Month: March 2012

Genesis 9:8-28
A Rainbow, a Vineyard, a Blessing and a Curse

Although for many people the Bible gets easier to swallow from today’s passage on, there will still be lots of stories that are hard to reconcile. We’ll work through each as we get to it, but in the end, every one of them is given by God and bears the reliability of His truthfulness.

Some of the toughest concepts are now behind us though – we’ve worked through God being the Creator, a literal 6 day creation, the Garden of Eden and the Fall of Man, people living to hundreds of years old, and a worldwide flood.

I’ve asked this before and I’ll ask it again now, what would be the point of God making up these stories? If they’re not true, then what kind of a God are we dealing with? Of course they’re true and God expects us to have faith that they are despite the difficulties they present. He even promises through Isaiah to help us along the way – “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord.”

I personally believe that there is a far greater reward for a person who believes these stories and lives his life as a plumber than there is for a lifetime of being a pastor, a Bible teacher, a seminary professor, a missionary, or any other job that makes someone appear religious while not believing what’s written here.

I am never more amazed than when I hear a preacher or seminary professor say they don’t believe this or that part of the Bible. I mean, I can’t think of a stupider waste of time or a more pointless existence than spending your whole life not believing the very thing you’ve spent your life doing.

One of the people here, right now, was attending a Sunday morning church a few weeks ago and had some questions about the book of Job, which he was reading at the time. He wanted to know about the great beast known as Leviathan. In Job it says this –

His sneezings flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
¹⁹ Out of his mouth go burning lights;
Sparks of fire shoot out.
²⁰ Smoke goes out of his nostrils,
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
²¹ His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes out of his mouth

His question was asking if this was really some kind of fire breathing creature like a dragon. The pastor’s response was that the Bible will sometimes use local myths and incorporate them into its writings. In essence, God is accommodating His audience… a polite way of saying the story is just a lie.

If God is using a myth about the Leviathan, maybe David is a myth. Maybe Jeremiah the prophet never existed… maybe Jesus was just a guy born out of wedlock with a human father. At what point do we stand up and say, “It just doesn’t matter? I can’t trust anything the Bible says.”

Introduction: Noah was a real man, the flood really happened, and there really were only 8 people who survived to repopulate the world and begin again. Today we’re going to venture into the post flood world along with Noah and see how things started off.

Remember this lesson about Bible interpretation – if something is recorded in the Bible, it’s there because God wants us to learn from it. It is about His great unfolding plan for the lost human soul. It is a gift and a treasure, so let’s handle it carefully and search it diligently for what He is trying to tell us.

Let’s do all of this to the glory of God, for the education of our minds, and for the encouragement of our souls.

Text Verse: “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
¹⁰ For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:9-10

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Rainbow

Irving Berlin said, “Blue skies, smiling at me / Nothing but blue skies do I see …”

It took a lot of smart people to figure out why the sky is blue. People had to build on the ideas of other people and eventually we figured it out. Aristotle worked on the problem as did Isaac Newton, and many others. The reason why it took so long and so many really intelligent people were needed to figure it out and get it right is because the solution encompasses so many components.

We needed to understand the colors in sunlight, the angle that solar light travels through the atmosphere, the size of little particles that float in the air even to the atmospheric molecules, and also how our eyes perceive color.

It was Isaac Newton who demonstrated that using a prism the white light of the sun contains all the colors of the visible spectrum, so all colors are possible in sunlight. But this didn’t answer why the sky is blue.

Later in 1871, Lord Rayleigh formulated how the interaction of atmospheric particles scatters the light waves into short wavelengths which appear more blue and violet.

These short wavelengths scatter lot more than the longer ones. Because of this the scattered light disperses equally in all directions and so the sky appears saturated with color. The only exception is when something brighter than that saturation appears – like when you look directly at the sun.

When you do, you see all the wavelengths at one time and so they appear white. When we look away from the sun, at just the clear sky, we see light mostly from those shorter, scattered wavelengths like violet, indigo and blue. But we only see the light blue. Why is that? It’s because of the way our eyes are made.

Unlike our sense of hearing which can recognize individual instruments in an orchestra, our eyes and brains interpret certain combinations of wavelengths as a single, discrete color. Our visual sense interprets the blue-violet light of the sky as a mixture of blue and white light, and that is why the sky is light blue.

So the next time you go out and enjoy a beautiful light blue sky, remember that the dust in the air and the cones in your eyes, along with lots of other gifts from God, combine to give you our lovely blue days here on planet earth.

Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: ⁹ “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. ¹¹ Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Back in Genesis 6:18, we read this concerning the covenant with Noah – “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.”

Then in Genesis 8:21, we read this – “And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.”

God said he would establish his covenant with Noah if Noah would be obedient to the directives – which were to get onto the ark with his family and to leave the world behind. Noah did exactly that and consigned the world to its just fate. But God carried Noah through the flood and safely to the shores of Ararat where he made his sacrificial offering and God accepted it.

And now, here in chapter 9, God confirms the covenant and Noah becomes the heir of the new world. He is just as much a father to all of us as Adam is because we all come from Adam and then through Noah.

The seed of man continued through, and because of, the obedience of one man. And even more, God made the covenant with all of the animal life with him as well. Should we ever presume that we need to build an outpost on another planet because global warming would flood the earth, we would be as dumb as the ox who eats the grass of the field.

God’s promise has and always will stand firm. The earth will never again be flooded as it was. You can dismiss whatever Al Gore says. Tell him to take is up with God.

Have you ever taken an outdoor shower and seen a little rainbow in the mist around you? It’s a treat to the eyes and a personal gift from the Lord. How much more splendid and striking is a giant rainbow, or even a double rainbow on a summer afternoon! We had one right off our dock just this past week on Tuesday evening.

So what is it that makes a rainbow? It’s the droplets of water in the air that act as tiny prisms. Light enters the droplets, reflects off of the side of them, and then exits. When this happens, the light is broken into a spectrum just like it is in a triangular glass prism.

The angle between the ray of light coming in and the ray coming out of the drops causes different colors from different drops to reach your eye and form a circular rim of color in the sky – a rainbow. In a double rainbow, the second bow is produced when the droplets have two reflections internally. They have to be the just the right size to get two reflections to work.

¹² And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³ I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

The very fact that this statement is given here tells us without any doubt that there were never rainbows before the flood. It doesn’t mean there wasn’t rain before the flood, but that the sky, if there was rain, diffused light differently.

In other words, all the way back in Genesis 1 we read about the canopy over the earth, known as the raquia. When we were there we noted that it was probably a solid canopy made of water which had frozen.

Because it was there, light would have come into man’s eyes differently and no rainbow would have been produced. After the flood, when the canopy was gone, God knew that the result would be rainbows in the new blue sky of the post flood era. And so He used this new display of wonder and beauty as the sign of the covenant He was confirming.

If you think about it, this is why the covenant was given before the flood, but only confirmed after the flood. Can’t you just see how everything in the Bible is so perfectly ordered and so logically placed? Now when we look into the sky and see terrifying storms coming our way, we have the reminder that it is only a temporary and local event.

And the thicker the cloud, the more brightly the bow will shine in it. The great life lesson for us in the rainbow then is that when life’s many troubles abound, God’s encouragement and reliability abounds so much more. As the sun shines through the waters to produce a bow for our eyes, we are told to have the light of Christ shine through our souls to produce encouraged hope in our hearts.

And the rumbling of the thunder which directs our eyes to the rainbow is like the call of the Holy Spirit to the dead soul who is looking for God and struggling to find Him. Paul tells us the remedy for that dry condition –

“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

The light of the rainbow for the physical man is like the light of Christ for the spiritual man. We can trust in both as gracious gifts from our wonderful and glorious Creator. Thanking Him, even now, for the precious promises which proceed from His word.

II. A Vineyard

A few weeks ago I said that various verses in long narratives form pivot points within the narrative. Normally these are ideas which are offset from what is happening on both sides of them. We’ve come across two of them concerning Noah.

The first was in Chapter 6 which was describing the wickedness of man, but when all seemed hopeless we read these words – “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

Then right in the middle of the flood account which went on for verse after verse, we read this – “Then God remembered Noah.” If you look for these types of comments as you’re reading, you’ll be able to understand how God is turning the story on that pivot point for the reader and preparing for the new direction in it.

There’s another type of tool God uses in His word is found in the following two verses –

¹⁸ Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹ These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

Did anyone here see it? Let me read them again.

For the previous 17 verses, God and Noah were interacting through sacrifices, directives, covenant, promises, and signs. Noah’s sons were mentioned during these verses, but when they were, it was only in conjunction with Noah. Now in these verses something more is added.

If you remember way back in chapter 4 on our sermon about the line of Cain, I stressed one name again and again. And I brought up her name several times in later verses as well. The reason I did this is because her name was important to the coming account and yet when she was mentioned it said almost nothing about her. Let me remind you of that verse –

And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

For what seemed like no reason at all, Naamah was mentioned and never referred to again. But if one missed the significance of her name, then their interpretation of much of the rest of the Bible would be flawed. One name in one verse with seemingly no significance at all and yet so important to what God is telling us.

The verses we just read said, “Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.”

The tool God is giving to us isn’t just trivial information concerning the names of the sons of Noah. Instead, the tool is the introduction of Canaan. As we’ll see later in the Bible, each of the sons of Noah had other children. In fact, in the Table of Nations coming up in Chapter 10, 16 sons are named to these three men and yet here only Canaan is mentioned.

