September 23, 2002
LifeWay Family Bible Series for Oct. 6
God sent the flood but also provided a lifeline
___ Genesis 9:117
___By Rick Willis
___First Baptist Church, Roscoe
___How many nurseries are decorated with animals, an ark and a man named Noah? Noah's story falls into that category of Bible accounts that many people recognize, even if they have never read the Bible. It has been reproduced in tons of pictures, books, movies and even comedy routines.
___In one sense, the real story is not suitable for children; it is violently harsh. In another sense, the real story offers hope for everyone.
___In a world that exposes children to harsh and catastrophic events, the Noah story belongs. When the atmosphere fills with doubts about the meaning and value of life, the assurance of God's covenant grace offers real encouragement for those who trust God for life. Using very human picture language for God, the story of Noah assures us God moves us through the storm to the promise.
___God throws out a lifeline
___God's people put their faith in God's promise to maintain life and stability. Old Testament Israel's history included moral and political upheaval, slavery, civil war, invasion, devastation and exile. One of the ways they found hope and purpose amid chaos and wrong was through their trust in God's control of all creation. They knew the story of God's explicit covenant mercy revealed to Noah.
___The world was once subject to near total rejection by God. Genesis 6:57 laments that human depravity saturated the earth and God grieved he had created humanity. Even animal life was bound up in the curse of human sin and rebellion. God determined to wipe out "men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground and birds of the air" (6:7).
___God took the initiative to preserve life. Rather than annihilate every living thing, God chose Noah and his family to convey a fresh start to creation. While God plunged the earth back into the waters and darkness that prevailed before he gave order and life to the world, Noah and company were safe in the ark God instructed him to build. After the waters subsided, Noah's family and the animals that had been saved came off the ark.
___After Noah made a thank offering, God formalized the covenant he had promised to make with Noah's household before the flood (Genesis 6:18).
___God makes a solemn promise
___The word "covenant" means a solemn, binding agreement. The word today would be used for a contract, a treaty, a constitution, an alliance, a partnership, a marriage vow or another similar agreement.
___Like any of these examples, a covenant is only as good as the integrity of the party who makes it. There's nothing magic about it. Covenant relationships were as common in Old Testament times as such compacts are today. God used a familiar arrangement to communicate his purpose to Noah.
___God's covenant to Noah's family was universal in scope. It embraced Noah's family and "all those that came out of the ark with you--every living creature on Earth" (Genesis 9:910).
___The substance of the covenant was that God would never repeat the eradication of the creatures with a flood (9:11, 15). As long as the seasons abide (8:22), even though the wickedness of humanity persists (8:21), God would not extinguish the population of the Earth (Genesis 1:22, 28; 8:17; 9:1, 7).
___God did not promise sin would go unjudged. In fact, the context of this covenant explains that all life belongs to God and man is not even to deal presumptuously with animal life (9:34). Human life is God's special possession, created for communion with God. The sin of murder brings God's judgment (9:6; Matthew 5:2122; 26:52). And the final judgment will once again bring disaster on those who reject God (Matthew 24:3742).
___The sign and seal of the covenant was the rainbow (9:1217). That glorious sight at the conjunction of the sunshine and the storm would be the natural reminder of God's covenant with "the Earth" (9:13).
___God so loves the world
___Taken by itself, the story of Noah weighs heavy with death and destruction. The significance of that rainbow of hope requires the story take its place in the whole epic of the Bible.
___Noah's story reveals God's commitment to save and bless life and God's power to accomplish his goal. Like all the Old Testament covenants, it foreshadowed God's full revelation in Jesus Christ.
___The salvation of Noah's family foreshadowed the salvation of all who are right with God by faith (1 Peter 3:2021). Their fresh start on Earth (although they soon fell back into the failure of sin) foreshadowed the promise of the new heaven and Earth (2 Peter 3:1013).
___Above all, the story of Noah means that when the world was at its worst, God would not give up. He maintained his loving and close involvement in the lives of particular people. Against the backdrop of sin and death, God demonstrated his mysterious love for the world.
___Questions for discussion
___ The flood revealed God's wrath against sin to the whole world. Does God still reveal truth about himself in nature?
___ What are the implications of the story of Noah for issues of biological ethics?
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