Noah’s Ark is a popular children’s story. A toy ark was one of the first children’s toys my oldest daughter received. Noah’s ark is a popular nursery theme. There is the children’s song: “Noah, he builded, he builded an Arky, Arky.” The focus for children is the safety inside the ark for the animals.
Yet in reality the story of the flood is the most horrifying judgment of our holy God, with the only exception being hell. God’s Judgment in the flood serves as a stark reminder that God is serious about his warnings. It is also a lesson in the grace of God and that God keeps his promise regarding those who are faithful to Him.
In the flood account we glimpse God’s wrath and the furry of His righteous anger. In Genesis chapter six Noah is called to faith. Noah’s obedience landed him a spot in the hall of faith (Hebrews 11:7).
In Genesis 7:6-24 we see God’s Judgment, God’s promises and his gracious mercy to save those who trust Him.
Genesis 7:6-24
6 Noah was 600 years old when the flood came on the earth. 7 He and his sons entered the ark. His wife and his sons' wives went with them. They entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
8 Pairs of "clean" animals and pairs of animals that were not "clean" came to Noah. So did pairs of birds and pairs of all of the creatures that move along the ground. 9 Male and female of all of them came to Noah and entered the ark.
Everything happened exactly as God had commanded Noah. 10 After seven days the flood came on the earth.
11 Noah was 600 years old. It was the 17th day of the second month of the year. On that day all of the springs at the bottom of the oceans burst open. God opened the windows of the skies. 12 Rain fell on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.
13 On that same day Noah entered the ark together with Shem, Ham and Japheth. Noah's wife and the wives of his three sons also entered it.
14 They had every kind of wild animal with them. They had every kind of livestock. They had every kind of creature that moves along the ground. And they had every kind of bird that flies. 15 Pairs of all living creatures that breathe came to Noah and entered the ark. 16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing.
Everything happened exactly as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.
17 For 40 days the flood kept coming on the earth. As the waters rose higher, they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose higher and higher on the earth. And the ark floated on the water.
19 The waters rose on the earth until all of the high mountains under the entire sky were covered. 20 The waters continued to rise until they covered the mountains by more than 20 feet.
21 Every living thing that moved on the earth died. The birds, the livestock and the wild animals died. All of the creatures that fill the earth also died. And so did every human being. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in it died. 23 Every living thing on the earth was wiped out. People and animals were destroyed. The creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped out.
Everything was destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark were left.
24 The waters flooded the earth for 150 days.
God’s Judgment in the flood (Genesis 7: 10-12)
To make a study of God’s judgment in the flood is more than an academic exercise. It is a call to be ready to meet God and stand at the Judgment seat of God. To consider what God did in the flood is to know the heart of God and to realize God’s ability to Judge.
God sent judgment on the earth. Genesis 6:11 says “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.”
Man had sunk so low in immorality; no one followed God, except Noah and his family.
God’s ability to judge rests ultimately in who God is. God is the sovereign ruler of the universe. With God is reserved the sole right to rule. God is the creator and sustainer of this world we live in. Only God has the power to create something out of nothing. Only God can bring forth the judgment described in verse 11 & 12.
It rained for forty days and forty nights. Springs of the great deep burst forth. There was a violent force so powerful that the earth’s crust was broken up. Underground water rushed from below and rain fell from above.
There are physical evidences of this catastrophic flood today. Tops of mountains are covered with sedentary rock. Layers on the top of mountains of transported sediment deposited to another location on a mountaintop. The wrath of God was unleashed on a wicked generation. For fossils to form the creatures must be rapidly buried in sediment, rather than decay or be eaten by scavengers.
There are fossil fish deposits that have been found 2000 ft above sea level. Genesis 7:20 says “The waters continued to rise until they covered the mountains by more than 20 feet.”
I bought sea creature fossils in Kathmandu that came from the Himalayas. On the highest mountain in the world, Mt Everest is a layer of limestone and ocean marine fossils. You can purchase these fossils in Kathmandu. There is a certain rock you can buy unbroken and take a hammer to it to see what sea fossil is inside. I bought some for my son.
The flood described in Genesis chapter 7 covered the whole earth. God’s promise to not flood the earth again would not hold true if this were a local flood. It was a global flood. Only God can bring forth this global geographical disturbance. God has the ability to judge. Wrath is the outpouring of the righteousness and holiness of God, responding to the evil corruption of man.
I have seen the powerful forces of a local flood. This global flood goes beyond all that we could imagine, destroyed all remaining life. The judgment of God here in the global catastrophic flood is just ten generations from Adam.
The promise of our gracious God
It is a powerful testimony when someone is able to keep their promise. But only God can make a promise and control the whole realm of nature to bring that promise to fulfillment. The flood in the days of Noah was not only God’s judgment on man, but it was God bringing fulfillment to the promise of his word.
God does not spout off with a list of idol threats. God is serious when he promises to punish wickedness and evil. He means it and is fully able to carry out his promises.
In Genesis 7:4 we read the rain came for 40 days and 40 nights. The flood would bring utter destruction. God made a promise and made good on his promise and fulfilled his word. You can always count on the surety of God’s Word.
God had Noah a preacher of righteousness proclaiming God’s Word to the people. It seems so foolish that the people in the days of Noah did not believe God. So few would believe God’s Word and repent. They did not prepare themselves for God’s promised judgment even after they were told. They continued in; immorality, lawlessness, violence, corruption, sensuality.
Today only the minority are prepared to take God seriously. Many ignore the fact that God has warned us that we too will face a judgment. There comes a time when it is too late to believe. When judgment comes it is too late.
In Noah’s day that time came when God himself shut the only door to the ark. When the floods came it was too late for those screaming, begging to enter the ark.
In our generation judgment is about what we do with Jesus Christ. Have you put our faith in Jesus Christ and allowed his death on the cross to pay for your redemption? How we live in the light of Christ determines our eternal destiny.
Revelation 20:11-15 Tells of the Great White throne judgment.
11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire
God’s mercy to save us
Those who were destroyed in the flood were not destroyed because God is uncaring or insensitive. It was because of the hardness of their own hearts. God has the ability to save those who are willing to turn to Him. (Genesis 7:13 -16)
God’s ability to save is determined in the midst of a wicked generation. In the days of Noah, those who responded by faith to God’s Word were sealed protected, totally unharmed. God made a promise to Noah that he and his family would be saved and God kept that promise.
Like Noah we live in a wicked and Godless generation. Respond in faith like Noah. Even after Noah people are scoffing at the judgement of God. (2 Peter 3:3-10)
Noah was not saved because of his merit but because he responded by faith.
Faithfully proclaim God’s word. They must respond but we must tell them, show them the reality of a life God has full control of. There is a parallel between sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and what happened at the flood.
As the days of Noah so shall the coming of the son of man be. Life will continue and suddenly Lord return, final judgment. (Matthew 24:37)
You can count on God’s judgment. But you can also count on the promise of God and his salvation in Jesus Christ.
Have you put your faith in Jesus? Have you asked for His death on the cross to count for you? Prepare yourself for that day. God is gracious to save those who turn to him.
