Entire industries have been built on the premise that the
end of the world is upon us. Gold companies project financial meltdowns and
encourage people to prepare accordingly by purchasing precious metals. Food
storage companies describe natural disasters that leave grocery stores empty or
unavailable in order to sell freeze dryers. Still others sell emergency food
supplies or even food insurance in case the worst of the worst takes place. No
doubt, the success of these industries comes, in part, from marketing that
takes advantage of the palpable fear that pervades our culture. To be sure, as
we learned last week, our culture has every reason to fear, for human depravity
has taken over and, in many ways, escorted God off the premises of our schools,
razed Him from our social commentary, and banned Him from our government.
However, men and women are a special kind of arrogant if they believe they can
come to their own rescue.
In Noah’s day, things were even worse than they are now.
Because of terrible sin, God decided to send a watery apocalypse to the entire
planet. Humanity’s only hope for survival was Noah whom God had appointed for a
special task. Let us take a look at three components of his pre-flood
experience that prepared him for what was coming in Genesis 6:9-22. In this
passage we will learn that the only salvation available to the world comes from
God and this is demonstrated through His people.
1. The Man-6:9-10
The introduction in verse 9 begins with what is called the
Toledot (generations) of Noah’s family—“These are the records of the
generations of Noah” (6:9). The space given to Noah and his family comprises
the largest section of Genesis 1-11 for good reason—“Noah was a righteous man,
blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. Noah became the father of three
sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth…” (6:9).
These three phrases “righteous,” “blameless,” and “walked
with God,” indicate that Noah’s life was free from defect, complete, and
dependent on the Lord. Collectively, they describe a man who, because of God’s
favor in his life, lived in ways antithetical to those around him in his
desperately wicked milieu. In this
passage, much attention is given to Noah as his name is repeated time and time
again (three times in vv. 9-10, once in 13, and in v. 22). This highlights the
central role he would play in God’s program of judgment because of the positive
reaction he had to the grace of God in verse 8.
Noah, like many patriarchs in the Bible, had three
sons—“Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” Through these three men, the human population
would derive all of its characteristics following the flood. “Genesis looks to
these three descendants as the fountainhead of all peoples” (Matthews 359)
meaning that all of the genetic variety and moral potential witnessed today was
present in these three sons.
2. The Mess-6:11-12
Next, Genesis reminds the reader of the stain in need of
washing out—“Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was
filled with violence. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for
all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth,…” (6:11-12). Earlier, it was
revealed that “…the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and
that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
(6:5). The proliferation of the human race, in spite of all that God had
provided them for their benefit (marriage, the ability to reproduce, a time
table, great potential, etc.), had filled
the planet with sin and death—so much so that God’s holiness could stand it no
longer.
God has already said “I will blot out man
whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping
things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” However,
one family will escape this judgment and be given a mission unlike any other.
3. The
Mission-6:13-22
God makes Noah aware of His intentions in a troubling
forecast—“The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with
violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the
earth” (6:13). Here, in addition to telling Noah what He going to do, God
explains why he is going to do it.
Later, a restatement of God’s reason behind the mission
indicates the totality of what is coming—“Behold, I, even I am bringing the
flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of
life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish” (6:17).
Several important characteristics of this statement deserve special attention.
First, “Behold I, even I am bringing the flood of water…” (6:17a), indicates
that what is about to happen is personal. The same God who created the world
and all of its inhabitants, marking them with beauty and incredible potential,
would be the same One who would destroy it. The act of judgment that God
desired to carry out was, in other words, a taxing decision personally. Second,
“to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life” (6:17b) speaks directly
to the destruction of mankind as they are described in Genesis 2 as receiving
the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). Though destroying the world and the animals was
tragic in and of itself (see the last part of verse 17), the most grievous loss
for God was the loss of those who were made in His image—mankind. God had given
special attention to the creation of humans so that He could share an intimate
relationship with them. No doubt losing them was what troubled God most about
the forecast He gave.
However, mankind would be saved from total extinction if
Noah followed through on the mission at hand. Out of sheer grace, God appointed
Noah to his task so that mankind could be saved. To this end, God provides Noah
with specific instructions. The first of these involves his task: “make for
yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall
cover it inside and out with pitch” (6:14).
Noah’s ark would be the vessel through which humanity would
be saved, and this, no doubt, carried special meaning to the writer of this
account—Moses. The only other time “ark” is used outside of Genesis 6-9 is in
Exodus 2:3-5.
Exodus 2:3-5-“But when she could hide him no longer, she
got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put
the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. His
sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. The
daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking
alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid,
and she brought it to her.”
In both contexts, the ark was a vessel of salvation. For Noah, the
ark was salvation from the wrath of God for his family and, subsequently the
human race. For Moses, his ark was salvation from an oppressive Pharaoh for
himself and, eventually for the Hebrew slaves. Both “Noah and Moses are
delivered from the waters by the grace of God to introduce a new era in the
Lord’s work among his people” (Matthews, 363).
However, aside from the word used to describe these vessels
and the pitch applied to make them seaworthy, these two ark were considerably
different in their construction. “This is how you shall make it: the length of
the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty
cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the
top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with
lower, second, and third decks…” (6:15-16). Assuming a “cubit” is about
eighteen inches, Noah’s ark was over 450ft long, 75ft wide, and 45ft high. To
put this in perspective, this is 1.5 football fields in length, and as tall as
a 6 story building. Imagine building something of this scale in Noah’s day!
