De-Creation And Re-Creation

In case some of you are confused, if you're reading, that's an abridged reading.

That's why some parts were skipped.

I am going to preach on the whole passage, 6.9 to 9.29,

but for the sake of time, we did abridged the reading.

Now, many of

the world's oldest civilizations

preserve some kind of mythological record of a worldwide

flood that wiped out the earth.

Of these, the fullest and most similar to the account in Genesis

is the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, which is from about 2100 B.C.

Gilgamesh is a king of

a region called Uruk, and he undertakes an arduous journey to discover

eternal life. He doesn't find eternal life, but he does meet

a man who has attained immortality, named

Utnapishtim. And on his

end, he tells

Gilgamesh about how he attained

immortality by surviving a worldwide flood

by making

a boat and taking shelter in it.

And this story is closely paralleled by other

accounts, for example, the Akkadian Epic of

Atrahasis, the Sumerian Flood Epic

about Ziyu Sudra,

and there's more distant, you know,

culturally distant, but still similar

stories outside of Mesopotamia as well.

For example, the ancient Hindu text Matsya Pirena tells of how King

Manu survives the great flood with the assistance of the god Matsya.

And in Greek mythology, in Obed's Metamorphosis, it tells a story of

Deucalion, who is a son of Prometheus, who survives the flood brought on by an

angry Zeus by building a large chest and taking shelter in it.

So there's some striking parallels in these stories, but the fact that these parallels

exist shouldn't cast doubt on the Genesis account.

Instead, they should confirm it.

Because if the flood really happened, it's not surprising to find echoes of the reality,

even if it's distant and muffled across the various mythologies of ancient civilizations.

Right?

And without the benefit of the divine revelation that Moses had, of course,

the theological interpretation of the events are wrong.

That's why we have these variances in these accounts.

But nevertheless, at the basic level, they confirm the fact that there was indeed a widespread

flood that wiped out the earth, a catastrophic event that changed human history.

And once again, as we've seen throughout the book of Genesis up to this point, it's the

divergences from these other ancient Near Eastern accounts, not the convergences and similarities

that make the most important theological points.

So, for example, I'm just going to highlight a few.

In the other ancient Near Eastern epics, there are many gods, not one.

And they created mankind for the purpose of relieving the gods and to feed the gods.

But then they get later incensed by the fact that men are multiplying way too much.

There's way too many people, and they're overpopulating the earth, and there's too much noise.

And that's the reason why they send the flood.

But in the Bible, the Lord God does not create men to relieve himself, but he works and provides

all that man needs.

And he judges the earth with the flood, not because of too much noise or because of too many

people, but because of their thoroughgoing wickedness and violence, as it says.

In the other ancient Near Eastern accounts, the gods, the many of them, can't even agree

on what they're going to do.

So, one or two of the gods defect from the council and inform a human being, a human subject

that happens to worship him.

But in the biblical account, there's only one god.

And he's, of course, he's in complete agreement with himself.

And he decides to send the flood.

There's no conflict of interest.

And in the other accounts of the engineers, it's highlight the heroes of the tale, the

human heroes, about their initiative and daring.

But the Bible highlights God's initiative and his provision for Noah.

In fact, Noah doesn't say a single word throughout the entire narrative until after the flood when

he blesses his children.

And finally, in the other ancient Near Eastern account, when the flood comes, the gods are

panic-stricken.

And it says that they, quote, coward like dogs.

They're afraid of what they themselves have brought.

But you don't see that in the biblical account.

The Lord God is in full control.

He's all-powerful.

And he's all-knowing.

And he's not surprised that there's a survivor because he's the one that made provision for

Noah's and his family's survival.

Actually, one more thing, last thing, which is important, as we'll see later, is that

after these accounts in the ancient Near East of the flood stories, the gods decide that

in order to avoid another overpopulation problem, that they decree that some women should be

celibate or infertile.

And they also decree that some infants will die soon after birth.

But in stark contrast, in the Bible, the Lord God says three times and commands and blesses

three times meant to be fruitful and multiply, right?

So over and over again, in contradistinction to the other flood stories, Genesis teaches

us that God is the sovereign judge over all creation who saves the righteous.

That's the main point.

That God is the sovereign judge over all creation who saves the righteous.

We're going to first talk about this in three phases.

First, we're going to talk about the decreation of earth.

Second, about the recreation.

And then third, we're going to talk about the new creation.

