The Ark

Intro

Good morning, would you open your Bibles with me to Genesis 6.

We’re continuing our series through the first 11 chapters of Genesis called, “In the beginning.”.

Where we are discovering what God reveals about Himself,

his creation,

and the foundational events that begin the story of salvation.

Our passage this morning is Genesis 6:9-22.

Question

If you knew for certain that the world was going to end in your lifetime what would you do?

It’s funny, I remember two times in my life when I was worried that this might be the end.

The first was Y2K, the year 2000.

Some of you I’m sure remember that whole ordeal.

I was 12 years old on December 31 1999,

and I remember there was some issue that had to do with how computers understand the date,

and somehow that was supposed to cause chaos,

At the time I couldn’t figure out how the date was going to turn my toaster against me,

but I’ll admit was a bit afraid.

There were even some T.V. preachers, and less than biblical books saying that Y2K was going to be the end of the world.

Well Y2K came and went and we were all still here.

2. The second time came not long after that.

That was September 11, 2001.

I was in grade 9.

and I was sitting in my first period math class,

none of us knew what was happening in New York city.

All of a sudden our school principle got on the P.A. system,

and said through obvious tears, “Teachers and student’s, New York city has been bombed,”

she then started sobbing uncontrollably and suddenly the P.A. cut out.

All of us were thinking a nuclear bomb had blown up New York.

Our math teacher told us she was going to go see what was going on and ran out the door.

Well I grabbed my stuff and got up from my seat.

My friend Dan who sat in front of me asked me where I was going.

So I told him, “If it’s the end of the world, I’m not going to spend it in math class.”

I left, and went to the nearby mall,

where I stayed for hours at Sears,

watching the horror, and heroism of 9/11 on the TV’s there.

Now one lesson, that I think all of us could learn from this is not to panic,

even when there are genuinely awful things like 9/11 taking place.

The emergency responders in New York and other places,

did not accomplish their heroic deeds on 9/11 by panicking.

When I look at our culture now, there’s a lot of fear, and there’s a lot of panic.

Even among Christians.

Over political stuff and world events, and world leaders, and what they’re doing.

It doesn’t take much to send people into a tizzy these days,

and it shows just how weak and immature we’ve become.

What I want to tell people, especially Christians in a time when we are constantly in “crisis mode” (And I say this in love) is:

Get a grip,

be mature,

be level headed.

As the Bible says be “Sober minded”.

Nobody makes things better through worry or panic.

“Don’t put your trust in princes, don’t put your fear in them either.”

The Bible says to put your trust, and your fear in God.

He is in control, and he is working all things according to his plan.

But having spent much of my life living in what have been called “unprecedented times,”

has made me think a lot about what I should be doing with my life,

how I can make the most of the time given to me.

In our passage this morning, we see a man who has been told by God that his world is literally coming to an end.

Rather than hiding in panic waiting for the end to come,

he instead, builds something.

Which takes us to our passage this morning.

Genesis 6:9-22

Genesis 6:9–22 ESV

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. 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. 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. 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.

Exposition

Righteous and Blameless (vv. 9-10)

Now we’ve already been introduced to Noah in our study of the book of Genesis.

We saw how he came from the righteous line of Seth, and

in v. 8 of our passage last week we saw that,

Genesis 6:8 ESV

Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord.

God had bestowed his grace on Noah.

But in vv. 9-10 of our passage this morning,

we get a bit more detail about Noah’s character.

Our passage says,

Genesis 6:9–10 ESV

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.

Noah

Here in our passage we see that Noah has three sons.

Were going to talk about those sons sometime in the weeks after Easter.

But I want to focus in on what this passage says about Noah himself.

And there are three things that the author of Genesis writes about Noah.

1. Righteous

The first thing that our passage says about Noah is that he is “Righteous”.

Now there’s two ways that the word righteousness is used in the scriptures.

a) The first refers to our standing before God, our status.

This is the definition that we see used so much in the book of Romans.

