Genesis Chapter 6 and 7 – John Karmelich
1.
In
Chapter 6, we begin the story of Noah.
a)
Most
people know this story from their childhood.
2.
My
theme for studying Genesis is on the question of “why”.
a)
For
example, why did God destroy everybody except for eight people?
i)
Why did God use this method (a
flood) to destroy the earth?
b)
Why
is this story relevant to our live today?
c)
For
answers to these questions, stay tuned to this lesson. J
3.
The
reason I choose the “why” questions in this commentary is that there are lots
of good books and commentaries out there on “how” the flood happen.
a)
I
happen to hold a very literal-view of a worldwide flood.
b)
If
you happen to believe it was just a “local phenomenon” or a fable, I would
encourage you to read or listen to some of the scientific geological arguments
for a worldwide flood.
i)
I
don’t believe in “reinventing the wheel”.
Other scientific studies are much better than anything I can write on the
flood. If you are interested in the
“how” of Noah’s flood story, There is some “further reading” in an appendix to
this lesson.
ii)
What
these other studies help you do is support the idea that the bible is
the Word of God. If you struggle with
this issue, especially in the literalness of these chapters, please check out
some of the sources in the appendix. I
don’t want to spend these studies debating the literalness of the Noah-flood
account. I simply have a different
purpose and focus with these lessons.
c)
I
find a lot people refuse to take their bible literally, because if they did,
they would then have to be accountable to God.
Further, if they took the story of Noah seriously, that would mean they
would have to take the rest of the bible seriously.
i)
“They
(non-believers) deliberately forget this fact: that God did destroy the
world with a mighty flood long after he had made the heavens by the word of his
command and had used the waters to form the earth and surround it.”
(1st Peter 2:5-6, The Living Bible).
ii)
The
idea behind “deliberately forget” is that people willfully choose to be
ignorant of God’s redemptive plan in order to ignore God and his commandments
for us.
4.
Now
that my disclaimers are out of the way, J let’s talk about “why” aspects of the flood.
a)
Further,
I want to discuss about why you should care about this topic.
i)
First
of all, Jesus said that his second coming will be like the “days of Noah”
(See Matthew 24:37 or Luke 17:26).
ii)
What
Jesus meant was, people were going about their “daily business” and ignoring
the warnings of God’s judgment and then, well, it started raining. J
iii)
Jesus
is saying that the non-Christian world will be busy working for a living,
focusing on pop-culture, being involved in politics and sports and have no
place for God in their life. Just like
when the storm came in Noah’s day, so will Jesus’ second coming be to those who
weren’t focusing upon God.
iv)
I
would even suggest there is a “hint” of a pre-tribulation rapture here. The only “saved” people prior to the flood
were Noah and his immediately family who survived “through” the judgment and
his great-grandfather Enoch who was “raptured” (taken to heaven) prior to the
flood (Genesis 4:24). Enoch can be seen
as a type of the church who was raptured prior to the storm. Enoch was only one guy. The “church” is “one body!” (1st
Cor. 12:12); I see the ark as a model of the Israelites who were preserved
through God’s judgment.
b)
When
you read through the bible, there are several major “judgments” spoken of.
i)
The
first major judgment is Adam & Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden.
a)
They
were preserved and “saved” by the coats of animal skins (Gen. 3:21).
b)
The
word-picture is the first clue of redemption by blood. To make animal skins, innocent animals had
to die to preserve Adam & Eve.
ii)
The
second major judgment is the flood.
a)
The
“godly lineage” that leads to Jesus was preserved while the non-Godly were
condemned.
b)
Although
there is no direct reference to blood-sacrifice, we do get “hints” of it in
Noah’s ark. Stay tuned. J
iii)
The
next major judgment is when God puts the plagues on Egypt, and in particular,
the final plague when the first-born in all of Egypt was killed (Exodus
Chapters 12-13).
a)
Those
that survive the killing of the firstborn needed blood on their doorpost. (Exodus 12:22-23).
iv)
The
biggest judgment is still coming. That
is main topic of the Book of Revelation.
a)
Since
God is perfect, God must be perfect in judgment. God cannot tolerate sin.
God cannot let the world “go on forever” without judgment.
c)
The
main thing for us to learn from the flood account is to learn how God works.
i)
God
destroyed the world for its wickedness prior to the flood.
ii)
It
was like “mercy-killing”. To destroy
the world was to put it out of its misery.
iii)
That
same pattern will happen again.
