Noah and the Flood
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Introduction - Where we left off
Introduction - Where we left off
Read Genesis 6:5-12, 22
Noah as a Contrast to the Rest of the World
Just a man, he wasn’t unique from the rest of them in nature — except...
Noah “found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (v.8) how? why him?
Noah Walked with God.
“Blameless” “Perfect in his generations”
9459 תָּמִים (tā·mîm): adj.; ≡ Str 8549; TWOT 2522d—1. LN 79.60–79.61 without defect, unblemished, i.e., pertaining to having a good quality animal without handicap, implying a prime animal of high monetary value (Ex 12:5); 2. LN 88.1–88.11 blameless, innocent, i.e., pertaining to a person or condition of moral goodness, with a focus of being guiltless and not liable for sin or wrong (Ge 6:9; 17:1; Dt 18:13; 2Sa 22:24, 26; Job 12:4; Ps 15:2; 18:24[EB 23],26[EB 25]; 37:18; 84:12[EB 11]; 101:2, 6; 119:1, 80; Pr 2:21; 11:5, 20; 28:10, 18; Eze 28:15+); 3. LN 79.123–79.128 perfect, i.e., pertaining to having no known physical defect whatsoever (Dt 32:4+); 4. LN 88.36–88.38 perfect, i.e., pertaining to not having any moral defect (2Sa 22:31, 33; Job 36:4; 37:16; Ps 18:31[EB 30],33[EB 32]; 19:8[EB 7]+); 5. LN 59.23–59.34 entire, whole, i.e., the totality of an object (Lev 3:9; Eze 15:5; Pr 1:12+); 6. LN 73 right, true, i.e., pertaining to that which is genuine, implying sincerity (1Sa 14:41; Jos 24:14; Jdg 9:16, 19; Am 5:10+); 7. LN 67.65–67.72 full, i.e., pertaining to a period of time which is full and not lacking any amount of time, so filling to the very end of that time (Lev 23:15; 25:30; Jos 10:13+)
Noah’s Obedience (v.22)
TEXT Genesis 7
TEXT Genesis 7
Introduction
Introduction
In the first chapters of Genesis, God and man are learning about one another. God blessed man greatly, man’s response wasn’t that great.
The Lord wanted man to choose obedience to him. He wanted their love. So he gave them a command. But they would not keep it.
But in spite of all the difficulty, God did not abandon them. It would have been a just thing to destroy them on the spot. But God is not ONLY a just God. God is a gracious God.
And so the now we are faced with something of a problem, but this problem also tells us something about God.
The coming of the flood communicates to the reader of the nature of God, the nature of man, and of Noah in particular.
One one hand, God is gracious and merciful.
And while God is also longsuffering, God is a Holy and Just God. And He knows what is best. It was the best decision there could be for God to destroy the world save Noah and His family. I have no doubt. There is no other decision that is better than God’s plan.
God could have just wiped out man and Noah and his family with the world too. It is true that often in the world the Just and the Unjust suffer alongside each other.
But what God does instead, is manifest his grace by saving man again.
God had already done this with Adam and Eve.
But God had also done this with Cain. Think about how many would have loved to kill Cain in vengeance. But God did not allow it, giving Cain who deserved nothing… mercy. He even permitted him to travel eastward to find a wife in the land of Nod.
And while sin engulfs the earth, God does not look on sin as a light matter — no, it was a matter of great consequence.
Genesis 6:12
12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
How will God show both graciousness and justice?
He does so by choosing Noah to execute the best plan.
Boarding the Ark Gen 7:1-9
Boarding the Ark Gen 7:1-9
Ark is completed. Imagine the task. Ever looked at a job well done? Imagine what this one felt like!
God reiterates the fact that Noah is “Righteous” as we have previously discussed in chapter 6. (Gen 7:1)
Now we know that Noah was not perfect. But he walked with God. He relied on the grace of God instead of living against it in rebellion.
When compared to his contemporaries, Noah was obedient.
Often we must realize we too aren’t perfect in our lives. But this doesn’t mean we can’t live better than the world. We can’t strive for perfection.
What does striving for perfection look like? It looks like building an Ark!
How long did it take?
Genesis 5:32 and Genesis 7:6 have some relevance to the question of how long it took Noah to build the ark. Ignoring these texts, some have concluded from Genesis 6:3 that it too him 120 years. However, in that passage, God simply declared the period of grace before he would destroy the world. The verse says nothing about building the ark. Moreover, God’s words are not even directed to a particular person. Apparently, God determined to destroy the earth several years before he revealed the decision to Noah.
When God gave instructions to Noah about building the ark, He promised to establish a covenant with him; and Noah would enter the ark with his wife, their sons, and their sons wives (Gen 6:18). The only way that one could maintain the 120-year time frame would be to infer that God spoke to Noah twenty years before his first son was born. However, it seems more natural to assume that Noah’s three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth— had already been born, grown up, and married when God spoke to Noah.
Noah’s first son was born when he was 500 years old (Gen 5:32). If a few years a figured between the birth of each of his three sons (see Genesis 10:21; 11:10) and another twenty years to allow them to grow up and get married, the earliest God spoke to Noah was when he was about 525 years old. The text states that the flood came on the earth when Noah was 600 (Genesis 7:6). This means that the longest amount of time that Noah and his sons had to build the ark was about 75 years. However, the period of construction may have been much less than this.