In Romans 3:10-12 the Apostle Paul quotes the Psalms and says,

Romans 3:10–12 ESV

“[No one] is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

None of us is righteous in our standing before God.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

All of us, if we were to be judged by God would be guilty of sin,

we would be found to be unrighteous in the sight of God.

Sinful.

And as sinners, we are due the eternal judgment for our sin.

Hell.

But we also see in the very same chapter of Romans that, in his mercy and grace,

God declares sinners righteous in his sight - he justifies them.

As Romans 3:22 says, He bestows on us,

Romans 3:22 ESV

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

We see in places like Ephesians 2:8-9 that faith is not drummed up by our own will,

but it is a gift of God.

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

God gives us faith to believe in him,

we repent and trust in him for salvation,

and our status as sinners is removed from us.

God then bestows on us, credits us,

with a righteous standing before him.

We are justified, declared righteous in the sight of God.

This is what Paul in Romans 4 says happened with Abraham, he says in Romans 4:3,

Romans 4:3 ESV

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

So that is the first meaning of the word “righteous” in the scriptures.

It is a status before God,

a status that no one has naturally, (we are all sinners)

but a status that you can have by faith.

b) The second way that the word “righteous” is used,

is the general characteristic of doing right in the sight of God.

This is the use of Righteous that we see used often in psalms.

It refers to those who do good according to the instruction of God,

they are described in the Bible as being “righteous”.

Noah in our passage is described as righteous,

that means that he generally lived a righteous life,

one that is in accord with goodness and rightness of action.

Noah was certainly not perfect, though some translations use that word “perfect” to describe him.

We actually see Noah fall into sin later on in Genesis, he was still a sinner.

But the general direction of his life was towards righteousness, godliness, and obedience.

Actually I believe that both uses of the word righteous are appropriate to describe Noah.

We saw in the last verse of our passage last week, Genesis 6:8, that,

Genesis 6:8 ESV

But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord.

God bestowed his favour on Noah,

and throughout our passage this morning we see that Noah believed God.

He demonstrated his faith through his obedience to God.

So Noah is described as righteous,

he had a righteous standing before God by faith,

and he lived righteously because of that faith.

2. Blameless

The second thing our passage says about Noah is that he is blameless.

This means that he wasn’t associated with evil, he turned away from it.

This is the same thing that is said about Job in Job 1:1, that he

Job 1:1 ESV

was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.

Noah, like Job, was blameless.

As we will see in a moment,

this was very different from what his generation was known for.

But Noah was blameless in his generation.

3. Walked with God

Finally, v. 9 says that Noah walked with God.

Noah had a relationship with his creator, and walked in his ways.

This is the same thing that is said twice about Noah’s great grandfather,

the prophet Enoch in Genesis 5, “Enoch Walked with God.”

Micah 6:8 tells us that this is what God requires of his people, it says,

Micah 6:8 ESV

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Noah walked with God,

Noah’s walk with God is demonstrated throughout our passage.

So that’s what were going to focus on this morning.

How to walk with God, and it is very simple.

End of All flesh (vv. 11-13)

Now, Noah is a man who’s described as righteous, blameless, and who walks with God.

But as I’ve already said, Noah’s lifestyle was very different from what his generation was known for.

We see this in vv. 11-13, we read there:

Genesis 6:11–13 ESV

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.

Early in v. 11 we see that the world was corrupt in the sight of God.

This is a complete reversal of what we saw in Genesis 1,

there we read over and over again that when God saw the world he had created, “God saw that it was good”.

But because of the corruption of sin,

mankind, and the whole of the rest of creation had been corrupted.

God created mankind to exercise authority and rule over the earth under God.

We saw that in Genesis 1.

He created man to make the earth flourish through righteousness.

But when a ruler becomes corrupt, everything they have authority over,

everything they are responsible for, is corrupted with them.

And so in our passage we see that not only is man corrupted because of sin,

but “all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”

“The [whole] earth was corrupt in God’s sight,

and was filled with violence.”

This was not the world as God had created it to be,

and so God, as the author of life and king of creation,

was going to destroy it all.

this world was going to come to an end.

The world in Noah’s day was corrupted, violent, and ripe for judgement.