That is what Revelation is primarily about.
iv)
Much
of the bible falls in the pattern:
a)
The
world is becoming ruined by sin;
b)
Therefore,
out of mercy, God will judge it and destroy it;
c)
God
wants as many as possible to be saved;
d)
Through
man, God preaches of a coming judgment;
e)
Those
who choose to be saved, will be saved.
f)
That
is what we read of in Noah. That is
what will happen again. This is why
Jesus compares his second coming to the days of Noah.
g)
There
is a cute bumper sticker that says, “Jesus is coming back, and this time he’s
angry”. That’s not bad. Jesus second coming to earth is primary as a
time of judgment for those who willfully choose not to follow Him.
5.
OK,
enough yapping, I’ve got two chapters to cover today. Let’s get rolling! J
6.
Chapter
6, Verse 1: When men began to increase
in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that
the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.
a)
We
begin with a controversy. The phrase
“Sons of God” is a classical debate among those who take their bible
seriously. There are two basic
arguments:
b)
The
first view is that the “Sons of God” refer to the children of Seth.
i)
In
the last two chapters we had the genealogy of Cain and the genealogy of Cain’s
brother Seth. Basically, the children
of Cain didn’t care about the things of God and the children of Seth, (or at
least some of them) were God-centered people.
ii)
This
view argues that the term “Sons of God” refers to the descendants of Seth in
that this was the godly-line. The same
view holds that the “daughters of men” were the daughters of Cain’s descendants
and were part of the ungodly line.
iii)
God
is talking about intermarriage between those of the “godly line” (Seth’s
descendants) marrying those of the “ungodly” line (Cain’s descendants.)
iv)
This
relates to the point taught in New Testament that believers are only to marry
other believers. (2nd
Corinthians 6:14).
v)
We’re
going to read where one of the reasons God destroys the earth is that no one,
other than Noah and his family are turning to God.
vi)
This
view is that believers married non-believers, turned away from God and
therefore, were no longer God-focused.
c)
The
second view begins with the idea that the term “Sons of God” is a reference to
any direct creation by God. Therefore,
it refers to Adam, Eve, angels and demons.
i)
In
other words, you and I are not “direct creations” of God because we are
descendants of other humans. The first
animals were direct creations. Their
offspring were not direct creations.
ii)
Since
angels and demons cannot reproduce (a biblical assumption) they are all “direct
creations” of God. The Hebrew term
“Sons of God” implies a direct creation by God and not the offspring thereof.
iii)
Getting
off topic, Jesus implies that if we follow him, we will be called “Sons
of God” one day (From Matthew 5:9):
a)
“Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (NIV)
b)
With
this view, those who choose to follow Jesus will be “adopted” directly into
God’s family and have the privilege of being called “Sons of God”
iv)
The
Second View has its roots at the time when God declared war on Satan.
a)
God
said “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed
and her Seed; (Genesis 3:15, NKJV).”
b)
Satan
might have thought, “OK, God said that some descendant of Eve is going to
“bruise my head”. I’m not sure what
that means, but I don’t want that to happen.
If I can “corrupt” God’s seed, I can prevent God’s plan from happening,
and therefore, I win.
v)
This
view holds the idea that demonic forces (Remember demons are direct creations
of God and therefore can be “Sons of God) “enter” people and then have sexual
relationships with “godly” people. Thus
the “seed” was corrupted.
a)
Jesus
says that angels do not marry. (Matthew
22:30, et.al.)
b)
It
does not mean angels are not sexual beings, it just means they don’t
marry. (Remember, this is all part of
the “second view”.)
(1)
They
are anti-marriage because marriage is God-ordained!
vi)
This
view argues that a reason God had to destroy everyone but Noah & his family
is because every other “gene-pool” got corrupt by demonic forces.
d)
If
you lean toward the “first view” or the “second view”, either way we read of
the world’s corruption.
i)
The
first view leans toward the idea that man, in his free will sinned and choose
to disobey God.
ii)
The
second view leans toward the idea that it was demonic-inspiration behind the
corruption of the “seed” of Eve.
iii)
One
can argue either/or view from the scriptures.
iv)
Most
of the commentators lean one-way or the other.
Most of the commentaries I read are respectful of the other sides’
opinion, although they disagree.
e)
Well,
we made it to Verse 3. J
7.
Chapter
6, Verse 3: Then the LORD said,
"My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days
will be a hundred and twenty years."
a)
God
is saying there is a “limit” to his judgment.
b)
Just
as mankind had a beginning, there is an ending to man’s existence.
c)
I’m
not talking about individual death; I’m talking about life-going-on-as-is
forever.
d)
As
of this declaration, God is saying, “OK, I’ll give man another 120 years to
repent. In fact, I’ll have Noah build
this huge boat in his driveway J to show people the way out.