So verse 9 begins with the phrase that leads off every major section in the book of Genesis.

These are the generations of Noah.

And then it gives us a little more detail about who this man is.

It says,

So this three-fold description really kind of builds on his righteousness.

So righteousness, the word, has legal overtones that he does all that is right.

He follows the law of God.

The blameless word has ceremonial overtones because sacrifices offered to God had to be

without blemish.

It had to be blameless.

So he's saying that Noah is blameless in that way.

And then the final word, walked with God, of course, has relational overtones.

Noah walks closely with God in the same way Enoch was described as having walked with God previously.

The rest of the earth, however, is completely different.

It says in verses 11 to 13,

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence.

And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt,

for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

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.

So in the span of these three verses,

the word earth is mentioned six times

to convey a kind of a tragic sense of loss.

God created the earth.

He created the earth good,

but this earth, the earth that he created now is corrupt.

And the word corrupt can be translated as spoiled or ruined.

It refers to kind of a defilement or deterioration of something that used to be good.

And it could also simultaneously mean, because of that, to destroy something.

So when he says that God will destroy them with the earth,

it's the same word for spoil that is used to describe the corruption of the earth.

So we're to kind of convey that.

It's just an instance of God's punishment,

feeding the crime,

defeating the sin.

It's got the inhabitants of earth,

trash the earth,

and now God will himself trash it.

So, and violence itself is singled out as one of the main reasons for this,

for God's judgment over the earth.

And it's,

violence in Hebrew doesn't really refer to physical violence,

although that's what we think of when we hear the word violence.

But it refers to any kind of fundamental violation of the command to love one's neighbor,

any kind of antisocial,

you know,

unneighborly behavior.

And so,

so the earth is filled with violence and no one is exempt.

It says all flesh is indicted by God.

And that includes not just all men,

but all creatures as well.

They live,

the land animals that are,

that have the breath of life in them.

And given the corruption of the earth,

God intends to destroy it.

So,

because,

and,

but,

you know,

because of the righteousness of Noah,

he wants to preserve Noah.

So he tells him to build an ark in verses 14 to 16.

And the main thing that's important about the description of the ark is that it's parallel to the description of the tabernacle in Exodus.

So,

for example,

in Exodus 25,

31,

20,

25,

chapter 25 to 30,

when he describes the construction of the tabernacle,

and the ark is said to have three decks,

right,

three levels.

And they all have the same height as the tabernacle.

And the ark is said to have a covering.

And the tabernacle is also said to have a covering.

So the connection that Moses is making is that like the tabernacle,

which is the place for the righteous to gather,

the safe haven for the righteous.

The ark is a safe haven for the righteous.

When God destroys the earth,

those who are in the ark will be spared.

And only those who are in the ark will be spared.

And so God says in verse 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.

Now,

God's not making a new covenant.

Rather,

he's reaffirming a covenant he's already made.

We know that because throughout the Old Testament,

the language of covenant is completely consistent.

So when God's making a new covenant,

it's used the language of cutting a covenant.

When it's speaking of reaffirming an old covenant,

it uses the language of establishing a covenant.

So God's reestablishing,

reaffirming a covenant that he already made with the rest of creation

to provide for it,

to rule over it.

And so he's saying,

I remember that covenant.

I will care for you,

and I will preserve creation in light of this.

And Noah is chosen because of his obedience,

right?

And you can see in verses 21 to 22 how completely he obeys this.

God tells him,

every sort of food that is eaten,

he says to pack it.

And that's kind of a supposed reminder to us of the fact that Adam and Eve

took of the fruit that was not to be eaten,

but Noah takes all the food that is to be eaten.

And then in verse 22,

it's really emphatic.

It says,

Noah did this.

He did all that God commanded him.

In contrast to Adam and Eve,

who did not do what God commanded them.

And the fact that Noah's obeyed in this way is repeated three times in chapter 7,

verse 5,

9,

and 16.

He did as God had commanded him.

And this is exactly the way creation was supposed to work.

So Noah is an example of how creation was supposed to function,

but because it hasn't been that way,

the rest of creation will be judged.

And this becomes a little more significant later,

but it's important.

That's why you see Noah observing the seven-day week.

He seems to be resting on the Sabbath day.

So that's why God announces,

I'll send the flood in seven days.

And then Noah waits for seven days.

And after seven days,

the flood comes,

the rain begins.

