It probably will not surprise anyone that Genesis 6-8 is one of the most debated parts of Scripture. This I knew. One thing I knew, but had forgotten, is that there is more space given in Scripture to the Flood than to the Creation account or the fall of man. This indicates God’s view of the importance of communicating knowledge about the Flood. This is not strange. If you’re telling someone about your recent vacation or a trip or other event, you will almost always spend the majority of the time describing the part of the event you found most enjoyable, important, or eventful. The fall of man recorded in Genesis 2:15-3:24 preceded the Flood and opened the way for Satan to make another attempt to ruin God’s plan of redemption. Certainly since God laid out Satan’s ultimate end in Genesis 3:15, the adversary has been busy attempting to thwart God’s intent to send a Redeemer. The Fall aided and abetted Satan’s plans as Adam’s broken nature was transmitted on to his descendants. Consider these two texts: Genesis 1:27, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them;” and, Genesis 5:3, “When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.” The “image” of Adam at that point had been marred by sin and our sin nature is the only spiritual quality that comes along with the DNA transfer. This was seen earlier in Genesis 4, which records the murder of Abel by his elder brother, Cain. I won’t deal with all the debated issues about these chapters, but I will give you my understanding of three key points and then move on rather quickly through chapters 6-8. First, I believe that the Scripture describes a world-wide Flood, not a local one. I also believe that the “sons of God” in chapter 6 were either fallen angels who had taken human form and the ability to intermarry with human females; or, demon-possessed individuals, not a godly line of humanity. And, third, this corruption of the human race was another effort of Satan to derail God’s plan of redemption - the Savior of the world would not be born to a demon-possessed woman. So, let’s move on through the text. Genesis 6 clearly describes the moral and ethical state of planet Earth. Putting it in simple theological terms, it was a mess, as illustrated in verse 5, wickedness great on the earth; intents and thoughts of the hearts only evil continually; and, verse 12, all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. I am pretty confident that no one reading this post fits that description. You would say, or at least think, as would I: “My mind is not on evil all the time.” “I know some really good people.” You would be correct, but that is not the point. Keep in mind that it took some time for the world to reach its Genesis 6 dismal state, but the Fall was precipitated by one act of disobedience. How many laws does a person have to break to be a lawbreaker? One. How many sins does it take to get sideways with God? Just one. And I can assure you that I’ve racked up much more than one. It only takes one sin against a Holy God to require a Redeemer. Genesis 6 also describes the patience of God, e.g., verse 3, his days shall be one hundred and twenty years. This is not a limit on the length of life at that time; rather, it is the time during which God postponed His judgment (and the time it took Noah to construct the Ark). 2 Peter 2:5 describes Noah as “a preacher of righteousness.” But nowhere in Scripture do we find a recorded sermon by Noah. I think he was a preacher of righteousness in at least two ways: first, by his godly life (Genesis 6:9, righteous, blameless [not the same as sinless], walked with God; and, second, he preached with a saw, hammer, and wood, as he constructed the Ark in obedience to God and almost certainly in the face of ridicule and unbelief. Genesis 6 also tells us that God’s patience has limits, e.g., verse 3, “Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever...” In chapters 6 and 8, you also will see one of the key words of the text: 6:8, But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”; 6:19, But I will establish my covenant with you...; and, again in 8:1 But God remembered Noah...” Think a bit of other portions of Scripture; or, times in your life when challenges seemed insurmountable, grief overwhelming, temptation irresistible, But God showed up and everything changed. "But God" can make all the difference in the world. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Tennessee Ernie Ford recorded a very successful song, “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Regretfully, it contained one serious theological error. “The Lord came down and looked around a spell, and found Mr. Noah behavin’ mighty well. And that is the reason, the Scriptures record, that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Sorry, Ernie. You blew that one. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord because he found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Grace is unearned and undeserved favor. You don’t work for it, earn it, deserve it, or buy it. The text goes on to describe God laying out the construction plans to Noah. Lots of paper and ink have been devoted to discussing how many animals could fit in the Ark, how could all the species have been accounted for, etc., etc. That discussion is outside the intent of this post, but it is probably worth noting that it was 1858 before a seagoing vessel bigger than the Ark was constructed. And, most pictures of the Ark are not quite accurate: it was essentially a big barge, designed to float and resist capsizing. Hebrews 11:7 records Noah’s response to God’s message, “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” The phrase, “by things not seen” certainly includes a worldwide judgment of God. It also is arguable from the Genesis text that rain also might have been one of the things not seen up to that point (Genesis 2:5b-6, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground). Noah believed God and obeyed. His obedience in doing all God commanded is affirmed in Genesis 6:22 (Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did). and reaffirmed in Genesis 7:5. It is worth noting that Noah was not expected to hold a roundup of animals. Genesis 6:20 says that animals would come to Noah to be kept alive. Anyone who has watched Animal Planet understands that many creatures have amazing migratory instincts which God could certainly direct and one commentator noted that, biblically, animals were more responsive to God’s directives than many humans. In chapter 7, the Ark construction was completed, Noah and his family entered the Ark, but they still had to wait a week in faith, after 120 years of construction. At the end of the week, two things happened: one, God shut the door of the Ark - Noah did not have to do that (another picture of God’s grace to Noah). God waited until the last minute, giving anyone who would enter the Ark with Noah and his family the opportunity to do so. No one responded and once the door was shut, it was shut. This is much like the scene in Sodom, when Lot attempted to warn his sons-in-law about the impending destruction, but Genesis 19:14 records that they thought he was joking. The second event was the beginning of the 40-day Flood and the end of all, as God pronounced in Genesis 6:17, “Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.” “But God remembered Noah...” This last text does not mean that Noah, his family and the Ark had slipped God’s memory - He had never forgotten them. The Ark did not sink; I believe it did not even leak during the 5 months it floated, no matter how turbulent the waters. His “remembering” them meant that God had determined that it was time to initiate His next acts on their behalf. The rain stopped, the underground waters that had been released were plugged up and the water began to recede. Exactly 5 months from the beginning of the Flood, the Ark landed on “the mountains of Ararat,” and the waters continued to recede another 3 months, and 40 days later, Noah began to determine when it would be safe to leave the Ark, sending out a raven - which didn’t return and then a dove, that returned, then returned later with an olive leaf, and finally, did not return. After that, Noah opened the Ark and saw dry land. God then gave him the OK to leave the Ark and release all the creatures. His first act on dry land was to build an altar to worship God. The text says that he offered a burnt offering of every clean animal and every clean bird. We don’t know when or how he was instructed on appropriate offerings, but it is reasonable to assume that information had been verbally passed down from Adam through his descendants, with the original instructions coming from God. It also is reasonable to assume that, if Noah knew the proper worship procedures, so would others living at the time. Noah and his family had good reason to be thankful. They had found grace from God and deliverance through the Flood. God then made a commitment - and He always keeps His commitments, Genesis 8:21-22, “The Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. 22 “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” And, of course, in chapter 9, God gives visible affirmation of His promise in the rainbow. Here is a closing thought. It is safe to assume that other boats were available in Noah’s day, but only one would serve as a place of rescue from the judgment of the Flood. There are other means for redemption put forth in our day, but only one will be able to rescue us from judgment. The only successful escape from judgment is to take refuge in the deliverance God has provided. For Noah and his family, it was an Ark. For us, it is the living Ark, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our shelter from the flood, our shelter in the time of storm.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 21:34:10 +0000
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