The tool being used is something you’ll see many times throughout the Bible. When something or someone is added for no apparent reason, it is actually often a key to understanding the overall picture of the redemption of man or some other major subject in the Bible.

Look for these and think on them when they come and you will find both deep treasure and access to sound doctrine in your understanding of the Bible.

Every person on earth descends from Noah, but after him, the divisions start. We are all sons of Shem, Ham, or Japheth. If we are a son of Ham, then we might be a son of Canaan. If we are a son of Canaan, then we may be able to discern something about ourselves, just like Jews can discern something about themselves. Pay attention and understand the workings of God.

²⁰ And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. ²¹ Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. ²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. ²³ But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

Almost all commentaries really hammer Noah in these verses, particularly for getting drunk. The terms “sin,” “shame,” “weak,” “imperfect” and on and on are used. Or, commentators will say that Noah didn’t know that he would get drunk from the wine, and so they show him to be naïve in an attempt to relieve him of the guilt they feel he bore in what he did.

But none of the commentaries get to the heart of the matter, nor do they align this account with what Paul says in the New Testament about drinking. He says there –

For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. ²² What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in?

Although it may show poor decision making, the problem here isn’t that Noah was drunk. Paul notes the people at the Lord’s Supper were drunk, but he never rebukes them for it. And Noah was in his own house when he was drinking which is exactly what Paul told his fellow Christians to do.

It’s simply unacceptable to pick and choose verses for cross referencing in order to suit one’s own personal convictions about a matter, like being drunk or even merely drinking alcohol, and then to disregard the verses one disagrees with. The Bible is a unified whole and what it proclaims as acceptable is to be treated in that manner, whether we personally like it or not.

Having said that, and before I go on, I am not promoting drunkenness. What I am doing is going where the Bible leads us and not taking the Bible where I want it to go.

The issue in these verses has nothing to do with Noah’s state of drunkenness or his nakedness – he was in his own home. The issue has to do with the actions of Ham and is the entire purpose of why Canaan was introduced into that odd and pivotal verse we looked at a few minutes ago.

Back a few sermons, I said that one of the most important of all Bible rules is to not get our attention sidetracked or our Bible analysis swayed by personal biases or what we already believe.

Noah was minding his own business and his son Ham did what was disgraceful. But again, like the earlier verse, it brings Canaan into the picture. “And Ham, the father of Canaan…” Once again, despite what Ham did, the relevance is on Canaan, not Ham, even though Canaan wasn’t even included in what his father did.

Ham “saw the nakedness of his father and told his two bothers.” We can infer that his words were more than just “dad is lying naked inside his tent.” Instead, it seems that Ham made light of the matter and may have treated Noah with either contempt or levity. In other words, he was at a minimum making jokes about his own father to his brothers.

But his brothers treated their father with a decent, reverent, and obedient respect. Instead of joining Ham in his immoral conduct, they took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of him. And while they did this, they had their faces were turned away.

In the book of Habakkuk, we read this comparable verse –

“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor,
Pressing him to your bottle,
Even to make him drunk,
That you may look on his nakedness!

We can act actively or passively in a perverted manner, but either way, the Bible condemns these actions. God calls us to holy living and to act in a manner which maintains both our own dignity and the dignity of others. This is the failure of Ham and it led to the consequences of our next major thought…

III. A Blessing and a Curse

²⁴ So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. ²⁵ Then he said:
“Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren.”
²⁶ And he said:
“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
²⁷ May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.”

It may be that the words “what his younger son had done to him” are saying that Ham did more than just speak in an irreverent way about his father. He very wall may have actually committed physical perversion against his own dad.

This isn’t unlikely and would explain quite a bit that we’ll see as we progress through the pages of Genesis. No matter what actually happened though, Noah was severely displeased with Ham because of his actions.

So why did Naoh curse Ham’s son Canaan instead of him? Again, commentators of past history have inserted Canaan into the account and said he must have participated in what Ham did. But there are two things to consider which dispel that.

The first is that it doesn’t explain why Ham wasn’t cursed along with Canaan. And more importantly, Canaan isn’t ever mentioned. We already answered this in a previous sermon, but let’s review the answer.

The reason Canaan is cursed and Ham isn’t goes back to verse 1 of Chapter 9, “So God blessed Noah and his sons.” At that time, I said that when God blessed Noah and his three sons, it was certainly a blessing in their physical person and possibly even in a spiritual sense too. But that blessing doesn’t necessarily transfer beyond them.

In other words, God had blessed Ham and therefore Noah couldn’t curse him. As the Bible clearly says elsewhere –

“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?

Because Ham received God’s blessing, it would be an act of defiance against God for Noah to turn and curse him. Instead he cursed Canaan. Ham was the youngest son of Noah and Canaan was the youngest son of Ham. And so in order to demonstrate justice in the matter and ensure he didn’t curse the one God had blessed, he turned his curse towards Canaan.

This curse of Noah upon Canaan and the blessing of Shem and Japheth by Noah is the first explicit prophetic utterance by man of the entire Bible. What is left unstated is any blessing or curse at all on his son Ham. He neither confirms God’s blessing upon him, nor does he call a curse on upon him.

Ham is the great ignored figure of the prophecy and to this date, the people groups who make up the sons of Ham around the world remain relatively outside of the main scope of the world’s attention.

In the next chapter, we will see the divisions of these sons. The curse on the Canaanites will become more and more evident leading right up until the time of Israel inhabiting the Promised Land and the interaction of these people with Israel will be exactly as Noah has prophesied right here.

After the cursing of Canaan, Noah directs his first blessing to the second son – Shem. This is known as the doctrine of divine election. Abel was put ahead of Cain. When Abel was killed, Seth replaced him as the chosen and adopted son of God. Now, for the second time we see a second son placed above the first.

This pattern will continue and grow richly in the Bible and points directly to the work of Jesus Christ who replaces fallen Adam. The second replacing the first. When we get to the story of Abraham, we’ll see him receive the blessing even though he was the second son of his father.

From Abraham came two notable sons, Ishmael and Isaac, but only one son is chosen to continue the selected line – Isaac. From Isaac, will come two notable sons, Esau and Jacob, but only Jacob will be chosen to continue the selected line.

From Jacob will come the 12 sons of Israel – all who will share in his blessing, but from one of them, Judah, the line will again be narrowed. Judah will have two notable sons – Zerah and Perez, but only one is chosen to continue the line – the second son Perez.

And so the Bible continues in this way. If we think about it, we can see that God places each of us in the exact place where He chooses to display His wisdom and knowledge and yet when He does this, He doesn’t violate the free will of the people of the world. Thus He is both just and the justifier of all who demonstrate faith in Him.

In his blessing, Noah mentions Japheth, his firstborn. He says, “May God enlarge Japheth.” In saying this, he makes a pun on his name. The name Japheth means to enlarge or to widely extend. Noah blesses the son with the very name he gave him.

In all, the prophecy mentions the servant-hood of Canaan 3 times and he is placed directly as a servant to both Shem and Japheth.

²⁸ And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. ²⁹ So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

Here we are, having arrived at the last verse of Chapter 9 and our last verse for today. Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood and he lasted another 350 years after it. This means that Noah died in the year 2006 Anno Mundi.

Before we close things up today, I want to give a note of hope and assurance to you all. In the Bible, there are blessings and curses that fall on various people and, yes, these transfer through to the descendants of those people.

The problem many people have then is that if they are outside of the favored line, they may feel like they are still living under the curse of their fathers. However, through Jesus Christ, all are granted the same privileges and the same salvation. The account of Noah lists his sons in this order – Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

In the book of Acts, this is the same order in which salvation through Christ came to the people of the world. The sons of Shem include Israel, and they received Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts Chapter 2.

The sons of Ham came next when an Ethiopian eunuch received Christ and was baptized in chapter 8 of Acts. And finally, the sons of Japheth were represented in chapter 10 when Cornelius, an Italian, received Christ together with his family. In other words, God worked out a plan which would restore all of the people of the world, represented by these three men.

In Christ, every curse is lifted and every heart is made new. All who call on Him are elevated to the same level and none rises above another.

Paul explains this in the book of Galatians – There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Abraham was of the favored line of Noah’s son Shem, but we are all included in the same spiritual blessing through Jesus Christ. No matter where you descend from and no matter what your past may have been like, in Jesus Christ there is a grand and glorious future for you as God’s cherished and blessed child.