So he seems that he works,

you know,

six days,

rests on the seventh day.

And then on the beginning of the new work week,

God sends a flood.

So he's kind of this paragon of biblical obedience.

Now,

verse 11 tells us exactly when the flood began.

It says,

In the 600th year of Noah's life,

in the second month,

in the 17th day of the month,

on that day,

all the fountains of the great deep burst forth,

and the windows of the heavens were opened.

And then later,

in 8.14,

it tells us when it ended,

a precise date for that as well.

So if you add up the days,

so it took me a long time.

My math is rusty,

trying to calculate everything.

But the entire flood lasted exactly one year and 11 days.

And because the Jews used a lunar calendar,

which is exactly 11 days short of the solar calendar,

it's saying that it lasted the entire calendar year,

solar year,

to represent the completeness of God's judgment.

And this full year of God's judgment

is a complete deconstruction of the world he made.

It's a decreation of what God made.

So remember,

I told you that this is going to be important later,

that he observed a seven-day week.

So if you trace it from the seven-day week to,

and fast forward 150 days,

which is specifically mentioned in the narrative,

in 7.24 and 8.3,

it turns out that God began,

just as God began his work of creation

on the first day,

on a Sunday,

now God begins his work of decreation on a Sunday.

And just as God completed his work of creation on Friday,

God completes his work of decreation also on a Friday.

So this is kind of a systemic reversal

of what God did in Genesis 1.

The world is being decreated.

And verse 11 highlights this in a dramatic way.

It says,

On that day,

all the fountains of the great deep burst forth,

and the windows of the heavens were opened.

So remember the description in Genesis 1,

that at the inchoate stage of God's creation,

there is watery chaos, right?

It's all water,

there's darkness.

And now with the fountains of the deep bursting forth

and the windows of the heavens opening,

the earth is once again being reduced to watery chaos

before God completed his work of creation.

This is an example of God decreating the earth.

And this judgment is complete, right?

It talks about the waters prevailing,

waters increasing.

And the word increasing is the same word

that is used to say multiply,

be fruitful and multiply.

So instead of the creatures multiplying,

now we see the water multiplying on the earth.

It's again a reversal of what God did in Genesis 1.

And why does God do this?

Because humanity is so incorrigible

and earth is so corrupt.

God, the righteous judge, must wipe it out,

must judge it all together.

Destruction was total.

He says every living thing was blotted out

from the face of the ground.

And this reminds us of the gravity of our own sins.

As we think about this great judgment of the flood.

See, God created the world,

created us to be his representatives,

yet we live without reference to God.

And that pride, that ignorance,

that faithlessness is at the heart of our sin and rebellion.

And of course, it's easy for us to say,

like, oh, God will just simply forgive everyone

because we're not the offended party, right?

We're the offenders.

And it's easy for, it's in people,

it's such a part of human nature to demand mercy for ourselves

but justice for others, is it not?

And so it's easy for us to say,

God should just simply forgive everyone.

But no, God rightly should judge the earth

for its corruption and rebellion and treason.

We are really ungrateful subjects,

rebellion against God who generously provides all that we need.

And so God decreates the world as a way of judging the earth.

But God hasn't forgotten his covenant with creation.

And he reaffirmed his covenant with Noah in 6.18.

And he will continue to preserve the line of Seth

from which he promised the Messiah will come

to crush the head of the serpent.

And so we see the face of recreation

in chapter 8 through chapter 9, verse 17.

Verse 1 of chapter 8 begins this way.

But God remembered Noah and all the beasts

and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.

And God made a wind blow over the earth

and the waters subsided.

There's a really clever chiasm throughout chapter 6,

and all throughout chapter 6.9 to 9.19.

And we've seen examples of chiasm already,

which is just a literary device

that uses a symmetrical structure.

So first, every element of the first half

has a corresponding matching element in the second half.

And except for the middle element, which stands alone.

And that's used to highlight what's in the middle,

the main point.

And so there's about a dozen or so corresponding elements.

It's a huge chiasm.

It's the best one we've seen

and the biggest one we've seen so far.

And I'll just highlight a few to show you what I mean.

So in 6.9 to 10, it mentions Noah and his sons,

Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

And then in chapter 9.18 to 19,

it mentions Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

And then chapter 6.11 to 17,

God vows to destroy all flesh

and tells Noah to build an ark,

which is God's sign of his preservation.