But rest assured, the judgment is coming.”
e)
There
are lots of weird theories out there saying that the next judgment is
somehow tied to this 120-year prediction.
i)
Jesus
says bluntly that “no one knows the day or hour” of his second coming,
except God the Father. (See Matthew
24:36 or Mark 13:32). Jesus point is
you can’t read the bible and find secret clues of the exact day of his second
coming.
ii)
The
same applies to the 120 years period here in Genesis. You cannot use this to predict any exact day of Jesus’
second coming.
8.
Verse
4: The Nephilim were on the earth in those days--and
also afterward--when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had
children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
a)
The
word “Nephilim” is a transliteration of the original Hebrew here in the NIV
text.
b)
The
word means “giants”. It could refer to
literal-giants or the expression “giants among men” in that they were
considered great people.
c)
Let’s
get back to the “first view” and “second view” of “Sons of God/daughters of
men”
i)
Verse
4 is teaching that the offspring of “Sons of God/daughters of men” produced
these Nephilim. The “second view” is
that they were special creatures due to the demonic (semen) seed mixing with
human female embryos.
ii)
The
correct answer depends on who or what you think the Nephilim are.
a)
If
you believe they are special “giants”, you might argue the “second view”. Also, I’m not saying NBA basketball players
are Nephilim’s. J These creatures, who
existed at this time, were a corrupt seed mixture.
d)
The
other view is that the “Nephilim” were “renown” people.
i)
Think
of the expression “giants among men”, and you get the idea.
ii)
There
are lots of god-less people who the world admires. They do great things.
It could refer to great army-generals, great political leaders, captains of
industry, great sports leaders, great artists, etc. There is nothing wrong with any of these things, per se. In fact, I would argue that they are all
using God-given talents. The mistake is
to not acknowledge God or be thankful to God for their talent. Further, they are using their God-given
talent to give themselves the glory, and not God.
iii)
Stop
and re-read this verse, and you can see it from this perspective.
9.
Verse
5: The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth
had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil all the time.
a)
When
we think of “evil”, we tend to think of murder and other horrible crimes.
b)
Technically
speaking that is not evil, that is the results of evil.
c)
Evil,
from a biblical perspective is to turn your heart from God and toward other
interests.
i)
“Evil”
is to not care about the things of God, to not desire to seek God and not
desire to do God’s will. “Evil” can
simply be to want to live your life for whatever brings you pleasure-for-the
moment. It is to glorify yourself and
not God.
ii)
Satan
rebelled against God because Satan saw how much God loved mankind, and for a
lack of a better word got jealous. He
was the greatest of all of God’s creation and desired to be worshipped.
a)
In
his rebellion against God, he wants to destroy man, not so much by quick and
direct murders, but by getting people to spend their lives on other interests
other than God-himself.
iii)
My
point here is that when Verse 5 says in effect that “men were evil all the
time”, I don’t visualize a free-for-all of murder and other crimes as much as I
visualize a godless-society where no one cares at all for the things of God.
iv)
God’s
point is “I can’t let this go on forever”.
Just like a horse that broke its leg, I’m being more merciful to kill it
than to let it live.” Thus a flood was
needed. J
10.
Verse
6: The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the
earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I
have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that
move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have made
them."
a)
First
of all, God is not an old man sitting on the throne going, “Woe is me, I am so
depressed about how humans turned out.”
J God knew the entire
plan of destruction and redemption before he created man in the first place.
b)
You
have to read Verses 6-7 from man’s perspective and not God’s.
i)
God
is “grieving” because he loves people and he wants us to turn to him.
ii)
It
is like watching a child you love and raised turn away from what is right. Out of love you let that child go, but you
grieve because you know what is right and they are not choosing the right path.
iii)
The
verse says, “God’s heart is filled with pain”. From our perspective, from a
perspective that we can understand God, he is filled with pain. Because he loves us perfectly, it does
“grieve” God when we turn away. A
perfect God cannot let man get away with anything, and thus the judgment.
c)
OK,
why does God have to destroy the animals and all the land? It’s not their fault! J
i)
God
created “the ideal world”
a)
First
he had the Garden of Eden, and Adam willfully choose to disobey.
b)
God
still had this wonderful world, prior to the flood, with the water canopy where
people could live close to a 1,000-year lifespan.
c)
Again,
mankind, willfully choose to disobey.
ii)
You
have to read of the destruction not as God-being-mean, but as a mercy
killing. Man was becoming corrupt and
that corruption was affecting the other aspects of the creation. Other living beings don’t have a “soul” that
relates to God the way man does.
Animals and the “earth” do feel the affects of man’s corruption. It is for that reason God decided to
preserve each specie and destroy the remainder. Not that God was angry at the animals. It was love oriented a mercy-killing
iii)
If
God didn’t care about the animals, He would not have brought them in the ark.
