The Genesis Flood
The Genesis Flood
INTRODUCTION:
1. Read text: Gen. 6:1-8.
2. Regarding text:
(1) Man’s sin and proficiency of it brought the earth to the eve of destruction.
(2) We are concerned about the environment of our world, but the Bible tells us that sin ought be our number one concern.
(3) Noah, found favor with God, and God gave Noah a plan of survival.
(4) The story of the flood can be looked at from different perspectives.
A. God's:
(a) God tells Noah to build the ark.
(b) God tells Noah to enter the ark.
(c) God tells Noah to exit the ark.
B. Noah's:
(a) Planning and Construction
(b) Embarking and Occupation of the Ark
(c) Disembarkation
(5) Regardless how we look at it we basically have the same story.
A. God warns Noah that He is going to destroy the earth with a flood.
B. God tells Noah what to do to survive the flood.
C. Noah builds the ark.
D. Noah boards the ark along with his family and the animals of the world.
E. God destroys the earth with a flood.
F. God dries the land.
G. Noah and his family emerge onto a new earth.
(6) The Son of God Himself endorsed the reliability of the Old Testament record regarding the Flood (Mt. 24:37-39). Since he is an eternal Being (Mic. 5:2; Jn. 1:1), and therefore witnessed the Flood (cf. Jn. 8:58), his testimony must be accepted as fact.
DISCUSSION:
I. Two Questions Generally Arise? (The Bible Answer Is Logical and Straightforward)
1. Could the ark carry everything necessary?
(1) Usually people who ask, [A] Don’t know how many animals would have been on the ark, and [B] What the actual size of the ark (cubic feet or cubits) was. Still, they are determined that it couldn’t happen.
(2) The ark contained 100,000 square feet of space. This is equal to 8 freight trains, each with sixty five box cars (total of 520 box cars).
(3) Then when you consider:
A. Not every species of animal was brought into the ark. Every kind (broader) was.
B. It is estimated that the average size of animal within the ark was about size of a sheep.
a. Box car can carry approx. 240 sheep.
b. It has not been disputed, that approx. 150 box cars would be sufficient. Leaves 370 empty box.
(4) The story of the ark is impressive. It is in some ways beyond my ability to grasp fully, BUT the evidence can be examined in a reasonable fashion. Make sure you do so. Know what you know and why you know it. Don’t base on assumptions.
2. Was the flood of global proportions (i.e. was it a local flood or global?)?
(1) Common practice = treat Bible as myth. It has borne fruit in church today.
(2) I don’t have any trouble taking the Bible at its word. The Account is clear.
A. Gen. 7:19, 21. That really should answer the question for you.
B. Notice Gen. 7:11. Certain waters came from the “great deep” of the ocean. Wayne Jackson says, “This certainly suggests more than a mesopotamian mud puddle.”
(3) If the flood was not global, why did God have Noah build an ark? Why not just have him move? AND why have Him stay in there for over a year?
(4) Why did God flood the world anyway? ANS = corruption of man was everywhere and totally perverted. The flood punished the world!
(5) Notice 2 Pet. 3:1-10.
II. Will The Intended Lessons Be Learned?
· Incredibly, this is often an overlooked step in the Bible study of some, if not most.
· These accounts / record of the Bible are here for a purpose, to the original recipients, but also for us today. (Prov. 9:9; Rom. 15:4).
1. Be Sure, Your Sin Will Find You Out (Num. 32:23). God Knows.
(1) Of the individual and of the whole of mankind. Their thoughts were not only evil, but they were on evil continually.
(2) God knows the secrets of the heart (Psa. 44:21). His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth (2 Chron. 16:9).
(3) I know that you know that. We all know it, BUT I also know how quickly forgotten.
2. Know That Your Sin Has Terrible Consequences.
(1) Always destroys. Always destructive.