And then in chapter 9.11 to 17,

God vows never to destroy all flesh

and then makes a bow as a sign of their preservation.

And then in chapter 7.45,

there's seven days of waiting for the flood.

And then in chapter 8.12 to 13,

there's seven days of waiting for the waters to subside.

And then chapter 7.17,

40 days of flood.

And then 8.6,

40 days to come to an end.

7.17 to 18,

the waters multiply and prevail.

And then 8.5,

the waters abate.

And then so on and so on.

So top of the mountains are hidden.

Top of the mountains are revealed.

150 days of water prevailing

and 150 days of water abating.

And at the center of it all is the statement,

this verse 1.

But God remembered Noah.

And this whole thing is intended to point out

the fact that this main point is God's grace,

his remembering Noah.

And when God remembers something,

he shows mercy.

He reaffirms his resolute commitment to his people.

And so that's what we see.

It's the beginning of recreation in chapter 8, verse 1.

And remember how the Spirit of God

was hovering over the watery chaos, right?

And preparing the world

for the creative work of the Father.

And so now we see here, again,

the wind of God, it says,

was blowing over the earth.

Wind, the same word as Spirit.

Preparing the way for the recreation of the world.

And that's probably why

Moses structured it this way,

to have every aspect of the decreation of the earth

have a corresponding element

to show that the recreation also is complete.

God's merciful, he's gracious.

And so he says in chapter 8, verse 17 to Noah,

bring out with you every living thing

that is with you of all flesh,

birds and animals,

and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth,

that they may swarm on the earth

and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.

And then chapter 9, verses 1 to 3,

mirrors God's charge that he gave to Adam and Eve

after creating the heavens and the earth,

to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

And 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.

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.

And as I gave you the green plants,

I give you everything.

So God's now recreating the earth

and giving them a new cultural mandate,

new charge to go and rule over the earth.

But it's not an exact repetition

of the original cultural mandate.

There seems to be a further change,

a further deterioration of the relationship

between man and animals.

And we see this in the fact that God gives mankind

not only the fruit and vegetation to eat,

as he did earlier,

now he gives them animals to eat as well,

which is a change in their previous relationship

to the rest of creation.

There is now, it appears,

a violent struggle between the animals and mankind.

And this is echoing, of course,

the enmity that Genesis 3.15 predicted

between the offspring of the serpent

and the offspring of the woman.

And because of that,

the language of fear and dread is used,

which are military terms.

He says that animals will dread and fear man.

And, but even as in Genesis 2,

when God commanded Adam and Eve

to eat of all the fruit

and all the trees in the garden,

except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

in the same way here,

God's generous provision to eat of all these animals

comes with a prohibition.

It is that,

but you shall not eat flesh with its life,

that is its blood.

Chapter 9, verse 4, right?

Blood signifies life, right?

Just as a heartbeat and a pulse today

is the surest sign of someone's life, right?

So out of respect for life,

and more importantly,

out of respect for the author of life,

the giver of life,

God forbids the consumption of blood.

And this doesn't mean just

that you have to worry about your soul

because you've eaten a rare steak

or blood pudding or blood sausage, right?

And you guys have,

some of you guys have eaten that.

And because reason for that

is that this law was intended to point to

and be fulfilled by Jesus,

as we will see later.

That's why you can eat

and elaborate on that later.

So in order to curb this now,

newfound violence between animals and mankind,

in order to protect humanity,

create an image of God,

God issues this decree

in chapter 9, verses 5 to 7.

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.

Whoever sheds the blood of man,

by man shall his blood be shed.

For God made man in his own image.

And you,

be fruitful and multiply,

increase greatly on the earth

and multiply in it.

Right?

So the proliferation of animals on the earth

is not to get in the way of

or impede human proliferation.

And so God,

in order to make provision for that,

God says he will punish

even the animals who kill man.

And he demands this,

not just of animals,

but also from men.

And there's a threefold repetition here as well.

A reckoning,

of the word reckoning.

And the word translated fellow here

is actually the same word for brother.

So if you remember,

you know,

story of Cain and Abel,

Abel murders his brother.

And so here he's saying that

the humanity is your brother.

It's the family that God created.

And how heinous is it then

to kill your fellow human?

And he says that God would demand

a reckoning from them all.

And the grounds,

the reason for this reckoning is this.

For God made man in his own image.

Right.

The severity of the punishment

is due to the fact

of their transcendent value

because they're created

in the very image of God.