11.
Verse
8: But Noah found favor in the eyes of
the LORD. This is the account of
Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless
among the people of his time, and he walked with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem,
Ham and Japheth.
a)
The
word “favor” in Verse 8 is better-translated grace in other English
translations.
b)
It
is the first mention of “grace” in the bible.
c)
Remember
the “first view” and “second view” stuff about how Seth’s descendants and
Cain’s descendants were co-mingling either through their own freewill or
demonic forces. There is an argument
that Noah was the only “uncorrupt seed” left in the bunch.
d)
The
idea behind “grace” is getting something wonderful that you do
not deserve. It is different from
mercy. Mercy is unmerited forgiveness
of what you do deserve.
e)
I
don’t take the view that Noah was a perfect person.
i)
In
fact, we’ll read of a “fault” after the flood-story is over in Genesis 9.
ii)
I
do take the view that Noah is someone who sought after God all of his
life. He was not saved because he
sought God. Salvation begins
with God, and we follow. It is more
like “God called Noah, and Noah spent his life responding to God.”
f)
In
Chapter 6, we learn that Noah didn’t have his 3 sons until he was 500 years
old.
i)
That
is way too long to live as a bachelor. J
a)
For
all we know, Noah could have had other sons and daughters prior to these
three. The text does not say.
ii)
Remember
that his grandfather Enoch “walked with God’.
I suspect Noah was influenced by his godly father, grandfather and his
great-grandfather.
12.
Verse
11: Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was
full of violence. 12
God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had
corrupted their ways. 13
So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the
earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy
both them and the earth.
a)
There
is not much new we learn in these verses that we haven’t already discussed.
b)
“Evil”
begins as thoughts in the hearts and manifests itself in its actions.
c)
In
Verse 11, the earth was “full of violence”.
That is the results of spending one’s life away from a relationship with
God and a desire to do God’s will.
d)
In
Verse 13 we have God saying in effect, “Ok, I’ve had enough. For the sake of the innocent people being
killed, I can’t let this go on forever.
For the sake of the violent people living in their misery, I can’t let
this go on forever.
e)
Let’s
bring this up to modern times. Remember
that God does not change.
i)
“I
the LORD do not change.” (Malachi 3:6a,
NIV)
ii)
We
look at the world today, and say, “How can God allow this to continue? Look at all the violence today and the
horrible things that happens and God allows it?” Many people make the excuse of not believing in God because they
think that God is somehow “unfair” because he won’t stop the violence that
exists in the world.
iii)
First
of all, the blame for the violence, is not on God, but on man. It is our wickedness than causes the
problems. We can’t blame God for the
actions.
iv)
Why
doesn’t God interact more? The same
reason he didn’t stop Cain’s murder of Abel.
God allows freewill. God does
not intervene to prevent those murders because he has to let man be accountable
for his own actions. (Not that prayer
can’t change things. That is a whole
different topic.)
v)
Further,
God will judge the world again. Jesus
made that point as I stated in the introduction. So what is God waiting for?
a)
The
answer is “more to be saved”. God is
willing to tolerate a lot of horrible things temporarily in order for
more to be saved. Like the days of
Noah, it will not go on forever. The
guilty will get punished. The bible
teaches that are is a specific number of saved people. Only God knows that specific number. Until that number is reached, we have to
“put up” with this world and help others that are lost be saved.
13.
Verse
14: So make yourself an ark of cypress
wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to
build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. 16 Make a roof for it and
finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the
ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.
a)
For
you King James fans, the actual measurements were in “cubits”. The NIV here gives a rough estimate based on
whatever length a cubit was.
i)
A
“cubit” is the distance from the elbow to the fingertip. Therefore, the actual size probably depended
on how tall Noah was. J
b)
Notice
that this is a barge. It is not
a sailing ship, nor is there a motor, nor a rudder. The “roof with 18 inches” is a natural ventilation system that
ran around the top of the barge.
i)
Therefore,
when Noah was in this thing, he was fully dependant upon God for survival and
wherever this thing was going to land.
c)
Don’t
underestimate the size. It is roughly
the size of the Titanic, which may be a bad example. J No boat this big (that we’re aware of) was built until the mid 19th
century.
i)
The
boat had three full decks. If you study
some of the commentaries on the size of the boat and the number of species in
existence, the ark has plenty of room for two of every specie.
d)
The
New Testament describes Noah as a “preacher”. (2nd Peter 3:5)
i)
I
don’t think Noah had a weekly sermon from a pulpit in as much as he was a
visual witness to the world as he was building the Titanic in his
driveway. J
ii)
That
is a good model for us as Christians.
