Noah's ark - Sunday School Stories part 2
Noah’s Ark - Genesis 6-9
There is an old adage coined by the artist Picasso that states, “The beginning of creation is destruction.” It has become something of a philosophy in artist circles which simply means that in order for something new to come into being, something old must be removed. Fast forward several decades and we see it surface in one of my favorite comics.
As with all great comic writers, Darby Conley takes a profound statement and turns it into an irreverent cat joke for the sake of humor.
Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley
But, the philosophy holds true. Every artist, whether musician, sculptor, painter, of whatever medium, can testify that at times the artwork is not working. Even the most skilled artisan has those moments when the piece doesn’t work, and so they scrap it to begin again. This truth has much less to do with the skill of the artist and much more to do with the nature of art.
Today, as we look at possibly the most famous of Old Testament stories, I am reminded of the task of the artist. As they toil away, they must always be ready to wipe the slate clean in order to create something that is new, and much better. Last week we saw God create something very good. But this week we see the artwork has turned terribly bad. A new beginning must come.
The Rise in Wickedness which brings Judgement : 6:1-8
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in[a] man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. 5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
The beginning of our story is one many tend to overlook, because it brings up a particular word that scholars have argued about—the Nephilim. Who are these people? At face value, they are products of fallen angels (“sons of God”) procreating with humans, but for most modern people that brings up a wide variety of issues which we do not have time for today. Some translations call them ‘giants’ which is a bit easier to take, though that too brings up some issues regarding historical evidence for giants. Other scholars simply leave them as legendary creatures inspired by men of renown who had uncommon athletic abilities. For example, in the table of nations in chapter 10, Nimrod is mentioned who was a mighty hunter and established the city of Babel. The similar description makes him similar to these Nephilim.
This section provides an answer to an age-old, perennial question, “If God is good, why is there evil in the world?” The technical word for this question is theodicy. As we discussed last week, God created the world to be perfectly good. But since the world is not so good anymore, many have questioned whether we can even say God is good. Some groups, such as the Gnostics of the first few centuries, argued the Creator must be deficient in some way because His creation is deficient. Dualist religions, such as Zoroastrians argue there are two supreme gods, one who is wholly good, one wholly evil. The world is in conflict because these deities are in conflict. The world has a great many ways of answering the question of why evil exists, but here we get an answer that has become far less popular in recent years.
Wicked people do wicked things because their hearts are focused on evil continually.
Now before you get a little self-righteous, remember that when Jesus came, He told us the standard of what is ‘good’, and we all fail to meet that standard. The heart brings forth evil. It is from the heart we stir up hate, lust, pride, and all the other emotions which bring us to sin. We are all captive by a heart that stirs up evil until we give that heart over to Christ to be remade. The source of this wickedness, from this passage and how the early Christians interpreted it, is demonic. Why do people sin? “The devil made them do it.” When we remember the Fall in Genesis 3, and then add the reason corruption was so rampant in the days of Noah, we find that it is not God’s fault evil exists. It was introduced to humanity through demonic forces, and then humans devoted their hearts to sin.
For the Early Church, Jesus’ Atonement brought victory over sin by destroying the powers of demons described in Genesis 6.
Church, if you still want to blame the devil for the sin in your heart, by all means, but remember we are not victims of Satan any more. Jesus has brought victory, and to continue in sin is to live defeated
A Covenant for Noah to survive Judgment : 6:11-22
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21 Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
The Lord tells Noah that a flood is coming to reset the Earth. Nothing on the earth will survive, because of the corruption. Note the importance of this passage is on Noah’s righteousness, not the flood itself. It is not just that humanity’s sin had grown, but “all flesh” was corrupted. We are not given much explanation, but it appears that in the days of Noah, the whole earth, including its creatures were corrupted by sin’s curse and required purging.
This drastic judgement and flood remind us:
God will allow sin to run its course for only so long.
We cannot continue in sin and rebellion against God and expect to do so forever. Scripture is filled with stories of a person or city’s sin filling up to completion, and God sends His powerful judgement. How much sin is too much? It is best to not find out.
But God establishes a covenant with Noah, because Noah finds favor in God’s eyes. Despite the global corruption of sin, Noah has somehow kept himself untainted—at least not as tainted as the rest. But God does not tell Noah that he will be saved automatically, Noah is to exercise faith by building the ark and bringing in the animals. This act of faith and covenant remind us:
God establishes the way to salvation for those willing to take it.
For Noah, he was to build an ark as his act of faith and fill it with samples of the many animal kinds. For Moses and the Israelites, they were given the Law and its sacrificial system. For us today, God has sent His Son to be our sacrifice. Whosoever looks to Jesus for salvation will be saved from coming judgment. That is the covenant that all humanity has with God, not just Israel or a select few. If someone wants to save himself from this corrupt generation and impending condemnation, they only have to put their faith in the work of Jesus.
