Genesis 8:1-9:29
Key verse 9:11
CIT: God started a new
beginning with Noah and established a covenant of grace with him, which we have
been enjoying until the final judgment comes.
CIM: God’s judgment is real,
and thus we should fear God and honor him as God while you are still in God’s
grace period.
Thank God
for this beautiful day. Last week, however, we faced Hurricane Sandy. And many
people are still suffering from the aftermath of the hurricane.
[Slide:
aftermath of Sandy]
People said
that Hurricane Sandy was Mother Nature’s wrath. An orthodox rabbi even said
that it was God’s wrath against New York State passing gay marriage last year. I
don’t think it was necessarily God’s wrath, but it reminds me of Noah’s flood since
we have studied it from last week. In Ch. 6-7, the earth was flooded, which was
God’s judgment. But in today’s passage God restores the earth and lives on it,
which is his grace. Judgment and grace is one of the main themes of the Bible. What
does he teach us through his judgment and grace? Will he deal with this
generation as he did with the people in Noah’s times? I pray that we may learn God’s purpose in Noah’s flood.
I. Noah comes out the ark (8:1-22)
God remembered Noah
Look at verse 1. For 40 days the floodwaters
came and wiped all living things on earth. In the mean time, the ark floated
above the water, being pushed back and forth and frequently jolted by the
waters. The rain continued to come and the waters rose higher. Probably, those
in the ark were all scared. Even lions and tigers were scared to silence. We
had a similar experience last week when Hurricane Sandy passed by this area. M
Rebekah worried about water leaking in the basement because it happened last year.
I also a little worried that the hurricane would bring about some damage to my
house. Noah and his family must have been much more anxious and worried.
Noah couldn’t see his relatives and friends, his
hometown and people – they were gone in a moment. Only he and his family in the
ark were left alone. He would have felt
like Will Smith in movie “I am a legend” when he walked in the empty city along
with his dog.
Noah was shocked and overwhelmed by the extraordinary
effect of God’s judgment. And he worried about how to survive such a huge
flood.
What did God do in such a difficult time?
V1 - But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the
livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the
earth, and the waters receded.
God remembered Noah and all in the ark. He
remembered his covenant he established with Noah in 6:18. God said that he
would let Noah and his family in the ark to save them from the floodwaters. Actually,
God had been with them and protected the ark with his almighty hands all the
time while the earth was flooded. And after wiping humankind outside the ark,
God began to remove waters from the earth for the sake of Noah.
After 40 days, God closed the springs and the
floodgates and stopped the rain. And he sent a wind over the earth and the
waters began to recede. The waters receded gradually, which would help the ark
touch land gently. At the 150th day, the ark rested on Mt. Ararat,
which scholars suspect was located in modern Turkey near the border of Iran.
[Slide: Mt. Ararat]
The waters continued to recede until the 10th
month. The tops of the mountains became visible on 10/1. It was the 224th
day of the flood.
[Slide:
timeline]
Noah had already been in the ark 224 days. Have
you ever flied more than 10 hours at a time? Let’s imagine that you are flying
in the airplane. You have already flied more than 10 hours. You’ve got too
tired to watch videos and read anything. You can’t even sleep well. And the
airplane is shaking again in turbulence and the captain is making an
announcement to buckle up. All these things make you tired and even sick.
Noah’s situation was much worse than this. There
was no other place he could go. And his future was uncertain and insecure. Fear
and anxiety gripped him. Psychologically, mentally, physically, and spiritually
it was a tough situation for Noah to bear.
In such a
situation, Noah realized that their lives were vulnerable and he could not but
depend on God alone. The only thing he could do was to entrust
himself to God, remembering God’s covenant. God never forgets his covenant and
so we should not forget his covenants, either, especially when we are in
troubles. Actually, the whole Bible is God’s covenant. He remembers all his
promises and keeps them. Hold on to even one word he said and entrust yourself
to him and then he will show you a way out. He may not remove your troubles but
will provide for you to overcome them.
V6-8 - After forty days Noah opened the
window he had made in the ark 7 and sent out a
raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from
the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove to see if
the water had receded from the surface of the ground.
After 40 days since mountaintops had become
visible, Noah sent out a raven and then a dove to find out if the water had
receded from the surface of the ground. After 7 days later, Noah sent out the
dove and it came back with a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak, which
meant plants began to grow back on earth. After another 7 days, Noah sent out
the dove again, but it did not return, which means it found a dry place to rest.
That was a sure sign that the land was almost dried up, which gave Noah hope to
exit the ark soon. Noah might have wanted to get out of the ark as soon as
possible. But the earth was not dry enough for Noah to venture out yet. He patiently
waited for God’s timing.