Point 1: Walking With God Means Going A Different Way From the World

This takes me to my first point this morning, and that is this:

Walking with God means going a different direction from the world.

Genesis 6:5 says that,

Genesis 6:5 ESV

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Noah’s Generation was marked by their sinfulness.

But “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation.”

Noah walked with God,

and his walk with God made him different from the world around him.

This is something we talked a lot about when we did our series through the book of 1 Peter last year,

The tagline for that series was that as Christians,

“We are weird, we are different from the world,

in who we are, in how we live, and in what we hope for.”

Walking with God means going a different direction than the sinful world around us.

1 Peter 2:9 says of the people of God,

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

[That] you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God’s] own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

We are to be as different from the world as light is to darkness.

This means two things:

1. Not living like the world

First of all this means not living like the world.

I remember when I was in my late teens, I called myself a Christian,

but I was trying to call myself a Christian while living a life that was very much like the world.

I went along with all the things that worldly teenagers did at the time.

This did not go unnoticed in my family.

My grandmother in particular saw the direction I was going,

and in her wisdom she would tell me in her Northern Irish accent,

“you’ve got a foot in the world Nathan.”

Now at the time I would brush it off and tell her not to worry.

But I knew she was right and it stuck with me.

This inconsistency in my life is actually a part of my testimony.

Looking back, I can appreciate that a major part of how God drew me to repentance,

was his stoking my hatred of the inconsistency I had in my life.

Those who belong to Christ are never happy when our lives are inconsistent with our Christian faith.

Worldliness does not lead to the happiness it promises.

It leads to destruction, just like we see in Noah’s generation.

This is why the scriptures are full of exhortations not to participate in the evil in the world.

Don’t try to straddle a line between godliness and worldliness,

take your foot out of the world and live differently to it.

As Philippians 2:15 says

Philippians 2:15 ESV

that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

The world is dark, you are light.

You have been declared righteous by God,

the world is unrighteous.

Live a life that is brilliantly opposed to the darkness of the world.

Do not live like the world.

2. Not letting the world set our Agenda

The second thing going a different direction from the world means is,

not letting the world set our agenda,

as christians and as the church.

Too many Christians, and too many churches, let the world dictate what we ought to do.

What we ought to be for, what we ought to be against.

They lick their finger, and lift it up,

to get a sense of where the winds of the culture are blowing,

where the spirit of the age is headed.

And they go the direction the world tells them to go.

This is how we’ve seen so many who claim to belong to Christ in our time,

church after church, denomination after denomination,

adopt moral stances, and social causes

that directly contradict what God has instructed us in his word.

As the people of God, as those who walk with him,

we are not to be finger lickers.

We don’t follow the winds of culture,

we don’t allow the world to set our agenda.

As Romans 12:2 says,

Romans 12:2 ESV

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Walking with God means, going a different direction than the world,

not living like it, or following it’s lead.

Not fearing what it fears,

not getting steered or riled up by what motivates the world.

The world does not set our direction,

it has already been set.

God has given us a way to follow.

Just like he gave to Noah.

How to Build an Ark (vv. 14-16)

In v. 14-15, after telling Noah that he is going to destroy all of life off the face of the world,

God tells Noah what he should do.

God says,

Genesis 6:14–16 ESV

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.

The Ark

Now since I know people are going to ask,

Yes I have been down to the Ark Encounter down in Kentucky.

For those of you who don’t know, the Ark Encounter is a life size replica of Noahs ark,

that was built as an educational attraction by the organization Answers in Genesis.

I’d encourage you to go down and see it if you have the chance,

it really is impressive.

They do take some creative liberties with some of what is featured inside,

and they’re open about that.

Some of the creative liberties are not how I would have done it personally,

But I didn’t build a giant ark replica so im not going to complain.

The whole thing is an absolutely incredible feat.

And very worth while checking out.

The thing that struck me when I visited the Ark Encounter, and I think the thing that strikes most people,

is just how massive it all is.

It is absolutely huge, since it was built according to the measurements given here in Genesis 6.

