Genesis Chapter 7 introduces us to the subject
of the worldwide
flood. It would be infinitely worse than the
ten deadliest natural disasters since 1900:[1]
All these were terrible disasters, but all of them were confined to a certain location and none of them wiped out an entire race. But the Flood was not simply a natural disaster. It was a supernatural judgment. It was an act of God (Gen. 6: 13). The Flood can also not be explained in terms of a scientific explanation. It was a sovereign act of God.
Rank
|
Death
toll (estimate)
|
Event
|
Location
|
Date
|
1.
|
1,000,000–4,000,000
|
July 1931
|
||
2.
|
450,000
(242,000–655,000)
|
July 1976
|
||
3.
|
375,000
(250,000–500,000)
|
November
1970
|
||
4.
|
280,000
|
December
26, 2004
|
||
5.
|
273,400
|
December
1920
|
||
6.
|
229,000
|
August 7,
1975
|
||
7.
|
January 12,
2010
|
|||
8.
|
145,000
|
1935
|
||
9.
|
143,000
|
September
1923
|
||
10.
|
138,866
|
April 1991
|
That is the way the Bible puts
in in Genesis and that is the way men
like the apostle Peter also understood it when he wrote in 2
Peter 3: 4-7:
[4] They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since
the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the
beginning of creation.” [5] For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the
heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through
water by the word of God, [6] and that by means of these the world that then
existed was deluged with water and perished. [7] But by the same word the
heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day
of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
So let us see what
happens now as we turn to Genesis 7:1-16.
The ark is now completed after
many years of labour, and at this point in time it is still 7 days before the great flood
judgement shall begin. There
appeared to be no sense of alarm
at all in the world of Noah’s
day, as
Jesus also reminded us :
“For as in those days before the flood they were
eating and drinking , marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were
unaware until the flood came and swept them all away…” ( Matt.
24 :38,39)
7:1 : Go into the Ark! The only man that will listen to the voice and word of God
is Noah, a true son of Seth, a true son
of the godly seed – a righteous man. Noah
walked with God! He and his family were now commanded to enter the ark. It is wonderful to see the blessings and effects of the covenant of God upon Noah and his family. It is a privilege to have family heads that walk with God. Their children
receive blessings from their associations with godly parents. Israel
was blessed both for Abraham’s
and for David’s sake. We need to remember
however, that such blessings
while they are substantial, they are conditional , and it is important that every family member of godly parents must
also choose to walk in the footsteps
of their godly parents in order to
make their calling and election sure , and that they may escape the ultimate judgement at the coming of Christ.
The ark itself would be a place of refuge, safety and protection for
the 8 people and many animals that would populate the earth after the flood. The ark
was God’s idea and God’s design.
Noah believed God and Noah
obeyed God . Please note
that biblical faith is not mere lip service. It always goes hand in hand
with believing God by obeying His commands.
7: 2,3 “ Take with you 7 pairs
of all clean animals”. In Gen.6:19 we saw that
all kinds of living things (birds, animals, insects) in pairs, were selected
to come into the ark. Here in Ch.
7 specific mention is made of the clean animals and
birds ( 7 pairs) that had to be
taken into the ark , since they were
needed as livestock - food for their future
and also as animal
sacrifices (see 8:20)
7:4 For in
seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights : God’s
judgement is announced . Rain
for forty days and forty nights. The
number "forty" is often
used in Scripture . Moses was on the mountain 40 days and nights (Ex.
24:18) . Israel would wander in the
desert for forty years (Num. 14:33)
; Elijah fled to
Mt Sinai, a journey which took him 40 days and nights (1Ki.19:8); Jesus
fasted 40 days and nights, being
tempted of the devil (Matt. 4:2);
Jesus after His resurrection presented Himself
to His disciples for 40 days ( Acts
1:3) , after which He ascended to
heaven.
The commentator H.C. Leupoldt says, “ …according to the scriptural use of numbers, forty regularly describes a period of trial terminating in the victory of good and the overthrow of evil “ [2]. So we see then that the rule of evil on earth is terminated by this 40 day judgement, so that the earth can have a rest ( Gen. 5:29) and thus a new start. Thus God will ‘blot out‘ every living thing (kol yeyûm lit. everything that stands up) his creation.
The commentator H.C. Leupoldt says, “ …according to the scriptural use of numbers, forty regularly describes a period of trial terminating in the victory of good and the overthrow of evil “ [2]. So we see then that the rule of evil on earth is terminated by this 40 day judgement, so that the earth can have a rest ( Gen. 5:29) and thus a new start. Thus God will ‘blot out‘ every living thing (kol yeyûm lit. everything that stands up) his creation.
7: 5 -9 And Noah did all
that the Lord commanded him. Noah consistently obeys God and verses 7-9 are a proof of that obedience. Noah
was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. This was the moment when
the entire human race vanished and when Noah became the new head of the human race, facing the renewed challenge to raise a
family in a fallen world. It is
absolutely tragic that of all the
families of the earth only Noah and his family would listen.