We have our own timings and plans. But God’s plans
may be different from ours. Our best plan can be the worst to God. Our worst
can be the best to God. But his plans are always the best. You may have your
schedules and plans for you – like what to do over the winter break or after
graduation. But you never know what is the best for you. But God has the best
plans and knows the best timings for you. Ask God, trust him, and wait for his
timing and then he will guide you in the best way.
Look at verses 13-14.
[Slide:
timeline]
The water had dried up from the earth by 1/1 of
Noah’s 601th year. Noah removed the covering from the ark. Finally, by 2/27,
the earth was completely dry.
A new beginning
V15-17 - Then God said to Noah, 16 “Come
out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out
every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all
the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and
be fruitful and increase in number upon it.
Finally, after 370 days Noah and those in the
ark could come out of the ark. How excited and amazed they should have been! It
is like when you finally step upon the ground after a long flight.
Interestingly, verse 17 was like a reminiscence of God’s blessing for animals
in the beginning. (1:22) God wanted the creatures to multiply on earth and
increase in number again as before. It was a new beginning and a new creation.
Noah and those with him came out as God said. He
obeyed God when preparing the ark and embarking it. When disembarking, he
followed God’s command, too. He was a man of obedience. That way, Noah trusted in God to the end and
honored God.
What did Noah do first after
coming out of the ark?
V20 - Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the
clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
Now we understand why Noah took seven pairs of clean
animals and clean birds. Some of them should be sacrificed as burnt offerings.
What was the meaning of
Noah’s burnt offerings, then?
The meaning of the
word burnt offering is “go up.” As the sacrifice is consumed completely, the
fumes go upward to God, which represents the person’s devotion and thanksgiving.
Burnt offering is also a propitiatory sacrifice. (cf. 2 Sam 24:25) It is an
offering for forgiveness of sins.
Noah was so
thankful for the grace of God’s salvation. He was saved not because of his
righteousness. Actually, he was saved from his sin and the judgment by God’s
grace.
The altar Noah
built was the first one mentioned in the Bible. It was used as a way of worshiping
God - recognizing God Yahweh as the Creator and Almighty. As we study the Bible
further, we can see that the ancestors of Israel like Abraham and David built
altars when they worshiped and honored God.
What was God’s response?
V21a - The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma
God was pleased with Noah’s burnt offerings. His
broken heart was comforted and restored by Noah’s offerings. As we learned in
ch. 4, God accepts the person and then his offering. God was happy to accept
Noah’s offerings because of his absolute obedience. (6:22, 7:5, 9, 16) By
presenting the offerings, he recognized God as the God of creation and the Lord.
This showed his reverent fear of God, which is the most fundamental and
important thing for mankind to have the right relationship with God.
When God plagued Egypt, he continually said,
“The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” (Ex 7:5; 12:12) God is the God of
justice so he judges our sins. However, Judgment is not his ultimate purpose.
Rather, through his judgment, God wants us to learn who he is and then
recognize him as God. When you think you are punished or in troubles, think
about God’s good will and purpose for you. When you fear him and honor him as
God, he is pleased to accept you as his child and bless you for sure.
God was so
happy with Noah’s offerings and said two things in his heart.
V21b - “and
said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even
though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And
never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
1. He would never curse the ground because of man’s evil.
2. He would never destroy all living creatures as he had done.
The reason
being is that every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. God judged
mankind with floodwaters because their sins reached over the threshold. But God
knew that judgment would not solve their sin problem and restore the creation
order. Here God simply conceded man’s sin, not admitting his judgment as
failure, and looked forward to the final resolution that would come through
Jesus Christ.
V22- “As long
as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter,
day and night will never cease.”
[Slide: season]
The seasons and
day and night would not cease as long as the earth endures. Now every change of
season serves as a reminder of his promise. We all are enjoying God’s grace. This
grace applies to all people, good and evil. Everyone is provided with air, sunlight,
rain, and all basic things to live. This is called the common grace of God. God
is good.
Ps 145:9 - “The Lord is
good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”
Everyone should
be thankful to God. He deserves honor and worship from all living beings.
II. God establishes his covenant with Noah (9:1-17)
God blessed Noah and his sons for the new beginning.
V1 - Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying
to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.
[slide: comparison of God’s blessings]
Now God turned to Noah and
blessed him and his sons to be fruitful and increase in number and fill
the earth. It is repeated one more time in verse 7, which shows that his
blessing was certain. This blessing was
similar to the blessing in 1:28-30. Ruling over the other creatures was absent,
however. It was probably because man was sinful now and so incapable to
rule over other creatures that became hostile as a result of God’s curse (though
God’s initial desire for man has been in his mind).
