THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD

Last week we examined the History of Corruption, where Scripture described the depravity of man. Man is corrupt. God’s assessment is, “that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” ()

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.

Man, as the Scriptures declare, are dead in their sins (). Man, in his rebellion, has taken everything good that God has created and corrupted. Man took paradise, perfect fellowship with both fellow humans and God Himself, and corrupted them through his denial of God’s goodness and Word. Man has taken the gift of life and destroyed it in Genesis chapter 4. Man has taken the gift of marriage and corrupted it in Genesis chapter 4. And in chapter 6, man’s entire being, his thoughts, desires, and actions, are all corrupt.

God, who is a holy God, must punish sin. It is in His very nature to judge sin. Holiness, by its very nature, involves the judgment of that which is unholy. Consider Isaiah’s response upon seeing the thrice holy God. Isaiah declares, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” ()

Isaiah 6:5 ESV

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Because of God’s estimation, the earth is filled with violence (). Violence covered the earth. God, then, steps in to act. Thus, this message could be easily titled the History of Judgment.

But considering the vastness of the judgment, and the means of the judgment, I believe the title History of the Flood is most fitting.

I. THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD DISPLAYS GOD’S GOODNESS-

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.

The first aspect of this history we must note is God’s goodness. Here Noah is described as a righteous man, blameless in his generation, and as walking with God.

Noah was different than the rest of his generation, and it centered on his relationship with God. We learn the basis for Noah’s relationship with God was faith. describes this:

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.

It was by faith that Noah enjoyed a relationship with God. We learn from that without faith it is impossible to please God. The theme of faith is seen in the book of Genesis as well. God’s goodness is displayed here because Noah was not unlike other human beings who lived on the earth, at least he was initially. Remember ? That is a comprehensive description of all humanity, at one point or another. But we also learned that Noah had faith, and Jesus describes this change is new birth. That is, Jesus says we must experience a wholistic change. We must be born again, as Jesus says to Nicodemus in . And John, at the beginning of that same Gospel which bears his name, declares that this change occurs at the will of God ().

Therefore, we can say that God’s goodness is found even in the flood.

II. THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD DISPLAYS GOD’S JUSTIFICATION-

Genesis 6:11–12 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.

The flood, as terrible and horrific as it is, is completely justified. Think about a mass-murderer, someone like Adolf Hitler. Through his terrifying reign millions of people died. No one would question the rightness of his execution. In other words, Adolf Hitler’s death would be justified. In these two verses we see that God is justified in His destruction. The earth was ruined with violence and depravity. That is the idea of corruption here.

Think about the battle of God with Egypt. In we see this described physically through the judgment of flies. Flies are known to carry over 200 pathogens that are harmful and even deadly to humans. Just think of what flies are attracted to: feces, trash, rotten flesh, etc. Now, the picture is that Egypt is covered with flies, and you can imagine the destruction involved with that, both to animal and human life. Everything would be infected.

This is the picture of the corruption of the earth: everything involving man was filled with this corrupting violence. God’s judgment through the flood, then, is completely justified.

Now, before we move on it bears mentioning that God’s judgments are always justified. The measure of God’s judgment can be summarized in the Ten Commandments are displayed throughout all of Scripture. Paul describes the situation like this: .

Romans 3:19 ESV

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

III. THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD DISPLAYS GOD’S GRACE- Genesis 7:1-8:19

Genesis 6:13–17 ESV

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.

Now, God pronounces the coming judgment, and in this His grace is displayed. God would have been completely just to execute His judgment immediately. Just as God’s grace is displayed in Adam and Eve’s life in Genesis chapter 3 where God does not immediately exercise judgment.

For a period of 120 years (), God patiently waited, as Peter describes in . As Noah obeyed God’s command (as we will see shortly), God’s patience and grace was being displayed for all to see. The entire world had heard the message of coming judgment (, preacher of righteousness) and they saw the construction of the ark (, “an ark…by which he condemned the world”).

God patiently allowed Noah to preach and live a righteous life. Men and women, those who were corrupted with violence, could have repented. Nevertheless, they remained in their sins.

God’s grace is also seen in Noah’s life as God instructs Noah on the construction details of the ark (6:14-16). God tells Noah exactly how to build the ark, the items needed on the ark (6:21), and even the animals which needed to be saved (6:19; 7:2-3).

Furthermore, God’s grace is seen in the deliverance of mankind and animals in the ark (7:6-8:19). A torrential rain fall, as well as seismic shift in the earth’s surface occured and brought an unheard of amount of water over the surface of our planet. In fact, according to , the ark was 15 cubits (18 inches multiplied by 15 equals 22’ 5”). We have no idea what the highest mountain on earth was at this time. The geographical landscape of the earth was tremendously affected by this cataclysmic event. I recommend looking into Answers In Genesis materials for further study. But God kept Noah and his family and all the animals safe.

We could look at the rest of chapter seven and eight and behold God’s grace through the whole process as well. God’s grace is on display, even in the destructive nature of the flood.

IV. THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD DISPLAYS THE SERIOUSNESS OF SIN- ,

Genesis 6:17 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.

Genesis 7:17–24 ESV

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.

As God assessed humanity, His conclusion based upon empirical evidence, was that man was inherently and totally corrupt. As a result, God destroyed humanity and animals. The infectious disease of sin had spread into everything in creation, and God had to cleanse His creation. Sin, as this lesson teaches us, is serious.

Consider the destruction, just the physical destruction wrought because of sin. All sorts of animal and plant life, and even human life, ceased in this flood. Only eight human beings were saved, and only a handful of animals.

Not only was there physical destruction, we are also reminded from the NT of the spiritual destruction. The death spoken of by God included physical death, but it was not limited to that. It also involved spiritual death (the theme of Paul in ). Jesus says it like this in :

Matthew 10:28 ESV

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

The flood displays the seriousness of sin. And individual Christians must remember how seriously God takes sin. We, as a church, must remember how seriously God takes sin.

V. THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD DISPLAYS THE SALVATION OF GOD-

really describes how God saved Noah and his family, and as a result humanity. Peter connects the physical salvation of Noah with the spiritual salvation of believers (see ).

Genesis 8:13–19 ESV

In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. Then God said to Noah, “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm 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. Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.

God saved Noah and his family and really all of the earth. The history of the flood displays the salvation of God. God is a gracious God, as we have already noted, but His graciousness is most evident in His salvation.

Consider, as this event points forward to the true, spiritual salvation of all who would believe. What did it cost God? It cost Him the blood of Jesus Christ. Thinking back to Peter’s words in , we see the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the cost of God for our salvation.

1 Peter 3:18–22 ESV

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

The history reminds us of the Gospel, that, though we like the rest of humanity deserve death, yet we have received grace and salvation through Jesus Christ.

It reminds us, too, that, as Noah preached during the 120 year period of construction, we too, according to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, are to preach the Gospel to those around us ().

VI. THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD REMINDS US OF OUR RESPONSE-

Genesis 8:20–22 ESV

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

Our response is sincere thankfulness for the grace of God. Noah offered a sacrifice of the few animals that he took with him on the ark. In other words, it was costly. Like , we must offer a sacrifice, but differing from Noah’s, our sacrifices must be our very lives as we live in service to God.

In summary, here are our lessons:

THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD DISPLAYS GOD’S GOODNESS

THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD DISPLAYS GOD’S JUSTIFICATION

THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD DISPLAYS GOD’S GRACE

THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD DISPLAYS THE SERIOUSNESS OF SIN

THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD DISPLAYS THE SALVATION OF GOD

THE HISTORY OF THE FLOOD REMINDS US OF OUR RESPONSE