Genesis 7

Genesis 7.

Peter told us over 2000 years ago after the Lord Jesus had ascended to heaven-but promised He would return what we could expect from an unbelieving world. Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3: “ First of all you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, walking after their own lusts, and saying: ‘ where is the promise of His coming? For since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But Peter notes-‘ they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men.”

Surely in the days of Noah- during the 120 years of construction of the ark- Noah and his sons heard similar taunts- when is this flood coming- you’ve been talking about it since we were young and before we were born- our fathers have died and never saw this happen.

The unbeliever does not want to hear of pending judgment. They keep themselves busy with the pursuits of their own lusts, desires. As the Lord Jesus told us: “ for in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered into the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” ( Matt. 24:37-39)

Before we turn back to the time of the flood notice that Peter actually gives us some insight into the study of the flood.

He tells us this was not an ordinary flood. The account in Genesis tells of the springs of the great deep burst forth. The windows of heaven opened and the rain poured as from a spout.
The effects of the flood were worldwide.
This flood and its utter destruction points to a future destruction of earth by God by fire.

Genesis 7: 1 ( KJV) and the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all they house into the ark for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. In Revelation 4- John tells us a door that was opened in heaven and the first voice which I heard was as it were a trumpet talking with me which said , “ Come up hither.” Thus the account of the flood begins with an invitation. Come into the ark. The invitation the Lord would issue to his disciples- come follow me. To the thirsty- come and drink- the tired- come you who are weary .. it is His invitation to mankind- come unto me, His invitation to the saints at the rapture---come up hither.

When we sing- take it to the Lord in prayer- it is our response to his invitation to come unto me you who are weary and heavy laden.

It is the call of a loving parent to their child to come in – it’s getting dark. Come in there is a storm coming. Come in to my presence to safety. The wording of this invitation- implies that God Himself is in the ark and Noah and his family are invited to join Him there. Surely- they came as the hymn encourages us to ‘ come- just as I am.’

But don’t miss the basis for the call to come into the ark- the Lord tells us Noah and his family were not just counted as righteous- but also ‘ seen as righteous’. There was a demonstration of his faith by his actions- building the ark. Noah not only believed – his subsequent actions demonstrated his belief. Obedience that results in activity is the demonstration of faith. It can be observed by God – but also it can be observed by the world as our witness. We are saved by grace thru faith- not of works. But we are saved to do good works. James said show me you faith by your works. If Noah had believed God was going to destroy the world by a flood- but took no action to build the ark- would you not question the validity of his faith? In fact Noah and his family without the work necessary to construct the ark- would have died. For faith without works is dead.

Just as it was in the days of Noah- it is also the same way for us today. Obeying God was not easy for Noah and his family. The world wanted to conform him just as it wants to conform us.

Noah was given detailed destructions to the number of clean animals to be taken aboard for sacrifices on the other side of the flood. I am not sure I completely understand about clean and unclean in the OT…we know that the NT makes clear there are no clean and unclean animals for all creatures of God are clean. But since it has to do with sacrifice- I think it might have to do with approaching a Holy God and is teaching a spiritual truth about things of the flesh and things of the spirit- but regardless of the meaning- Noah understood what he was supposed to take in the ark for the purpose of sacrifice.

Then God announces in seven days He will send the rain upon the earth. No doubt the ungodly had a good laugh over Noah and his family and all the animals aboard the ark. The late nite comedians would have had a field day with the antics of this ‘ crazy Noah’ character. Those who thought themselves intellectually superior- soon would discover they did not have enough sense to get in out of the rain. For seven more days the grace of God is available.

Then after seven days, the dawn of judgment came. The precise day upon which the rains came is carefully noted- perhaps in the ships log that Noah kept. But most certainly it was a day God dreaded with a holy dread. It was a precisely appointed day in the calendar of God. And just as sure- there is another one of His calendar when He once again will judge the whole earth with fire.