And that's why,

you know,

even though animal blood may be shed,

human blood may not even be shed.

Like animal blood cannot be eaten,

but they can still be shed.

The human blood may not even be shed.

And this is,

this biblical principle

is actually the reason why,

historically,

every manslaughtering animal

was put down.

Right.

It's,

it's,

it's,

it's an enactment of this decree,

a commandment.

But because people have lost sight

of the value of the human life,

now we now have far different sentiments.

Right.

When you hear stories of,

you know,

animals being put down

because of interaction with humans.

Some people will not say things like this.

The animals are just being animals

and doing what animals do.

It's the careless humans

who didn't take proper precaution

that are to blame.

And we should spare the animals.

I mean,

you guys have probably heard this,

right,

from all kinds of different stories,

news stories.

Well,

God does care about all animal life.

And we see this very clearly

in the story of Noah,

probably clearly here,

more clearly here

than anywhere else in scripture.

So we see this in the fact

that God specifically instructs Noah

to spare the animals.

He brings a pair of every animal

so that they can survive the flood.

And not only that,

does he make a covenant,

not just with Noah and his offspring,

but also with every living creature

that is with Noah.

Chapter 9,

verse 10.

So then animal abuse

is an abomination,

according to scripture.

We are to be good stewards

of animals.

But that should not keep us

from teaching the fact

that there is a clear hierarchy.

Human life is far more valuable

than animal life

because humanity is created

in the image of God.

And we should not risk human life,

the well-being of humanity,

for the sake of preserving the animals.

There is something profoundly disordered

about a person

who treats animals

with greater affection

and respect

than fellow human beings.

That is outside of the creative order

that God intended.

And the fact that man and woman

are created in the image of God

is also why,

historically,

capital punishment

has been enforced

throughout the world.

This doesn't mean

that you have to be

a political proponent

of capital punishment

today

in this precise context

because

just administration

of capital punishment

requires

a just government,

an equitable government.

And some people

are not convinced

that their respective governments

have a just system.

Now, with that said,

however,

this teaching does mean

that you can't,

on the principle

of sanctity of life,

oppose capital punishment.

Because it's

the very sanctity of life

that is the basis

for God's decree here

of capital punishment.

It's because man

is so supremely valuable

as being created

in the image of God

that when you harm,

when you kill a man,

you deserve to pay it

with your own blood.

So then,

in this manner,

the life of

the recreated earth

begins

with the new commandments

that echo

the first commandment

in Genesis 2.

And it seems

that Noah

has fulfilled his destiny.

If you remember

from last week,

Noah's name means rest

and it rhymes with,

and it sounds like the phrase,

this one shall bring us

relief from our work.

And so you see this

in chapter 8,

verses 20 to 21.

Turn that part with me,

8, 20 to 21.

Noah builds an altar

and then sacrifices

some of the clean animals

and birds.

And this seems

to be the reason

why he took extra

of the clean birds

and animals

into the ark,

not just one pair,

but seven pairs.

When he offers

the sacrifice,

it says that

the Lord smelled

the pleasing aroma

and 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.

The pleasing aroma,

the word used

to describe the aroma here,

literally means

to pacify

or propitiate,

to satisfy

someone's wrath

or anger.

And more literally,

it means rest giving.

It comes from

the exact same word

that Noah comes from.

So Noah is offering

a Noahic sacrifice

and it brings rest.

God's satisfied

by his offering.

And in doing so,

Noah secures

God's gracious disposition

toward the rest

of creation.

And check out

the wording here.

Previously in chapter 6,

verse 5,

it said a very similar thing.

It said that

every intention

of the thought

of man's heart

was only evil continually.

You mentioned the evil

intention of the human heart.

But in chapter 6,

verse 5,

that that statement

was given

as a reason

for God's judgment.

Because the man's

intention of the heart

is evil,

God will not judge

the earth.

But now here

in chapter 8, 21,

the same observation

is made.

It says the intention

of man's heart

is evil from his youth.

But instead of sending

another judgment,

God promises,

I will never again

curse the ground

because of man.

What happened?

What's the change?

Humanity hasn't changed.

Why does God

treat them differently?

And it seems

that narrative suggests

it's Noah's

rest-giving sacrifice.

He's interceding

on behalf of humanity,

making atonement,

really,

for the sins

of the earth.

And in doing so,

he secures

that God

will never again

destroy the earth

in the same way

he did

with the flood.