A Rainbow, a Vineyard, a Blessing and a Curse

God spoke to Noah and to his sons too
As for Me, behold I establish my covenant with you

And this covenant will continue on forever, it is true
I am also making it with your descendants after you

And even more, it is with every living creature that you see
With the birds, the cattle, and every beast with you
Of all the life that leaves the ark, the promise is from Me
This is my covenant and My words to you are true

Never again shall all flesh be cut off by such an inundation
Nor again shall there be a flood to destroy every living man
I make this covenant with you and make this proclamation
This promise to you is a part of my great unfolding plan

And this is the sign of the covenant between Me and you
And every living creature with you for all generations
I set my rainbow in the cloud, to remember that it’s true
That your flood was the last of such watery devastations

It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the land
That the rainbow will be seen brightly in the cloud
And I will remember my covenant and my word, it shall stand
Never again will a destroying global flood be allowed

The rainbow shall be in the cloud to remind me of this day
I will look on it to remember my everlasting promise
Between God and every living creature I do convey
My word is true so I ask you to not be a doubting Thomas

Now the sons of Noah that were on the ark were three
Shem and Ham and Japheth, each had his given name
And Ham was the father of Canaan, cursed he would be
When Ham did something wrong, on Canaan fell the blame

Noah began to be a farmer and he planted a vineyard
Then he drank of the wine and lay drunk and uncovered in his tent
And Ham for his father’s state, modesty he did not regard
And he talked to his brothers saying things with bad intent

But Shem and Japheth treated their father with respect
They covered Noah’s nakedness in a caring way
They had their faces turned and his dignity they did protect
And their deeds are hailed as noble, even to this day

When Noah awoke from his wine, He knew what Ham had done
And so in repayment Noah cursed Ham’s youngest son

Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants he shall be
He shall serve his brethren and they shall rule over him
Blessed be the Lord the God of Shem, yes blessed is He
And may Canaan be his servant, may his days be ever grim

And may God enlarge Japheth, and in Shem’s tents may he dwell
And may Canaan be his servant, to serve Japheth as well

And Noah lived after the flood 350 years
So all the days of Noah were 950 and he died
He lived through great trials and certainly many tears
It can be said of Noah, his faith was perfectly applied

And we like Noah can also be called sons of God
When we call out to Jesus as our saving Lord
When we do, heavenly streets we will trod
Yes, simply by believing and taking God at His word

Hallelujah and Amen…

For next week, take time to read Genesis 10:1-5, The Table of Nations, Part 1, The Sons of Japheth

 

Genesis 8:20 – 9:7
A New Dispensation – Government

When Abraham was asked to demonstrate his faith in a tangible way, what was it he was asked to do? It was to build an altar and sacrifice his son.

When Jacob was leaving the land of Canaan for the last time, what did he do? He offered sacrifices to God.

When the Israelites were in Egypt, what was the reason they gave to Pharaoh for needing to go into the wilderness? To sacrifice to God.

After receiving the Law, they spent almost an entire year at the base of Mount Sinai building a tabernacle and receiving the instructions for worship, for sacrifice, and how to live within the community of believers.

When they entered the Promised Land and as soon as they had established a foothold by destroying Jericho and Ai, what did they do? They went to MountEbal and built an altar and offered burnt offerings.

When they returned from captivity, and even before they had laid the foundation of the second temple, what did the Israelites do? In Ezra chapter three it says this –

And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israelwere in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. ² Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God… ⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, although the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid.

And today, many thousands of years later, the Jewish people are preparing for a new temple, but above all, they are preparing to offer sacrifices on an altar. The Temple is coming, but even before it’s built, they will be making offerings on an altar where it will stand. It is understood from the earliest times of man, even until today, that a sacrifice is necessary when approaching God.

The effectiveness of sacrifices is a separate issue, but the fact that they’re made by the people of the earth is universally recognized as a requirement in our relationship with the Creator.

Introduction: Noah was a man of faith and a faithful man. He understood God in a way that brought him near to his Creator even when the rest of the world had been destroyed. Included in his faith were demonstrations of that faith.

He preached to the pre-flood world about righteousness and the judgment to come. He built an ark when there wasn’t an ocean in sight. He gathered and stored up food when the world was eating and drinking from the abundance of the ground.

And after the trial of the flood, Noah continued to demonstrate faith as we’ll see today. In our opening verse, Genesis 8:20, and lasting until God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, God will work with man under a government type of framework. This is the third of seven general workings between God and man. And it leads us to our text verse today which is Romans 13:1-7

Text Verse: Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. ⁴ For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. ⁵ Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. ⁷ Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Gratitude and Promises

²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

I need to note here that the day Noah does this is the same day that Ezra offered his offerings in the book of Ezra and it is the same day that Jesus was born. Right here in this verse is the first time the Bible mentions an altar. Instead of building a house for himself, Noah offers to God. He prepares a spot to meet, give thanks to, and glorify God.

Later in the Bible, we’ll read these words in Haggai after the return of the Israelites from captivity –

“Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” ⁵ Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
⁶ “You have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”

⁷ Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! ⁸ Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

By this time, the Israelites had started sacrifices, but they’d lost heart in completing the work of building the temple.

One thing I’ve noticed while travelling around America is that in the older towns of the land the oldest building in that town, and the building which is most centrally located, is the usually church. Towns were built around the church and centered on the faith and mode of worship of the people who settled there.

When the Mayflower pulled up to the shore of America in 1620, the first thing they did was to write and agree to the Mayflower Compact and then to set a cross on the shore of the land.

In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

Unfortunately, the first thing that’s built when a modern town is established is either a shopping mall or a sporting arena. Churches now are built on the outskirts of towns. Instead of being places of intimate worship, praise, confession, humility, and the in-depth preaching of God’s word, they now are social events.

There is a high value on providing coffee, creature comforts, and easy listening sermons, and there is a lack of discipline in the Christian life. This is the state of walking with God today. The sanctity and reverence of the altar is a secondary thought, not the first obligation of the purchased and redeemed soul.

But Noah first built an altar; a place for sacrifice. Whether earlier offerings in the Bible included altars or not isn’t mentioned. The reason for it being mentioned now is that the earth was completely swept clean by the flood and the Garden of Eden is gone with it.

The Lord is now on high and His presence is withdrawn from the earth. It won’t return again to dwell until the time of Moses and the tabernacle. And so, the altar is built to burn sacrifices which will symbolically lift on the smoke to Him and to His dwelling place.

We get our word “altar” from the Latin word “altus” which means “high” or “elevated.” Noah was atop the mountains of Ararat and the smoke of his offering would ascend even higher. When the altar was built, it was built to Jehovah and not simply to God.

Jehovah – the Lord, is the covenant keeping God who has proven Himself true to the promise He made to Noah. And because of this, Noah offered “of every clean animal and of every clean bird.” By offering from the complete set of them, it was a demonstration of thanksgiving for his complete deliverance.

The term “olah” is used for the burnt offering. This offering is completely burned up on the altar. When an offering like this is made, it’s asking that God accept the offering as a substitute for the life of the person offering it and asking for the mercy of God. The fire and burning in the offering symbolize exactly that – the acknowledgment that what is deserved is the Lake of Fire.

The animal is given as a picture of this. Noah offered it because his life was granted to him in the midst of the death of the rest of the earth around him. This and all the other offerings in the rest of the Bible point to the work of Jesus Christ.

The book of Hebrews explains these things and shows how they point to His final sacrifice. In the end, Jesus is the only One who can rescue us from the hell that we rightly deserve. This is Noah’s acknowledgment to God.

 ²¹ And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

The Lord smelled a soothing aroma. God doesn’t have a nose, but the Lord Jesus does. There are two ways to look at this. The first is that the eternal Christ – Jesus, who is the sovereign Lord of the Old and New Testaments, somehow actually smelled this offering and all the other offerings mentioned there and enjoyed the smell.

The other explanation is that it is an offering of faith by Noah. In this flame and smoke is the entire essence of the animal which is being returned to God who gave it. When Noah made this offering of faith, his very heart of gratitude ascended with it.

Everything tied up in the gratitude goes along too – the thanks, the feelings of protection he received, the anticipation of the future which is promised – all of it ascends to the Lord and is therefore a “soothing aroma” to the Lord

How can we know if this is the correct interpretation? All we need to do is compare it to other offerings in the Bible that weren’t accepted. There are lots of examples, but let’s just look at one from Jeremiah –

Hear, O earth!
Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people—
The fruit of their thoughts,
Because they have not heeded My words
Nor My law, but rejected it.
²⁰ For what purpose to Me
Comes frankincense from Sheba,
And sweet cane from a far country?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”

The same type of offerings are accepted or rejected based on the attitude of the people, not just on the type of animal being offered. If the fruit of our thoughts is evil, then the offering is considered that way by God. We saw this in the account of Cain’s offering.

Even though we’re only a part way into today’s sermon, this idea of an offering of faith leads us to the end and goal of our faith – the work of Jesus. We’d be remiss if we didn’t bring in the true and final sacrifice which God Himself bestowed upon us in Christ –

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. ² And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”

God sent His Son to live the life we can’t live and then to give that life as a substitute for our own. When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are transferring our sin and our guilt to Jesus. His death then is just the same sweet-smelling aroma to God which is seen in Noah’s sacrifice. Our very heart and gratitude is flowing to God through the death of His Son.

The problem with us is that too often we begin to take for granted the very sacrifice which was made. We tire of our walk, we skip church and Bible study, and we pick up old habits and tread into waters of disobedience.

In essence, we begin to show contempt for the very sacrifice which saved us and brought us close to God. Let’s take a moment and pray that our hearts will be renewed in Christ again – just as they were on that first day we accepted Him…

PRAYER

Noah’s faithful sacrifice was accepted and God promised to never again curse the earth even though, as He says, “the imagination of his heart is evil from his youth.” Right at that moment in human history, Noah was the priest and representative of his family and everyone who would come after him.

Because God accepted his offering, He graciously transferred that acceptance to the rest of us who came after him. In doing so, God promised to never again destroy every living thing as He as done.

The world will never be destroyed by flood again. One of the questions that I’ve been asked many times is “Then why do we keep having floods on the earth that kill people?”

The answer is obvious. God only promised no more global floods which would destroy all life. The way of the world, the localized calamities which occur, and judgment on sin has and will continue, but it will never happen again as a worldwide flood. Things will continue on in a constant and even fashion henceforth.

²² “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”

“While the earth remains” appears to mean that the earth will not last forever. This is a confusing subject in the Bible, and there are people who will argue verse against verse as to whether the earth will always be here or not, but we’re not at the end of things, so we really can’t be too big-headed about our opinion.

