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Here, we continue our study of Noah and the flood in Genesis.
7:17For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. 20The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. 21Every living thing that moved on the earth perished--birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
24The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
There are many reasons that it is worthwhile for us to study the flood and the times of the flood. First, Jesus told us that what characterized the times just before the flood will characterize the times just before His second coming: "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man" (Matt. 24:37). So, we would do well to ask, what characterized the "days of Noah"? It was a time of population growth, for it was when "men began to increase in number on the earth" (Gen. 6:1); it was a time when even the people of God chased after their own lusts, for "the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose" (Gen. 6:2); it was a time when the physically strong, not the spiritually strong, were the heroes, for the Nephilim "were the heroes of old, men of renown" (Gen. 6:4); it was a time when "the earth was corrupt" and "full of violence" (Gen. 6:11). Also, there were four groups of people in "the days of Noah": 1. There were those who perished before the flood; 2. There were those who perished in the flood; 3. There were those who were protected through the flood (Noah and his family); 4. There was one who was translated to heaven before the flood, namely Enoch. So also, in the time before the coming of Christ, there will be the same four groups of people: 1. There will be those who perish before the judgment of God; 2. There will be those who perish during the judgment of God; 3. There will be those who will be protected through the judgment (the so-called "tribulation saints"); 4. There will be those who will be translated to heaven before the judgment of God, when the church is raptured.
The second reason that it is worthwhile to study the flood is that it is an example of the judgment of God. The flood demonstrated that God is a righteous and a just God, who will not tolerate evil. The flood showed that God means what He says: He gave man 120 years to repent, they did not, so they were judged. This judgment tells us that God is true to His Word and He will, as He has said, judge the wicked in the end times. As Peter tells us: "[B]y God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (II Peter 3:5-7). Many people doubt that those who do not turn to Christ will be eternally judged, but God's Word is clear: "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15).
The third reason that it is worthwhile to study the flood is that Noah's deliverance is an example of God's salvation. In fact, the ark is typical of our salvation through Christ in many ways: the way of salvation was designed by God long before the judgment; it was revealed by God to Noah; Noah was saved because he fulfilled the requirements for salvation as given by God; the way of salvation provided a refuge from the judgment of God upon the world; the Lord "shut Noah in" to His salvation, a salvation that nothing or no one could take away.
As the rain fell, Noah was safely in the ark. The rest of the world, however, could only watch as "for forty days the flood kept coming on the earth."
And what did they do as the floodwaters grew?
Did they tritely speak of the weather?
Recognizing not the judgment of God,
Waters rising, ever and ever,
What did they do as the floodwaters grew?
And what did they do as the floodwaters grew?
Did they clamber en masse to the ark?
On reaching the door, did they rap, did they bore,
Crying fiercely in the rainclouded dark?
What did they do as the floodwaters grew?
And what did they do as the floodwaters grew?
Noah's preaching, did they recall?
On rememb'ring his words, did they turn to the Lord,
Then repenting in the rain's fall?
What did they do as the floodwaters grew?
And what did they do as the floodwaters grew?
Noah's preaching, did they revile?
On rememb'ring his words, did they curse at the Lord,
And continue in sin all the while,
Though smitten of God, as the Sodomites struck blind,
Pursuing their lusts for just one last time?
What did they do as the floodwaters grew?
Noah, however, as the floodwaters grew, could look back on all the work he did in obedience to God and realize that it was not for naught. He could look back at all the persecution that he suffered as he built the ark and count it not worth comparing to the glory of his salvation. He must have felt greatly honored to receive from God deliverance from a judgment that he, as a sinner, deserved also. As the rain fell, he possibly pondered God's mercy on him, asking, "Who am I, that I should be saved?" We can ask the same thing.
The flood was complete; God's judgment was complete. The waters "rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered...Every living thing that moved on the earth perished." It is hard for us to conceive how such a great amount of water came to cover the earth. The flood is a mystery. The flood was truly an "act of God", mere natural means cannot sufficiently explain it. However, just because we cannot fully explain the flood does not mean that it did not happen. Suffice it to say, God is God; He sent the flood.
Miraculous as the flood itself was, Noah's deliverance, on the contrary, was accomplished largely by natural means. Yes, God spoke to Noah and told him how to build the ark, but Noah, through hard work and following the guidance of God, built the ark himself. Noah entered the ark, remained in the ark through the flood, and the ark naturally floated on the floodwaters. Though God could have preserved Noah in more miraculous ways (say, by causing Noah and his family to hover above the waters or some such thing), God chose to use relatively natural means to rescue Noah. And so, though not limited to them, God usually uses natural means when He works in our lives. He heals through medicine; He guides through the godly counsel of our brothers; He delivers through our perseverence. Now, if we could choose, we would prefer that God work in our lives through miracles because that would mean less work for us. But through our work, we display our obedience to God; and our faith is strengthened as we see God work through us, rather than just around us.
