While There's Still Time
Notes
Transcript
Some of my favorite movies are of the apocalyptic sort. Something threatens humanity’s existence, a band of people are put together to address the problem, then they go to stop the impending disaster. Closely related to it are the post-apocalyptic movies that depict the aftermath of the near world ending event and humanity is rebuilding. In the apocalyptic category there are movies like Armageddon, Deep Impact, and The Day After Tomorrow. Post-apocalyptic movies would be like The Book of Eli, I Am Legend, and Waterworld. Stories like these have been told in virtually every ancient civilization all the way up to the present day.
Today, we look at the famous Judeo-Christian version of that story, the story of Noah and the Ark. The first five chapters of Genesis introduce us to the world God created, the ultimate human problem, and its effects through successive generations. Today we are going to take a look at the entire flood narrative of Genesis 6-8 and examine it through the lens of narrative literature.
Every great story has a familiar story arc. It begins with establishing setting and introducing characters. Then there is an inciting incident. This is the problem introduced in the story, a conflict that develops. This is followed by rising action leading to a climax. It is the most tense point of the whole story before the action begins to fall, leading to a resolution of some kind. We are going to look at the story of Noah through this story arc, draw some conclusions, and understand what a story from thousands of years ago means for us today.
The story of the flood begins in Genesis 6. Look with me at Genesis 6:1-8
Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,
that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
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.”
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.
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.
The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
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.”
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
This is the opening scene. The movie screen fades from black to open our eyes to Noah’s world. The world looks vibrant. The trees are green, there is water flowing through a brook, there are people everywhere. Marriages are taking place. People are making families. All seems nice, but God is not pleased. The viewer knows from the previous episodes that sin had brought forth corruption and that has led to death both spiritually and physically. God is intending to bring judgment upon the world for man’s wickedness.
God announces this plan to Noah, the only one who is regarded as a righteous man, one who walks with God. He is called upon to construct an ark, a vessel that will provide a way of escape for Noah and his family, and all the animals that God intends to use to repopulate the earth. He lays out the blueprints for this massive boat. A cubit was the length from one’s elbow to the tip of his finger, approximately 18 inches. So using that as a standard of measure, that put the ark at 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. You can see a real-life version of this at Answers in Genesis in Kentucky. So, God lays out the instructions for building this thing, and the very last verse of chapter six is important:
Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.
Then chapter seven leads us into the rising action of the story. The day of the flood comes. It is time to get on the boat. Noah and his family get on board and the animals God has chosen come with them. But notice something interesting in chapter seven. Look with me starting in verse eleven:
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.
The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.
On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark,
they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds.
So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life.
Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the Lord closed it behind him.
And the Lord closed it behind him...
Noah didn’t shut the door. God did. This is an example of God’s sovereign control over our affairs that we will circle back to in a minute.
The rain beats down on the earth for forty days and forty nights. Verse eleven says the fountains of the great deep burst forth and the windows of heaven were opened. The flood waters are coming from above and below! The earth is erupting and undergoing violent change as the waters rise and swallow up everything not inside the ark.
Then we reach the climax of the story:
Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth.
The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.
The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered.
The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.
All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind;
of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.
The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.
Four times it says the water prevailed and everything that had the breath of life on the earth died. Every person, every animal, every bird. The apocalyptic event had come. Everything is under water. God’s judgment had been carried out. The tension is the highest at this point. Is Noah going to make it? What about the animals? What about his family? What hope is there for this rescue?
Chapter eight moves the narrative into the falling action portion of our story.
But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.
But God remembered Noah… He is not forgotten. The time came for he rest of the plan to unfold. The waters recede and the ark rests on the mountains of Ararat, and after forty days of sitting at the top of a mountain, Noah sends out a raven, but it returns to him. A week later, a dove. Same result. A week later a dove again, but this time with an olive branch in its beak. Then a week after that he sends the dove out but it doesn’t return.
And then we get to the resolution part of the story:
Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up.
In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
Then God spoke to Noah, saying,
“Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.
“Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him.
The cataclysmic event was over. Noah was brought to the other side. His family was saved along with every other species of animal at the time. The crazy thing is that this is all a foreshadowing of the greatest story of all time: the gospel of Jesus Christ. Allow me to draw five principles from this story that we also see in the grander story of the gospel.
The world is ripe for judgment.
The world is ripe for judgment.
The setting of Noah’s story is one of widespread corruption and violence. If you turn on the news today, that is essentially all you hear. That is done on purpose. There’s a saying in the news business, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Heartwarming stories don’t sell newspapers. Dumpster fires do. But everywhere you turn today, someone is ready to talk about bad news. How many times have you heard or said, “Have you heard about...” and it was followed by something awful? When do you hear, “Hey, did you hear about Bob?” followed by, “He’s having a great day today.” Oh. Okay. So what? We don’t care about that kind of news. If that’s all that gets printed in a newspaper or through online channels these days, we call that a slow news day. Nobody cares!