How we live our lives should be visual witnesses to our neighbors that
we are taking a stand for God.
e)
Notice
the words “make yourself”. God is
ordaining Noah to do this without God’s help.
i)
God
likes to work through man. God is the
one who ordains the destruction of the world for its sin, but always provides a
way for us to escape.
a)
He
told Noah to go build a big boat (barge).
b)
He
told the Israelites to put blood on their doorposts to escape the death of the
first-born sons in Israel (Exodus 12).
c)
He
tells us to put our trust in Christ to escape the damnation we deserve for our
sins.
f)
Notice
it was “pitched” inside and outside.
“Pitch” is an oil base sealant product.
When you build a wood ship, you only have to “pitch” the outside. I believe the extra pitch inside was only to
help preserve the boat for some other purpose.
i)
Remember
if God ordained this, there was no way Noah was going to drown.
I believe the inside pitch was to keep the boat in tact for millennium as a
“visual witness to the world” of the authenticity of this story.
a)
There
have been dozens of sightings of this boat through the millennia. It is upon Mt. Ararat in Turkey.
ii)
Also
think about the “ark”. The next “ark”
we read about in the bible is the “ark of the covenant” in Exodus Chapter 25.
a)
When
Moses was ordained to build the tabernacle to worship God, the most important
piece of furniture in the tabernacle was a wooden box called the “ark of the
covenant”. It represented the place
where God dwells and is a word-picture of God preserving the Israelites
from their sins. The high priest
sprinkled blood on it, as a word picture to remind us of the “covering” of
blood for the forgiveness of sin.
b)
The
“ark of the covenant” was to be covered on the outside by gold and the inside
by gold. There is a connection
between that and the fact Noah’s ark was pitched inside and outside. The same Hebrew word for “pitch” is
translated “covering” elsewhere in the bible.
It implies “atonement” or the cleansing from sin.
c)
OK,
what’s the point? The point is Noah and
his family was saved from the disaster to come. The outside of the ark was “pitched” to protect Noah from the
influence of the outside world. Noah,
being inside the ark was also protected by God himself.
(1)
The
same applies to our trust in God. We
are also “covered” in the blood of Christ.
We are “in” Christ and protected on the inside and from the outside
influence of sin.
g)
I
have to admit I’m fascinated by Noah’s response to God’s command to build the
ark.
i)
There
is no report that he asked God any questions.
a)
Comedian
Bill Cosby was famous a generation ago, in doing an imitation of Noah, saying,
“Right God, by the way, what’s a cubit?”
ii)
You
have to wonder if Noah knew anything about wood construction.
iii)
I
wonder how long it would take him and his three sons to do this.
iv)
Notice
there is s time delay between the beginning of this chapter and the time
God told Noah to build this ark.
a)
In
the beginning of the chapter, God said that man had 120 years before the flood
was going to come. (Genesis 6:3).
b)
Noah
was 500 when he had these three kids. (Genesis 5:32)
c)
The
flood came in the 600th year of Noah’s life (Genesis 7:6)
d)
My
point is there is a progression of information given to Noah.
e)
In
the early part of the chapter Noah was told there was a 120 years to go.
(1)
I
suspect Noah started preaching, “Repent, God is coming in 120 years.” When that wasn’t having much of an effect,
the next step is God told Noah to start building in his driveway. J
h)
How
about Noah’s sons and daughter’s in laws:
Did they think dad was nuts? J
i)
Give
the sons credit that by their faith they trusted their father and went
along with this plan.
ii)
Partial
credit goes to Noah for raising three godly children.
iii)
Credit
also goes to the son’s who had faith in their father’s talk with God.
14.
Verse
17: I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to
destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life
in it. Everything on earth will perish.
a)
A
lot of people may say, “This isn’t fair.
What about the babies born right before the flood, or what about all the
innocent animals that died”.
i)
First
of all, God is in charge, and we’re not.
If he created the world, it is his to destroy. We serve God and not vice-versa.
ii)
Second,
God will judge all people fairly.
We need to take comfort in that fact.
b)
As
far as animals, the animal kingdom themselves are preserved.
i)
It
is important to understand that animals have “secondary standing” on
earth. God told Adam to have dominion
over all animals. (Genesis 1:26).
ii)
That
means we are not to be cruel to them, but at the same time, they are not
be treated equally with human beings.
iii)
If
my dog and a stranger were drowning, I may love my dog dearly, but God would
command us to save the human life first, because the human life is greater of
that of any animal.
15.
Verse
18: But I will establish my covenant
with you, and you will enter the ark--you and your sons and your wife and your
sons' wives with you.
a)
The
word “covenant” is an important word in the bible.
i)
It
is similar to the word “contract”. For
those who ever had a contract law class in college, there is a term called a
“one-way contract”. That means that one
person is going to do something for another regardless of what the other person
says.
ii)
Let’s
say that I’m going to give you a hug and there is nothing you can do to stop
it. J That is a one-way contract from me to you.
iii)
This
leads us back to the idea of a covenant.
