The Flood – Part One (The Ark)
Genesis 6:5 – 7:7 Study No. 12
I want to begin this session by stating some basic principles and observations:
1. The Bible could be called 'The History of Sin'
2. Sin is the cause of all calamity – cause and effect in a fallen world.
3. Special calamities can ... and have been brought on by God.
4. God never brings calamity without first giving warning.
5. God is patient before He brings a judgment (calamity).
6. God brings that judgment when in His mind iniquity is full.
Here are four examples:
Flood1
Sodom and Gomorrah2
Canaanites (Amorites) who occupied the promised land while Jacob and sons were in Egypt3
(more on this in a future session.)
Armageddon.4
There has never been a calamity that comes close to that of the flood. Over seven billion people, adult, child, rich and poor, all drowned. Every air breathing animal drowned. All of the surface of the earth wiped clean. Every blade of grass. Every tree. Every building and every city. The reconstruction was literally on a clean slate.
All of this supernatural calamity is a foreshadow of the final and ultimate judgment.
Life goes on – so the people thought.
But God has set a limit to the level of wickedness5 He will permit and they reached it and He drowned them all.
Peter says that the final destruction of sinners will be by fire.
2 great messages
This is history. This is how the old world ended
God saw that the world was only evil continually.
Without the ten commandments how do we know what evil is? Did people even know that they were doing evil? Judging by God's severe action of drowning everyone except 8 people, He held them responsible. This means that God had communicated enough laws verbally for society to function responsibly.
The Bible could also be called 'The history of grace'.
In verse 7 we are told that it grieved God in His heart that He made man. But God is a God of grace and when sinners repent, He forgives. He looked for one who would speak in His behalf.
In Isaiah's time there was a similar search, albeit on a much smaller scale.6 Isaiah was given a vision of God in all of His holiness. He was struck with awe. He felt dirty in the sight of the holy God. He expressed his horror and embarrassment of standing before God as a dirty sinner. God fixed that by cleansing him and then asking the question, Who will go and do an errand for me? Isaiah was able to answer, 'Send me.'
God looks for those today who will go for Him and take His message of warning, judgment, and calamity and announce it faithfully. But first he looks for us to come to him and see His holiness and deplore our sin … and accept purging and cleansing from Him.7
Jesus said the account of the flood was literal history. Matthew24:37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
God found Noah. Or rather, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Verse 8. Noah found favor. Why, because he was a sinner just like the rest of us but the only difference between him and anyone else is that he was a believer and his sins were covered? Well, even if that is so, that is not really the thought here. There is mention of his own actions, his own personal righteousness.
Genesis 6:9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
Of Enoch it was said that he walked with God. This denotes a very close and intimate fellowship. Noah was this kind of a man. God chose him to be the new Adam, not in the sense that Jesus is the second Adam, but as a human who had the morals, the beliefs, the spiritual character, the faith on which to build a new society.
God tells Noah that He is going to start over. What news. He has not yet mentioned water but He has said, Build an Ark of the following dimensions. Verses 1- 16
Someone has said that the ark was about the same length as a modern oil tanker. Noah is given instructions even regarding the type of wood to use. When we remember the pictures we have seen of an ark, it is a rather awkward looking vessel with a pointed front, sloping curved sides, and quite tall. In actual fact, this boat would have no means of propulsion. It was not going anywhere in particular. It was to be a large rectangle. It would be three stories high, but it would be twice as wide as it was high. It was designed to go with the waves. If a wind was blowing, it would be going with the wind, not against. There would be no worry of crashing into a mountain or hitting a rock. There would never be be wind and waves crashing against it. It would be relatively stable because of its great width and length.
Now God mentions how completely He is going to cleanse the earth. Verse 17
God makes a covenant with Noah. (18) God is under no obligation to make agreements with his creation. But He does so. This is the love, mercy and favor of God upon the most upright man living on the earth at the time. “You will enter the ark”. This is like the promise of grace to each of us. Jesus is the ark. We are in Him. We are not appointed to His wrath, not now, not ever. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Th 5:9
In Verses 18-21 we read about the specific instructions that Noah received for loading the ark. God also gave instructions regarding stocking the ark with a year's supply of food and food for the animals. We have no indication at this point that some of the animals were carnivorous so that may not have changed in them until after the flood. God makes the announcement to Noah later on when they come out of the ark, that animals may now be included in their diet.
Verse 22 ends the chapter with, Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Noah sawed and hammered and preached. This was a massive craft, as far as we know, not anywhere near an ocean. It would certainly raise questions. And Noah gave answers.
2Peter 2:5 And God ...did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others.
What about the times in which we live?
¶ But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 2Timothy 3:1
Have nothing to do with them … that is, don't join in. Don't identify with any of this. But realize that, like Noah, we are to stand out and be obvious.
… that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, Philippians 2:15
Jesus added a couple of other figures of speech that must describe us:
Matthew 5:13 ¶ "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Salt not only flavours and preserves food, but it creates thirst. Does our daily life and attitude create a thirst in others, causing them to want what we have?
John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
Our Godly life-style should raise questions with colleagues, neighbors, friends and even family. … and you have the answers, right?
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 1Peter 3:15
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1Ge 6:3 ¶ Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man for ever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
2Ge 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
3Ge 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
Deuteronomy 20:17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:
18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.
