God saved the earth in a boat that was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and
45 feet high and divided into three levels.
It was taller than a 3-story building.
It was 90 feet longer than a football field. It is a true story that is confirmed
world-wide. In at least five hundred different ancient cultures, you will find
a story of the world destroyed by a deluge of water. The Bible gives us the
factual details with the why, the when and the how.
Our hero is Noah. The Bible says, “But
Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8). “By faith Noah, being warned of God of
things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his
house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the
righteousness which is by faith” (Hebrews 11:7). The story is epoch. To say the flood changed the world is not
using hyperbole or exaggeration. In Genesis 7: 11b, 12 it says, “…all the fountains of the great deep broken
up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth
forty days and forty nights.” From
the time that Noah and his family walked into the ark and stepped out on the
ground was just over a year. What can we
learn from this ancient story of Noah?
1. When we live
any way we want, we never engage in God’s plans and purposes. Read Genesis
6:1-6. Multiply is what God wants mankind to do. This was the original command
given to Adam and Eve, “And God blessed
them, and God said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). I must note here that God’s intention was not
only that mankind should multiply, but he is also to control the environment
around him. He was commanded to take
dominion, which means to subjugate and rule.
The problem is, he did not rule himself. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth
his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32).
In
Genesis 6:2, the sons of God were referred to as the righteous generations of
Seth; the daughters of men as the unrighteous generations of Cain. The phrase “…they
took them wives of all which they chose,” contrasts with Proverbs 3:5 and
6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine
heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge
him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
In all matters, especially those important life-altering decisions, we
are to trust God, not our own wisdom. One of the greatest commendations God
ever gave a man was when Solomon requested, “Give
me now wisdom and knowledge that I may
go out and come in…” (II Chronicles 1:10a). He phrased it like this in I Kings 3:7, “...I am but a little child: I know not how
to go out or come in.” God granted to the man who admitted he did not know
how to navigate through life the great gift of His wisdom. We are to bring
everything to God and allow Him to direct the paths. We see in Genesis 6:4, these
hybrid offspring were called “…Men of
renown,” but the Lord said, “…it
grieved Him at His heart” (Genesis 6:6). When man runs contrary to God’s
plans, his purposes will be thwarted.
2. There comes a time when God’s tolerance
comes to an end. Read Genesis 6:5-7. “And God saw that the wickedness was great in the earth….” Man was
doing anything and everything his wild and intemperate mind could imagine and
the telling phrase is, “...his heart was
only evil continually.” There was
no let-up so God declared, “And the LORD
said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both
man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it
repenteth me that I have made them” (Genesis 6:7). Psalm 103:8 says,“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in
mercy.” If we continue to shun His mercy and His call to repentance,
eventually time runs out: “Because I have
called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But
ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will
laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh” (Proverbs
1:24-26). Proverbs 1:28-31 goes on to
say that those in rebellion would call on the Lord, but He will not answer and
instead He will give them the rewards for their evil deeds.
3. Never underestimate the power of one
surrendered individual. Read Genesis 6:8,9. We see in
the midst of this wicked world, one man stood alone, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (verse 8). He walked
perfectly with God and pleased His Lord in every way. We often get discouraged because there appear
to be overwhelming odds of wickedness around us. Oh, how wise it would be if we would be that
one man, that one woman who is “...just
and perfect in his generations…” (Genesis 6:9). God used one man, Moses to
lead the children of Israel out of bondage.
He used one young man named David to defeat the giant Goliath. He used one boy’s lunch to feed a multitude.
4. God is a Covenant-Making and
Covenant-Keeping God. Genesis 6:18 tells us, “But with thee will I establish my covenant;
and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy
sons' wives with thee.” A covenant
is not a contract between you and another person; it is a vow between you and
God. It may involve another person such
as in marriage, but a covenant is primarily a vow to God that is required to be
kept. God always keeps His word, “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is
God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him
and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” (Deuteronomy 7:9).
Noah built the ark within 120 years. God sent the animals two by two to Noah “…two of every sort shall come unto thee…”
(Genesis 6:20c). The Bible said, “And
they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded
him: and the LORD shut him in” (Genesis 7:16). When the rains fell and the
earth opened up her fountains from the deep all the people and animals on the
land perished. All died but Noah and his family.
Read
Genesis 9:11-16. God declared, “I do set
my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and
the earth” (Genesis 9:13). The word
for “bow” is the Hebrew word, “qesheth,” which is the same word for “battle
bow.” When a warrior pulls his bow, the arc is aimed toward the man with whom
he is at war. Thank God, the arc is not
aimed at us as it was in the judgment of the flood. Through His Divine mercy, Christ took the penalty for our sin. The
rainbow ever reminds us of this truth.
Have you ever seen the rainbow from the window
of a jet? When looking down, you will
see the full circle of color. Yet when you look at the rainbow from the earth
you see the shape of the bow. What is
God saying? God promised He would not
destroy all flesh by water again (Genesis 9:15,16). Remember God hates sin; He must judge it. The bow (which is a battle bow) arches upwards
toward the heavens. The only way He is able to hold back His judgment upon the
wicked world we live in this long is because Jesus took our sins to the cross. The bow was turned and pointed to Heaven
after the flood. When God looks at us,
it is through the multicolored bull’s-eye of His love. You never see the rainbow on a clear day. You
see it in the convergence where the sun and a storm come together. Our stormy
sins were conjoined to the Son of God on the cross and a prism of mercy was
formed. The rainbow tells us that the Promiser keeps His promises. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of
all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom
I am chief” (I Timothy 1:15).
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