The unit of measure that we’re given in Genesis 6 is a cubit.

Which is the size of the average man’s forearm,

from the elbow to the tip of the finger.

So the size of the ark, with a “length of 300 cubits, a [width] of 50 cubits, and [a] height 30 cubits”,

is absolutely massive;

about 450 feet long, a good amount longer than a football field.

God tells Noah to build the ark with rooms in it to house people and animals,

to cover it with pitch so that it would float,

and to give it three floors and a roof.

Bible scholars have noted that these three floors,

are similar to the three sections of the tabernacle and later the temple,

with the outer court, the holy place, and the holy of holies.

These were all made to reflect the creation;

with the earth, the heaven (the sky), and the heaven of heaven (or the highest heaven) where God dwells.

Now when we read about the Ark, or the tabernacle, or the temple in the bible,

there are detailed measurements given to us.

This is not so that we can make our own if we want, though its very cool when people do.

But it is to show the meticulous detail in the instructions God gave in making them.

And this takes me to my second point this morning.

Point 2: Walking With God Means Following God’s Directions

2. Walking with God means following his directions.

God gave Noah very specific directions about how to build the ark.

Just like God gave Moses very specific instructions for how to build the tabernacle,

and to Solomon for how to build the temple.

Similarly God gives us very specific instructions for how we live our lives as his people.

Just like Noah, we are given our instructions directly from God,

but he gives them to us through his word.

Walking with God is not merely rejecting the world’s way,

we also want to follow God’s way.

And God teaches us the way through his commands and instruction.

Walking with God means obeying his instructions as individuals,

as families,

and as the church.

This is why we preach from the scriptures at our worship services,

and why we encourage everyone to read the Bible for themselves,

and for parents to teach the scriptures to their kids.

I often quote 2 Timothy 3:16-17, because it is so important.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

We need to know the instructions of God.

And not just know them, but follow them, live by them.

Being doers of the word not just hearers of it.

Walking with God, means following in his paths,

following his directions.

By Faith

But walking with God is not merely following a bunch of rules.

Walking with God means following his direction’s - by faith.

See, saving faith is not just something that someone has,

when they repent of their sins and believe in Jesus initially,

and then it goes away.

Saving faith is something that begins at a person’s salvation,

and continues throughout their lives as they walk with God day-by-day.

Faith is assurance, confidence, in God and in his promises,

believing in him and in what he says.

The only way we can walk with God,

going a different way from the world,

and walking according to his direction

is by faith.

In fact it is impossible to follow God’s directions,

to live in obedience to him,

without faith.

Hebrews 11:6 says,

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

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 only through faith that one can please God in obedience.

It is faith that initiates and fuels obedience in us.

We see this in the life of Noah.

Hebrews 11:7 says,

Hebrews 11:7 ESV

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.

Noah was saved (he was made righteous) by faith,

and Noah was obedient (he lived righteously) by faith.

This is why Noah in reverent fear followed the directions given to him by God.

Two of Each Kind (vv. 19-21)

God gave Noah very specific directions about how to build the ark,

and also what he should fill it with.

We read God’s instruction on what else should go into the ark in vv. 19-21.

God says,

Genesis 6:19–21 ESV

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.”

Through this Ark that God has instructed Noah to build,

God is going to save Noah and his family from the judgment on the earth.

And with them God is going to save a pair of every kind of bird and land animal.

The statement that we see three times here in vv. 19-21, “according to their kinds”

is used six times in Genesis 1 when God created the animals.

God was going to save a mating pair of every kind of bird and land animal,

to bring them into the new world after the flood.

Point 3: Walking with God Leads to Salvation

And this leads me to my final point this morning.

3. Walking with God leads to salvation.

If you look back at vv. 17-18 of our passage, God tells Noah his purpose in building the building of this great ark.

Judgment and Salvation (vv. 17-18)

He says,

Genesis 6:17–18 ESV

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.

Through the ark that Noah would build,

God would save Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives,

along with every kind of creature that came onto the ark.

By walking with God by faith, Noah would be saved from judgment.

Walking with God by faith would lead to salvation.

