Front matter (continued, part 3)
those wonderful days in the garden before sin had brought its curse to their lives and to the ground. Certainly they taught their children about the Lord and the importance of worshipping Him. Workers need to be worshippers or they may become idolaters, focusing on the gifts and not the Giver, and forgetting that God gives the power to work and gain wealth (Deut. 8:10–20).
The murderer (4:8–10) We can't separate our relationship with God from our relationship with our brothers and sisters. (That includes our natural brothers and sisters as well as our brothers and sisters in the Lord.) An unforgiving spirit, such as possessed Cain, hinders worship and destroys our fellowship with God and God's people (Matt. 5:21–26; 6:14–16). It's better that we interrupt our worship and get right with a brother than to pollute our sacrifice because we have a bad spirit within.
When God clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of animals (Gen. 3:21), perhaps He taught them about sacrifices and the shedding of blood, and they would have passed this truth along to their children. True worship is something we must learn from God Himself, for He alone has the right to lay down the rules for approaching Him and pleasing Him in worship.
God accepted Abel and his sacrifice, and perhaps indicated this by sending fire from heaven to consume the animals (Lev. 9:24; 1 Kings 18:38; 1 Chron. 28:26), but He rejected Cain and his sacrifice. Cain wasn't rejected because of his offering, but his offering was rejected because of Cain: his heart wasn't right with God. It was "by faith" that Abel offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain (Heb. 11:4), which means that he had faith in God and was right with God.
Murder (v. 8). Anger is a powerful emotion that can lead to violence and even murder. Jesus taught that anger in the heart is the moral equivalent of murder with the hands (Matt. 5:21–26). Every year angry drivers cause accidents that kill 28,000 people on the U.S. highways, and angry people who have been fired from their jobs have killed hundreds of innocent people. Had Cain heeded God's warning and accepted His gracious invitation (Gen. 4:7), he would never have become a murderer.
In later years, the law of Moses prescribed offerings of grain and fruit (Lev. 2; Deut. 26:1–11), so we have reason to believe that such sacrifices were acceptable from the beginning. But even had Cain brought animal sacrifices and shed their blood, they wouldn't have been accepted by God because of the state of Cain's heart. Abel brought the best that he had and truly sought to please God, but Cain didn't have that attitude of faith. "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22; and see Isa. 1:11–13; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6–8; Mark 12:28–34).
How soon after his worship was rejected did Cain entice his brother away from home and kill him? Was it on the same day, or did he brood over the matter a few days? He probably murdered his brother in his heart many times before he actually committed the deed. He was envious of his brother because of his relationship with God (1 John 3:12), and yet Cain was unwilling to get right with God. When we hate others, it's a sign we're not walking in the light (2:9–11) and that we don't have God's love in our hearts (3:10–16).
Lying (vv. 9–10). Cain was a child of the devil (1 John 3:12),2 which means he was a murderer and a liar (John 8:44). He lied to his brother when he enticed him to the place where he killed him. He lied to himself in thinking that he could do such an evil deed and get away with it. Cain even tried to lie to God and cover up his wicked deeds!3
The fact that people attend religious meetings and participate in church activities is no proof that they're true believers. It's possible to have "a form of godliness" but never experience its saving power (2 Tim. 3:5). "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:8). The most costly sacrifices apart from the submission of the heart can never make the worshipper right before God (Ps. 51:16–17). "The way of Cain" (Jude 11) is the way of self-will and unbelief.
There's a definite parallel between God's dealings with Cain in Genesis 4 and His dealings with Adam and Eve in chapter 3. In both instances, the Lord asked questions, not to get information (for He knows everything) but to give the culprits opportunity to tell the truth and confess their sins. In both instances, the sinners were evasive and tried to cover up what they had done, but both times God brought their sins out into the light and they had to admit their guilt.
When God rejected his offering, Cain became very angry. (The Hebrew word implies that he was "burning with anger.") God spoke to him personally and tried to lead him back to the way of faith, but Cain resisted. It's just like the Lord to give us another opportunity to obey Him, and it's just like stubborn sinners to refuse His gracious help.
Adam and Eve had run to hide when they heard God's voice (v. 8), but God heard Abel's voice crying from the ground and Cain couldn't hide.4 The shedding of innocent blood pollutes the land (Num. 35:30–34), and that blood cries out for justice (Job 16:18; Isa. 26:21; Rev. 6:9–10).5 Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, and Cain became a rejected wanderer in the earth.
