256. NOAH & THE RUIN OF THE OLD WORLD
"Eight souls were saved by water"
The fourth chapter of Genesis describes what happened when Cain was driven from Yahweh's presence, and founded a way of life which catered for the will of man. The spirit of Cain was perpetuated in his descen dants. It was characterized by city life (v.17), bigamy (v.19), commercial enterprise (v.20), the arts men use to adorn a way of life from which God is absent (v.21), and the art of war (v.22). They were truly "sons of men".
Genesis 4 also describes the birth of Seth. His name means "appointed", for God appointed Eve another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew (v.25). Whereas Cain's line was noted for worldliness, pleasure and violence, Seth's line preserved God's way, realizing that their future rested in Him. Thus they called upon Him to fulfill His pro mised redemption (v.27). The descendants of Seth are recorded in Gen. 5. The line culminates in Noah, whose sons were Shem, Ham and Japheth. This line formed the "sons of God".
The aim of this lesson is to show how sin and wickedness were punish ed when the sons of God failed to remain separate from the world.
Genesis 6-9
"BE YE SEPARATE" (Gen. 6:1, 2).
For a long time the descendants of Seth maintained their separateness from the descendants of Cain, self-centered men who cared nothing for worship of God. Cain means "gain", and he and his descendants sought pleasure in whatever the world would offer to satisfy the senses. They were very successful in their pursuit of wealth and fleshly pleasure; and very brutal in their treatment of whoever stood in their way.
Seth's descendants were different. They turned away from those things that satisfied the flesh and looked to God. They admired those who were outstanding in righteousness, such as Enoch € he "walked with God; and he was not: for God took him" (Gen. 5:24).
But gradually, the distinction between these two groups disappeared. There was a rapid population increase € and as men began to spread over the earth, the "sons of God" came to look enviously at the life-style of the sons of men. Little by little, the two lines came together. Some of the "sons of God" were seduced by the fair appearance of "the daughters of men," and married them.
Remember that Cain had been driven from God's presence (where the sons of God worshipped) to the land of Nod (i.e. exile). Thus for a son of God to marry one of the daughters of men was to depart from the way of righteousness, and to embrace what would lead to his own exile from God. Marriage outside the truth is always wrong (2 Cor. 6:14), and as in this case invariably leads to greater evils. The alliances proved disastrous € the "sons of God" were completely drawn into worldly ways. The same can happen today to young people who mix with worldly compan ions. They run the risk of being drawn emotionally into a marriage out side the truth, even though reason decrees otherwise.
A WORLD OF EVIL (Gen. 6:3-7).
In those days, there were "giants" in the earth: not necessarily men of large physique, but giants in crime. They are termed "mighty men" € men of renown € famous for their wickedness. Their attitude can be seen from Job 22:15-17 € "which said unto God, depart from us: and what (good) can the Almighty do for them".
Wickedness came to abound on every side. Men's hearts were full of rebellion and evil (v.5). "The earth was corrupt before God and filled with violence" (v.11). So vast was the corruption, God determined to bring that civilization to an end (vv.5-7).
THE CALL OF NOAH (Gen. 6:8-10).
Alone in that world of ungodliness, "Noah found grace in the eyes of Yahweh" (v.8). His character and conduct are stated in verse 9: "Noah was a just man, and perfect (upright, blameless) in his generation, and Noah walked with God." Though surrounded by wickedness on every side he maintained his righteous ways, and God looked upon him with favour and accepted him: "thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation" (7:1; cp. Heb. 11:7).
THE JUDGMENT OF GOD (Gen. 6:11-13).
The world was initially to have been under man's dominion (1:26). But when Adam sinned, mankind came under the dominion of sin. As the generations passed, men became slaves to their own lusts and passion more and more (Ecc. 7:29). Because they departed from God, He gave them up (cp. Rom. 1:28). At length He decided to terminate the life of "all flesh".