TFTC. Genesis 1-22. William W. Grasham, Ph.D. p. 246
Now, truth be told, all we can do is guess. And that may be fun, but there is something more important in how long it took for him to build this ark.
Noah is seen as a preacher of righteousness according to Peter. 2 Peter 2:5.
When did he preach? When does any preacher preach? When they have been given a message!
So at some point during this Noah had to preach. Not only build the ark, but preach. I bet building the ark, especially toward the end of the project brought plenty of opportunity to talk to others about his message.
Yet it would seem no one but his family heeded the message.
Even so, we learn something about this time.
We do not know how long it was from the time when God first warned Noah of the coming flood until the moment that He shut the door behind the family and the rains began to fall. Most likely, several decades passed between these two events. Whatever the time period, it must have seemed long and wearisome to this faithful remnant as they sought to warn others of the impending judgment, build and ark, and gathered the needed supplies to sustain them for the journey during the flood.
How long were they on the ark? Genesis 7:11 is the starting point — Noah is 600, 2nd month, 17th day of the month (day 1)…
Genesis 8:13 is the 601st year of Noah’s life: the 1st month, 1st day of the month… (~314 days)…
The earth then is dry and God commanded Noah and everyone to come out in Genesis 8:14-17. This is the 2nd month, 27th day of the month so 56 days had passed. (~370 days)
The delay in divine judgement happens here regardless. Noah has to work. People often don’t like the preaching that comes with it. Jeremiah, as example, preached, pleaded with, and warned the people of Judah for 40 years, saying that the judgment of God was coming “from the north” (from Babylon that is) (Jer. 1:13, 4:6, 6:22, 10:22, 13:20, 25:9). God’s penalty for sin was coming against the dynasty of David in the form of devastation of their kingdom and captivity for the people. The prophet announced again and again that there would be “terror…on every side” (Jer 6:25; 46:5) until the people began to mock him, saying “here comes old, ‘Terror on every side!” (Jer 20:10)
10 For I heard many mocking: “Fear on every side!” “Report,” they say, “and we will report it!” All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, “Perhaps he can be induced; Then we will prevail against him, And we will take our revenge on him.”
Judgment delayed may be difficult for those who preach it. They may be persecuted, mocked, and are often denied. People are inclined to only believe what they see. Matthew 24:37-39 in the NT teaches that just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the Second Coming of Christ.
37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
They will just ignore the call and live life the way they want to.
They will scoff at the idea of the coming judgement at the end of time because the world has gone on uninterrupted for so long. 2 Peter 3 (Read the chapter)
Some will say it won’t happen (2 Peter 3:3-4)
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.”
They forgot the same has happened in the past. Like in the flood. (2 Peter 3:5-7)
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.
And if Judgement is slow, it is because of the patience of God (2 Peter 3:9)
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.
The same happens during the flood… Consider Peter in 1 Peter 3:18-22
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
But as God graciously delayed judgement, the world became lethargic and denied it. Because the people did not heed his preaching, they would perish....
Raining Begins Genesis 7:10-17
Raining Begins Genesis 7:10-17
Perhaps rain had not fallen on the earth before as many suggest.
Imagine the horror!
Should have listened to Noah!
All the fountains of the great deep were let loose and the heavens opened as the flood came in. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. Regardless of whether they had seen rain before, they had definitely never seen it like this!
The only things that would live were the things in the ark now. The time of repentance had come to an end. Just like today, there will come a time where it is too late.
Rain Continues Gen 7:18-24
Rain Continues Gen 7:18-24
During the 40 days and nights when the waters of the flood came, the ark floated upward. All the high hills were covered.
Then waters covered the earth for 150 days before they would begin to recede.
All flesh died… (Gen 7:21)
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.
Every man… died.
What is this record about. Other than just history, what is being said here. What is God saying to us through these scriptures?
The Bible is full of stories that have meanings, but we can also miss the forest for the trees.
History is of great consideration, it’s good to know that Jesus healed a man. That would be a historical fact. But what is God trying to tell you through that healing? Something is there beyond just the facts of what is said. An unstated fact.
I think a good way to explain this is with the Gospel of John.
John’s gospel is often referred to as the Gospel of Signs. There are seven major miracles that are performed in the gospel of John:
1. Water to Wine (John 2:1-11), 2. Healing the Royal Official’s Son (John 4:46-54), Healing the Paralytic at Bethesda (John 5:1-15), Feeding the 5000 (John 6:5-14), Walking on Water (John 6:16-24), Healing the blind man (John 9:1-7), and the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45) Some add an 8th of the miraculous catching of fish at the end of the book in John 21 as well.
Now each of these are important for us to have a record of what Jesus did. But do they do something else? What does a “SIGN” do? It points to something, doesn’t it. It tells you something more doesn’t it.
John 20:30 gives us a hint to what is being said but not being explicitly said in each of these stories.
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;
What then is God saying in this story? I am just. I am merciful, but Just. I am longsuffering and merciful, but just. And if you are obedient in what I command, and walk with me, I will reward you and you will live.