Look at V 2-6.
However, for now God gave other creatures the
fear of man. That would help protect mankind and still enable man to maintain
superiority to other creatures. God also allowed man to eat meat but without
its lifeblood in it. God did not want mankind to be violent and kill lives irrespectively,
especially man’s life. It is because God has made man in his image. If they
violate this command, God will surely make them accountable for that. This
appeared again later in the Ten Commandments. The Bible teaches us to respect
people’s lives and thus God who made them in his image.
As we can see, God blessed Noah and his sons and
was about to begin a new creation through those remnants. We humans always drop
the ball, but God never fails. He always raises and works through a few of
remnants, who obey him and honor him like Noah. His redemptive work has
continued through Seth, Noah, Abraham, David, and those who believe in Jesus
Christ. They are God’s hope and new creation in his kingdom. I pray that all of
you here can be used as remnants to serve God’s will for this generation.
God established his covenant with Noah and all living creatures.
Let’s look at verses 8-10. After blessing Noah
and his sons, God established his covenant with Noah along with every living
creature, which he had already had on his mind in 8:21-22. promised:
V11 – I establish my covenant with
you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never
again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
God promised:
·
All life will never be cut off by flood again.
·
There will never be a flood to destroy the
earth.
In other words, he would not destroy all living
creatures and the earth by flood. And then God sealed and confirmed his
covenant with a rainbow.
Look at V12-17.
God set the rainbow in the cloud as the sign of
the covenant because the covenant needed a visible sign or token as a covenant
reminder. God repeated that he would remember his covenant when it rains and
never destroy all life by flood. In verse 17, God emphasized that his covenant would
apply to all creatures forever.
Why then did God establish his covenant with
them?
They saw God’s judgment and were overwhelmed by
fear. But God wanted them to know that judgment was not his purpose but that he
wanted to bless them. God wanted them to increase in number and fill the earth again
without fear of flood.
This covenant was meaningful to us as well because
it was made for all people and creatures. This is called Noahic covenant. God
will not judge this world anymore by flood. We can see his promise even now.
[slide: rainbow after Sandy passed]
This reminds us of his promise. God is faithful
to his word and to those who believe him.
However, it
does not mean that God will not judge this world again. Sometimes, God judges
some people individually as he did to the people in Sodom and Gomorrah. But his
final judgment is yet to come. As we studied last week, the final and global
judgment will be made by fire, not by water.
[slide: 2 Pet
3:6-7]
“6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged
and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present
heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of
judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 3:6-7)
As God gave a grace period of 120 years to the people in Noah’s
times, God is giving this time of grace for us to respond to it. Earlier, we
learned about God’s common grace. We should enjoy it and be thankful for it.
However, we should not misuse God’s common grace. It is to cause us to turn to Him to receive
even greater grace, which is to enter eternal life through Jesus Christ. But if
you fail to turn back to God before his judgment comes during this time of
grace, you will face the horrible judgment and that is it.
There lived two farmers and they were friends. One was
a Christian and the other was not. One day the unbeliever sent his Christian
friend a letter. It read, “Friend, I don’t know God and Jesus. But everything
went well this year and I produced a crop, much better than you did. I can’t
believe God’s judgment.” And his Christian friend replied, “God does not judge you
by your crop this year, but he will do for sure at his time.” Do not think you
are ok because things are going well with you now. That is God’s grace for you
to recognize him as God and turn to him.
Conclusion
From the
last week, we have learned God’s judgment on the sinful world. His judgment is
real and sure for all sinful men. However, judgment is not his purpose per se. We
have also learned God’s grace. Sin and judgment and grace – this is a typical
pattern that has been repeated in the Bible.
[slide: sin,
judgment, grace]
Man commits
sins. And then God’s judgment is followed. And then God shows his mercy and
grace. However, this pattern does not go forever. It is cycled like a spiral, all
cycles moving over time toward the final point – his last judgment and his
kingdom.
Through his judgment
and grace we can learn who God is – the God of creation and power and love. When
we learn this, we cannot but honor him and worship him and then our broken relationship with him due to our sin is restored.
We are in the grace period, enjoying his common grace, especially Jesus Christ,
who is God’s greatest and last grace to all. But remember that this grace is available
only until Jesus comes again.
Do not procrastinate turning to God. It is too late when you see
his judgment on you. Do not make light
of his warnings. Humble yourself and fear him and honor him as God. That is why
God shows you grace and warning of judgment today.
Message by David Yun
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