And so he gives

a sign

of the covenant,

the bow,

which is referring

to the rainbow.

Just as rainbow appears

when it is light

penetrating the clouds,

the water,

it is reflected

by the water,

it will cause God

to remember his covenant.

And this is really,

it parallels what God

does in his act

of creation,

doesn't it?

So he speaks,

let there be light

into watery chaos.

In the same way

the rainbow,

the light now comes

into the water,

piercing the water

and the clouds.

And so again,

it's God establishing

his re-creation

of the earth.

But,

if Noah brings

earthly rest,

he still fails

to bring

heavenly rest.

Though his intercession

and propitiating sacrifice

is good,

and he ensures

that the earth

will not again

be cursed

with a flood,

the original curse

of Genesis 3

still remains.

Creation is still

alienated from God.

And the intention

of man's heart

is still evil.

So then how can we

find eternal rest?

How can humanity

be saved?

And if we think

for a moment

that Noah

can once again

come to our deliverance,

we are immediately

disappointed in chapter 9,

verses 18 to 29,

Noah invents

viticulture,

which is in and of

itself a blessing.

He says,

wine gladdens

the heart of man

according to Psalm

104, 15.

However,

Noah becomes

a drunk.

And in his state

of drunkenness,

he exposes himself.

And Scripture

consistently

and frequently

warns of the dangers

of wine,

even though wine

itself is not evil.

The dangers

of inordinate drinking

and consequent

drunkenness

are always condemned

throughout Scripture,

especially

when that drunkenness

leads to public exposure,

as it does.

Habakkuk 2, 15

talks about that.

Lamentations 4, 21

talks about that.

And so Noah

is here clearly

being condemned

with people

because it's written

to an audience

who knows

the law of Moses.

And then his son,

Ham,

commits an even

graver crime.

Instead of,

you know,

discreetly covering

up his father,

he goes over

to his brothers

and makes a public

spectacle of his father.

But his other brothers,

Shem and Japheth,

are more honorable

and in fact,

it's a really

awkward picture,

but they're walking

in backwards,

you know,

trying not to look

at the nakedness

of their father

and he covers him.

Right?

They cover him.

And so,

and then because of,

as a result of this,

Ham,

who is the father

of Canaan,

and Canaan

is cursed by Noah

once he finds out

what has happened.

And this account

is included here

to tell the Israelites

in the wilderness

who's the original

audience of Moses

that it is their

God-given destiny

to go and conquer Canaan,

which is occupied

by the descendants

of cursed Ham.

And they are

the descendants of Shem.

So that's what's

going on

with that passage.

So if this is

what happened,

then what Psalm 14,

2-3 teaches

is sadly all too true.

And it describes

even Noah and his sons

that the Lord

looks down from heaven

on the children of man

to see if there are

any who understand,

who seek after God.

They have all turned aside.

Together,

they have become corrupt.

There is none

who does good,

not even one.

And if God

is the sovereign judge

of all creation

who saves the righteous,

how can we

who are not righteous

be saved?

But praise be to God,

there is someone

who is even more righteous

than Noah,

one who does good

and is not corrupt.

And that's Jesus,

our Savior.

And in Romans 3,

10-12,

Paul quotes Psalm 14.

And he says,

None is righteous,

no, not one.

No one understands.

No one seeks for God.

All have turned aside.

Together,

they have become worthless.

No one does good,

not even one.

But then later,

he continues,

verses 21-26.

But now,

the righteousness

of God

has been manifested

apart from the law.

The righteousness of God

through faith

in Jesus Christ

for all who believe.

For there is no distinction

for all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God

and are justified

by His grace

as a gift

through the redemption

that is in Christ Jesus,

whom God put forward

as a propitiation

by His blood

to be received

by faith.

This was to show

God's righteousness

because in His divine forbearance

He had passed over

former sins.

It was to show

His righteousness

at the present time

so that He might be

the just and the justifier

of the one

who has faith in Jesus.

We're asking,

how can a just,

righteous God

spare a sinful world?

How can He spare Noah

and his offspring

who are also prone,

who are not immune to sin?

It's because God

was looking ahead

forward to the propitiation,

the sacrifice

that Jesus,

His Son,

would make.

And Noah's sacrifice

is,

it foreshadows that,

is a type of the sacrifice

that Christ would make.

And that's why

in Leviticus 17,

11,

He explains further

the significance

of the blood

that this passage mentions.