The Lord warned Cain that temptation was like a fierce beast crouching at the door of his life, and he had better not open the door. It's dangerous to carry grudges and harbor bitter feelings in our hearts, because all of this can be used by Satan to lead us into
Genesis 4
in Holy Scripture as a warning to anybody who pretends to worship, plays with sin, and doesn't take temptation seriously. "The way of Cain" (Jude 11) is not the narrow way that leads to life (Matt. 7:13–14).
The more you think about Cain's sin, the more heinous it becomes. The murder wasn't motivated by sudden passion; it was carefully premeditated. Cain didn't kill a stranger in defense; he murdered his own brother out of envy and hatred. Furthermore, Cain did it after being at the altar to worship God and in spite of God's warning and promise. Finally, once the horrible deed was done, Cain took it all very lightly and tried to lie his way out of it.
The builder (4:16–24) God kept His Word and protected Cain as he wandered. One day he found a place that seemed right for him to settle down, and he decided to build a city. The earth wouldn't yield its strength to Cain's labor as a farmer, but Cain could labor and build on the earth and succeed. However, Cain never ceased to be a fugitive, for the name of the land where he settled means "wandering." His citizenship wasn't in heaven (Phil. 3:20–21), nor did he have any hope to reach the heavenly city (Heb. 11:9–16). The only heaven Cain knew was his city on earth.7
The wanderer (4:11–15) A vagabond has no home; a fugitive is running from home; a stranger is away from home; but a pilgrim is heading home. "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life" (Deut. 30:19). Cain made the wrong choice, and instead of being a pilgrim in life, he became a stranger and a fugitive, wandering the land.
Was Cain a married man before he wandered from Eden, or did he find a wife during his travels? Did he tell her he had murdered his brother? We don't know, but surely he had to explain the mark God had put on him. It was normal for Cain to seek a wife, for he not only wanted to build a city, but he also wanted to build a family. How else could his name be remembered but in his descendants? Cain didn't know that his name and foul deeds would be written in the Word of God for everybody to read.
God's curse (v. 12). Jehovah had cursed the serpent (3:14) and the ground (v. 17), but He had not cursed Adam and Eve. However, He did curse their son Cain, who was a child of the devil (the serpent). Cain had defiled the ground with his brother's blood, and now the ground wouldn't work for him. If Adam toiled and struggled day after day, he would get a harvest (vv. 17–19), but for Cain, there would never be fruit from his labors. So, he couldn't continue as a farmer. All he could do was wander from place to place and eke out a living.
Cain's wife bore him a son whom he named Enoch, which is related to the Hebrew word for "consecrated." Cain named his city after his son, but we aren't told to whom or to what the city was consecrated. Six generations of Cain's descendants are named (Gen. 4:17–22), some of whom were famous.
Cain's regrets (vv. 13–14). Cain never repented of his sins; his words reveal only remorse and regret. He didn't say, "My guilt is more than I can bear." He was concerned only with his punishment, not with his character. If he wandered from place to place, he would be in danger, but if he stayed in one place, he would starve. The earth had turned against him, God had turned against him,6 and people would turn against him. Anybody Cain met would be a relative who might want to avenge Abel's murder. What could he do?
Lamech was the first bigamist; he was also a boastful man and a killer. Why or how the young man wounded him, we don't know; but why should a young man be killed because he caused a wound? Lamech's mentioning of Cain's protection (v. 24) indicates that Cain's story was passed from generation to generation. It also suggests that Lamech thought that God's protection extended to him as well. If God would avenge a murderer like Cain, then surely He would avenge Lamech for "protecting himself." Note that Lamech wants God's protection, but he doesn't mention God's name.
By hating and murdering his brother and refusing to repent, Cain created for himself an intolerable life. He opened the door to temptation (4:7) and closed the door on his family, God, and his future. No matter where he lived or what he did, Cain would always be a restless man for whom there was no remedy.
The people in the city of Enoch had varied occupations. Some followed Jabal and took care of livestock (v. 20). Others learned from Jabal's brother Jubal and devoted themselves to making and playing musical instruments (v. 21). The followers of Tubal-Cain were metalworkers (v. 22), which suggests the manufacture of farm implements, building tools, and personal weapons. Cain lived in a society that was rich in culture as well as in industry and food production. In the city of Enoch, they had everything but God.