Though by today’s standards the ark is only half the length of a modern
aircraft carrier, Ken Ham’s ark in Kentucky that recently opened (true to the
biblical dimension found in these verses) is currently the largest wood frame structure in the world.
Of course, a wooden ship of this scale would not be complete
without a window, door, and multiple levels. No doubt this ark would have been
featured on an antediluvian version of “Modern Marvels.”
However, what is bigger even than the ark, is the covenant
that will be cut after its use—“but I will establish My covenant with you; and
you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives
with you…” (6:18). “Despite the vast destruction announced, God has a plan for
the deliverance of a remnant, which includes representative of all his
creatures” (Matthews, 366). It is here that God gives Noah the assurance that
both he and his family will survive this ordeal and be used mightily
afterwards.
The coming covenant might be compared to a grant given by
God to Noah who acts as the new representative of the human race. Just as Adam
lead the human race in the Garden of Eden, so too would Noah act as humanity’s
new representative in the postdiluvian world.
Acting as the leader of God’s greatest creation, Noah is entrusted
with the task of making sure a representative of each “kind” of creature is
included on the ark—“And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring
two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male
and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind,
and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground
after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive…”
(6:19-20). Now Noah could understand why it had to be so big.
However, was the ark big enough to house all of these
animals? The answer is “yes!” What is important to understand about the animals
on the ark is that each “kind” of animal was present, not every animal en toto. In other words, one “kind” of
horse with all of the genetic variation and potential necessary to yield all of
the breeds we know of today was present on the ark. One “kind” of dog, monkey, cow,
etc. had to be present on the ark—not every single variation on these animals
that we often see in the zoos or in our homes. A male and female from each kind
provided all of the genetic potential to yield the variety of animals we
observe in our world today, rendering the number of animals present on the ark more
manageable.
According to the Bible, the ark had three decks (floors). It
is not difficult to show that there was plenty of room for 16,000 animals,
assuming they required approximately the same floor space as animals in typical
farm enclosures and laboratories today. The vast majority of the creatures
(birds, reptiles, and mammals) are small. The largest animals were probably
only a few hundred pounds of body weight. It is still necessary to take account
of the floor spaces required by large animals, such as elephants, giraffes,
rhinos, and some dinosaurs. But even these, collectively, do not require a
large area. God would likely have sent to Noah young (and therefore small, but
not newborn) representatives of these kinds so that they would have a full
reproductive potential for life after the Flood to repopulate the earth. Even
the largest dinosaurs were relatively small when only a few years old (Answers
in Genesis).
Noah’s family and all of these creatures would also have to
bring plenty of supplies to keep them all alive –“as for you, take for yourself
some of all food which is edible and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for
food for you and for them” (6:21). While the logistics are largely unknown,
enough food and water made it onto to ark for the journey ahead of them.
Nothing like this had ever happened before. You are
destroying the earth? What is a flood? What is an ark? How big? Fill it with
what? These are questions I imagine Noah entertained in his mind.
However,
after being given the biggest mission imaginable and in spite of his ignorance
concerning a lot of the particulars “Thus Noah did; according to all that God
had commanded him, so he did” (6:22). With lightning reflexes, Noah set out to
do what God had instructed him. It didn’t matter how outrageous it was or how unprecedented
it seemed; Noah was obedient. Thanks goodness he was obedient for, the fate of
humanity depended on it.
So What?
Many might say that we are living in the days of Noah all
over again. Pervasive wickedness, corruption, and immorality stain our world in
much the same way that it did all those years ago. However, God’s method of
dealing with it has changed. We are his chosen ones—the men and women of our
generation—who have been called out for incredible purposes. We are the ones
who have been asked to confront the mess around us and demonstrate our
obedience to the Lord in the mission to which He has called us (that is to know
Christ, grow in Christ, and show Christ to others). More than gold, freeze
dryers, bottled water and emergency foods, the people of this world need what
we have to give—the message of salvation!
Many, to be sure, are not busying themselves with this
mission and instead are falling in line with everyone around them. Perhaps this
is because they question God’s choice—surely I can’t be used of God in any
meaningful way! He used Noah—an ordinary man made righteous by God’s grace just
like you! He used Moses’ mother—a Hebrew slave in Egypt! Others are anxious in
the face of the adversity around them saying—the mess is too big for me to make
any real difference anyway! God used one family in the Old Testament was used
to save an entire race and animal kingdom; He used one woman and a crudely made
basket to save God’s people from oppression; surely He can use you in amazing
ways as well! Still others might find
the mission too difficult to accomplish saying, I’m not sure how/what to do? God
provided all of the know-how and supplies necessary for Noah to build the most
impressive engineering feat of his day in spite of his lack of building/engineering
expertise, surely he will provide in your lack as well.
Be encouraged church! The hero of this story is not Noah and
the hero of your story will not be you. It is God—Holy, Omniscient, Omnipotent,
Omnipresent, etc. When He calls us to a work, He is not trusting in our strength or ability. He is simply
asking us to obey. Will you? Your world and the people in it, whether they
realize it or not, need what you have to give—the message of salvation from the
very real judgment that is coming.
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