Many of God’s covenants are “one-way” in that there is nothing Noah can
do to change this contract/arrangement.
iv)
The
details of this covenant are explained in Chapter 8.
a)
The
idea here is that God is starting the human race over again with Noah and his
family and the “one-way contract” includes the fact God will never flood the
world again.
16.
Verse
19: You are to bring into the ark two
of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird,
of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the
ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be
eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
a)
Personally,
I don’t see Noah running around with a butterfly net and a lasso trying to
round up two of every animal. J
b)
Let’s
read ahead to Verse 8-9 of the next chapter (Chapter 7):
i)
“Pairs
of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the
ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had
commanded Noah.” (NIV)
ii)
God
is God. If he can create the world, he
can create a “homing instinct” in a pair of each animal that makes them go to
the ark.
iii)
It
is a miracle in itself that all the animals survived in tact the entire trip!
c)
Besides
the animals, God also told Noah to pack some groceries for the trip. J
i)
There
is nothing in the text over how long this trip would last, so I wondered if
Noah knew how much to take. Maybe he
took potted plants and trees so the time period wouldn’t matter.
17.
Verse
22: Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
a)
If
you want words for Noah’s tombstone, Verse 22 would be good ones.
b)
Verse
22 is a model for the “ideal” that God desires for us.
c)
We
are saved by God’s grace alone. In
response to our salvation, God desires that we be obedient to all that God asks
of us.
18.
Chapter
7, Verse 1: The LORD then said to Noah,
"Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you
righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal,
a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its
mate, 3 and also seven of every
kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the
earth. 4 Seven days from now I will
send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from
the face of the earth every living creature I have made."
a)
In
Verse 1 is a case where the NIV translation is misleading.
i)
The
proper term is “come” into the ark, not “go” into the ark.
ii)
The
difference is God is already in the ark. God is invited Noah to come into the ark where God already is to
preserve him.
iii)
Remember
I talked about being preserved “inside and outside”. God is inside with Noah.
Noah is being preserved from within and without.
b)
God
preserved Noah and his family from the flood.
i)
I
always take the view that salvation is an individual thing.
ii)
God
called all the members of Noah’s family into the ark.
a)
It
is still the free-will of all of them to choose to obey.
iii)
I
do believe it was Noah’s good influence that caused his children to obey just
as any parent influences the behavior of their children.
c)
The
next issue is “clean and unclean” animals.
i)
Noah
was ordered to take 7 of every “clean” animal and 2 of every “unclean”.
ii)
How
did Noah know? The idea of “clean” and
“unclean” animals are not given for hundreds and hundreds of years later when
Moses wrote Leviticus (Chap. 11).
iii)
The
fact that Noah was told to bring “clean” animals implies that Noah knew some of
the Levitical laws although they were not formally written until Moses.
d)
Last,
there was a 7-day gap between the time God closed the door and the rainstorm.
i)
You
have to wonder if the kids questioned Noah during this time period.
“Hey dad, are you sure about this rain thing?
J
e)
I
stated a page or two back that God works in progression.
i)
The
early part of Chapter 6 is when God warned that “you’ve got 120 years to go”.
a)
God
then waited to see who would repent.
ii)
The
later part of Chapter 6 is Noah building this big barge.
a)
God
then waited to see who would repent.
iii)
In
the early part of Chapter 7, is Noah, family and the animals going in the ark.
a)
God
then waited to see who would repent.
iv)
I
believe this final 7-day period is to tell the world, “Look folks, this is
going to happen. I’m putting Noah in
the boat now. This is your last chance.
“
v)
God
works in an increasing progression, as He wants people to repent of their
sins. He is willing to see if first
they will come by faith. If not, God
gives more signs, and then sees if people will then come by faith, etc. Eventually there is a point of no return.
19.
Verse
5: And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.
a)
This
is the second time God commends Noah for obedience.
b)
That
is a pattern you will see often in the bible.
I believe God feels sorrow for those who refuse to turn to him and at
the same time God shows his love to those who are obedient.
20.
Verse
6: Noah was six hundred years old when
the floodwaters came on the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons'
wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
8Pairs of clean and unclean
animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground,
9male and female, came to
Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after the seven days
the floodwaters came on the earth.
a)
There
is not much new to add in terms of commentary.
This section repeats some of the points already made.
b)
The
“double-account” of Noah being obedient, God’s salvation of Noah, his family and
the destruction of the world are told twice in this text as a reminder of its
importance.