God's mercy (v. 15). God did a strange thing: He put a mark on Cain that would protect him from the assaults of people who wanted to kill him. We don't know what this mark was or why people would recognize it as God's protective seal, but it worked. This was purely an act of mercy on God's part.
Why would God allow a diabolical murderer like Cain to go free? In His mercy, God doesn't give us what we do deserve, and in His grace, He gives us what we don't deserve. That's the nature of God. God spared Cain's life, but that wasn't the end of the story. Eventually Cain died and "after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27). The entire civilization that he built was destroyed in the flood, and the record of his life is left
When you put Cain's family tree next to that of Seth (chap. 5), you can't help but notice the similarity in names. You have Enoch and Enosh (v. 6) and Enoch (v. 18), Mehujael and Mahalael (v. 12), Methushael
Genesis 4—5
(Gen. 5:4). Sin had not yet taken its toll in the human body or in the natural world, so people lived longer and probably were more prolific. 7 We must not imagine that Cain's "city" was like our modern cities. It was a settlement of people for mutual help and protection. Some would live in tents and others in more permanent dwellings, and there might be a wall to protect them.
and Methuselah (v. 21), and Lamech and Lamech (v. 25). Cain's Lamech has three sons (Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-Cain), and Noah has three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth).
What does this similarity in names mean? Perhaps it's God's way of telling us that the godless line of Cain (which is still with us) does its best to imitate the godly line of Seth. After all, Satan is the counterfeiter. He can imitate the names of the true believers, but he can't produce the believers. There's an Enoch in both genealogies, but Cain's Enoch didn't walk with God and one day disappear and go to heaven (v. 24) ! "What's in a name?" Nothing, if you don't know and belong to the Lord!
CHAPTER SEVEN Genesis 4:25—6:8 WHEN THE OUTLOOK IS BLEAK, TRY THE UPLOOK S
But the tragedy is that these two lines—the ungodly line of Cain and the godly line of Seth—came together and merged (6:1–2). The wall of separation came down, and this eventually created the wicked society whose sins brought on the judgment of the flood. Lamech's brand of violence spread (vv. 5, 11–12), and by the time of the flood, only eight people believed God's warning and acted upon it by faith. The rest were destroyed.
in had entered the human race, and it didn't take long for the corruption it spawned to spread and defile God's creation. Like a cancerous tumor, evil infected civilization and brought death wherever it went. God's vice-regents on earth, created in God's image, couldn't manage their own lives let alone God's creation, and things began to fall apart.
Cain's family tree ends with the family of Lamech (4:19–24), an arrogant murderer whose three sons manufactured things for this world. Seth's line ends with Noah ("rest") whose three sons gave the world a new beginning after the flood. The world of that day probably admired Cain's achievements; God wiped them off the face of the earth.
This section of Genesis covers over 1,500 years of human history, years that are overshadowed by sin and sorrow. But when the night is the darkest, the stars shine the brightest, and when the outlook is grim, the uplook is encouraging. Thirteen different people are named in this section, and four of them stand out because they're associated with something special that God did to encourage His people. Those four were Seth, Enosh, Enoch, and Noah.
"And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17 nkjv).
Seth—a new beginning from God (4:25; 5:1–5) The only ray of hope in that dark day was God's promise that a Redeemer would one day be born of the woman and conquer the serpent (3:15). But Abel was dead, so he couldn't beget a child, and Cain, the unbelieving murderer, had wandered off and built a city in the Land of Nod, east of Eden. Would God's promise be fulfilled? How could it be fulfilled?
1 As You Like It, Act 2, scene 7, line 139. 2 It's often been said that if you aren't a child of God, you're automatically a child of the devil, but I question that evangelical cliché. Ephesians 2:1–3 teaches that we're born by nature the "children of wrath," and that by choice we become the "children of disobedience." If we reject Christ's righteousness and depend on our own self-righteousness, then we become "children of the devil." See the discussion of Genesis 3:15 in chapter 5, section 5. 3 You find this sequence in 1 John 1:6, 8, and 10. 4 Righteous Abel (Matt. 23:35) speaks to God's people today both by his sacrifices (Heb. 11:4) and by his shed blood (Heb. 12:24). In the latter passage, the writer contrasts the blood of Christ and the blood of Abel. The blood of Abel speaks from the earth, but Christ's blood speaks from heaven. Abel's blood cries out for justice, but Christ's blood speaks of justice satisfied on the cross. Abel's blood declared Cain's guilt and made him a wanderer, but Christ's blood speaks of grace and forgiveness and reconciles believing sinners to God. 5 The plaque outside "The Chamber of Destruction" holocaust museum on Mount Zion in Jerusalem reads, "Listen! Your brother's blood cries out!" 6 We don't know how many people were alive on earth at this time, although we're told that Adam "begat sons and daughters"
God is sovereign in all things and His plans aren't frustrated by the foolish and sinful ways of mankind. Because He is the sovereign God, He "works all things according to the counsel of His will" (Eph. 1:11 nkjv). "But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases" (Ps. 115:3 nkjv). The Lord enabled Eve to conceive and bear a son whom she named Seth ("granted") because God had appointed him to replace Abel.