Even if the earth does last forever, it may not be in the state it’s in and so no promise would be violated by God either way. One thing is for sure though – whether the earth lasts forever but has a major makeover, or whether the earth is a goner at some point in the future, until whichever happens, God has promised that things will remain the same.

There will always be seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night. These things are so regular and so predictable, that people have built the wondrous monuments to the precision of God’s handiwork – Stonehenge, pyramids around the world, cave drawings, and even modern scientific equipment and star charts are all testaments to the splendid precision of what God has done.

We know exactly when to plant crops, exactly when we should reap, just the right time to go up to the attic and get out our long johns, and just when we can put them away and get out our swimming suits.

Ski shops know when to put out the new line of snowboards, and the shops in Florida know exactly when the tourists will come down and spend their money buying all kinds of crummy souvenirs that will shortly end up in the landfills of the world.

And along with us, even the animals have a sense of when to do the things they do. Bears hibernate, birds and butterflies migrate, moose get into their annual ruts, dogs shed, and love bugs swarm right at their appointed seasons.

And even more, the plants know when to bud and flower, the grass knows when to sprout its seeds, the oaks know when to drop their leaves, and almond tree has its nuts ready at just the right time.

Everything is balanced so beautifully and so wonderfully that man is ready at just the right time to experience all of these things which come directly from the mind and the wisdom of God who purposed them. We even know when to get out our bows and arrows and our guns and do a little hunting…

II. Tasty Treats

Here we are now, starting Chapter 9 of Genesis. In a beautiful display of God’s love for the people of the world, we come to the comforting words of verse 1 –

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

When God blessed these men of the earth, it was certainly a blessing in their physical person and possibly even in a spiritual sense too, but it doesn’t necessarily transfer beyond them.

I say this, because in the coming verses, one of the sons is going to act in a displeasing way towards his father and Noah is going to call down a curse on that son’s son instead of directly cursing his own son. As the Bible records elsewhere –

“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?

Cursing the son who has been blessed by the Lord would be a tragic mistake and so the son’s son will receive the curse.

The blessing is upon them and they are told to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. This is a repetition of the original command given by God to man back in Chapter 1.

The modern concept of cutting back on population growth isn’t just unbiblical, but it’s anti-biblical. God has ordained that man multiply, not abort. And we are instructed to fill the earth, not worship the earth.

² And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.

In Genesis 1, man was given dominion over the creatures of the earth. This same dominion continues after the flood and the title to them belongs to man as well. They are at our disposal and meant for our use. But a new aspect of this relationship comes about after the flood. The fear and dread of man will be on every beast.

This doesn’t mean that we won’t be eaten by lions if we’re not careful, so don’t go to the Serengeti without a good long rifle to protect you. What it does mean is that a horse has no idea how strong he actually is compared to the puny little rider on his back who beats on him as he rounds the second turn of the Preakness.

God hides this knowledge from him and gives him a fear of the little jockey so that despite his immense power, he remains in submission to the puny weakling. And animals of prey like the tiger and the lion which can’t really be domesticated will still run in terror when man is near. Unless Siegfried and Roy are around, then it’s lunch time.

The only animal in the world which is known to actively hunt man is the polar bear. And they are no match to a well-oiled rifle or a few Eskimos who know how to hunt and kill a bear with spears. What was lost in the loving friendship of man and animal before the flood is made up for by man’s wisdom and skill.

³ Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.

I like this verse. This is one of those verses that I enjoy day after day. I like hamburgers. I like lamb cutlet and lamb chops. I like pork chops and bacon and ham and sausage and baloney too. I love lobster and if crabs weren’t so messy I’d like them a lot more as well. Venison is tasty. And who doesn’t love chicken or turkey.

This verse is pretty clear, “every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.” Alligator tail soup anyone? Until the time of the Law of Moses, there was no (notta one) prohibition placed on what we could or couldn’t eat. The Mosaic Law was introduced to the people of Israel. This means the people of Israel, the Jewish people, not the church.

There simply isn’t time today to cite all the verses that tell us the Law of Moses is over and done with, but the book of Hebrews says it explicitly several times. The setting aside of the prohibition against eating certain foods is so clear and so detailed in the New Testament that only someone who has truly been brainwashed can overlook the truth of the matter.

If you struggle with this issue, don’t. Email me and I can give you page after page of information about your freedom in Christ. This freedom includes ostrich burgers. If it flies in the skies, if it treads on the earth, if it slithers through the grass, if it burrows in the ground, or if it swims in the seas, God has ordained that you can have it for dinner. And invite me if it’s in a curry sauce, please.

So get your special sauces together and prepare for a banquet of tasty treats of all types. Bon appétit.

⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

When the early church was facing legalism and Judaizers telling them what they could and couldn’t eat, telling them that they had to be circumcised, or telling them that they had to observe certain feasts or festivals or the Sabbath, a council was called in Jerusalem. Among the distinguished members were the Apostles Peter and Paul, and James the Lord’s brother, and other apostles and elders.

The questions included things like, “What do we do with and how do we instruct the gentiles who are coming to faith in Jesus.” “What can they eat, what can’t they eat, what do they have to do and why.”

Their conclusion was so simple and concise that – really – only an imbecile could get it wrong. And yet denominations all over the Christian world blow it. The letter is short, only a few paragraphs, but here is the conclusion of the matter for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord –

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: ²⁹ that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.”

The Holy Spirit was pleased to levy on them four necessary things. To abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.

Clearly, since then, the letters of the apostles have to be considered and applied to our lives, but nothing written by those apostles contradicts this early decision, especially concerning what can and can’t be eaten. Paul later clarifies the part about things offered to idols and he and the other apostles speak in detail about sexual immorality.

Beyond this, things that are strangled has its own context in which to be considered. And the drinking of blood is forbidden because it predates the Law of Moses and is explained in the verse we’re looking at. The blood contains the life.

It’s is explained again later in the book of Leviticus – “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”

We’re not to drink blood because God is the source of life. The shedding of blood then is the end of that life. When a sacrificial animal was killed then the life of that animal, its blood, was used for the atonement of the person sacrificing.

When Jesus shed His blood, it was for our atonement. God doesn’t want us attempting an end around what He has ordained by drinking the blood of an animal to somehow gain its life force.

But the drinking of blood for this purpose has nothing to do with blood transfusions. There are cults which don’t allow them, but this completely abuses the intent of what the Bible is saying. The preservation of life through a blood transfusion is a completely different category than what is attempted in drinking blood. Vampires no, donors yes.

III. The Value of Human Life

⁵ Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.

⁶ “Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.

This is an eternal standard, set down by God. Man was created in God’s image and therefore to shed man’s blood brings about a forfeiture of the blood of the one who shed it – whether it is an animal or another man. In fact, as I’ve said before, Numbers 35:33 says that atonement can’t be made for the land which is polluted by bloodshed except by the blood of him who shed it.

Because man is created in God’s image, and because the Bible gives the unborn the same rights as those who are born, the curse of abortion in a land is one of the gravest offenses that can be committed against God. There can be no atonement for the shed blood of abortion except by the termination of the life of the person who commits the abortion.

Unfortunately, because this is a political issue, the guilt transfers to the political supporters of abortion. They are actively working against God in order to terminate life created in His image. And even more unfortunately for an entire political movement, those who elect those who support abortion bear guilt in the process too.

This may seem trivial when walking into a voting booth, but when you vote for an abortion supporting candidate – at any level of the political spectrum, you are implicitly involved in the murder of God’s image bearer and you bear the guilt of the blood. Think this through when you cast your votes. God demands a reckoning for the life of His image bearers and He will demand it from you.

And one more point about this verse – it says “Whoever sheds man’s blood by man his blood shall be shed.” If someone commits murder, the Bible doesn’t ask us to look at his childhood and determine what made him do it. It doesn’t ask us to look at his social standing or whether he was drunk or on pain meds.

It says, very clearly, that a murderer is to be put to death. This predates the Law of Moses and it is based on the attack against another bearer of God’s image. People who stand outside of state executions and protest aren’t showing compassion; they are really only showing contempt for God.

⁷ And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.”

We finish up today with this verse. God repeats His mandate to Noah to “be fruitful and multiply.” The beauty of children and an earth full of God’s people, created in His image must be a delight to the heart of God.

He created because He is love and love is His very nature. How pleased He must be when His creation returns that love to Him in praise, worship, and adoration.

He asks us to bring forth abundantly in the earth and to multiply in it. Children are a blessing and a heritage from the Lord and we bring Him honor when we get married, have children, and bring them up in the knowledge of the fear and the admonition of Him.

