we are going to be looking at the first 11 chapters of Genesis. In these chapters we will see why the world is the way that it is, why we are they way we are, and what Go’s purpose is in it all.

We will also clearly see God’s character, get to know Him better, better learn who we are, and why all that matters.

Genesis helps us make sense of the world while also helping us know what our place is in it.

There is much you will be reminded of, and that’s good. There will be some things you will learn for the first time, and that’s great. My primary hope and prayer is that through this study all of us will grow in our understanding of God and His purpose for us so that we will better love, serve and worship Him in His creation.

Last time we looked at chapter 5 and the genealogy from Adam to Noah and we zoomed in on Enoch walking with God.

The title of the message is “Ark-aeology”

Let’s read the text.

Genesis 6:1–22 (NASB)

1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. 10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. 13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 “This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 “You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 “Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18 “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 “Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 “As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.” 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.

1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose…

4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

(v. 5-7) 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”

What is sin?

We often think of it in terms of what we read here in Gen. 6.

(v. 11-13) 11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. 13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

Sin is disobedience to God. It is the evil and wicked acts we commit:

9/10 of the 10 Commandments are “do not’s”

Sin is also the good deeds we were supposed to do and didn’t:

James 4:17 (NASB)

17 …to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Sin is ultimately doing something other that what God would has us do. It is deviating from God’s plan or purpose for our lives.

It is easy for us to point to the clearly obvious wicked practices of others and recognize them as sin but we are equally sinful when we simply neglect time with the Lord in prayer.

Genesis 2:16–17 (NASB)

16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

All sin will steal, kill and destroy.

Sin robs God of what He deserves., it robs other people of what they need and it robs us from blessings God has for us.

Sin kills love, murders joy, and puts to death peace.

Sin destroys relationships.

ALL SIN IS FATAL!

James 1:14–15 (ESV)

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

First observation… Sin it Fatal!

But, there is good news!

Romans 6:23 (NASB)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We see in out text that Noah had recieved that free gift of grace!

8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.

Genesis 7:1 (NASB)

1 Then the Lord said to Noah… “…you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time.”

Notice the unfaithfulness described in (v. 1-7)

1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”

Luke 17:26–27 (NASB)

26 “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

2 Peter 2:5 (ESV)

5 …if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly…

Hebrews 11:7 (NASB)

7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

We are helpless to save ourselves!

4 [they]…were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

And yet, they couldn’t save themselves!

That’s why we seek God faithfully! We need Him!

Psalm 119:10–11 (NASB)

10 With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments.

(v. 22) …Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.

Notice the Details: (v. 14-16) & (v. 19-21)

14 “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood;

you shall make the ark with rooms,

and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.

15 “This is how you shall make it:

the length of the ark three hundred cubits,

its breadth fifty cubits,

and its height thirty cubits.

16 “You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top;

and set the door of the ark in the side of it;

you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.

19 “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you;

they shall be male and female.

20 “Of the birds after their kind,

and of the animals after their kind,

of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind,

two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.

21 “As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself;

and it shall be for food for you and for them.”

Notice the Dedication: (v. 22)

22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.

Joshua 1:7 (NASB)

7 “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.

Notice the Duration:

Genesis 5:32 (NASB)

32 Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 7:6 (NASB)

6 Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth.

Noah was likely working on the Ark for the better part of 100 years.

That’s fully serving, with hard labor, for a long time. He was clearly seeking God faithfully and serving God fully!

We are called to serve the Lord fully too!

And, we are called to teach others to do the same. That’s a big part of discipleship.

Matthew 28:18–20 (NIV)

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

John 14:15 (NASB)

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

1 John 5:3 (NASB)

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

Noah served the Lord fully. Had he failed to do so, things could have turned out very differently.

How about you?

Are you faithfully seeking the Lord?

Are you serving Him fully?

Remember, sin is fatal!

Psalm 4:5 (NASB)

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the Lord.

The sacrifices of righteousness are seeking God faithfully and serving Him fully.

Sin is fatal! (Romans 3:23 & Romans 6:23)

Do you trust in the Lord Jesus for salvation?

Are you a herald of righteousness that tells other people about Jesus and their need for Christ?

Let’s be faithful to seek Him today!

Let’s all leave here asking the Lord to help us serve Him fully!

Would you join me in prayer?

Memory Verse of the Week:

Psalm 4:5 (NASB)

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the Lord.

How It All Began: “Ark-aeology”

Why Genesis?

What about the Nephilim? (v. 1-4)

3 observations from our Ark-aeology research:

Sin is Fatal

Seek the Lord Faithfully.

Serve the Lord Fully.

In closing…