It's that the life

of the flesh

is in the blood

and God has given it to us

for the altar

to make atonement

for our souls.

The blood is intended

to make atonement

for our souls

and Noah's propitiating sacrifice

as well as all

the Old Testament sacrifices

point ultimately

to Jesus' sacrifice

on the cross

as the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

So then it's

through His spilling

of His blood

that we

are cleansed

from our sin,

washed from our sins.

And it's through

the expiration

of His life

that we find

heavenly rest,

eternal life,

communion

with God.

Noah might have

spared humanity

from the judgment

of the flood,

but He was not able,

He was inadequate

to save them

from God's ultimate judgment,

eternal damnation

and separation from God.

But Christ

is the better,

greater Noah

who could save

all those

who entrust themselves

to Him

and His blood

is sufficient.

It's the wellspring

of eternal life.

It's sufficient

for all of us

no matter how

great a sinner we are.

So I want to ask you then,

would you come to Him?

Would you come to Him today?

If you're not yet

a follower of Jesus,

don't delay,

don't wait indefinitely

for a sign

because in Luke 17,

Jesus compares

His second coming

to the flood.

It says,

Just as it was

in the days of Noah,

so will it be

in the days

of the Son of Man.

They were eating

and drinking

and marrying

and being given in marriage

until the day

when Noah entered the ark

and the flood came

and destroyed them all.

Jesus is saying

that just as no one

expected the flood,

no one knows

when Jesus will come

and He will return.

His return

will be unexpected.

It will come

when no one's expecting Him.

And the biggest hindrance

to our faith in Him

and following Him

is not some heinous evil.

It's the eating

and drinking

and going about

our daily business.

Are you delaying?

Are you going about

your daily business

not knowing

that a flood

is upon you?

Today,

if you come

to His righteousness,

if you forsake

your own righteousness

and come to Him

for His righteousness,

then you can find

salvation this day.

If you are

already a believer,

a follower of Christ,

there's encouragement

for us in this passage

as well.

1 Peter 3, 18-21,

it says,

God's patience

waited in the days

of Noah

while the ark

was being prepared

in which a few,

that is eight persons,

were brought safely

through water.

Actually,

this is an encouragement

for those who are

not yet saved

as well.

It says,

but baptism,

which corresponds

to this,

now saves you

not as a removal

of dirt from the body

but as an appeal

to God

for a good conscience

through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ.

So he's comparing here

the flood

and how people

come through death

to life,

through the flood

to baptism.

And when you decide

to get baptized

and to follow Jesus

by taking that step

of faith,

you are buried

with Him

in His death

by going under water

and then you come out

to His resurrection life.

That joy

and privilege

of new life

and salvation

can be yours.

And if you have

entrusted yourself

to Jesus,

then you find

encouragement

in 2 Peter 2,

4-10.

It says,

God preserved Noah,

a herald of righteousness,

with seven others

when He brought

a flood upon the world

of the ungodly.

Then,

the Lord knows

how to rescue

the godly

from trials.

Are you grieved

by trials?

Are you grieved

by the injustice,

the immorality,

the violence

you see all around you?

God can preserve you

in the midst of that

because He preserved Noah

in the world

of ungodliness,

wickedness.

So don't lose your hope.

Recognize that

your momentary affliction

is bearing for yourself,

preparing you

for the eternal weight

of glory

that will be revealed.

Maybe you are grieved

not by your surroundings

but by your own

besetting sins.

You struggle with guilt

and shame

of what you've done.

You feel unworthy

to approach God

in worship

and prayer.

Then we ought to remember

that it was never

our righteousness

that was the basis

for our approaching God

but it was

Christ's righteousness.

It's the atonement

that Christ makes

as the sacrificial

lamb of God.

That is the basis

for acceptance of God.

That's the propitiation

of God's wrath.

So place your hope

in Christ today then

and not on your own

righteousness

and go to Him

unreservedly

without fear

and He will prove

to you

to be a sure

Savior and deliverer.

Let's pray together.

God, we want to be

your subjects

who fit snugly

into your creation plan.

we've seen

your judgment

of the creation

and your grace

and recreation

but most importantly

we have seen

you have made us

into a new creation

through Jesus

with a new heart

with a new spirit.

help us now

to live

by the power

of your spirit

in obedience.

Enable us

by your preserving grace

to persevere

in this life

in righteousness

and holiness

for your glory.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.