Salvation

Even today, especially today, walking with God leads to salvation.

When we repent of our sin, rejecting the way of the world,

and when we follow the great command to believe in Jesus Christ for our salvation,

we receive forgiveness of our sin and God gives us eternal life.

We receive salvation for ourselves.

Evangelism

But God also uses our walk with him to bring salvation to others.

When we are faithful in following Jesus instruction to “Go and make disciples of all nations,”

when we boldly proclaim the Gospel that is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

God uses us, to bring salvation to others.

Application

A few years ago I built a large deck on the back of my house.

The old one had rotted away and needed to be replaced.

I had never built a deck of that size before,

so after the old deck was demolished and cleared away,

the project seemed almost impossible.

With some help, and a lot of hard work, I was able to build it.

Impossible

But when I look at what God instructed Noah to do,

I can’t imagine how impossible that whole project seemed to him.

It was impossible.

How could a man and his sons,

build something so big,

with hand tools.

He couldn’t run to the lumber store to get materials;

he had to fell the trees himself,

forge the nails himself if they used nails,

make the tools himself.

And all while the whole world is against him,

and with the end of the world drawing near.

But Noah walked with God by faith,

and by rejecting the way of the world around him,

and by following God’s way and instruction,

Noah was able to do the impossible task before him,

and God used him to bring salvation to humanity through the waters of judgement.

What Are We Building?

Noah was told the world was going to end.

He didn’t hide out,

he didn’t complain,

he didn’t panic.

Instead, he walked with God by faith in humility and obedience,

and built the means of salvation God had instructed him to build.

The Bible tells us that our world will one day end too,

When Christ returns to judge the living and the dead,

it could be very soon, it could be very far away in the future.

But as 2 Peter 3:7 says,

Just like the world was once deluged with water,

2 Peter 3:7 ESV

By the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

The world will come to an end…

…so what are we building?

See, just like God gave Noah an impossible task,

you and I are given an impossible task.

Jesus told us in Matthew 28 to “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

An impossible task, but God has been accomplishing it for 2000 years,

and he will continue to accomplish it until he returns.

God accomplishes this impossible task,

through people who walk with him by faith.

Who by faith reject the way of the world,

and who by faith follow his directions.

Noah lived in a dying world.

God instructed him to build an ark.

You and I also live in a dying world.

Jesus instructs us to build disciples,

so he can build his church.

The question I want to ask you this morning is this:

Are you walking with God by faith?

The way to begin that walk is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

That is how a life of walking with God begins.

Reject the sin of the world completely,

don’t try to straddle the line between righteousness and worldliness.

Walking with God means going a different way from the world,

repent of your sin and turn the other direction, turn towards Jesus in faith.

2. Then follow God closely.

Walking with God means following his directions by faith.

Live a life that is marked by holiness, and righteousness.

The world doesn’t define those for us, God does,

so obey the instruction God has given to us in his word.

3. Finally, participate in the salvation of the world.

God has given us an impossible mission

But he has given us power by his Spirit,

and instructions in how to accomplish that impossible mission.

God is building his church,

we participate with him by making disciples.

Share the Gospel with friends and family and neighbours,

disciple your kids and grandkids, (riff on how important this is)

teach them the things of God so that they can pass it on for generations.

God saved eight people through the ark that Noah built.

God is saving countless people through the church that Christ is building.

How many will he add to that number through you?

Conclusion

All That God Commanded (v. 22)

Our passages ends by saying that,

Genesis 6:22 ESV

Noah did all that God commanded him.

Though Noah had an impossible task to complete,

with the end of the world drawing near.

Noah didn’t panic, he didn’t complain.

Noah was faithful, and did all that God commanded him.

Because Noah walked with God by faith.

The end of the world is coming for us, what are you going to do about it?

Prayer

English Standard Version Psalm 86

11  Teach us your way, O LORD,

that we may walk in your truth;

unite our hearts to fear your name.

12  We give thanks to you, O Lord our God, with all our hearts,

and glorify your name forever.

13  For great is your steadfast love toward us;

because you have delivered our souls from the depths.