IN THE BEGINNING
GENESIS PART 1 – ANTEDILUVIAN HISTORY
THE LIFE OF NOAH: MORE THAN AN ARK
GENESIS 6-9
INTRODUCTION
- There are only a few biblical accounts that enjoy widespread, almost universal familiarity. When asked to name a famous Bible story, an average person on the street might respond “Adam and Eve”, “David and Goliath”, “Moses and the Red Sea”, “Daniel and the lion’s den”, or of course “The birth and/or death of Jesus”. And the account we will be looking at today could most certainly be included in that list. Almost everyone knows the story of Noah and the ark he built to save himself from a great flood. In fact, just a few years ago Hollywood took a crack at a spoof of the Noah story in a movie entitled “Evan Almighty”. So I think it is safe to say that most people are familiar with the story of Noah, especially in our country.
- But I think it is also safe to say that while most people know of the story, they do not understand the meaning of the story. There is more to the flood account than an erroneously perceived over- crowded ark. The life of Noah reveals for us several attributes of God’s character. It gives us insight into who God is and how he works. Our purpose during our time together today is going to be to bring out some of those attributes as we survey this story. I’m going to assume that most of you know the details of the story (and if you don’t you can read the whole account later).
- Now a lot of time passed between where we last were in the text and where we are going to be today. In our look at the doctrine of redemption, we examined the declaration of victory by God given to the serpent in the garden. That occurred in the undateable past. We don’t know when that event occurred. However, no matter what your viewpoint is on the age of the earth, we know that humanity is a recent creation; so we are talking thousands to tens of thousands of years ago; but we cannot be exact.
- Several generations pass by the time we reach Genesis 6, but we are still off the knowable timeline. One of the most common dates given for the life of Abraham (who we will begin looking at next time) is around 2000 B.C. So we are looking at a point in history before then, and likely a long time before then. Some people attempt to count up the genealogies and give dates for the flood and even the creation event, but there are a lot of problems with that; and the arguments for and against those exact dates are outside the realm of our discussion today. So while we don’t know exactly when this event occurred, we know that it occurred historically, because it is recorded for us as history in Scripture.
- Let’s start by reading the introduction to this account in Genesis 6:1-8.
[READ GENESIS 6:1-8]
- For me to say that there are a lot of interpretive difficulties in these first few verses of the account would be an understatement. First of all, there is a lot of debate as to who the sons of God are, and what it means when it says they cohabited with the daughters of men. Since we are only spending one Sunday on Noah, I am going to leave that debate for another time. Whatever happened, it is clear that God is not pleased with what is going on on planet earth. I do, however, want to take the time to address another difficulty that arises in the text because I think it shows us something important about God.
- In v.3 the Bible says: Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” Let me give you this first truth, and then I will explain what I think that verse means:
THE ACCOUNT OF NOAH REVEALS GOD’S LONGSUFFERING WITH SINNERS
- There are a couple of ways to understand what Moses writes here as he is quoting God. And the difference between the two understandings involves a lot of detailed original language arguments; but we don’t need to go into those to get the gist of our options. Either this verse means that the spirit of life God breathed into mankind would not remain in him forever, and therefore his life span would only be 120 years as opposed to the long lives recorded in chapter 5; or it means that the Holy Spirit of God would not contend or strive with mankind forever, and announces that he has 120 years to live until the flood wipes him out.
- I think that the latter interpretation is the correct one. In fact, Genesis 11 tells us that people after the flood lived well beyond 120 years. So I don’t think that’s what it is saying. I think God is announcing that his patience is wearing thin, and in 120 years mankind is going to be destroyed.
- And the New Testament bears this point out. In 1 Peter 3:20 the Apostle Peter speaks of God patiently waiting in the days of Noah when the ark was being built. 2 Peter 2:5 calls Noah a preacher or herald of righteousness. So what is the picture here?
- This is the scene: mankind is becoming increasingly wicked. And God is going to judge the whole world; but he choses to wait. He waits at least long enough for Noah to build the massive ark, and I think the text tells us he waits 120 years after he first announces his displeasure.
- Now God could have wiped out his creation in an instant. He would have been completely justified in doing so. But Genesis 6:3 and 1 Peter 3:20 show us that he is patient with sinners. He waits. And while he was waiting Noah was building. And when everyone asked why Noah was building this big boat he told them: because judgment is coming.
- The word of God tells us many times that God is amazingly patient with sinners. In Romans 2 Paul writes this: We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. God’s kind forbearance is intended to give sinners the opportunity to repent.
- In 2 Peter 3 Peter is discussing the fact that Christ will one day return to usher in the new heavens and new earth. And he urges his readers not to be sucked in by those who would ridicule Jesus because it seems like he will never come. And he says in v.9: The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. The reason why God delays judgment is that on a certain level he wants everyone to be saved and not perish eternally.
- The same was true in the days of Noah. I’m sure there were those who ridiculed Noah. “Where is this flood, Noah?” “You’ve been working on this ark for years and all you’ve done is waste your time!” Jesus says in Matthew 24 that everyone was eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children in marriage until the very day Noah entered his ark. God was ever so patient with them, but they would have none of it.
- So lest we think that the account that is soon to follow of God wiping out all life from existence is cruel; Moses tells us just how patient God is; even with those whom he is going to judge. And the next thing we see is closely connected with God’s patience with sinners:
THE ACCOUNT OF NOAH REVEALS GOD’S HATRED FOR SIN
- The reason why God’s patience and longsuffering with sinners is so incredible is that God absolutely despises sin. The Bible says in vv.5-7 that when God saw how wicked man had become he was so displeased that he was sorry that he had even created him. So he vowed that he would blot man out.