The Dispensation of Government

Noah built an altar, he built it to the Lord
Thanking God for bringing him to a restful shore
He offered of every clean animal and every clean bird
And to the heavens did his precious offering soar

The Lord smelled the aroma that the sacrifice did make
And in His heart He made a promise to all men
I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake
Although there is evil in his heart as if inscribed with a pen

The imagination of man is evil from his youth
But I will never again destroy every living thing as I have done
I make this vow, the God of perfect truth
And I will keep it until the end of earth has come

While the earth remains, the cycles will work just right
Through seedtime and harvest, and in cold and in heat
Through winter and summer, and in day and in night
These things will not cease, but will faithfully repeat

And God blessed Noah and His sons with him too
Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth is what I ask of you

Fill it with those who are made in the likeness of God
Fill the whole world, wherever foot may trod

And the fear of you and the dread of you will fill every beast
It will be in them all, from the greatest to the least

Every bird of the air and all that moves on the earth
In the fish of the sea as well will be the dread of you
They are given into your hand for food and for mirth
So enjoy the tasty treats – snack on anything from the zoo

Everything is food for you, even as the garden greens
But do not eat flesh with blood, this is forbidden you
If you want, mix the meat with potatoes and some beans
But first drain out the blood, this is what you are to do

For your lifeblood a reckoning I will demand
From the hand of every beast and also from that of man
Anyone who kills someone in all the land
That one’s blood shall be shed, this is your game plan

Man bears My image, the very image of God
Therefore in holiness on my earth you shall trod

Be fruitful and multiply, this again I say to you
Bring forth abundantly throughout all the land
“Multiply” I say again, it is what I’m instructing you
And your seed will flourish just as I have planned

Hallelujah and Amen…

For next week please read Genesis 9:8-28, A Rainbow, a Vineyard, a Blessing and a Curse

 

Genesis 8:1-19
Then God Remembered Noah

Did you know that Noah was the most successful investor who ever lived? He floated stock while everything around him went into liquidation.

I remember when the TwinTowers were attacked on 911. When I saw all the people in the buildings and heard how many may have been stuck inside when they came down, I remember thinking about the people who were crushed, “How is God going to sort this all out.” Kind of a stupid thought, but the immensity of what we saw that day was hard to grasp.

When the Indonesian earthquake happened and the tsunami went from Indonesia to India and destroyed so many islands and people, it was the same thought, “How can God sort all this out.” Hundreds of thousands of people just ceased to exist.

And then there is us… living in our own anxieties, troubles, and trials. “Where is God in all of this?” It’s a question people ask all the time. “Don’t you remember me Lord?”

Introduction: The number 8 in the Bible is the number of “new beginnings.” We’re starting the 8^th chapter of the book and there are 8 people on the ark total, inclusive of Noah. They may have been scared or troubled by the events going on around them, but four of the most comforting words of the Bible start off our talk today – “Then God remembered Noah.” These words form the key to understanding many things, both in the Bible itself and in our own lives.

There’s a type of pattern which is found throughout the Bible which is hidden in plain site. When you see these patterns laid out on paper, they can help you understand more clearly what God is doing and why.

The pattern makes certain points and then turns around and says the exact same thing in reverse. Because of the shape the pattern makes, they’re called chiasms. The Greek letter chi looks like an x. While we’re talking, I’ll pass around the chiasm on which the Flood of Noah is centered and you’ll see that the pivot is right in these four words – “Then God remembered Noah.” “v’yitskor elohim eth Noakh”

It explains why so many things seem to be repeated for no apparent reason in the flood account. Hopefully, Sergio can figure out how to include the chiasm on the video too so that others can see it.

Its details like these that don’t just show us the wisdom and intricacy of the Bible, but also the mind of God as He reveals Himself to the people of the world. I hope you enjoy this pattern, but I’m not the one who found it.

There a many, many more of them in the Bible and I have a large list of them on my own website. It’s a great feeling to find something hidden in plain sight and to think that you’re the first person in 3500 years to see what God tucked away for us to find. If anyone watching wants to see more of these chiasms, just email me and I’ll send you the link to them.

Text Verse: But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath;
For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away and does not come again. Ps 78:38, 39

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Did God Ever Forget?

Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark.

The beautiful words, “Then God remembered Noah” are set here for our benefit, not God’s. God never forgets the work of His hands, but Noah may have thought He did as the ark floated on the surface of an endless ocean.

But safe and secure within the ark was a man and his family and the pairs of animals which would again cover the face of the earth. It’s amazing to look around at the number and variety of animals on the earth now and imagine that a little more than 4000 years ago, every living thing on earth fit inside a single ship on the sea.

God remembered every one of them then, and as difficult as that may be for us to comprehend, He knows every one of them now. Jesus told us this when He walked among us –

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31

God knows and remembers every sparrow. And He knows the numbers of the hair on your head. Don’t worry if He’s forgotten you, He hasn’t. He certainly has His eye on you. As you walk through your trials and struggles, He is right there with you.

While they floated on the ocean, I wonder what Noah thought. “Where would all the water go? If there was no land left, then how could the water ever go down?” It does seem like an impossible dilemma.

Think of it this way – if you have a cup that’s half filled with sand, and then you pour in water, the sand can never come up to the top. If the waters of the flood covered the entire world, then where would all that water go?

Part of the answer is given in the second half of verse 1 –

And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.

A wind passed over the earth. Wind is an immensely effective way of licking up the moisture. You’ve probably heard of the Chinook winds of the Pacific Northwest. The term “Chinook” means “eater” and a strong Chinook can eat away snow an entire foot deep in a single day.

The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. At the same time these winds have been observed to raise the temperature, often from below 0 to about 70° and then the temperatures plummet to their base levels.

The greatest recorded temperature change in a single 24 hour period happened on January 15, 1972, in Loma, Montana. It went from -54 to 48° in a single day – over 100° in difference.

In the same way, the Khamsin winds of the Middle East blow so hot and so dry that you can walk outside completely wet – clothes and all – and be dried in mere seconds.

The evaporation of water from a water surface, such as during the flood, depends on the temperature in the water, the temperature in the air, the actual humidity of the air, and the velocity of the air above the surface.

If the winds were on a global scale and the earth’s poles were no longer under the protective layer of the pre-flood world, the water being picked up by the winds would gather at the poles and freeze.

In addition, the land which was probably much more even before the flood now has huge variations in elevation. We don’t only have mountain ranges above the sea level, but we have even larger ones below it.

The caverns of the great deep which were filled with water before the flood probably collapsed once they were empty and now form the sea floor. The 104^th Psalm then fills in the blanks –

You who laid the foundations of the earth,
So that it should not be moved forever,
⁶ You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters stood above the mountains.
⁷ At Your rebuke they fled;
At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
⁸ They went up over the mountains;
They went down into the valleys,
To the place which You founded for them.
⁹ You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,
That they may not return to cover the earth.

And to this day, the boundary holds true. With the exception of tsunamis and other rare occurrences, the water stays put. And even after a tsunami, the water returns to where it belongs.

² The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. ³ And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.

The wind and the draining of the water began to stabilize and subside and after 5 months, the waters began to decrease. We have here a logical progression of four things – the winds blowing, the fountains of the deep finishing their release of water, the end of the waters falling from the pre-flood canopy, and the rains stopping.

If you stand back and look at the account, it is exactly as you would expect it to be after a global cataclysm like this. There is no reason at all why we shouldn’t take this account seriously.

After all the rain and the 150 days where the waters prevailed, you’d think that the ordeal was mostly over, but you’d be wrong –

 ⁴ Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. ⁵ And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month.

The seventeenth day of the seventh month is the 150^th day that’s already been mentioned twice – once in the last verse of chapter 7 and then in verse 3 of this chapter. It might seem strange that this 150^th day is mentioned twice and then it mentions the ark resting on the mountains of Ararat, which is the exact same day.

In other words, unless you do the calculation, you would never know that this was the 150^th day and you’d assume that this was a later date. But it isn’t. It’s the exact same day and so the account isn’t really following a completely chronological path.

This makes sense for several reasons though. First, the chiasm which I mentioned earlier is hidden in these verses to show the wisdom of God in the account. And secondly, if the ark was as big as it was, then it would have a pretty deep draft.

In chapter 7 it said that the waters covered the earth to a depth of 15 cubits. Think about it… if the waters reached their highest point on the 150^th day and only then started to recede, and the ark stuck on Ararat on the 150^th day, then the chiasm isn’t just on the pages of the Bible in ink. It was also literally lived out by Noah.

The exact depth of the ark was the exact height of the water over the mountain God intended Noah to land on. Other mountains could have been pushed higher during the flood, but this particular mountain is the one where God wanted Noah to rest.

God didn’t just remember Noah, He preplanned before the creation of the world for the exact amount of water to be in the canopy above and the great deep below. He had to plan the exact spot that Noah would build the ark. He had to plan the exact waves that would lap the side of the ark as it floated month after month.

He had to know exactly what winds would push its beams to take it to the exact spot where it would get stuck on a particular mountaintop at a specific moment in world history. The execution of the plan had to be accomplished to the very finest detail.

And there’s no reason to believe this wasn’t the case. The entire account shows a minute perfection of detail that is beautiful to contemplate.

But there is one more point about this particular day which is even more beautiful than anything you may have ever considered about the Flood of Noah and how it points to Jesus Christ and His amazing work.

You see, this day – the 17^th day of the seventh month is the same day that Jesus Christ came out of the grave almost 2400 years later. This might be a little hard to follow, but the Bible uses two calendars, the creation calendar and the redemption calendar. Until the time of the Exodus, the calendar started in the fall, but at the Exodus, the first month was changed to the spring.

The 17^th day of the seventh month in the creation calendar is the 17^th day of the first month of the redemption calendar. The Passover occurs on the 14^th day of the first month and the resurrection happened, according to the Bible, on the Sunday after the Passover – the 17^th day of the first month.

And just as astonishing is the meaning that the Bible scholar James Strong assigns to the name of Ararat. Ararat means “the curse is reversed.” On the same day that the ark struck the ground and held fast, the waters began to subside. The curse of the waters was now being reversed at the exact same moment that Noah was brought to the safety of the land called Ararat – “the curse is reversed.”

Noah and his ark then is a picture of the true reversal of the curse which began at the fall of man in Chapter 3 of Genesis. Only 5 chapters after the fall, Noah is given as a sign of what was to come.

