When Noah was born his father Lamech said a remarkable thing : “ Out
of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one will bring us
relief (rest) from our work and from the painful toil of our hands (5:29). Clearly, there was an expectation associated with the birth of Noah. He
would bring relief or rest to this sin cursed world. But in which way?
Did Lamech really understand what he was saying prophetically about his son Noah? The next few
chapters tell the story of
Noah and of the way in which God created
relief and a rest for the world,
but not in the way in which would
have expected.
Let us review what has happened so
far. Ever since the fall in Genesis
3 there is trouble in the world. Adam’s disobedience has
horrific ramifications for the world. These are foretold in Genesis 3 and specifically in 3:15.
It is the story of two different kinds of people, emerging from the union of Adam and Eve. They are
respectively identified as the offspring
of the serpent and the offspring of the
woman. Cain, the prototype of the evil offspring kills
his own brother Abel, the prototype
of the godly offspring (Genesis 4). Cain
walks away from the presence of the Lord. By God’s grace a remnant is preserved through
the line of Seth, born to Adam and Eve after the murder of Abel. He becomes the father of a long line of faithful
men, a godly seed, mentioned in Genesis
5. These men are incidentally,
also part of the human genealogy of our Lord Jesus (Luke 4).
Then something tragic
happens in Genesis 6. The sons of God choose to disregard their godly heritage and they
choose to intermarry with the
daughters of man. We have previously seen that the sons of God are the descendants of the godly line of Seth,
while the daughters of man are descended
from the man, Cain. Again, we see that the results
are catastrophic (Gen.
6:5-7; 11-13). The whole world of
that day becomes an offense
to God … except Noah, born in the
line of the godly men found in Chapter 5. Of him it was said that
he had found grace in the eyes of the Lord (6:8).
The grace of God was seen in Noah’s life. He was a righteous man, blameless in
his generation. He walked with God (6:9)
All this forms the background to the story of Noah ,
which now becomes the focus of chapters 6
to 9. Remember now again
the first word about Noah : “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed,
this one will bring us relief (rest) from our work
and from the painful toil of our hands” (5:29). What sort of rest was his father Lamech speaking about
?
The story unfolds to become one of the most terrifying accounts of God's wrath in the Bible. The rest
that is spoken about here is
nothing less than a rest for the earth from the perpetual
wickedness of man. God is going to send
a flood that will rid the earth of everyone and everything, except Noah
and his family and the entire
range of
animals that were brought
aboard the ark. This is not a cute children’s story. This is a foretaste
of the final judgement! God is angry and He is determined to
give the world rest from mankind !
Which brings us to the purpose of
this biblical account.
The story of Noah is not primarily about a big
flood. It is not primarily about
a boat called “the Ark”. It is not
primarily about the Noah family and all the animals that came in ‘ two by two’. This is the
story of
God’s wrath and judgement upon the ungodly, creating a
time of rest for this good world that God has created. Any
presentation of this story without
this fact is a half- truth. In
this regard I am reminded of a famous
quote by the Reformed Anglican scholar
Jim Packer: “A half-truth treated
as the whole truth becomes a complete untruth”.[1] Preachers and Sunday school
teachers tend to abuse this story when
they focus on the
secondary matters instead of the crucial story line !
Children and adults must hear that
God is angry with sin. He hates wickedness.
Children and adults must hear
that God's patience does come to an end.
Children
and adults must hear that
God will judge unrepentant sinners. “God is a righteous Judge, and a
God who feels indignation every day[2].
If a man does not repent, God will whet
His sword…” (Psalm 7:11:12).
And then, children and adults must also hear
that in spite of everything we have heard , God does not surrender His
purpose in creating man. Even in judgment God does not abandon His plan to call out a people for Himself . His counsel
shall stand and He shall accomplish all His purpose: "But as truly as live…all the earth shall be filled with the glory
of the Lord" (Num. 14:21; Hab.
2:14). So, the
judgement of God is real and it will be terrible, but it will not be the last
word.
The last word is grace!
We have met that word before in Gen.
6:8 and now also in v.
18 and here that same word is called “covenant”.
Observe that both, verses 8 and 18 start with a great “BUT”
. There is man and there is God and that great BUT is always between them.
V.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.”
Noah was spared was because he found
favour / grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah
had experienced what the Old Testament calls the "circumcision of the heart" (Deut. 30:6) and what the New Testament
calls the “new birth” (Jn. 3:1-8 ; 1 Pet. 1:23). This points to the work of
God in the soul of man. This is
the grace of God that gives rise to
faith and repentance. Apart from the new birth and the faith
and repentance that follow, it may be said of all men and women and
children that "every intention of
the thoughts of their heart is only evil continually" (6:5). The doctrine of the total depravity of man is firmly established in the Bible , and
particularly in Romans 3. So the point is that
if God had not chosen to intervene
by grace and by a covenant, no
man would be live today.
The concept of covenant is found
throughout the Bible - thee Old
and the New Covenant (or Testament). The Bible in its essence is a book of
God’s covenants.
There
is the covenant between God and Adam (Gen. 2:16,17).
Here in our text we find the covenant between GOD and Noah. It will be dealt with more fully in Gen.