- Now what are we to make of this? Well we know that God knew all of this would happen. Just like the Fall did not surprise God, the intense wickedness mankind had fallen into did not surprise him. So God is not saying that if he had to do it all over again, he wouldn’t have created mankind. 1 Samuel 15:29 says: the Glory of Israel [God] will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret. Moses is using anthropomorphic language here. In other words, he is attributing human emotions to God. It is a way of expressing how grieved God is over mankind’s sin.
- Even as Scripture is clear that God is patient with sinners, it is equally as clear that God hates sin. Psalm 5:4-6 says: For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. God’s hatred for sin is a theme in the psalms. In Psalm 11:5-6 the psalmist writes: The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
- The book of Proverbs tells us the same thing. In 3:32 it says: the devious person is an abomination to the Lord. And 11:20 says: Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord. In the New Testament it’s the same deal. Ephesians 5:6 says that: the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. So “hate” is not too harsh of a word. God utterly despises any sin, from what we would consider the least to the greatest.
- This hatred is painfully clear in the beginning of this account, isn’t it? And this is not a passive hatred. Sometimes when we say we hate something we simply avoid dealing with it. Not God. His hatred results in action. And that’s what we see at the end of chapter 6 and into chapter 7:
THE ACCOUNT OF NOAH REVEALS GOD’S HOLINESS IN JUDGMENT
- God hates sin; but what does he do about it? Well, he punishes it. His holiness demands that he punish it. Let’s get to the familiar part of the story.
- God comes to Noah and tells him what he is going to do – he is going to flood the earth and kill everything on the land. So he instructs him to build the ark. Now this vessel was massive. It was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The inside of the ark would have had approximately 1.4 million cubic feet of space. There was plenty of room for all of the different kinds of animals that God instructs Noah to take with him.
- The Bible says that Noah did as God commanded him and that when the ark was finished God instructed Noah to enter it with his family and the Lord shut him in. Then comes the judgment. The waters come from the rain and fountains of the great deep. The ark is said to have floated high above the earth. We won’t get to a discussion of the extent of the flood today (whether it was local or global), but we know that it was widespread enough that it killed all mankind and all land animals; so you do the math. Genesis 7:21-23 records this for us: 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.
- Here is the progression thus far: God is patient with sinners; but he hates sin. So his patience does not last forever. His holiness demands that he eventually judge sin by punishing sinners. This catastrophic flood is a perfect example of his judgment.
- Now this is where things get a little sticky for us. Some people read this and say, “I don’t want to serve or worship a God who would judge people is such an awful way.” And this line of thinking extends to the subject of eternal punishment as well. They say, “The God I believe in wouldn’t send anyone to Hell.” God is only seen as a God of love and not also a God of holiness.
- Let me just bring a biblical perspective to this. Here is what I would say back: “I don’t want to serve a God who does not judge people: he would be a soft, unjust, push over.” Who wants to worship a God who lets sin run rampant in the universe with no accountability whatsoever? Not me. You can have your so called “god”. He is weak; he is feeble; he is a cosmic wuss; and he’s not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is a holy God who executes justice perfectly.
- But we have a problem now, don’t we? Because is saying those words I have just condemned myself. I deserve the wrath of the holy God I just appealed to. If I were alive in Noah’s day, I would have deserved to be swept away by the waters of judgment. Oh, but I’m grateful that while the account of Noah reveals God’s holiness in judgment, it also reveals his graciousness in mercy:
THE ACCOUNT OF NOAH REVEALS GOD’S GRACIOUSNESS IN MERCY
- Even though most are judged, some are saved. Genesis 6:8 says that Noah found favor with God. God had picked him out of the crowd and was gracious to him; and so Noah was a righteous man who walked with God. And God saved him along with his family.
- So it’s not hard to see how God’s saving of Noah is a foreshadowing of his saving believers in Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11:7 says this about Noah: 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 is a perfect picture of salvation from sin: he believed God and God saved him from judgment.
- So often when we think of the account of the flood we think of the judgment of God. And there is no doubt that this story is a story of judgment. But let’s not forget that it is also a story of mercy. It is a gospel story. God was so sick of mankind that it is amazing he saved anyone. And it’s the same with the cross: it is amazing that God chose to save any of us.
- Well, there is one other thing I want us to see from this story:
THE ACCOUNT OF NOAH REVEALS GOD’S COVENANT KEEPING FAITHFULNESS
- After the flood is over, Noah and his family exit the ark. Then God makes him this promise: “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
- This is called the Noahic Covenant. After the flood God promised he would never again destroy all flesh with floodwaters; and he assigned the rainbow as the visible symbol of that promise. He has kept that promise to this day. And here is why that is so important: if he keeps his promise to Noah, he will also keep the promise he made to Eve. He will keep the promises he makes later with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And he will keep the promises he has made to you in his word. And that is what we close with:
NOAH’S GOD IS YOUR GOD
- In fact, Noah’s God is everyone’s God because he is the one, true God. However, some will experience him as the God who judged the world with a flood, and some will experience him as the God who saved a family with an ark.
- So here is how you can apply the story of Noah in conversations with those who do not follow Christ: God is being patient with you, giving you an opportunity to repent of your sinful ways. But do not test his patience, because he will judge sin. Come while you have the chance to come.
- And here is how you can apply the story of Noah to your own life if you, like Noah, have found favor with God and have faith in his saving work: Just as God brought Noah and his family safely through the flood and saved them from watery judgment, he will bring you through this life safely into the next and save you from his eternal judgment if you have faith in Jesus Christ.
- The story of Noah isn’t really about an ark, is it? It isn’t about the floodwaters that the ark floated upon or the mountain that it eventually rested upon. The account of Noah is about God; who in his holiness and justice punishes sin but also reveals himself to be gracious and merciful. It is about a saving God, who delights in those who believe in him.