It was the six hundredth year of Noah’s life on the seventeenth day of the second month. I want to advise you this was not the Hebrew Religious Calendar which God would give to Moses and the nation of Israel after the Passover and Exodus from Egypt. This calendar would have been the ancient Near East calendar. This civil calendar began its new year in the fall with autumn and traditional tilling and plowing of soil. Its first month would be our September/October; 2-Oct/Nov;3^rd-Nov-Dec; 4^th – Dec/Jan; 5^th –Jan/Feb; 6^th- Feb/mar; 7^th- March/April;** 8^th- April/May; 9^th- May/june; 10^th – June/July; 11^th – July/Aug; 12^th – Aug/Sept.

Verse 16 tells us the Lord Himself shut Noah and his family in the ark. The last book of the Bible, Revelation 3 tells us He opens doors no one can shut and what He shuts no one can open. The door is still open- the grace of God is still available. But who knows when it will be shut? Jesus told his disciples His Father knew- but that we would know the time was near by the signs we would observe.

This is also a beautiful picture of what Paul calls the sealing of the Spirit. Those who enter our ark, the Lord Jesus Christ, are sealed by God and kept by the power of God safe and secure in Christ.

So in the story of the flood- we see so much:

We see the consequences of sin- of unbelief of the sureness of God’s judgment.

We see the story of grace that makes a way to escape.

This grace is available only to the righteous. And righteousness comes by faith in God’s word.

Faith – that is saving faith is demonstrated in obedience- in actions.

What we see is an Unchanging God with Unchanging principles when given the same set of circumstances will act in exactly the same way.

But let’s look for the next few moments at obedience.

We are to obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. “ now therefore, if you will obey My voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people for all the earth is mine.” ( Exodus 19:5)

Obedience is the bottom line in the Christian life. Obey means to follow the commands; to behave in accordance with. It is one who is a not just a hearer of the word but a doer of the word. Obedience is submission to God’s will.

We must know what God’s will is- be familiar with His word, commandments and principles. (Study to show thyself approved..)
We must tap into the source of power of the Holy Spirit to assist us in taking the right actions and the right course.
Be ready for an attack when you set out to obey God. Be ready for temptation.
When tempted to disobey- remember your faithfulness and devotion to Christ are at stake. ( AA Sponsor told me) {if you love me- keep ..}

Obedience always brings blessings.

Luke 11:28- He said more than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.

Background- when this occurred, etc.

Last week I mentioned an event that took place in the early days of the Lord’s ministry. He had attracted a large crowd down by the Sea of Galilee and asked Peter if he would allow him to teach from his boat from the edge of the water – kind of like a floating pulpit or platform where he could be seen and heard by the crowd. Peter and his crew had just finished the night fishing and were cleaning and putting up their nets and ready to go home to breakfast and get some much needed rest.

Just as the Lord finished teaching and Peter and his crew were finishing up their tasks – as the crowds dispersed- the Lord asked Peter to launch out his boats and let down your nets for a catch.

Peter was tired…he told the Lord, we have been fishing- toiling all night and caught nothing. He must have thought- about saying no…after all what did this young carpenter/rabbi/teacher know about fishing---but something made him change his mind. A careful reading of the KJV tells us Peter’s reply - “ nevertheless at thy WORD I will let down my net.” ( want some real sound advice- that if you follow you will never go wrong? It comes from Mary, the mother of Jesus, who told the servant at the wedding- ‘do whatever He tells you.’)

We know the rest of the story- a miraculous catch-so great – Peter called his partners to come help. A night that was a total loss ended up with two overflowing boatloads of fish. Talk about a fisherman’s tale…this is the one about the ones that didn’t get away.

Saying yes to the Lord’s request and obeying HIS WORD always brings blessing.

This event transformed the lives of Peter, Andrew, James and John and untold millions of people thru the ages. For it was after this event- that very morning issued an invitation to these fishermen---come- follow me and I will make you fishers of men. A call to obedience with a promise of blessing.

So as we see in the life of Noah how his obedience blessed his sons, and the whole world. We see :

Obeying God in small matters is an essential step to God’s greater blessings.
Obedience always benefits others.
When we obey God we will never be disappointed in the long run.

The flood is a story of judgment- for forty days and forty nights the flood kept coming on the earth.