21.
Verse
11: In the six hundredth year of Noah's
life, on the seventeenth day of the second month--on that day all the springs
of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth
forty days and forty nights.
a)
Personally,
I think Noah kept a calendar of how long before the flood came.
i)
Noah
was told in the early part of the chapter of the 120-year period, and I believe
Noah was keeping track.
b)
Maybe
Noah’s relatives threw Noah a big 600th birthday party a few months
prior to the flood. J Maybe Noah used that as an
opportunity to preach again of the judgment.
i)
I
discussed in the last lesson that numbers are symbolic in the bible. The number “6” is associated with man. Man was created on the 6th
day. There is some symbolism behind the
fact that Noah was 600 years old and that was the time frame to mankind’s
destruction with the flood.
c)
Remember
from Chapter 5 that Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather, died the year the flood
started. I personally suspect it was
the same day.
i)
Methusalah’s
name means, “His death shall bring”. It
was prophetic of the flood.
ii)
Remember
that Noah’s father Lamech died five years prior to the flood. Neither of these deaths are mentioned in
conjunction with the ark-project. One
has to do the calculations from the dates given in Chapters 5 through 7.
d)
For
those interested in the “how” of the flood, I encourage you to read some of the
sources in he appendix. Remember that
there was a water (or ice) canopy over the earth and I believe all of this came
down at the time of flood. I suspect a
meteor hit the canopy causing a chain reaction that caused the flood.
22.
Verse
13: On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and
Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the
ark. 14 They had with them every
wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds,
every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird
according to its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that
have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. 16 The animals going in were
male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD
shut him in.
a)
We’re
going back-and-forth a little in the time line.
i)
In
Verse 13 we’re back to the 1st of 7 days when everyone got in the
ark.
b)
As
I stated earlier, the animals simply “paraded” in the ark. I think all Noah had to do was stand there
with a clipboard and check list and watch them all parade in.
i)
I
still wish Noah would have squashed the mosquitoes and the cockroaches, but I
can’t change history. J
c)
The
last line of Verse 16 is important: “Then the LORD shut him in.”
i)
There
is the idea of “eternal security” in that verse. If God shuts Noah in, I don’t believe there was any way Noah
could get out. As long as you are
trusting in Jesus as your payment for your sins, I don’t believe there is any
way you can mess up your salvation. You
can lose some rewards in heaven, but you cannot mess up your salvation itself. (Others disagree with this view of eternal
security.
They have every right to be wrong. J)
23.
Verse
17: For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth,
and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and
increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the
water. 19 They rose greatly on the
earth, and all the high moun-tains under the entire heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered
the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. 21 Every living thing that
moved on the earth perished--birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures
that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Every-thing on dry land that had the breath of life
in its nostrils died. 23
Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and
the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped
from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
a)
For
those interested in the “how” versus the “why” of the flood, Verses 17-23 focus
on more of the details. Again, I
recommend some of the appendix sources for more details.
i)
I
hold a very literal view of the flood.
There is geological evidence as well as recorded historical evidence
from cultures around the world as to the flood.
b)
There
are some well-intended Christians who are that it was only a “local flood”.
i)
If
it was only a local flood, why didn’t the animals simply go to “higher ground”?
ii)
Why
would it be necessary for Noah to bring animals in the ark if it was only a
local flood?
iii)
My
point is that we need to trust our bible at face value.
iv)
If
you can’t handle the idea of worldwide flood, your concept of God is too small.
v)
A
God that is big enough to create the heavens and the earth is big enough to
destroy the whole thing as well.
vi)
If
you can’t literally “handle” the story of Noah and the flood, how can you
literally “handle” take the promise of Jesus and our eternal salvation?
c)
These
verses are a little repetitive of some of the early sources.
i)
I
think God wants it to “sink in” how vast and thorough this destruction is.
a)
Not
so we can focus on the past, but so we can focus on the future.
b)
There
is once again, coming a judgment of this world. That is what the majority of the book of Revelation is all about.
c)
Remember
that Genesis is a book of “beginnings”.
This is the beginning of the condemnation of the world for sin. Revelation focuses on “endings”. There will be a final judgment of the world
for sin.
d)
In
the next chapter, we’ll read where God promises never to destroy the world
again by a flood. The problem is we
have to read “the fine print”. There is
another judgment coming, only the method will be different. J (Reference: 2nd Peter 3:7)
e)
It
may help to re-read this paragraph and think about those you love and care
about who are not saved. Read of this
thorough destruction of all that have the “breadth of life” and realize they
will be judged.
ii)
It
is also a reminder to us, that we are preserved. No matter what problems you have in life, no matter how bad
things are for the moment, you need to see them in the eternal
perspective. How long is our life here
on earth compared to eternity? Keeping
the eternal perspective of salvation in mind makes our daily problems seem
insignificant in comparison.
d)
One
more “number” thing before I move on.