8:1But 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. 2Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. 3The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, 4and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.
6After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 7and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 9But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. 10He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. 12He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.
Here Moses tells us that "God remembered Noah". It is not that God, all of a sudden, thought, "Oh! That's right! Noah's down there in the ark!" This passage is written from a human perspective. What is meant here is that Noah again could see the direct hand of God working in the situation. Noah again saw direct evidence that God was in control of the floodwaters. Noah again realized that God was concerned about him personally.[Footnote #1] At times, we forget that God is still with us when we do not see direct evidence of His work in our lives. We lose heart so easily when we do not see miracles pave our way and we think that we our totally on our own. We forget that "God has said, `Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'" (Heb. 13:5).
Now, God not only "remembered" Noah, but also "all the wild animals and the livestock" in the ark. God cares for and provides daily for all His creation, not just man. Christ Himself told us that our "Heavenly Father feeds" the birds of the air (Matt. 6:26), God "clothes the grass of the field" with lilies (Matt. 6:30), and not even one sparrow falls to ground apart from His will (Matt. 10:29). The point of what Christ was saying is that if God cares for these things, He will certainly, as our Heavenly Father, care for us who have been made in His image.
The evidence of God's remembrance of Noah was that He "sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded." God sent the flood and later God sent a wind to cause the floodwaters to recede. Again, God used natural means to cause the waters to recede. Rather than snapping His fingers and causing the waters to disappear immediately, God sent the wind and waters receded slowly. After a hundred and fifty days, the waters had receded enough so that the ark could no longer clear the mountains of Ararat.
"On the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat." This detail, the naming of the exact date the ark came to rest, is significant. First, it underscores the fact that the flood was a historical event that ended on a specific day in history. Second, by God's design, the calendar day that the ark came to rest, "the seventeenth day of the seventh month", was the very same day that Christ rose from the dead.[Footnote #2] Noah's salvation was assured and made complete the same calendar day that our salvation was assured and made complete, the day that Christ rose from the dead. To me, this is striking evidence that God has a plan for and control over all history.
The recession of the water occurred slowly. The tops of the mountains of Ararat became visible about two-and-a-half months after the ark came to rest (presumably, the mountaintop where the ark rested was still a bit under the water when the ark rested there). Finally, "after forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark" in order to survey the situation. To do so, he "sent out a raven". The raven never returned into the ark. Being a scavenger, the raven no doubt found plenty of dead carcasses to feast upon. Quite possibly, Noah purposely sent the raven in order to get a feel for how many undecayed carcasses were floating around and lying around. The fact that the raven did not return demonstrated to Noah that there were enough carcasses to sustain it.
So, Noah waited seven more days. This time he sent out a dove. Doves do not light upon carcasses; they only light upon dry ground. By sending the dove, Noah could determine to what extent the ground was dry. The dove at first returned. After seven more days, he sent it out again and the dove returned with an olive branch. The olive branch was a sign to Noah that the waters were continually receding; it was a sign to him the creation was at peace once again with God. It is appropriate then that the image of a dove with an olive branch is a universal symbol of peace. The next time Noah sent out the dove, it did not return, implying that the land was well on its way to drying up.
This episode demonstrates the patience of Noah, waiting for a clear sign from God telling him that he may leave the ark and return to the world. We see no impatience on Noah's part, no pleading with God to miraculously dry up the land, no frustration with being cooped up in the ark a while longer. Instead we see a patient man waiting on the Lord. As we will see in the next chapter, even after the dove did not return, Noah still did not leave the ark until God clearly told him to do so. We should all take heed of such patience; we could do well by exhibiting the same sort of patience, waiting for the clear guidance of the Lord.
So, Father, by Your Spirit, gives us this same patience, so that we would wait on Your guidance, as Noah did. We thank You that You remember us and work directly in our lives. We thank You that You work in our lives through us in natural ways. Help us to recognize Your work in our lives and to give You the glory for the great things that You do through us. Continue to use us for Your service. In Jesus' name, we ask these things, Amen.
Footnotes:
1. The same phrase, "God remembered", is also used in Gen. 19:29, Gen. 30:22, Ex. 2:24, I Sam. 1:19 and Luke 1:72. In each case, it accompanies a description of a direct act of God in someone's life that gives proof to that person that God is directly concerned about them.
2. The seventh month of the Hebrew civil calendar was originally Nisan, so Noah's ark came to rest on the seventeenth day of Nisan. At the time of the first Passover, the Lord changed Nisan to be the first month of the calendar year (see Ex. 12:2). The Passover takes place on the fourteenth of Nisan (see Lev. 23:5). Christ rose from the dead three days after the Passover, which was also the seventeenth of Nisan.
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