As the waters rose- you can imagine the people trying to find higher ground- only to see it covered with water. As even the mountains were covered and everything – everything that had breath died- except Noah and his family.

In Chapter 8- the story of the flood turns from a story of judgment to a story of redemption.

“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the live stock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth.” This language does not imply God had absently-minded forgotten about Noah and the ark…it was on His mind constantly. The word is used to express concern for a loved one- as in remember me in your prayers.

The wind is a picture in scripture of the Holy Spirit. This is a new beginning as it was in the creation when the Spirit of God hovered above the waters. Noah and his family are the church. When they came into the ark- it was a picture of salvation- saved by grace thru faith.

So here we see in this factual historical account of Noah the similarities of God’s concern for His church in the world today. Keep in mind- what must have been the conditions on the ark- physically. The smells- the noise- the ‘cabin fever’ and uncertainty Noah and his family were experiencing. Yet Noah was a patient man and the Bible tells us the testing of our faith develops patience and patience matures our faith. Haste makes waste and waste makes want. If Noah had exited too soon- if he had gotten impatient and ahead of God- he would have been stuck in the mud. Ever get ahead of God- get impatient and get stuck in the mud? People do a lot of foolish things acting out of impatience. Beverly Sills said there are not shortcuts to anyplace worth going to.

Now as I explained earlier God has a calendar in heaven that is the only calendar that matters. God has made careful note of the exact dates in this account of Noah and now you will see why. The ark came to rest on Mount Ararat ( Turkey) and is over 16,000 feet above sea level on a date we must take note of: the 17^th day of the 7^th month. Turn to Exodus 12 where God inaugurates a new calendar for the people of Israel. This month is to be for you the first month- the first month of your year.

The month God was speaking of to Moses was the 7^th month of the civil calendar- whose first month was in the fall. God was making the month of Passover the first month in the Hebrew/Jewish calendar. So watch these instructions: the Passover Lamb was to be taken in by the family on the 10^th day of the 7^th month(under the old calendar)- it was slain on the 14^th day. The day our Lord was crucified. Crucified on the 14^th day of the 7^th month- raised on the 17^th day of the 7^th month- the very day the ark rested on the Mountain. God had made a way to escape. What did God do in Egypt on that fateful night? He passed over those who had applied the blood of the Passover Lamb to the door posts of their home. Noah and his family represent the church- they were the church and the church rested on the very day of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead…for if Christ be not risen- our faith is in vain.

Blessed are those who wait on the Lord. Noah as eager as he was to get out of the ark waited on the Lord to show him when he was to move out.

The raven Noah sent out is an unclean bird and represents our old nature, the flesh which delights in the things of the world- things that are questionable- things that are foul and dirty.

The dove represents the Holy Spirit or the spirit. It can find no rest in the filthiness of the world. Noah lets the Spirit direct his coming in and going out.

Finally the day comes- God says to Noah: “ Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife and thy sons and thy son’s wives with thee.”

Have you noticed something? It was God who told Noah to build an ark. It was God who told Noah and his family to come into the ark and everything to bring with him. It was God who shut them in the ark. It was God who told Noah to go forth from the ark.

God’s word led Noah to do the right thing at the right time. For Noah there is nothing but simple acts of obedience.

God’s word led him. And God’s word will lead us-we must trust and obey for there is no other way.

Peter said- nevertheless at THY WORD I will do it.

Mary said- do whatever He TELLS you.

James said – don’t be a hearer of the Word only- be a Doer.(hearer only is deceived)

We are born again not of the corruptible seed but of the incorruptible- the Word of God which abides forever..

The Word of God is alive and powerful..

The Word of God is life-giving, life sustaining and life changing.

Man does not live on bread alone but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God..

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…

What happens to those who do not believe the Word of God?

Luke 16 – the rich man and Lazarus. It is a place I come to often in my teaching- because this is the place life brings every one of us to- death and what lies beyond and whether or not we have believed and in believing have obeyed.

2 funerals- 2 futures. And what happens to those who do not believe the Word of God.

Those who did not get on the ark are left on the other side of the gulf with no way to escape. They missed the boat..