Paul tells us that we were redeemed from the curse at the cross. The resurrection proves it to us and thus the curse is reversed.

Verse 5 continues…

In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

This is the 223^rd day from the beginning of the flood and 73 days after the ark set fast on the mountains of Ararat. It’s been almost 7 ½ months and the waters are slowly finding their new homes around the world.

They would be gathered in the Polar Regions; in the mountaintop glaciers; in the seas, lakes, ponds, lagoons, and rivers of the earth, and also in the great caverns of the seas. Noah and his family have more time to wait and play chess before they can leave the ark.

II. Patience in a World of Hurry

⁶ So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made.

Every commentary that I read said that this forty day period was from the last comment which talked about the first day of the tenth month when the mountains were seen, but I have to disagree. The reason is that if the mountains were seen, then Noah must have already opened the window.

So this must be 40 days after getting lodged on the mountain top. In other words, this would be day 190 – 43 days before the previous verse. Although it may not make immediate sense to us that the account is flipping back and forth and not in chronological order, if you stand back and look at the overall picture and the purpose of the chiasm in the Bible, then it all becomes much clearer and much easier to understand.

So why would Noah wait 40 days from the ark getting stuck on Ararat before opening the window? Remember, the Ark draws a draft of about 15 cubits. What would be the point of opening the window when everything was 15 cubits below water? The noise of the splashing on the sides of the ark would be all Noah needed to know. There would be absolutely no need to open the window.

⁷ Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. ⁸ He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. ⁹ But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself.

And this confirms what I said a moment ago. The 40 days was from the time of the ark getting lodged on the mountain and not from the next comment about the mountain tops being visible.

The raven kept going to and fro until the waters dried up, implying that they still covered the mountain tops. So, I’m sure you’re asking, “Why would Noah send out a dove at the same time ‘to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground?’”

Why wouldn’t the raven tell him this? It’s because the raven is a scavenger bird and would have been perfectly content to land on any surface, even the dead body of an animal or a person. Plus, it would be perfectly happy to snack on something like this too.

The dove wouldn’t do this. Instead, it would return to the safety of the ark and to a clean, dry source of food. The raven is a symbol then of the unclean world, like a person who lives apart from the grace of God, living only on the world of death. The dove returns to Noah, just as a gentle and repentant heart returns to Christ.

Such a person can truly say just as the Psalmist did –

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
⁶ The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
⁷ Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
⁸ For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
⁹ I will walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.

¹⁰ And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. ¹¹ Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. ¹² So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore.

Noah knew that things were drying out finally. But unlike many other plants, the olive tree can strike leaves even under water. And God specifically chose an olive for the dove. Throughout the Bible, the olive, and the oil it produces gives us beautiful symbolism of the work of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

What this verse is showing us is a picture of the resurrection of Christ. Just as the olive can grow out from under water, so Christ came out of the grave as a victor over death. And even to this day we celebrate this in the rite of baptism.

Tied up in the olive is also the symbolism of peace when God granted His favor upon the new world. This is seen in this fresh new life – the olive leaf. When we receive Jesus Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we are like that olive. Again, let’s go to the psalms –

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
⁹ I will praise You forever,
Because You have done it;
And in the presence of Your saints
I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

And in the dove we have the symbol of the Holy Spirit descending upon us when we call on the name Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the Messenger of God telling us that all is well with our soul.

The symbolism of the dove and the olive is first truly realized at Jesus’ own baptism in Matthew 3, where all three members of the Godhead are present –

“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ¹⁷ And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”

Because of Jesus, we now have the hope of the same beautiful words of commendation from the eternal God – “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”

III. O Brave New World

“They had mocked him through his misery and remorse, mocked him with how hideous a note of cynical derision! Fiendishly laughing, they had insisted on the low squalor, the nauseous ugliness of the nightmare. Now, suddenly, they trumpeted a call to arms. “O brave new world!” Miranda was proclaiming the possibility of loveliness, the possibility of transforming even the nightmare into something fine and noble. ‘O brave new world!’ It was a challenge, a command.” A Brave New World

¹³ And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry.

The 601^st year here means the 601^st year of Noah’s life. This was the first day of the first month of that year, which is the month of Tishri.

It was the exact same day 1657 years earlier that Adam was created and it was the same day that about 2400 years later, the Savior of the world would be born in a little town called Bethlehem.

Noah opened the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. “O brave new world, I’ve come forth to meet thee.”

¹⁴ And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried.

This was 57 days after Noah opened the covering of the ark and it was the 370^th day after Noah and his family entered the ark. One biblical year is 360 days, so they had spent 1 year and 10 days waiting and watching as the world was destroyed by water, the waters rose, the waters receded, and the waters fled to their new home revealing a completely different world. It was 370 days waiting to hear the wonderful words from God…

¹⁵ Then God spoke to Noah, saying, ¹⁶ “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

Just imagine the excitement that the family must have felt as they got word it was time to leave the ark. We don’t know how God spoke to Noah – whether in a dream, or whether directly, or whether in some other way, but he was given divine guidance that he and his family could leave the ark – just as he received divine guidance to enter it.

And just as they filled the ark with animals, they’re told now to empty it out. The three categories which serve as a statement of all animal life are given – “birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps.”

As we noted when the ark was filled, the term “every creeping thing that creeps” doesn’t indicate that politicians were carried on the ark. Yes, these were reptiles.

And as these animals departed, God also gave them a divine command – that they should be fruitful and multiply on the earth. This is the exact same command that was given back in Genesis 1. God created all of the animals at the beginning and the same spark of life that was put into them carried through to the time of Noah and it carries though even until today.

If you stop and think about what life is and where it came from, it should amaze each and every one of us at how stupid the concepts of spontaneous generation and evolution are. There is a spark of life in us and that spark transmits from us to the next generation. There is no new spark occurring, nor is there any evidence that any has occurred since creation.

But every moment is a new moment and it has an equally possible chance of producing spontaneous generation. If this were even remotely possible, then every moment new life should occur. In essence, every moment of time is a new nail in the coffin of the concept of spontaneous generation.

Were it not for the Ark of Noah, then there would be no life on earth apart from the oceans. And any animal which wasn’t on the ark is extinct because its life spark died with the flood.

And finally, if the world is billions of years old like evolutionists claim, then the problem is only exacerbated. From the trillions of moments which have happened since the first life of spontaneous generation supposedly occurred, their only explanation for development is evolution, not more generation. Both are stupid and corrupt systems which have absolutely no basis in reality at all.

¹⁸ So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. ¹⁹ Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.

Probably in a state of awe and wonder, the family obeys the divine command and leaves the ark, taking off the animals as they went. The earth was certainly completely different than it was when they entered.

The canopy was gone and the skies would have been different. The landscape would have been totally reformed from what they had known. The climate would have been different. Everything was new; everything would have been an adventure.

In the same way, Peter tells us in the New Testament that it will happen again, just as it did to Noah. Let’s take a few minutes and read 2 Peter Chapter 3 in its entirety and see the parallels to the flood of Noah – both before and after the flood –

Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ² that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³ knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶ by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

⁸ But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? ¹³ Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. ¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵ and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Then God Remembered Noah

God remembered Noah out there on the sea
And all the animals that were with him on the ark
Noah’s faith held steadfast during these trials you see
Through the waves, the winds, the hours, and the dark

After 150 days God made a wind to pass over the earth
And the waters subsided as these winds blew
The fountains of the deep were shut up in their berth
And the windows of the heavens were also stopped too

God restrained the rains from coming any more
And the waters receded continually to their new place
Things would be different than they were before
And the world would have a brand new face

The ark rested on the mountains of Ararat
And the waters continually decreased
It was the seventeenth of the seventh month, that…
The 150^th day their sailing ceased

On this day, the curse was reversed as the waters decreased
And on this same day the Lord rose from His grave
The world rejoiced at the man they thought deceased
But our curse was reversed when Christ rose, Hallelujah! Mighty to save

And the waters kept going down, this took a while
On the first day of the 10^th month the mountaintops were seen
That probably made our good old friend Noah smile
Even though nothing yet was really of the color of green

After 40 days Noah opened the window of the Ark
And he sent out a raven which flew to and fro
The sun could come in and dispel the deepest dark
And that same sun would help new things to grow

Noah also sent out from the ark a dove
To check and see when the waters had left the ground
But the dove returned to Noah’s hand of love
Because there was not a dry place to be found

Seven more days, it was in the evening of the day
Behold the dove brought in a fresh picked olive leaf
Noah knew the waters had finally gone away
He must have gave a great sigh of relief

Seven more days and again went out the dove
But this time it didn’t return to his waiting hand of love

On the first day of the first month of Noah’s 601^st year
The waters were dried up from the land’s face
So Noah removed the covering of the Ark and turned his ear
And all the waters were gone from that lonely place

On the 27^th of the second month everything was dry
So God spoke to Noah, it’s time to leave the ark
Take your wife and the others out under the sky
No more do you have to live inside where it’s dark

Bring out the every living thing
Bring out the birds and let them sing

Bring out the cattle, every kind of life inside
Yes even the creeping things, it’s the end of their boat ride

Let every living thing abound in the earth
Let them multiply until they’re everywhere
Let them conceive, and bear, and then give birth
Together with them, the world you will share.