A. Sow to the wind, and you shall reap the whirlwind (Hos. 8:7).
B. Prov. 16.25
C. Those who do not fear God, “… shall eat of the fruit of their own way..” (Prov. 1:31).
(2) Sin will produce disease, cause homes to be burned to ground, young people to be crippled, babies to die, the environment to be destroyed…
(3) Always produces death (Rom. 6:23; Ezek. 18:20).
3. God Wants Us To Be Saved.
(1) God told Noah how to build the ark. God told Noah when to build the ark. God told Noah when to go inside. God gave Noah information as to when to come out!
(2) God tells me, the words by which I can be saved, if I too, like Noah, will hear Him, take Him at His word, and do what He says to do, knowing and trusting that God will do what He says He will.
(3) The Bible tells you how to be saved, though some want to think or act like it not.
A. WHAT MUST WE DO…. (Acts 2:38f).
B. “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to every man. Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age.” (Titus 2:11-12).
C. Faith comes by hearing (Rom. 10:17).
D. Hearing leads to believing and believing will lead to obeying and obeying will involve baptism, confession, and repentance.
4. The Principle Of Authority Is Essential To A Satisfying Life.
(1) Noah had to do what God expected / obligated Him to do.
(2) Some things God expected were specific (wood, dimensions), but some things were general / non-specific (generic) - metal ax or wood ax,etc.
(3) Everything I do, under the NT, I am obligated to do in accord with Christ’s authority.
5. Noah had to have grace, faith, and obedience to be saved, and those very same things are essential to salvation under the New Testament.
(1) God’s unmerited favor (grace) offers unto us, salvation (Eph. 2:8).
(2) My response = faith = take God at His word = accept His gift (Heb. 11:6).
(3) My faith must act upon God’s word (Heb. 5:9; Jas. 2:24).
6. God will Do His Part, But He Will Not Do Your Part.
(1) God told Noah how to build the ark. God did not build the ark. Noah did.
(2) God shut the ark for Noah’s safety. God did not force Noah into the ark.
(3) 2 Thess. 3:10 – “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any man would not work, neither shall he eat.”
7. God will punish the wicked and He will reward the righteous.
(1) Rom. 11:22.
(2) Mt. 25:46.
CONCLUSION:
Here is what we do know:
There are geological evidences that buttress the Genesis account relative to the Flood. Marine fossils are found around the world in mountainous areas that are now high and dry. Old shore lines (or strand lines as they are called), are spaced in mountain ranges at parallel heights on both sides of the Atlantic. For further study, see our Feature article on this site, “Lessons From The La Brea Tar Pits”, (July, 2000)
Reports of Evidence for the Genesis Flood
Publish date: November 27, 2000
Author: WAYNE JACKSON
Article description: This article addresses recent reports of possible evidence in the Black Sea for the Genesis Flood.
A few weeks ago, a fascinating piece appeared in the prestigious magazine U.S. News & World Report (September 25, 2000, p. 38). Authored by journalist Michael Satchell, the article was titled, “An enduring mystery – Evidence points to a flood of biblical proportions.” Satchell’s essay called attention to an amazing archaeological discovery beneath the surface of the Black Sea, a massive body of water (170,000 square miles—greater in size than the state of California) between Europe and Asia, and linked to the Mediterranean Sea.
The article rehearsed a recent find by an archaeological team led by Robert Ballard (who found the Titanic). According to Satchell, these scientists have been exploring beneath the surface of the Black Sea off the Turkish coast “for evidence of an apocalyptic natural event that could have inspired the Genesis account of the great flood.” In mid-September, the expedition discovered “a large wooden building 12 miles offshore at a depth of more than 300 feet.” Ballard described the find as “beyond our wildest imagination.”
Apparently there is an “ancient coastline some 550 feet below the present sea level.” It is speculated that several thousand years ago, melting glaciers “sent the Mediterranean Sea pouring through a natural dam across the Bosporus Strait, inundating a huge freshwater lake and creating the Black Sea.”