The flood story is found in Genesis 6-8. Begin by reading those passages. Here is ESV and KJV, or visit Bible Gateway for more options.
In Gen. 6:5, we learn that God was displeased with the wickedness of men, and that the “intentions of his heart was continually on evil.” God was so upset with how wicked evil his creation had become, he decided to wipe them out. Noah, however, found favor with God, and so he and his family would be spared. God gave the instructions on how to build the ark and what to do, and by the end of 6 we read that Noah did all he was commanded.
In Gen. 7 the flood waters come. Up until this point, people had never seen it rain. Earlier, in the Garden of Eden, we learned that a mist came up each night and watered the earth. in 7:11 the fountains of the deep burst forth, and the windows of heaven were opened. Water came from above and from below to cover the earth. In Genesis 1, this had been the condition of the earth before God made dry land appear. At His command the waters of the deep had given up dry land, and His command they swallowed it up once more. Think ahead if you will to Jesus calming the storm at sea; his disciples ask “What manner of man is this that even the wind and sea obey his voice?”
Gen. 8:1 is one of my favorite verses of scripture. “And God remembered Noah.” Noah had entered into a covenant relationship with God. Noah did his part by building the ark, and God did his part by saving all those on board from destruction. God is always faithful in keeping up his end. He is not a man that he should lie (Numbers 23:19). Anytime one party breaks a covenant, it will always be our failure and not God’s. This will become a recurring theme as we survey the Bible. God remembers Noah, and after 150 days of flood the waters rescind.
In Genesis 9, God makes a new covenant with Noah, and places the rainbow in the sky. He promised to never again destroy the earth by flood. What are the lessons to be learned in these events?
1) We learn that it displeases God to see his creation do evil. Each person is made in the image of God, and our sin often affects others. When we lie, steal, cheat on a spouse, murder, etc. we not only have committed evil but sinned against God by dishonoring our fellow man. The hearts of man was continually evil, and God was sorry he had made man in the first place.
2) We learn that God will judge the evil with destruction. Adam and Eve had been punished for their sin, and God had dealt with Cain for his. The flood instroduces us to something new; mass judgement. The whole earth was punished as humanity was wiped from it. Yet even in the midst of destruction…
3) God saved a few. Noah found favor in God’s sight, and from time to time we will see others that please God despite what’s going on around them. Abraham is coming up very soon. There will also be guys like David, a man after God’s own heart, and Daniel. This Old Testament story illustrates truths that will be brought out later in scripture, about how many enter the way of destruction, but few who follow the straight and narrow that leads to everlasting life. Like so many things in the Old Testament, the flood story is a picture of what is to come.
June 14, 2009 at 7:47 pm |
If you haven’t read the story in a while, you probably remember the animals coming into the ark 2 X 2. What most people overlook is that all clean animals that were good to eat were brought in by 7’s. Why? Because they were food.