Hallelujah and Amen…

Next week Genesis 8:20 – 9:7 – A New Dispensation, Government

The Flood of Noah

A Noah (6:10a)
B   Shem, Ham and Japheth (6:10b)
C     Ark to be built (6:14-16)
D      Flood announced (6:17)
E        Covenant with Noah (6:18-20)
F          Food in the Ark (6:21)
G           Command to enter the Ark (7:1-3)
H             7 days waiting for flood (7:4-5)
I                7 days waiting for flood (7:7-10)
J                  Entry to ark (7:11-15)
K                   Yahweh shuts Noah in (7:16)
L                     40 days flood (7:17a)
M                     Waters increase (7:17b-18)
N                        Mountains covered (7:18-20)
O                          150 days waters prevail (7:21-24)
P                            God Remembers Noah (8:1)
O’                         150 days waters abate (8:3)
N’                       Mountain tops become visible (8:4-5)
M’                     Waters abate (8:6)
L’                     40 days (end of) (8:6a)
K’                   Noah opens window of ark(8:6b)
J’                   Raven and dove leave ark (8:7-9)
I’                  7 days waiting for waters to subside (8:10-11)
H’               7 days waiting for waters to subside (8:12-13)
G’             Command to leave the ark (8:15-17)
F’            Food outside the ark(9:1-4)
E’          Covenant with all flesh(9:8-10)
D’        No flood in future(9:11-17)
C’      Ark (9:18a)
B’    Shem, Ham, Japheth (9:18b)
A’  Noah (9:19)

From the book, Before Abraham Was, by Isaac M. Kikawada and Arthur Quinn.

Genesis 7:1-24
The Flood of Noah

Introduction: Here we are… 7^th chapter into the Bible and another seemingly incredulous story. We’ve come across others though. The six days of creation presented a problem with today’s thinking about evolution and things being billions of years old.

We talked about man being created from the dust instead of evolving from slime, and then woman being created from a rib of man. We’ve peered into the account of men who lived almost a thousand years and we’ve seen people grow to be immense in size.

All of these things have been coming at us so quickly in the book of beginnings. And now we’re going to look into the Flood of Noah. It’s a story most people know about and yet it’s so hard for us to accept. Is the story true?

The Bible is the foundation of our lives and Genesis is the foundation of the Bible. It would be incredulous for God’s word to start a bunch of myths, exaggerations, or lies.

Last week we looked at verses which confirmed that the New Testament writers believed that this story was 100% true. And this includes Jesus our Lord as well. He spoke of Noah as a real person and the account as literal. And so we are left with only 2 possibilities – either He was merely accommodating His audience, or He was telling us that the account is truth.

If you believe, as I do, that Jesus is God incarnate and the basis of our faith, then you cannot say He was accommodating His audience; the Lord doesn’t lie. We, as believers in the word of God, are left with the only possible answer concerning the question as to whether the flood really occurred or not. It did.

And it is a story of immense love and faithfulness in the midst of judgment – love for the work of the Creator’s hands and faithfulness to those who have been likewise just, righteous, and above all faithful.

Text Verse: “For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
⁸ With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.

⁹ “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. Isaiah 54:7-9

May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Noah was a Righteous Man

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. ² You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; ³ also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. ⁴ For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” ⁵ And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. ⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.

Noah was righteous before God in his generations. What does this mean in the context of the Bible and what are we to learn from it?

The free on-line dictionary, which means I didn’t have to pay a penny to get you this, defines “righteous” this way – “moral. concerned with principles of right and wrong or conforming to standards of behavior and character based on those principles; “moral sense”; “a moral scrutiny”; “a moral lesson”; “a moral quandary”; “moral convictions”; “a moral life.”

There are lots of other definitions out there which would suffice, but this one is particularly good because it continuously repeats the word “moral.” If Noah was righteous before God in his generation, then that righteousness deals with Noah’s morality being aligned with God’s morality. How can you know this?

Morality must stem from somewhere. If I love my wife, that didn’t come out of an apple tree. Instead, it came from somewhere else and is defined based on a perfect standard. Love doesn’t simply occur by chance. And it’s true for all other moral virtues.

If someone bumps into my car with their car through negligence, I will get upset. Why? Because there is a sense of justice and righteousness in me. And that is based on a perfect standard of these things. If this wasn’t the case, then we would bounce off each other like bumper cars and it wouldn’t matter…but it does.

I argue against abortion; someone else argues for it. The very fact that we are concerned about the issue at all is because there is a standard on which we are arguing. One is closer to this standard and one is further from it, but it most certainly exists.

If an objective law, such as truth, justice, or Noah’s righteousness exists independent of our individual minds – and it does – then it must come from a perfect Mind.

Someone might say, “I disagree, everything is meaningless.” What’s the problem with that? It’s self-defeating, because the statement is assumed to be meaningful. Even when we try to get away from meaning, we only demonstrate more meaning.

This isn’t meant to be an exercise in philosophy, but an explanation of why Noah was righteous in his generation. It was because his moral code and his moral standard which was aligned with that of the Creator. This is what we need to know about the account to understand it in the context in which it is given.

Remember what it said in
Genesis 6. There we had three important verses –

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

This is what God wants us to know at this point in the story. But maybe there’s more God wants us to infer if we’re looking at things with open eyes.

What was it that Adam needed in order to be clothed by God after the fall? What was it that made Abel’s offering more acceptable than Cain’s? What was it that led to men calling on the Lord at the end of Chapter 4? What was it that made Methuselah’s parents give him a prophetic name about the flood to come?

All of these were based on faith. So in the three verses we just read from chapter 6, we can infer that the wickedness of man on the earth was from a lack of faith. We can also infer that Noah was considered righteous by faith. And we can infer that the grace he received was because of this faith.

Noah’s morality came from faith and therefore it was properly directed morality. Not everyone who opposes abortion does it because they believe that it is God’s standard. It is based on God’s standard, we already saw that, but it is the faith in the fact that it’s God’s standard that makes the decision righteous with God. Not that fact that the standard is held.

If an atheist doesn’t believe in abortion, it means nothing to God. He might as well eat children for breakfast. Only when faith and deeds are working together are they acceptable to God. In other words, the deeds are – by definition – deeds of faith. As Paul says, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” Of all the people on earth at his time, Noah was this man.

Last week, Noah built an ark. Was that based on faith or sight? It was faith. God said the flood was coming and Noah could have said, “Flood, flood, what flood? Get out of my head you voice about the flood.” Instead, without ever having seen such a flood, he began to build an ark.

Remember Hebrews 11 – “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

So Noah was faithful in his life and he responded faithfully to the divine warning with more faith. After responding by building an ark, we saw in verses 2-6 that Noah was told to fill the ark with the animals sent to him by God and that he was 600 years old at that time. This was 1656AM and the flood was coming in just 7 days

II. Noah was an Obedient Man

⁷ So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. ⁸ Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, ⁹ two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

In obedience to the divine command, Noah entered the ark. And with him went the animals and birds and everything that creeps on the earth. Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth doesn’t mean that politicians were carried along. Instead, it’s speaking of reptiles.

 ¹⁰ And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. ¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. ¹² And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

¹³ On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— ¹⁴ they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. ¹⁵ And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. ¹⁶ So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

Again and again in these 9 verses, Noah’s obedience is brought up. Noah was an obedient man. He was told to build the ark and he built it. It would have taken a long time, a lot of effort, and more than probably a lot of verbal abuse. I can see the conversations around the morning coffee table. But through it all, Noah obeyed.

“Noah you crazy nut, with all the wood you’ve used for that box, you could have built a tower to heaven. Saaaaay, now that I mention it, that might be a good project sometime. Flood, Noah you are a loony toon extraordinaire…”

Noah, you’re nuts wasting all those trees
And spending your time doing crazy stuff
There ain’t no such thing as riding the high seas
And all the water in the world wouldn’t be enough

To float that big box even an inch off the ground
Hmmm, what’s that rumbling Noah, what is that sound?

As I was saying, your work is all in vain
And those animals are going to eat you poor
There’s no such thing as what you’re calling “rain”
But those clouds are looking strange outside the door

Anyway Noah, stop being such a fool and preaching to me
I love you, but your plains old nuts you see

Judgment and punishment what are you talking about?
What is this “living holy” stuff you’re speaking in my ear?
Just a minute, I’m going to the door to shut the weather out
Them big old clouds are starting to come near.

Where you going Noah? To that ark over there?
Well, have fun and I’ll see you when you come out again
Hmmm what’s this wet stuff coming from the air?
This can’t be what Noah’s been calling “rain”

Hooo Noah, let me into your box
I’m getting awful spooked out here
The water is getting up to my sox
And it’s quickly getting higher I fear…

I can’t even begin to express to you how important the concept of obedience is to God. Obedience is what leads to life, happiness, and a close and personal walk with God. On the other hand, there is disobedience. It leads to loss, sadness, punishment, death, and condemnation.

This is the reality of the situation. When we aren’t obedient, we only bring troubles on ourselves. When we’re obedient, then barring time and chance, things will always be better off.

How important is obeying the word of God? The Bible is replete with the results of disobedience. Saul, the first king of Israel, lost the right to the kingship because of it. And he, his sons, and his progeny after them died because of it. Samuel laid it out to Saul after his act of disobedience:

So Samuel said:

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you from being king.”

Disobedience is unrighteousness because it’s demonstrating a lack of faith. There’s that word again. It doesn’t matter what biblical passage or issue we look at, the word faith will inevitably appear.

Even in what animals are brought on, we see faith. Noah was told to bring two of every animal onto the ark, but 7 of every clean animal onto the ark. But the Bible to this point hasn’t stated which were clean and which weren’t.

