The Reality of the Flood Pt 3

Good afternoon
It is very windy here in Ohio and March is more like a lion than a lamb at this point. That won't deter us from delving into the subject of this post. I would like to look at the conclusion of Genesis 6 with you so that we can see a bit more about the man named Noah.

To date, we have seen that he was right before God because he responded by faith and obeyed what God asked of him. We also saw that Noah was the spiritual leader in his family and that he apparently led his sons to consider the claims of God upon their lives and they too, responded with obedient faith.

Genesis 6:17-22 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 
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. 
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 
Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 
And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

As Genesis 6 draws to a close, God tells Noah that He is going to send a flood to overflow the whole world and destroy all life, except that which would be preserved in the ark. 

God also gave a precious promise to Noah. He told Noah that His covenant promises would be extended to Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives. God told Noah that he needed to take 2 of each land animal and fowls of the air, one male and one female for each type so that after the flood, they could reproduce and replenish life on earth. 

The last verse of this chapter clearly communicates the simple, trusting faith and obedience of Noah. 

What happens next is also sobering and yet, astounding.

Genesis 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

God gives a gracious word of invitation to Noah and all his family. The simple, yet beautiful word "come" from the mouth of God invites them to enter the ark. 

Remember, it took 120 years to build this massive vessel. During the 120 years, the earth had never seen rain. It was watered by a gentle mist as God deemed necessary. No doubt, there were many people stopping to look and ridicule their work. Why would a massive vessel like the ark be needed since they did not have rains, let alone torrential downpours?

The invitation God extended to Noah was all of grace. Noah listened to the word of God, as God spoke to him, and he responded with faith. His faith led to obedience. This is true in all ages. God has always made a provision for sinners to have their relationship restored with Him, and it is always a response of faith to what God says. 

The apostle Peter sheds some New Testament perspective upon these events. He tells us that today, as in the days of Noah, there were, and are scoffers. People who mock the truth of God, People who refuse to believe what God has said is going to happen. He looks back to the world that was destroyed by the flood and then he reminds us that the future and final judgment of God will be with fire. 

2 Peter 3:3-7 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 

And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 
For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 
Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Peter also addressed the work of Noah in chapter 2 of the same epistle.He is speaking of the surety of God's condemnation and judgment of sin. Notice, that Noah is referred to as a "preacher of righteousness." The world in the time of Noah was ungodly and perverse. 

2 Peter 2:5  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 

Have one more reference to Noah in the New Testament. It is found in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. The author of Hebrews tells us that God warned Noah about His impending judgment and Noah was moved with fear. 

Now, the fear referred to is  the kind spoken by Moses when He received the 10 commandments on Mt. Sinai, where the mountain appeared as on fire and shook at the presence of Holy God. That fear was palpable and of that overwhelming sight of the majesty of God, the Bible tells us Moses said "I exceedingly fear and quake." 

But the fear is also a deep seated respect and reverence toward God. It is a reverence and respect that remembers we are only created beings whose very life depends upon God. 

Hebrews 11:7 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. 

I pause here to consider the important implications of what we have read today. God speaks and man is responsible to respond with belief and faith which produces obedience; or man responds with unbelief and disobedience. The person who by faith obeys God is a recipient of His grace and mercy. The person who rejects the truth of God is a recipient of divine wrath and condemnation. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ goes out today. It tells us of the sinless Son of God who died in our place upon the cross of Calvary in order that He might pay for our sins with His own shed blood and open the way of salvation to all who call upon His name in repentant faith. 

What is your response to the word of God today? Are you by faith believing what God has said? Have you been born again? Or, are you scoffing, doubting and ridiculing His Divine truth? Your response to His word determines His response to you when you die. 

We will all die. It is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment. If you or I die in our sins because we did not accept God's provision in Christ, then we will stand before the Holy God and Creator of all and hear that we will be condemned and sent to Hell.

If we have accepted the provision of salvation through the work of Jesus Christ and have been born again, we will share the joy of eternity with our Creator together. Which is what we were created for.

Have a blessed weekend.
Bob