Series Introduction:

Two weeks ago, before we took a break for Mother's Day, we learned about the children of Adam and Eve. When Cain and Able brought offerings to the Lord, Able's offered the best of his livestock with a heart of worship. Meanwhile, Cain gave less than his best and did not do so in faith. As a result, God accepted Able's offering while rejecting Cain's offering. God warned Cain not to let his anger consume him, but Cain did not repent or listen to God. Cain slew his brother and was driven even further from Eden to a place called Nod, where he started a family of his own. Adam and Eve then had a third son named Seth, who would be the son whose lineage would carry God's promise of one day sending a savior to break the curse of sin. 

For the sake of time, I will not preach the chapters dealing with genealogies, but those chapters are important. They not only give us an understanding of how much time has passed but also remind us how God has been faithful throughout the generations. For the sake of this sermon, you need to know that the descendants of Cain and Seth multiplied greatly. Those who came from the line of Cain were great hunters and were gifted in primitive technology, but they were also violent and exceedingly wicked. Meanwhile, the descendants of Seth were a more righteous people who walked with the Lord and gave him the worship He was due. 

Unfortunately, the godly lineage of Seth became jeopardized when "the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose" (Genesis 6:2, ESV). These marriages produced mighty Nephilim children, who were powerful men but risked jeopardizing God's promises. There are different opinions about how to understand this passage best. Some think "the sons of God" refer to angels. Some verses use the phrase "sons of God" to refer to heavenly beings. The problem with this interpretation is that Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:30 that Angels do not marry, nor are they given in marriage. The information in God's Word regarding Angels is limited, but it seems that Angels are not born, do not marry, and do not die. In my opinion, it is more likely that the "Sons of God" refers to Seth's righteous descendants, while the "daughters of man" refers to women who are descendants of Cain. Early Christians commonly held this interpretation, and I believe it to be the most problem-free. Marrying between these family lines could have diluted the proper way of worship, just like how Israelites marrying pagans was a recurring problem later in the Old Testament.

Regardless of one's interpretation, the point of the passage is that individuals who lived lives of violence and sin began to outnumber those who followed God with faith. From a human perspective, it may have seemed like sin was prevailing and God's promises were at risk. However, we can take comfort in knowing that God's promises always come true and God always preserves a faithful remnant, even during the bleakest times. Today's passage serves as a clear demonstration of this truth.

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 6:5-7:12 ESV - The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man, and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark is 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 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. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them." Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Then the Lord said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground." And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

Opening Prayer: 

Father God, we come before you today with humble hearts, seeking your guidance and wisdom as we delve into your Word. As we explore Noah's story, we confront the reality of humanity's inclination towards sin and the consequent sorrow it brings to God's heart. But in this darkness, we also see your grace and mercy shining through. Remind us of your faithfulness, provision, and promise of a new beginning. May your Word penetrate the depths of our being, transforming us from the inside out and equipping us to live lives that bring glory to your name. We pray all these things in your son's precious and holy name. Amen.

Holy God and Wicked Humanity

Our passage this morning begins in Genesis 6:5, where we read: 

"The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." - Genesis 6:5, ESV.

This verse is the opposite of what God said at the world's creation: "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31, ESV). For thousands of years, God patiently watched as his "very good" creation became exceedingly wicked. As we saw with Adam and Cain, God desires repentance and restoration over judgment and destruction. Sadly early men often mistake God's patience for apathy, and as a result, they dive deeper and deeper into sin. A few verses down, this point is restated:

"Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth." - Genesis 6:11-12, ESV. 

I am an optimistic person by nature, but even I can see that our culture has been in a state of moral decline for some time now. Even so, the wickedness of our time does not compare to the sin of the days of Noah. We read that "every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5, ESV). When scripture describes something as evil, it is working against God's good and perfect will. Here we see that man's thoughts, intentions, and very heart were set against God and were against God continually. 

"... in the years given to them for repentance, they had increased their sins… evil extended and spread throughout both those tribes… for their sins were not committed only occasionally, but their sins were incessant. Night and day they would not desist from their wicked thoughts." - Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on Genesis. 

In the next verse, we read:

"And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart." - Genesis 6:6, ESV.

Some older translations might say, "The Lord repented," but I think this translation is unfortunate. It implies that God made a mistake in creating human beings, but as we read in the book of Numbers, 

"God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?" - Numbers 23:19, ESV.

God does not change His mind and is not swayed by passions, as if we could catch God in a good or bad mood. No, God is eternally consistent. Scripture uses human emotions to describe God because otherwise, we could not comprehend God's actions or relate to him. Still, we must never forget that God's Word tells us, 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV. 

Although God's feelings towards His creation may change, when scripture portrays God as experiencing regret, anger, joy, or sorrow, it does not imply that God has changed. Instead, it is our relationship with God that has changed.

Reading that God "repented" or "regretted" shows how deeply humanity had rejected God. The Hebrew word is the same word used by the prophet Isaiah to describe the feeling of an abandoned spouse, 

"For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God." - Isaiah 54:6, ESV. 

Our sin separates us from God, so our relationship with God becomes one of sorrow rather than joy. Rather than Holy God delighting in us, our wickedness stirs His justice, often personified as "wrath" or "anger."

"So the Lord said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man, and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." - Genesis 6:7-8, ESV.

When the Lord says, "I will blot out man whom I have created," he uses a phrase often used in scripture, which carries this idea of being erased from the record, not to be remembered. Here, scripture uses this phrase to say that God will erase this generation from the earth. He will wipe the slate clean and start again. 

