De-Creation
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Tonight we enter the Noah story. We saw him enter the scene through the genealogy in chapter 5 and then in the beginning of chapter 6 we see the stage being set, there is corruption increasing upon the earth.
The flood story is one that is pictured in children's stories as this happy time with all the animals. This is not exactly what this is. The flood is the wrath of God being poured out upon the earth. This is a dark time where everyone dies.
Through this judgment though we see something amazing. God is glorified through the salvation that Noah and his family receive from the flood. God is glorified in salvation through the judgment. This is actually what I believe to be the theme of the entire Bible, God is glorified in salvation through judgment. This is the belief put forward in a book that has that statement as the title.
So lets not wait any longer lets pray then get into the story.
The Story
The Story
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
This opens up a new section in the book with the “these are the generations of”. Right at the beginning of this we learn a few things about Noah; he is a righteous man, he walked with God, and he has three sons.
This information about Noah makes the rest of his story make sense because for him to do what he is about to do he needs family, and he needs to be a man of faith.
It says in 2 Peter 2:5 “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;” This is in the New Testament calling back to Noah calling him a herald of Righteousness. In Hebrews 11:7 in what is called the hall of faith we see this “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.” Here we see once again that Noah is revered as a man of faith who acted in the reverent fear of God. Then it says in Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” This fear and faith shows us that Noah is a well rounded man of God.
Through his story we see one act of faith after another.
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
This next section is God rehashing what we saw in the first 8 verses of this chapter to Noah. Everything is corrupt and he is going to make an end of all flesh.
Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.
So now God commissions Noah to make this ark. These measurements would pan out to around 450 ft long, 75 ft wide, and 45 ft tall. If placed on the football field it would barely fit inside the track. This is also based upon the smallest estimate of the size of a cubit which is 18 in.
There is a life size replica in Kentucky of this based on a guess of what it might have looked like and to see that is worth the visit if you are ever up there. Here is a picture from me and Courtney’s visit last year.
For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
God is going to send a flood. At this point it had not rained. God is telling Noah to build a huge boat, maybe the biggest ever at this point, with the promise of water falling from the sky. To act on this would require great faith. Through history God ask his people to act on faith. Later in the giving of the law there are laws regarding the Sabbath which is a day that they are to not do anything. One part of this though is the Sabbath years where every 7 years they are to not do work, that means that if you are a farmer there is no farming. So how would they live? They had to take this command on faith and trust that God would provide.
God says though that he will do this, and he will establish his covenant with Noah. A covenant is a special set of promises that define a relationship with people and it comes with privileges and responsibilities (repeat). This is the first usage of this in the Bible. There will be more covenants throughout the history that we see in the Bible. Now we live in what is called the New Covenant. This is because of the coming of Jesus.
Then the specific instructions of who is to come and what is to come is given to Noah. The final verse of this chapter shows us yet again more information about Noah, he did all that God commanded him. Noah walks in faith and obedience.
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.
There is so me repetition in the flood story here and we see that he is told to start loading up because the flood is coming in seven days. We are also told how long it will last, 40 days and 40 nights. This is a long time of constant rain. Then there is another repetition that Noah did all that he was told to do.
They loaded up and the flood came just as God had said. At this point Noah is 600 years old.
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.
Psalm 78:23 “Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven,”
Psalm 36:6 “Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord.”
Psalm 42:7 “Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.”
The fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of heaven are opened. The wrath of God is upon the earth. But there is preserved a remnant of all flesh preserved in the ark. Then by the hand of the almighty, the fate of humanity is sealed.
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.
The waters come just like the Lord said they would. The ark rises high above the earth, so high that every mountain is covered by just over 22 feet. All flesh outside of the ark dies. This is not a fast thing either. Think the waters slowly started rising around their feet, some may have started to climb the highest mountains, they may have swam for who knows how long. In the end though, the judgment that falls is complete.
Life of Faith
Life of Faith
Throughout this story we can see that Noah was a man that lived a life of faith. Notice throughout that it is repeated that he is a righteous man and that he did what God told him to do. He doesn’t even speak any in this section! He just acts.
In everything that he does he has to take on faith. God says that water is going to fall from the sky and kill everything and he needs to make a boat, he drops everything and gets to work. This is faith.
Lets now think about what the New Testament says about a life of faith.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
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.
It is clear that our life is to be a life of faith. We are to walk in faith in all things trusting in God. When we are living the life that God calls us to live then we must walk in faith trusting that we will be where he wants us to be and that he will provide what we need and all of these things.
This faith though must start with saving faith. The people that are walking the in the life of faith are those who are on the right path. Saving faith is what gets us on that path. Saving faith is just belief that Jesus is Lord and that he is the only way to salvation and that he is your way to salvation. This is the faith that saves you. Why do you need saved? You need saved because you are a sinner, you are fully depraved, you are morally corrupt and cannot do anything except sin. You deserve divine judgment.
Divine Judgment
Divine Judgment
As we look back and see what God is doing in the flood we see that it is divine judgment for their sins. Because God is perfect and holy he must also be just. To be just means to punish those who are not perfect and holy. This is everyone.
We are all sinners that need judgment. It’s plain and simple. This is the reality of the world we live in, because of our sin we deserve death. These aren’t my words either it says in Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and then in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We are all sinners deserving death. This death is eternal judgment for our sins. Notice that last part though, there is a free gift of eternal life. This is found in Jesus! This is found through faith.
We can be forgiven and not get the judgment that we deserve by putting our faith in Jesus. It was this kind of faith that made Noah the one who would build the ark and save a remnant of all flesh. It is the saving faith that leads to the life of faith that saves us from judgment.
Without this judgment salvation would not be necessary. This is why God is glorified in salvation because of the judgment. This echos throughout the Bible.
Conclusion
Conclusion
So the hope of the world is sealed up in the ark. The righteous man is in there living the life of faith while all of the earth undergoes judgment. This leads us to you here and now.
Have you put your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? This is the only way to escape the coming judgment. This is the only way to have the comfort that the life of faith provides.
If you have put your faith in Jesus, are you walking in the life of faith? Does your life resemble that of Noah? Are you sharing this good news with others so that they too can escape the coming judgment?
The return of Christ to this earth is a very real reality. Some will incur judgment when he comes, some will incur glory. His coming is just as real for us as the coming flood was for Noah, are you ready?