This is actually a very disturbing thought and it is a matter that was addressed by Jesus in Luke 13: 22-30 . The question is asked there : “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” Jesus does not answer “yes” or “no”, but typically throws the ball back into the court of the enquirer. “Strive to enter the narrow door!” And then He says this : “For many, I will tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying : ‘Lord open to us’, then he will answer you, ‘ I do not know where you come from.’” So it was in the days of Noah. There weren’t many arks standing by in readiness for the flood, to be entered whenever people finally began to understand what was happening. There was only one ark with one door that had to be entered by faith before the fact happened – and believing that fact, because God had said so! This was the only place of deliverance from the judgement to come, and as such it foreshadows the salvation that our Lord Jesus Christ brought to this world. He is our only ark by which we can be saved. We are therefor called, to enter into Christ. That is why the apostle Paul frequently uses that phrase “in Christ”. "There is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Just as Noah and his family entered the ark by the door, so Jesus is the door of the sheep (John 10:7)
This is actually a very disturbing thought and it is a matter that was addressed by Jesus in Luke 13: 22-30 . The question is asked there : “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” Jesus does not answer “yes” or “no”, but typically throws the ball back into the court of the enquirer. “Strive to enter the narrow door!” And then He says this : “For many, I will tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying : ‘Lord open to us’, then he will answer you, ‘ I do not know where you come from.’” So it was in the days of Noah. There weren’t many arks standing by in readiness for the flood, to be entered whenever people finally began to understand what was happening. There was only one ark with one door that had to be entered by faith before the fact happened – and believing that fact, because God had said so! This was the only place of deliverance from the judgement to come, and as such it foreshadows the salvation that our Lord Jesus Christ brought to this world. He is our only ark by which we can be saved. We are therefor called, to enter into Christ. That is why the apostle Paul frequently uses that phrase “in Christ”. "There is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Just as Noah and his family entered the ark by the door, so Jesus is the door of the sheep (John 10:7)
7:11,12:
The source of the waters of the
flood was twofold. (i) subterranean water, “the fountains of the great deep
burst forth” and (ii) rain:
“And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty
nights.” I am not a scientist, but I
am very interested in science, and
I believe that there is indeed plentiful scientific evidence for a universal flood.
I believe in a literal global flood because the Bible says so.
7:13-16 :
A solemn repetition.
7: 16 : “And the
Lord shut Noah in...” Everything was
done as God had said, and so God shut the door . The metaphor of the open and shut door
is very common in the Scripture. We had just considered one such instance
in Luke 13:22-30. The other prominent parable is the one of the 10 virgins in Matthew
25:1-13. Ten women were on their way to a wedding. 5 of them were
called foolish because they failed to bring
oil for their lamps. They were entirely
unprepared for the bridegroom’s
coming. Suddenly he had
arrived in the dark, but only half of
them had lamps to light up the scene and to
welcome him. The
others finally woke up to the
fact that they needed oil to
welcome the bridegroom and in so
doing they went away from that scene to buy lamp
oil, and the point is that they missed
out on that great wedding! Please
note, that they were invited, as indeed all people
are invited by that general
gospel invitation, but because
they are not
truly anticipating the Great
Bridegroom they fail to enter through that door. But it is
too late. It is closed! The people
of Noah’s day were being
confronted with the facts . They had seen
the ark being built. They had heard
Noah, a preacher of righteousness (2
Peter 2:5) telling them about what
God was going to do. They
might have seen the animals being
brought into the ark.
Then it began to rain,
and subterranean fountains opened
up, as
huge seismological events took
place. Water, water everywhere and constantly rising , covering mountain tops,
and now… God had shut the door.
The words of Christ haunt us , as
we remember that subsequent to the shutting of the door there
is no further opening. “I
do not know where you come from.” (Lk.
13:27)
So what do we learn
from all this?
1. Take the Bible very seriously! God has announced that there will be a time of
judgement. Read the prophets. Read the
gospels in particular. Read Matthew 24
&25. Read Mark 13. Read Luke 20 &21. Read the Revelation of John. Ultimately your response to the
Word of God, the Bible, the Words of Jesus
NOW will tell
you where you stand. Be very careful that you are not like the five foolish
virgins who remind us that we may be
there , we may be religious, but we are not ready and prepared for the coming of Jesus. How do
you know that you di in fact anticipate the coming of Christ and
the great Judgement?
·
The
Beatitudes in Matthew 5: 2-12 are a great checklist.
·
In
fact, the whole sermon on the Mount
provides a valuable checklist. Is your life salt and light? (Matt.
5:13-16) Where are your real
treasures? (Matt. 6:19-24)
2. Respond to the call of Christ
today : Christ is your ark
!
Today the door to the ark of salvation is open. God said to Noah, “Come. . . into the ark” (Gen. 7:1). Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt.
11:28). In the book of Revelation we
read : “The Spirit and the bride say,
‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come;
and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Rev. 22:17). Today , if you hear His voice do
not harden your hearts (Hebr.
3:7,8 ; 15; 4:7).
3. You have been warned! The day of the Lord will come like a thief ( 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Pet 3:10 ; Rev. 16: 15
). Be continually prepared.
Amen
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