Let’s discuss the “40 days” of rain.
i)
First
of all, 40 days of rain is not enough to cover mountaintops.
ii)
The
water coming down from above as well as water from below the earth coming up is
the true cause of the flood, even more than the rainstorm.
iii)
The
number “40” is associated with trials in the bible.
a)
The
Israelites were in bondage 400 years in Egypt.
b)
The
Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years before entering the Promised
Land.
c)
Jesus
spent 40 days fasting in the desert before being tempted by Satan.
d)
There
is a “connection” being 40 (and multiples thereof) and testing.
e)
Last
thing to bring up: Why a flood to
destroy the world? Why couldn’t God
just “zap” all living creatures and keep Noah and the gang alive?
i)
The
main reason has to do with the physical evidence of the flood.
a)
I
haven’t spent much time talking about the geological evidence of the flood that
exists today, but if you study some of the sources in the supplement or have
heard similar material, you know it is there.
b)
God
used the flood to leave evidence upon the earth as a witness to the world today
of the validity of the bible and of another coming judgment.
24.
Verse
24: The waters
flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
a)
Remember
that Noah had some sort of calendar he was keeping. There probably wasn’t much to do on the ark and Noah did this to
pass the time. J
b)
Why
God wants us to know that the flood started on the 17th day of the 2nd
month and why the flood lasted exactly 150 days is a mystery.
i)
Lots
of commentators give theories on this, but I have not read anything that
affects my daily walk as a Christian.
c)
One
bit of connected-trivia I did find interesting:
i)
In
Revelation, there are these “scorpion” creatures spoken of in Chapter 9. When they sting, the pain is so great that
people want to die, but can’t. (9:6) It
also states that the pain lasts for five months (9:5). In the Hebrew calender, all months are 30
days.
ii)
Some
ponder if there is a “connection” between the 150 days of flood-judgment here
in Genesis 7 with the 150 days of torture by the scorpion creatures of
Revelation Chapter 9?
iii)
It
is interesting to think about, but I don’t know what you do with that
information. J
25.
Well,
we made it through 2 flood chapters in 12 pages. In the next lesson, we start to cover the aftermath! J
26.
Let’s
pray. Heavenly Father, Help us to keep
the eternal perspective in focus. Help
us to be a witness to a dying world that another judgment is coming. Help us to be grateful for our salvation and
live in obedience to you for that fact.
At the same time, give us boldness to be your witnesses to the world
around us that salvation requires obedience.
For we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
--------------------------------
Appendix:
After the last lesson in
Genesis, I will give a complete appendix of all my sources.
The purpose of this lesson is to
give some selected readings for those interested in more scientific studies
about the flood itself. These books and
audio/visual sources focus on geological evidence for a worldwide flood. This list is by no means meant to be a
complete list.
These are just some selected
sources of which I am personally familiar.
I am
grateful to Dr. Ken Hovind’s Web Site that provided much of this list and
commentary:
http://www.drdino.com/index.jsp
Selected
Books:
1.
“In
the Beginning” by Walter Brown
“This
understandable, comprehensive, and meticulously documented resource will give
new insight and compelling evidence to readers of all backgrounds on the
subjects of creation, the Flood, and the hydro plate theory of mountain
formation and continental drift. Answers many previously unexplained questions
raised by physical observations. “ From
Dr. Hovind’s web site.
2.
“The
Defender’s Study Bible” by Dr. Henry Morris
This is
a verse-by-verse commentary through the whole bible. Dr. Morris’s notes on Genesis are excellent commentary on the
creation and the flood story.
3.
“Scientific
Creationism” by Dr. Henry Morris
“A
well-documented and in-depth examination of the research for creation. Covers
dating methods, geology, biology, and other areas.” From Dr. Hovind’s Web
Site
4.
“The
Young Earth” by John Morris
“This
understandable yet thorough book contains much geologic evidence to show that
the earth is young. It includes a very useful section of reproducible overheads
for transparencies.” Dr. Hovind…
Additional
books are found via Ken Hovind’s Web Site www.drdino.com
or Dr. Henry Morris’s website http://www.icr.org/
--------------------------------
Audio
(via the internet)
Dr. Ken
Hovind’s lectures on Mp3
http://www.drdino.com/Downloads/Seminar/mp3/index.jsp
You can
listen for free. Series #1 and #6 are
most relevant to the flood.
Video’s
of the same series are also available for free to download at
http://www.drdino.com/Downloads/Seminar/vids/index.jsp