Yet, even in the face of judgment, the long-suffering of God stands out. He determined to give the people of the world 100 years to repent by acknowledging their sin, confessing it and turning to Him (v.3; 1 Pet. 3:20). Throughout this period, Noah, having been instructed concerning God's impending judgment (v.13), proclaimed God's word € inviting all who heard him to turn aside and join him. Thus he became "a preacher of righteousness" (2 Pet. 2:5). God commanded Noah to make an ark in which they could find shelter if they heeded his warning of a coming worldwide flood. The ark served to dramatize his faith and gave visible evidence to all of the message he preached!
THE ARK OF SAFETY (Gen. 6:14-21).
The Ark was a very large boat, even on modern standards. In those days, it must have seemed a mighty vessel. Its size would have been around 150 metres long, 25 metres broad and 15 metres high.
Notice that the details and measurements of the ark were laid down by God. It had to be made of gopher wood, with rooms, pitched inside and out with pitch. It was fitted with a window and a door, and constructed with three stories. Noah, and later generations, were being taught that salvation is offered only if the instructions God has laid down are closely followed.
Every living thing on the earth was to die, except those that entered the Ark of Safety. In order to preserve life, representatives of all kinds of animals and birds, male and female, were to be led into the ark, with Noah and his family. Food also was to be prepared and stored there for the long period they would be shut in.
THE CALL OF SALVATION (Gen. 6:22).
Throughout all these preparations Noah preached to the people. He warned them of the impending judgment, pleading with them to step aside from the sinful ways so much then in evidence (Heb. 11:7). And as he preached, he kept on building the Ark. It must have seemed strange to the people to see this huge boat being built on dry land, so far from water. They must have thought that Noah was mad for doing such a thing. Doubtless they derided and scorned him. No one, it appears, heed ed his call for repentance.
The years passed as the Ark took shape. Noah remained resolute throughout it all. But as time went on, without the threatened judgment eventuating, the people worried less and less about what Noah was saying € just as people today ignore the signs of Christ's return and devote themselves to selfish pleasures (cp. Matt. 24:36-39).
As there was then a need for patient endurance, so is there also today. Though apparently delayed, Christ will come at the appointed time (Acts 17:31), to destroy the ungodly and save his elect.
THE DELUGE (Gen. 7).
The ark completed and all of God's instructions faithfully observed, Noah was commanded to enter it with his family (v.1). Noah was taken out of the world before the flood came (v.4), and in the same way, the friends of the Lord Jesus will be gathered out of the nations before God punishes the world (Isa. 26:20; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Matt. 24:31).
On God's instructions, Noah took into the ark seven pairs (males and females) of every clean animal and bird, and two pairs of the unclean animals and birds (v.2; cp. margin). Then "Yahweh shut him in" (v.16), and in so doing, He shut all others out.
Seven days passed. One can imagine the sense of foreboding that overhung the earth. The storm-clouds gathered, deep and black and threatening. Then the storm unleashed with tremendous fury, and the water from above was joined by water from beneath as the fountains of the deep erupted and gushed upon the earth.
It rained and gushed forth incessantly for forty days and forty nights, so that even the high mountains were covered. The ark was borne up upon the waters, which prevailed upon the earth for 150 days, and "every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth; and Noah only remain ed alive, and they that were with him in the ark" (v.23).
RELEASED FROM THE ARK (Gen. 8:1-20).
God stopped the rain and the fountains of the deep, and caused a wind to pass over the earth which caused the water to abate. They gradually diminished, so that on the 17th day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. On the first day of the tenth month, the mountain tops could be seen. Forty days later, Noah opened the window of the ark and sent forth a raven and a dove to see if the waters were abated. The raven did not return, but the dove did, finding "no rest for the sole of her foot" (v.9). Seven days later, the dove was sent forth again, and returned with "an olive leaf plucked off", whereby "Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth" (v.1 R.S.V.). After a further seven days, the dove was sent out a third time, but did not return.
Noah was in the ark for over a year (cp. 7:11 with 8:13-14). God then commanded him to take his family and all the animals and birds in his care, and leave the ark, to make a new beginning on the earth. Noah went forth as commanded, and his first act on doing so was to build an altar and offer burnt offerings to God in gratitude for His deliverance.
THE SYMBOL OF GOD'S COVENANT (Gen. 8:21-22; 9:8-16).
