Genesis 13
Has there ever been a problem come up in your life where the solution to the problem was going to be incredibly difficult? And the difficult solution to the problem was the only solution to the problem so you had no choice in how to fix things.
[Disposing dead, rotten story.]
Well we’re going to reading about how the earth has really become one big problem – a problem that had only one solution – one difficult solution. But that difficult solution came through a godly man and his family. Let’s get reacquainted with Noah from where we left off last week.
[Read Genesis 6:8-10.]
God always has a plan. He knows the beginning from the end. The corruption of the earth didn’t take Him by surprise. He knew it would happen and already had a solution to the problems that would arise. What was that problem?
I. The earth’s corruption
[Read Genesis 6:11-12.]
That word corrupt is an interesting one. It’s the Hebrew word ‘shawcath’ and it means to decay and cause to ruin.
You know what they say, “One bad apple spoils the barrel”. You have one apple that’s starting to rot in the midst of a bunch of other apples, eventually the mold spores from the rotten apples will eventually cause the other apples to go bad.
Now think about that in the context of humanity; “One bad apple spoils the barrel”. One sin has translated to all humanity causing all humanity to be corrupted. And that corruption continues to spread from person to person and from generation to generation. God looked down at the earth and saw the entire human race corrupted and contaminated with sin.
Remember how last week we talked about how humanity grieved the heart of God? How when He looked at His greatest creation He felt sorrow and pain? It’s because they had all gone bad. Mankind was irrevocably corrupted.
What now? I mean, all humanity is rotten to the core. How do you fix that?
II. The earth’s solution
[Read Genesis 6:13, 17.]
The earth’s solution was to start over. Humanity has gotten so bad that God has to restart civilization. It can’t be saved in it’s present state, so He gets ready to wipe everybody out and begin again. The solution to the corruption was destruction.
Have you ever had to do something like that? You worked really hard on something, you gave it everything you had, but in the end you realized that you had to start over.
[Painting our living room yellow story.]
I believe that one of the main reasons the Lord had to take such drastic measures was because the lifespan of individuals back then was so long. They lived an average of 900 years before the flood. Mainly because of the firmament that encapsulated the earth protecting them and the environment. It was just too much for man to live with a sin nature for that length of time with any real success. So when the flood came, because the firmament was melted, (we’ll talk about that next week), it wiped out all men. But when men began to repopulate the earth they didn’t live as long without the firmament.
Humanity had gotten so bad that drastic measures were necessary to restart civilization in a way that gave people a chance. Why did God give humanity another chance? For the same reason He gave us the first chance to live – He loves us and wants a relationship with us.
So the solution to the corruption was destruction. But this solution wasn’t just about destruction. This solution was more about salvation!
III. The earth’s salvation
[Read Genesis 6:14-16.]
The ark was the means of the physical salvation of humanity. Civilization would go on. Life would go on. The earth would be filled again because of the ark.
Now remember, the Lord is about to cover the earth with a tremendous flood. I mean the water would be tall enough to cover the mountains! So He designed a boat that could handle the kind of turbulent waters that would ensue.
He also designed the ark in such a way that it would be able to fit every kind of animal from the earth, Noah and his family, and food for the trip. This boat had to be sturdy and this boat had to be large! How large?
- Flat-bottomed, rectangular
- 450’ long, 75’ wide, 45’ high
- Three levels
- 1.4 million cubic feet of space
- Equal to 522 standard railcars, (125,000 sheep)
- Estimated 35-45,000 species of animals back then
- Only 60% of the space used, (family, animals, food, bugs)
Now that’s a big boat! But remember, for life to go on everything had to fit onboard. And
as usual, God’s solution is always more than adequate for the problem. So as God destroys the earth He saves it as well.
[Read I Peter 3:18-20.]
The ark is such a typology of the Lord. The earth was destroyed yet life was saved through the ark. Jesus’ body was destroyed yet spiritual life comes through His resurrection.
But can you see the love of God in these verses? Can you see His patience and grace?
[ Read I Peter 3:20b.]
That tells me that during that 120 years of ark construction, and Noah’s preaching, people could have come to God in faith. Why else would God have been patient? Why else would He have given Noah such a lengthy task? Because as always, God wants all men to be saved. He gives everyone a chance!
But as we know, sadly, no one besides Noah’s family was saved. They didn’t get to experience God’s salvation. But Noah and his family did. And as a matter of fact God makes Noah a promise concerning mankind.
IV. God’s declaration
[Read Genesis 6:18-21.]
Basically the Lord makes Noah a promise that he, his family, and animal life will go on. Humans and animals will survive the coming flood.
But this isn’t the actual Noahdic covenant. That comes after the flood in chapter nine when the ark reaches dry land where the Lord makes the covenant with Noah that He’ll never flood the earth again.
What God is doing here is establishing His covenant. The Hebrew word for establish is ‘koom’ which means to accomplish or continue. So it’s like He’s encouraging Noah with this promise that will not only be confirmed when they get to dry land but established with finality.
And you know what, I’ll bet Noah needed some encouragement as he started this monumental task of building the ark. Not only did he need it as he got started, but as the years would roll by, as the criticism turned into mocking, as the waves of doubt would roll in, he needed this promise of God to keep him going. It’s as if God was telling him that He would never leave him or forsake him. Like He was saying, “Noah, you, your family, all the animals will live – I promise.”
What a lesson we can take from that. Holding on to the promises of God through the difficult circumstances of life. Promises that we don’t even deserve – yet we have because we believe in Him. We can hold on to them when the flood waters come.
[Christian Chinese prisoner story.]
And I’m sure Noah did the same thing because the next verse shows us that Noah obeyed the Lord. He took God’s instructions and God’s promises and obeyed.
V. Noah’s submission
[Read Genesis 6:22.]
Noah spent the next 120 years in obedience to the Lord as he built this colossal boat. Now let’s think about this for a moment. Let’s try and put ourselves in Noah’s shoes, or sandals, for a moment. There must have been so many questions going through his mind.
- Flood? What flood? Earth-wide flood? Where would the water come from?
- What’s a boat?
- I don’t know how to build a boat?
- Just me and my three boys? That boat’s huge?
- Will anyone else listen to me? Help me? Encourage me?
- How will I get all the animals to come into the boat?
- Once we’re inside, then what?
And for 120 years those questions would come into his mind. But you know what, he
also had the promises of God rolling around in his head for those 120 years. And it seems like he listened more to God’s promises instead of man’s questions because he submitted to the Lord. He did exactly what God wanted him to do even though what God wanted him to do was unprecedented.
There’s times in our lives when the Lord asks us to do things that are hard. Things that take a long time to see the results. Things that are unpopular. Things that are unprecedented. Things that we might not even understand. But when the Lord asks us to do something we must obey. Especially if what He’s asking us to do has spiritual ramifications – which just about everything does.
Noah stood alone, yet the Lord used Him in such a huge way for the salvation of the human race. Back then, he wasn’t a very popular man. He was probably considered crazy, old-fashioned, and even a religious nut. But today we look back and say, “What a great man!”
Would we all be like Noah and courageously live in submission to the Lord.
Next week the flood comes. Will Noah be ready? You bet he will!