This has lead modern scholars to claim that those verses were inserted later by the priests of Israel. But there is no reason at all to come to this conclusion. Here’s what one commentary has to say –

“For the distinction between clean and unclean animals did not originate with Moses, but was confirmed by him as a long established custom, in harmony with the law. It reached back to the very earliest times, and arose from a certain innate feeling of the human mind…”

Because no divine command has yet been given about which animals were clean, the commentary correctly states that there was an innate understanding in man of what was and wasn’t appropriate for sacrifice. The Law of Moses was a direct command from God and built upon already established customs. We can’t read more into it than that.

It was now the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, and it says the flood waters came in the second month on the seventeenth day of the month. This would have been the October/November time frame around the autumnal equinox.

While the world was sowing its next harvest, Noah was preparing for something different. While the world was probably worshipping the alignment of the heavenly bodies, Noah was worshipping the Lord. While the world was anticipating its next harvest, Noah was anticipating a flood.

On that very day, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And it says that the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

The world was a probably a bit smaller than it is now. And the Bible says, it originally had a large amount of water in underground cavities and it also had a frozen canopy above it. When these things broke open, a global flood was the result.

If you ever look at a geologic map of the earth, it looks a lot like a baseball. At one time, it didn’t, but when the earth burst its seams, it fractured the plates at the points where the water pressure had built up. Since that time, these plates have continued to move and the world has increased in circumference.

The frozen canopy would have come under this pressure as well, and along with the water being spewed into the atmosphere, the rains coming down for forty days is entirely plausible. The larger earth and the lack of a canopy over the earth would certainly account for many of the changes in how things are after the flood.

Noah was setting out on the world’s greatest seagoing adventure because Noah was an obedient man.

III. Noah was a Patient Man

¹⁷ Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. ¹⁹ And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. ²⁰ The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. ²¹ And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. ²² All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. ²³ So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. ²⁴ And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

I’ve read through these verses probably 50 or more times and until I read them again before typing these very words, I’d never thought about the people as they were. It was always distant.

The flood was coming to save Noah and destroy the wicked. But it became personal when I thought about those people from the perspective of the people around me and the people I love who aren’t believers.

These were real human beings – probably billions of them, just like the people we pass on the streets  every day. They were just like the old boyfriend or girlfriend we used to date and to whom we still think about when our minds are still.

They were just like the people who are so dear to us at work and those we see in our neighborhoods. I have friends all around the world from my life’s travels and I’ve made so many more since the electronic age. They are all humans, with real beating hearts, real hopes, desires, and aspirations. And every one of them is either in Adam or in Christ. Those are the only two choices.

Noah was a patient man. He certainly preached to those he loved right up until the flood. He did it through words and he did it by his actions. And even today he is preaching by those actions to the people who will listen. He was patient in waiting on the Lord’s timing and his patience must have included immense sadness.

If I were to consign the world to destruction while being saved out of that destruction, my heart would be breaking for these people. I’d be telling them about God, about His love for the world, about living righteously, and about His Son, Jesus Christ. This is what I’d be doing if those I loved so much were on the highway to eternal separation from God and consignment to hell.

Wait a minute… the world is consigned to destruction and some people are going to be saved out of it. And I am one of them. I need to start telling people about God, about His love for the world, about living righteously, and about His Son, Jesus Christ.

This is what I need to be doing if I really love those people. Oh God, give me a heart for the lost again. Give me the desire to tell what You have done by granting us pardon from sin through the blood of Jesus. Break my heart once again, O God.

When the waters came, Noah had to be patient again. Whether or not he heard the people outside the boat he knew what was happening and he had to patiently endure the loss of every one of the people he knew – certainly many in his immediate family of brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, and cousins.

People he played with as children and people he grew up with. He probably patiently waited through many painful memories. Imagine our own lives and the people we’ve loved and lost. How crushed we were at the time.

The pains fade, but the memories never do. Noah was probably thinking about the many thousands of people who had come into his life – memory after memory as the waters rose.

And he had to be patient at sea too. The rains came for 40 days and the waters prevailed for 150. All this time, he and his seven family members had to wait in the quiet solitude within the raging waters.

We read that the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. ²⁰ The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.

This wasn’t a localized flood as skeptics try to claim. This was a global flood and every high hill and every higher mountain was covered and even submerged. Fifteen cubits is almost 25 feet. Even the tallest of the Nephilim standing on the top of the highest mountain couldn’t prevail over the waters which flooded the earth.

And so everything died. Listen again to the terminology the Bible uses, “And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. ²² All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.”

The Bible said it this way to remind us of the creation account – “birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.” In other words, in Genesis 1, these were all created by God and it means that He has every right to do as He directs with them. The air in their nostrils which is the breath of the spirit of life was given by God and now it was being taken away.

Only a perverse and disconnected heart would find fault with the Creator concerning how he handles His own creation. Yes, but we do. Each of us does in one way or another. Our friend dies and we find fault. Our husband or wife or child gets a disease or in an accident and becomes an invalid and we find fault. Our favorite pet dies and we find fault.

All things have an end and mixed with joy is sadness and loss. This is the world we live in and we’re asked to lift our eyes at those times and react in a way which acknowledges God’s sovereignty.

After losing everything but a nagging wife the Bible says,

Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. ²¹ And he said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Like Job, Noah was a patient man. Noah waited and he was rewarded with inheriting a new world and a new start.

And waiting on the Lord isn’t a concept unique to Noah. Rather it is something that the Bible refers to dozens of times and in many contexts. There are examples of people who do wait on the Lord and of those who don’t wait on the Lord. You know where the reward is though.

The psalms especially are filled with people waiting on the Lord – people in distress, people undergoing trials, people hemmed in from all sides. But you’ll always find the end of the waiting to be in the secure and loving arms of the Lord. In the 27^th Psalm David says that there is no other place like those arms –

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord! Psalm 27:13, 14

And Jeremiah the prophet doesn’t just wait on the Lord as if He’s some type of cosmic candy giver like so many expect. Instead, he hearkens back to Him being the Creator and sustainer. It is this loving God who Jeremiah calls out to –

Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are You not He, O Lord our God?
Therefore we will wait for You,
Since You have made all these. Jeremiah 14:22

And in the New Testament, there is the calm assurance of the coming of Jesus to set things right in what I believe is one of the few truly prophetic verses of the New Testament outside of the gospels and Revelation –

⁷ Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. ⁸ You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5:7, 8

James asks us to be patient and to wait on the coming of the Lord and then he cites the farmer waiting patiently for the early and latter rains. Israel has lacked the latter rains for the past 2000 years. When the Romans when into the land and destroyed it and exiled the people, they cut down all of the trees for their siege works.

Because of this, it changed the seasonal climate so that the rain cycle stopped. But since the return of Israel to her land, they have planted millions of trees and brought back both the early and the latter rains. James says that this is the time to establish our hearts because the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Noah was a righteous man, he was an obedient man, and he was a patient man, but the Bible says that he has yet to receive the promise he waited for. Hebrews tells us so. There we see that he and the other saints of old…

“…died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ¹⁴ For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. ¹⁵ And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”

A city has been prepared for the people of God. Take a look around you at the world with all its beauty. Look at the magnificence of the universe and the splendor of what God has done. Six days. He did it all in just six days. When Jesus left us 2000 years ago, He said this to the apostles –

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

God did all of this in six days. Jesus has been preparing a house with many mansions for 2000 years. Just imagine what He’s put together for us.

And how do we receive our mansion. He tells us in the same book of John in the very same chapter –

⁴ And where I go you know, and the way you know.” ⁵ Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Flood of Noah

Get into the ark Noah, you and your household too
Because I have seen you righteous before Me
The waters are coming and the ark will protect you
And I will remember you as you float upon the sea

You are righteous in this wicked generation
Of all the people on the earth, you’re the only one
But you O Noah are not an aberration
In fact you and the ark prefigure my own Son

Bring in the animals, bring them in two by two
Except the clean ones, of those seven you shall bring
They will keep the species alive just as you will do
And the contents of the ark will start a whole new thing

Seven days more and will come the flood upon the earth
And every living thing outside, I will destroy
Right now they’re laughing and making noises of mirth
But in just a week, there will be no more joy

Noah was 600 when the rains finally came
Along with him were his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law
And for 4000 years we have remembered his name
Because God in Noah, righteousness He saw

On the 17^th of the second month, the waters were on the earth
The fountains of the great deep were broken apart
And the windows of heaven opened, ceasing all the mirth
That’s the day God’s great judgment had its start

For 40 days and 40 nights, the rains continued to fall
But not until the Lord had shut the ark’s door
All because Noah on the name of the LORD did call
He and his kin were safe from the torrential downpour

Every thing with breath in its nostrils died
Out of them went the precious spark of life
I’m sure Noah inside the ark often sadly sighed
Along with his children and along with his wife

The water prevailed on the earth 150 days
And even the highest mountains were covered in the deep
Even to 15 cubits, they were hidden so are God’s ways
When His judgment is aroused as if woken from a sleep

There is a true Ark pictured by the one Noah made
It’s the safety of Jesus, our great and awesome Lord
Trust in Him and His security will never fade
He will protect you by the power of His eternal word

Oh I love You Lord Jesus, saving one such as me
And so I come before you, humbled heart and on bended knee

Use me, please, as a tool in your unfolding plan
Of the love of God and the blessed redemption of man

Hallelujah and amen.

Next week we’ll look over, Genesis 8:1-19 – Then God Remembered Noah. Take time to read those verses before we meet again.