8:20-9:17.
God also made a covenant with
Abraham (Gen. 15), and with Moses and
Israel at Sinai (Ex. 19 -24).
There is the Davidic covenant (2 Sam
7), and then there is the New
Covenant of God in Christ which is
mediated by the Holy Spirit to every believer.
God deals
with us today by way of that blood of the eternal covenant[3].
The church is established by way of a covenant. Every true believer finds grace
in the eyes of the Lord by way of the
New Covenant.
Let us try to understand the nature and essence of the covenant .
Covenants were common features
in OT days. The essence of covenant
is a binding agreement between two parties. There were various types of covenant made between
people in terms of a business agreement,
an agreement between two nations, or in terms of a marriage agreement. Now God has chosen
to deal with fallen people by way of a covenant, and this covenant is
based on the same principles of contract, or a treaty, or a marriage commitment.
From God’s perspective the making
of a covenant is associated with
His steadfast love, a
term repeatedly found in
the Bible. Practically speaking this
means that God means what He says when He commits Himself to someone. From
God’s perspective a covenant is an unbreakable union. It is based on an oath, and in NT
terms such a covenant between God and man has been established by the shedding of blood of
Christ. God gives His Son by way of a sacrifice as an assurance that He
will not go back on His Word. Are
you now beginning to see how serious the concept of covenant is? Can you see
that it is important to be in the covenant of grace with
God? Without His covenant , without the
shedding of the blood of His Son , there
is no forgiveness of sins , and if there
is such a covenant between you and God then it is utterly inviolable.
The benefits of the divine
covenant come into operation the moment you become a Christian. Every true Christian
is in a new covenant with God through the blood of Jesus Christ, and so all the blessings of the
new covenant become mine when I receive God’s
grace.. Do you know what that means? It means that all your sins are pardoned. The righteousness of
Christ is imputed to you . You are adopted into the family of God.
I become a son/daughter of God and a a joint heir with Christ.
The covenant is the foundation for
our eternal security. The whole doctrine of the perseverance of the believer
rests in this fact that God has made a covenant with them. Nothing
will separate the believer from the love
of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom
8:39). Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord by way of God’s covenant, by which he and
his family would not perish in the
flood. This is a picture of what happens to the Christian. To be
in Christ (note the preposition) means for us what it meant for Noah
to be in the ark! Being in
covenant with God through and in Christ is our guarantee that we will not perish
but have everlasting life. This
testimony of Scripture about Noah
is therefore an illustration, an
example , an encouragement for you and
me . It helps us to understand on what
basis God deals with us. It shows us
that the nature of our salvation is grounded
in something very firm. It is a trustworthy and everlasting covenant
because it is rooted in God’s wonderful sovereign grace! Thank God for
that!
Now notice another significant
truth concerning the covenant. The initiator of this covenant is not Noah. It
is God ! Remember the context . The whole earth is in trouble with God. God is
determined to make an end of all flesh, for all
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God [4],
BUT then comes this surprising
word to Noah: “But I will
establish my covenant with you…”. In
His wrath God remembers mercy. (Hab.
3:2)
What is God’s decision based on? Sheer sovereign grace and mercy. There
has to be a reason why God can love us, and the reason is not found in
ourselves. Jesus is the reason. The
Father deeply loves His
Son, and therefore He loves all those that belong to the Son, those whom
He has purchased with His
blood. Thank God that the
covenant does depend on
my human responsiveness, but that it hangs on Christ’s covenantal love to me. Thank
God that He in Christ loves me first,
otherwise I would never have been able to love Him. (1 Jn. 4:19). So, God does not say, “Noah, because you are such a good man, I will
establish a covenant with you.” Noah does come from a line of godly men, but remember that they are
what they are by the grace of God!
In and of himself, Noah, like
all of us, is a weak man.
We shall yet discover the truth about Noah. Thank God
for the covenant love of God that while we were yet sinners Christ died
for us (Rom. 5:8).
There are certainly implications
and responsibilities for Noah in terms
of keeping the covenant. He has to build the ark. This demanded much
labour and much perseverance
and faith. Cutting all those
trees down, shaping the planks for the ark, was
an enormous task . And then has to get into the Ark with his
family. He has to get the animals into
the ark and he has to ensure that they have enough food. The
greater truth is that Noah can do this BECAUSE he
has received grace from God. The
apostle Paul says the same thing about
himself : ”By the grace of God I am what
I am …” (1 Cor. 15:10). So too for us this means that we must persevere
through many trying times when we have
to take
up our cross and deny ourselves and
follow Christ. But it also means that we can persevere because the grace of
God is able to make us persevere.
All this is possible because the grace of God is made manifest to us through
the Lord Jesus Christ by whose blood we have entered into the new covenant.
Have you found grace in the eyes
of the Lord?
Have you by grace been able to enter into God’s new covenant through the blood of Jesus?
Will you escape the coming wrath by being entering into your promised rest in Christ who is the ultimate ark of God?
Have you by grace been able to enter into God’s new covenant through the blood of Jesus?
Will you escape the coming wrath by being entering into your promised rest in Christ who is the ultimate ark of God?
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