4Re 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
5Mt 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
6 Isaiah 6:1-10
7Isa 52:7 ¶ How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
I want to begin this session by stating some basic principles and observations:
1. The Bible could be called 'The History of Sin'
2. Sin is the cause of all calamity – cause and effect in a fallen world.
3. Special calamities can ... and have been brought on by God.
4. God never brings calamity without first giving warning.
5. God is patient before He brings a judgment (calamity).
6. God brings that judgment when in His mind iniquity is full.
Here are four examples:
Flood1
Sodom and Gomorrah2
Canaanites (Amorites) who occupied the promised land while Jacob and sons were in Egypt3
(more on this in a future session.)
Armageddon.4
There has never been a calamity that comes close to that of the flood. Over seven billion people, adult, child, rich and poor, all drowned. Every air breathing animal drowned. All of the surface of the earth wiped clean. Every blade of grass. Every tree. Every building and every city. The reconstruction was literally on a clean slate.
All of this supernatural calamity is a foreshadow of the final and ultimate judgment.
Life goes on – so the people thought.
But God has set a limit to the level of wickedness5 He will permit and they reached it and He drowned them all.
Peter says that the final destruction of sinners will be by fire.
2 great messages
- Man is hopelessly sinful and will be destroyed.
- When during the time of their sinful existence they repent, God will forgive.
This is history. This is how the old world ended
God saw that the world was only evil continually.
Without the ten commandments how do we know what evil is? Did people even know that they were doing evil? Judging by God's severe action of drowning everyone except 8 people, He held them responsible. This means that God had communicated enough laws verbally for society to function responsibly.
The Bible could also be called 'The history of grace'.
In verse 7 we are told that it grieved God in His heart that He made man. But God is a God of grace and when sinners repent, He forgives. He looked for one who would speak in His behalf.
In Isaiah's time there was a similar search, albeit on a much smaller scale.6 Isaiah was given a vision of God in all of His holiness. He was struck with awe. He felt dirty in the sight of the holy God. He expressed his horror and embarrassment of standing before God as a dirty sinner. God fixed that by cleansing him and then asking the question, Who will go and do an errand for me? Isaiah was able to answer, 'Send me.'
God looks for those today who will go for Him and take His message of warning, judgment, and calamity and announce it faithfully. But first he looks for us to come to him and see His holiness and deplore our sin … and accept purging and cleansing from Him.7
Jesus said the account of the flood was literal history. Matthew24:37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
God found Noah. Or rather, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Verse 8. Noah found favor. Why, because he was a sinner just like the rest of us but the only difference between him and anyone else is that he was a believer and his sins were covered? Well, even if that is so, that is not really the thought here. There is mention of his own actions, his own personal righteousness.
Genesis 6:9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
Of Enoch it was said that he walked with God. This denotes a very close and intimate fellowship. Noah was this kind of a man. God chose him to be the new Adam, not in the sense that Jesus is the second Adam, but as a human who had the morals, the beliefs, the spiritual character, the faith on which to build a new society.
God tells Noah that He is going to start over. What news. He has not yet mentioned water but He has said, Build an Ark of the following dimensions. Verses 1- 16
Someone has said that the ark was about the same length as a modern oil tanker. Noah is given instructions even regarding the type of wood to use. When we remember the pictures we have seen of an ark, it is a rather awkward looking vessel with a pointed front, sloping curved sides, and quite tall. In actual fact, this boat would have no means of propulsion. It was not going anywhere in particular. It was to be a large rectangle. It would be three stories high, but it would be twice as wide as it was high. It was designed to go with the waves. If a wind was blowing, it would be going with the wind, not against. There would be no worry of crashing into a mountain or hitting a rock. There would never be be wind and waves crashing against it. It would be relatively stable because of its great width and length.
Now God mentions how completely He is going to cleanse the earth. Verse 17
God makes a covenant with Noah. (18) God is under no obligation to make agreements with his creation. But He does so. This is the love, mercy and favor of God upon the most upright man living on the earth at the time. “You will enter the ark”. This is like the promise of grace to each of us. Jesus is the ark. We are in Him. We are not appointed to His wrath, not now, not ever. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Th 5:9
In Verses 18-21 we read about the specific instructions that Noah received for loading the ark. God also gave instructions regarding stocking the ark with a year's supply of food and food for the animals. We have no indication at this point that some of the animals were carnivorous so that may not have changed in them until after the flood. God makes the announcement to Noah later on when they come out of the ark, that animals may now be included in their diet.
Verse 22 ends the chapter with, Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Noah sawed and hammered and preached. This was a massive craft, as far as we know, not anywhere near an ocean. It would certainly raise questions. And Noah gave answers.
2Peter 2:5 And God ...did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others.
What about the times in which we live?
¶ But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 2Timothy 3:1
Have nothing to do with them … that is, don't join in. Don't identify with any of this. But realize that, like Noah, we are to stand out and be obvious.
… that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, Philippians 2:15
Jesus added a couple of other figures of speech that must describe us:
Matthew 5:13 ¶ "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Salt not only flavours and preserves food, but it creates thirst. Does our daily life and attitude create a thirst in others, causing them to want what we have?
John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
Our Godly life-style should raise questions with colleagues, neighbors, friends and even family. … and you have the answers, right?
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 1Peter 3:15
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1Ge 6:3 ¶ Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man for ever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
2Ge 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
3Ge 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
Deuteronomy 20:17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:
18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.
4Re 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
5Mt 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
6 Isaiah 6:1-10
7Isa 52:7 ¶ How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"