The Flood consumes all : 7:11-24
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14 they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in. 17 The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.
Just as God told Noah, the flood waters cover the whole earth. The ark is able to contain a selection of the kinds of animals and Noah’s family, but everything else is wiped out. At this point, typically the conversation turns to the question, “Is this really a worldwide flood?” As with many of the oldest stories from the Bible, God-fearing scholars have disagreed on the answer. But, I would argue that we should let Scripture speak for itself rather than impose some other source on top of it. The story is that the whole world is covered in water, which means regardless how one feels about the scientific implications, the point of this story is to demonstrate God’s authority and ability to bring judgement upon the earth.
The Flood resets Creation back into its original, watery chaotic state as described in Genesis 1:2.
God had determined the world had become so violent that it must be reset. Noah and a selection of animals are allowed to live through the destruction in order to begin a new age of Creation. In this new age, Noah will be given a new covenant and new sign of the covenant.
The Covenant with Creation : 8:20-9:1-17
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
9 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.
7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
Noah had been in the ark with his family and the animals for about 11 months. In this time, it is probable that many of the animals had procreated, so if we look at the timing of the sacrifices, it is reminiscent the future sacrificial laws that Moses would receive. For example, consider the Passover Lamb was to be a lamb about a year old who was spotless. At first glance, it would seem irresponsible for Noah to sacrifice animals when the entire world needs to be repopulated. However, when we compare Noah’s sacrifice with what God requires in the Mosaic Law and what is reminded to us by the Prophets, we realize it makes perfect sense. Sacrifices to God should always come from the first fruits.
Faith requires action before the proof. True sacrifice occurs at the beginning of our acts of faith.
Also notice the repetition from the original Creation story.
In the beginning Adam and Eve were told to be fruitful and multiply. Noah and his family are told the same. In the beginning Adam is told to eat from any of the plants (except the one tree), and here, Noah is told the same, however God also delivers the animals into humanity’s hands as well. The earth has been reset to the time at the beginning of Creation, and Noah’s family is given the task to re-establish humanity’s administration of the earth as God designed. Of course, by the end of chapter 9, we see that Noah’s descendants fail just as their first parents did.
But God establishes His promise that He will not flood the earth again. He sets a rainbow in the sky and states that every time it rains and the rainbow appears, it will be a reminder of God’s promise to not flood the earth.
But note, the promise is not the world will remain free of future judgments or cleansing. It is simply a promise that even in the worst of storms and floods, the earth will not wash away as before. In fact, Peter warns us this story is a reminder that just as God has demonstrated His wrath before, we should not continue in sin as though He will not punish it in the future. Turn with me to 2 Peter 3:
The Next Coming Age : 2 Peter 3:1-13
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Peter makes a few statements worth examining closely, however time will only allow for two today. First, note that one of the descriptions of scoffers in the last days is they “deliberately overlook...the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished” (Verses 5-6). I understand many Christians struggle with the notion of a worldwide flood because of the proliferation of secular science, and again, if you struggle with belief in this, I get it. There is evidence of history, and how one perceives the evidence will determine what you believe. However, as Christians who take our Bibles seriously, we should remember:
Denial of the flood is a mark of the last days, whether we believe in the global flood or not.
Second, Peter says, as does other apostles, the earth is stored up for fire. The end of this age will be marked by fire. There is some debate on what this entails, but consider the role of water and fire.
Water can wash away the surface of a thing, cleaning the outside, but it does not change the thing. It is a superficial cleansing.
Fire is a complete cleansing of the thing. It not only burns the outside, but it transforms the thing itself. For most objects this means a complete destruction. However, for some, it is a transformation into something stronger. Metals are purged of contaminants and made more solid. Ceramics are reconditioned, and its molecules changed into something permanent and durable.
The Flood washed away the effects of sin, but could not cleanse.
The Fire that is to come will purge the earth of both the effects of sin and sin itself.
Peter asks the all important question—if this world awaits an all-consuming fire, what sort of people should we be? The answer is quite obvious, we should be the sort that will be able to endure this coming refinery. Jesus has told us how to be such people. It is through His atoning sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection that we are able to be transformed into eternal creatures. When we place our faith in Him, we are given His Spirit who cleanses us from sin and gives us eternal life.
We must surrender to Christ in order to be made ready for the coming fire, just as Noah had to build the ark in order to be ready for the coming flood.
Salvation is both the initial transformation of forgiveness and eternal life, and also the process in which God makes us ready to endure the coming fiery cleansing.