Our world has an appetite for corruption and violence and it grieves the heart of God the same way it did in Genesis. All of creation is under a curse. All of creation faces judgment from our Creator. God has every right to judge us. We deserve it. Yet in the darkness we have brought upon ourselves, he has chosen to offer hope. He has chosen to send the light.
God has sent His Rescuer.
God has sent His Rescuer.
In the flood narrative, Noah is the one declared righteous and blameless. Noah is the one tasked with building the ark. Noah is seen as the deliverer. God is the ultimate deliverer, but he chooses to act through a man named Noah and chooses to use a vessel called an ark to provide deliverance. The first glimpse of covenant appears. This word is first used in chapter six. God enters into a covenant with Noah, which we will talk about next week.
Noah’s obedience to God is a foreshadowing of Christ’s obedience to God to inaugurate the new covenant through his blood. Jesus is the greater Noah and the story of Noah finds its culmination in the cross. Jesus perfectly obeys his Father, offering himself as a sacrifice for us to provide a pardon from judgment and a new covenant relationship with our Creator. God has already sent his rescuer.
The door is closing.
The door is closing.
Noah, his family, and the animals enter the ark. God shuts the door, and everything outside the ark dies. Let’s go back to that reality for a second. God shuts the door. There is appointed a day on the calendar for everyone to die. That is the inconvenient truth, but true nonetheless. Hebrews 9:27 says,
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
God is a god of justice. The Bible teaches us that all have sinned. Everyone has broken God’s law. The price for that, or the wages in Rom. 6:23 is death. We all deserve to pay for our breaking of the law. But God offers a free gift of eternal life through Christ. His sacrifice covers our crimes. 2 Peter 2:5 calls Noah a preacher of righteousness. It is safe to assume that as the ark was constructed, a message of repentance was delivered and people rejected it.
Judgment is real, and outside of Christ, there is no refuge. Jesus took the flood of God’s wrath upon Himself so that we wouldn’t have to face it. The door is closing. If you have not yet turned to God for the forgiveness of your sins, the door is closing. The Bible says today is the day of salvation. Trust in Jesus today. Receive forgiveness. Receive eternal life. If you have already received eternal life, remember there are people God has placed in your life to share the message with. The door won’t be open forever. Take every opportunity.
God remembers and restores.
God remembers and restores.
We make a big deal out of the cross of Christ. That’s where God’s love, grace, and mercy was put on display. But without an empty tomb, the cross doesn’t amount to much. This is why we celebrate Easter. God remembered Noah. Just as God remembered Noah, God raised Jesus from the dead. As he was raised, he was raised to incorruptibility. In Him, a new creation has begun. We are told that the old has passed away and the new has come. We are a new creation. Resurrection is the first sign of restoration.
God did not forget or abandon Christ. He has not forgotten or abandoned you. Remember that you are a new creation. Remember to live in the hope of that new creation. If you’re in Christ, you are already walking in resurrection reality. New life is experienced now and for eternity. The God who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
The only acceptable response to rescue is worship.
The only acceptable response to rescue is worship.
Noah’s first act upon leaving the ark was a sacrifice. And it wasn’t some small sacrifice. A part of every clean animal and a part of every clean bird was part of this burnt offering. That’s a lot of animals. If you survived a world ending event, how would you respond? How many of you can say with confidence you are a born again, child of God bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus, the Son of God? Remember you have already been rescued. You have already been rescued from your eternal fate and been given a new one. Isn’t that enough reason to worship him today?
How many of you are waiting to be rescued from something? Some are waiting to be rescued from cancer. Some of you are waiting to be rescued from another disease. Some of you are waiting to be rescued from harsh circumstances. Some of you are waiting for rescue on behalf of others. Remember that grace will hold the world together until the final renewal. Rescue is coming.
Jesus’ sacrifice is the ultimate pleasing aroma to God. No other sacrifice needs to be made. Through Him, we are brought into a new covenant of grace. Your entrance into heaven or a relationship with God is dependent on your performance. You cannot be good enough to earn God’s favor. Instead, he chooses us for his own purposes and his own pleasure. I don’t deserve to be standing before you today. But by the grace of my Father I am.
What has God given you that you do not deserve? Respond to rescue with worship. Remember that your obedience to God’s commands is worship. He has placed you on this earth to be a witness to others. The door is closing. Invite others into this rescue while there’s still time.
Main Idea: Noah points us to a greater Savior who delivers us from judgment—so trust fully in Jesus and lead others into His rescue.
If you are one who raised your hand earlier, I want you to think of one person who you know does not know Jesus. If they passed away today, they would be eternally separated from God. Do you have that person in mind? That person just became your mission field. Begin praying for them. Begin planning what you are going to say to them. Plan to reach out to them to share the gospel. Until that day comes, plan on living the gospel in front of them.
