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Created Through Him

Fountains of the great deep

9/30/2013

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7:11-12).

There were several sources of water during the flood. Rain was only one source of water. Water also came up from the ground. There were likely massive tectonic plate movements and upheavals of land. At the time of the flood there was likely one continent. But this was to be altered forever. The landscape of the earth was changed immensely as a result of the global deluge and the amount of water and destruction is impossible to fully quantify.

The 600 hundredth year of Noah

9/29/2013

6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. 7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, 9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth (Genesis 7:6-10).

The flood came quickly. Noah, his family and all the creatures God saved were in the ark for a week prior to the floods coming. I am sure all people that were aware of what Noah’s was doing were skeptical and likely thought Noah was crazy. That feeling would not have lasted long and as the flood waters rose there must have been a sense of doom and regret. But God, through Noah, had been warning the world for a very long time. After all Noah was 600 years old before the flood came.

Righteous in his generation

9/28/2013

1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. 4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. 5 And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him (Genesis 7:1-5).

God had promised to save Noah and his family due to Noah’s righteousness. God directed Noah on what to do and expect, and warned him of both the timing and the extent of the flood. It doesn’t appear like Noah questioned God but just simply obeyed. It would be difficult to imagine Noah not being conflicted by the knowledge of the coming disaster. And yet also likely that he had tried to warn people for many years to turn towards God. Noah was probably righteous for this exact reason, he probably spent his life worshipping God and trying to convince others to do the same.

Covenant with Noah

9/27/2013

17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. 22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he (Genesis 6:17-22).

God made a covenant with Noah. The covenant would result in the saving of some from very kind of creature. Noah’s part of the covenant was to obey God. The covenants of God involve both promises and conditions (unconditional can be the condition). So it is really God that institutes, ratifies and fulfills the covenant. The result of the fulfillment of the covenant is always a matter of the restoration of the proper relationship to God.

The Ark

9/26/2013

14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it (Genesis 6:14-16).

God gave Noah specific instructions for building the Ark including dimensions. The dimensions were important to God since God knew He needed to provide room for all creatures that He would spare. The exact length of a cubit is not known but based on reasonable assumptions and indicators it is around 20 inches. If this is so, the Ark was around 500 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 50 feet high. The Ark had a lot of room in it and rivaled the size of many of our largest ships, but without many people. So there seems to have been room for many other creatures.

And God said to Noah

9/25/2013

11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth (Genesis 6:11-13).

God is making it clear to Noah that He intends to bring judgment on earth. The judgment is a result of Man’s disobedience. The judgment this time though is death. This is in contrast to the Fall in Genesis 3 where Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden due to sin. The God that created all was now to the point of destroying most of His creation because of the rampant sin of Mankind. This should cause us to pause and consider the justice of God. God is holy and His justice proceeds from this holiness.

Noah walked with God

9/24/2013

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Genesis 6:9-10).

Noah was a just man. The time that he lived during was very corrupt. And yet somehow Noah was not corrupted. Noah’s children would become the ancestors of all humanity. Noah’s life would be a shadow and representation of a yet future hope. It is through the faithfulness of one man that we have life.

Noah found grace

9/23/2013

7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:7-8).

God always has a chosen faithful remnant. Even in the midst of judgment, God saves His people. Or really, God’s people do not suffer His judgment. As Jonathon Edwards pointed out it is a fearful thing to be in the hands of an angry God. But God is just and His judgments are righteous. This last point is difficult for us to comprehend. God though by definition and His very nature does what is right. Therefore God’s judgment and salvation are both perfect. Perfect to the God that created all, and therefore perfect in all.

God was grieved

9/22/2013

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart (Genesis 6:4-6).

These are difficult verses to read and understand. However, suffice it to say that during this time mankind had totally rebelled against God. God was grieved. Clearly too circumstances were not what God wanted for His people. The earth was going the way of Man instead of the way of God. While God at times allows this it is not allowed forever as we shall soon see.

Consequences

9/21/2013

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years (Genesis 6:1-3).

There is much controversy over the meaning of these verses. There are those that say that fallen angels reproduced with humans. However, personally, I think these verses mean that there were those for the holy line of Seth that intermarried with those outside the line. However, regardless of the exact meaning, God was not pleased with the situation and as a result life spans greatly decreased. Therefore with life span after the Flood was significantly less that the pre-flood era. There are always consequences for actions that are not approved by God.

Created Through Him