Later, the New Testament authors will use this same idea to show what happens to the sins of those who repent and come to Jesus for forgiveness: 

"Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago." - Acts 3:19-21, ESV.

Just as God washed away the sinful generation of Noah's day to begin a new creation, so does God wash away our sins and make us new creations when we turn from our sins and receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord. 

A Righteous Man in a Sinful Generation

While the outlook for Noah's generation was bleak, we catch a glimpse of hope in Genesis 6:8-10. 

"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth." - Genesis 6:8-10, ESV. 

Scripture tells us very little about Noah, but what it does tell us speaks volumes. God's Word tells us that Noah was "a righteous man." When asked to explain righteousness, I usually oversimplify the concept and say, "Righteousness is right-ness." Essentially, it is the opposite of the "wickedness" that describes Noah's generation. The prophet Ezekiel would later define a righteous man as one who "does what is just and right" (Ezekiel 18:5, ESV), one who does not worship idols or pursue women that are not his wife (Ezekiel 18:6, ESV), one who "does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully" (Ezekiel 18:7-9, ESV). Noah was a righteous man in a world without godly men. 

Scripture also tells us that Noah was "blameless in his generation." If you have an older translation, it may say Noah was "perfect in his generation." Some people confuse this passage as saying Noah was without sin, but that is untrue. The word "blameless" or "perfect" here does not mean "sinless." It more accurately translates as "wholeness" or "completeness." The idea is to be fully mature in your walk with God; you are doing all that a person can do to love God and to walk in his ways. For this reason, Noah "found favor in the eyes of the Lord." 

Noah was a righteous, blameless man and walked with God in a time when everything and everyone was moving in the opposite direction. Our age is not as dark as the age of Noah, but I do sense an increasing presence of voices and pressures that will seek to pull you away from living righteously and blamelessly. These voices will try to lure you away from your walk with God. These voices are powerful and compelling, and I have seen far too many people lead away from the faith because they found it was easier to go with the flow and join the crowd than to reject the world and walk with God. 

"By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." - Hebrews 11:7, ESV. 

Noah serves as a reminder that, as Christians, we must stay steadfast in the truth, even if the world is against us. Despite ridicule, we should hold onto our faith in God. We must remain resolute, even if the world attempts to shame us for doing so. Above all, we should trust that God is working, even if circumstances do not align with our expectations. 

An Ark of Salvation

In verses eleven through twenty-two, we see God's instructions for Noah. 

"And God said to Noah, 'I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.'" - Genesis 6:13-14, ESV.

God gives Noah the dimensions of the ark, which in modern measurements would make the ark roughly 510 feet long, or nearly one and a half football fields in length. The height of the ark was approximately the height of a four-story house. This ark was a massive project that took decades to build, yet Noah undertook the task without question. 

I will be the first to admit that I can be impatient. I want to see results, and I can be discouraged when things take a long time. Unfortunately, most good things in ministry and the Christian life generally take a long time. We want to think that we can build a godly life overnight, but, like building the ark, it takes time. If we grow in our walk with God, and especially if we want to make disciples like we are commanded to do, it will require us to show up and put in the work day after day. It will take patience, courage, and a lot of faith, but I guarantee that if you do not lose heart and keep at it, you will be amazed at what God will accomplish through you. 

Noah's unwavering faith during the years he spent constructing the ark can be attributed to his lifelong commitment to walking with God and following His teachings. Like all faithful individuals, Noah understood that God's promises were always trustworthy. When God said, "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" (Genesis 6:13, ESV), Noah believed and "he did all that God commanded him." (Genesis 6:13-22, ESV). 

Conclusion: 

As we begin to draw our sermon to a close, I want to draw some parallels between Noah's reality and the reality that we live in today. Jesus himself tells us that there will be a day of judgment in which God will sweep away the wicked, like in the days of Noah: 

"But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 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, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." - Matthew 24:36-39, ESV.

Noah's ark served as a vessel of deliverance for Noah, his family, and many animals. Similarly, Jesus Christ is the ultimate Ark of Salvation, offering deliverance and eternal life to all who believe in Him. Just as the ark rescued a remnant from destruction brought about by human sin, so too does Christ's sacrifice on the cross provide salvation and deliverance from the consequences of our sins today. The apostle Peter affirms this when he declares: 

 "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, ESV.

This morning, I hope that each of us has entered the salvation Christ offers us. If you have not done so, I bet you to come in while the door is open and salvation is available to you. The alternative is to die in sin and to be eternally separted from the love of God in a place called hell. We do not know when Christ will return to judge the living and the dead, but we know that every moment that passes brings us closer to that day. Do no gamble on eternity.

As Christians, we are grateful for God's patience, as Peter reminds us:

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9, ESV

Still, we know that even the patience of God will not last forever. If anyone listening is unsure of their relationship with God, please feel free to speak with me. I am here to help you understand what it means to walk with God in faith and introduce you to my savior. Let me show you the amazing saving grace of God. 

Closing Prayer:  

Father God, as we conclude this sermon, we are reminded of Your righteous judgment upon sin and the consequences it brings. Yet, amid Your judgment, we are grateful for Your mercy and redemption. Just as You provided a way of escape for Noah and his family, You have given us Jesus Christ as the ultimate Ark of safety and refuge. We find forgiveness, salvation, and the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ. May we be people who live in righteousness, continuously seeking to align our lives with Your will. May we be diligent in our preparation, always ready for the return of Christ, knowing that You have promised to gather us into Your eternal presence. Empower us to share the good news of salvation with others. May we walk in the assurance of Your salvation, and may Your love compel us to live lives that honor and glorify You. In the name of Jesus, who is our Ark of safety and our Savior, we pray. Amen.