God accepted Noah's sacrifices. He made a covenant and declared that He would not again curse the earth as He had done, destroying all living creatures. The Edenic curse upon the ground, by which it yielded 'thorns and thistles', would remain, but never again would God send a universal flood (cp. Isa. 54:9).
As a token of this covenant, God set His rainbow in the cloud. A rainbow is formed by the sun shining on falling rain. There are seven col ours in a rainbow € seven is the covenant number € and when these seven colours are combined, they make the pure light of the sun. In Bible symbology, the sun speaks of Jesus, the "Sun of righteousness" (Mal. 4:2); the cloud speaks of the saints (Heb. 12:1); the rain speaks of the doctrine of God descending upon the earth (Deut. 32:2). Thus, the token of the rainbow looks ahead to the time when all flesh shall come to know Yahweh. The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ will then be seen through the saints in various ways, all combining to show the pure and complete glory of his reign.
Appropriately then, John, in Rev. 4, gives us a picture of the establish ment of the Kingdom, with Christ (v.2) sitting on the Throne, surrounded by his saints (vv.4, 6), with a rainbow enclosing them.
Likewise, Rev. 10 presents the picture of a mighty angel (representing Christ and his immortal saints), clothed with the Rainbow, executing God's judgments on the nations.
THE FIGURE OF BAPTISM.
Peter (in 1 Pet. 3:20) likens the salvation Noah experienced in the Ark to baptism. By belief in Christ and baptism in water our sins are washed away. So, in the days of Noah, the waters of the flood washed away the sins of the old world, that a new world might begin. Baptism signals the commencement of a new life (cp. Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:4). By baptism we enter Christ (Gal. 3:27), who is our ark of safety.
Because we are "in Christ", we will be saved when God's judgments are poured out on a wicked world € a world which Jesus said would be the same "as it was in the days of Noah". The word "noah" means "rest", and in the day of judgment when God establishes a new order in the earth, there will be "rest" for the faithful (Heb. 4:9).
LESSONS FOR US:
- When the descendants of Seth married the "daughters of men", the Truth decayed: intermarriage has ever been fruitful of apostasy.
- God determined to judge the earth with a flood, but revealed His long-suffering and mercy by granting the world 120 years within which to conform to His just requirements.
- Noah, although alone, faithfully proclaimed God's righteousness.
- By accepting God's way, Noah was able to save himself and his family.
- The world today is "as it was in the days of Noah" € a period marked by "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage"; a careless materialistic age (Luke 17:26-27).
- As Noah was saved by water, so also we can be saved by baptism into Christ.
REFERENCE LIBRARY:
"The Visible Hand of God" (R. Roberts) € Chapter 5
"Elpis Israel" (J. Thomas) € Pages 118-120
"Noah € Preacher of Righteousness" (J. Martin) € C.S.S.S. Study Notes
"The Genesis Flood" (Henry M. Morris & John C. Whitcomb Jnr.)
"The Story of the Bible" (H. P. Mansfield) € Vol. 1, Pages 61-74
PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:
- Describe how apostasy led to the Flood in the days of Noah?
- How did God show his long suffering in the days of Noah? Mention the work of Noah among the people.
- How do conditions in the world today compare with the days of Noah? What must we do in order to escape God's coming judgments?
ESSAY QUESTIONS:
- Write what you know about the work of Noah.
- What lessons do we learn from the Flood in the days of Noah?
- Briefly outline the story of the Flood and outline its lessons.
Section 2
THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO ABRAHAM
The call of Abram (later named Abraham) was the commencement of a new era in God's dealings with men. Scarcely 400 years had passed since the Deluge put an end to the antediluvian world. There followed the Tower of Babel, and the Divine judgment that confused men's tongues and effectively divided them into nations.
But neither the Deluge nor the confusion of tongues managed to stem the tide of wickedness, for lust remained as a principle of evil within human nature, ever ready to transgress God's righteous commandments.
What could be done to give God's truth a continuing voice in the earth? The answer is to be found in the call of Abraham, and the development from him of the nation of Israel. From the outset, it was clearly God's intention to create a sentinel of Divine Light so that others, attracted by its brilliance, might come to it and be saved. The lessons that follow outline the way in which this was done.