Genesis 5 is the first genealogy in Scripture and introduces "the book of the generations of Adam" (v. 1). Ten generations are listed here, from Adam to Noah, just as ten generations are listed from Shem to Abraham in "the generations of Shem" (11:10–26).1 Eight times in Genesis 5 you find the melancholy phrase "and he died," for death was now reigning over mankind because of Adam's sin (Rom. 5:12–17, 21).
Genesis 5
the city from destruction (Gen. 18:16ff.), and Jesus said that He was present if only two or three were gathered in His name (Matt. 18:20). Jesus sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to empower 120 believers, and Paul evangelized the Roman Empire with a small team of men and women who were wholly devoted to the Lord. God has always looked to the remnant to pray, trust Him, and get the work done.
Sin and death still reign today, but through Jesus Christ we can "reign in life" (vv. 17, 21).
In Bible history, very often the birth of a baby has made the difference between defeat and victory for God's people. During the Jews' difficult years in Egypt, Moses was born and became the liberator of his people (Ex. 2:1–10). When the lamp of prophecy was burning very low, Samuel was born to bring Israel back to God's Word (1 Sam. 1–3), and when the kingdom was disintegrating under Saul, God sent a son to Jesse whom he named David, the man God had chosen to be the next king (Ruth 4:18–22; 1 Sam. 16). At a very low point in Jewish history, by the grace of God, one little boy continued the messianic line from David (2 Kings 11:1–3). In spite of Satan's attacks and the disobedience of His people, God was faithful to work so that His promise of a Redeemer would be fulfilled.
So, when the work of the Lord looks like it's failing, and you feel like you're the only one left to serve God, remember Enosh and the godly remnant in his day that called on the Lord. "For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few" (1 Sam. 14:6 nkjv).
Enoch—walking with God (5:12–27) People like Kenan, Mahalalel, and Jared may not seem important to God's great story of salvation, but they are important,for they were "living links" in the great generational chain that reached from Seth to the birth of Jesus Christ. God's promise in Genesis 3:15 could never have been fulfilled were it not for the faithfulness of many undistinguished people who to us are only strange names in an ancient genealogy.
Knowing this should encourage God's people as they see the world turning more and more toward sin and rebellion. God is sovereign and He will accomplish His purposes.
Enosh—calling on God (4:26; 5:6–11) Seth was 105 years old when his son Enosh was born (5:6). "Enosh" means "man" and comes from a Hebrew word that means "frail, weak." It's the word for man that emphasizes how fragile and weak we really are in ourselves.
When Enoch was sixty-five years old, his wife gave birth to a son whom they named Methuselah ("man of the dart"). This was a turning-point in Enoch's life, because he then began to walk with the Lord (5:22, 24; see 6:9). Did the responsibility of raising a son in such a godless world so challenge Enoch that he knew he needed the Lord's help? Or when the baby was born, did God give Enoch insight into the future so that he knew the flood was coming? We don't know, but we do know that the arrival of this baby changed Enoch's life.
A remarkable thing is recorded in connection with the birth of this boy: at that time, people began to gather together to worship God, proclaim His name, and pray.2 There was a revival of public worship and believing prayer as the descendants of Seth met together in the name of the Lord. While the worldly Cainites were boasting of their strength and valor (4:23–24), the godly Sethites were giving glory to the name of the Lord.
The meaning of Methuselah's name isn't significant, but his long life of 969 years is significant. In the year that Methuselah died, the flood came!3 Perhaps the Lord told Enoch this news after the baby was born, and it so gripped his heart that he began to walk with God and do God's will. "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness" (2 Peter 3:11 nkjv). The fact that Jesus is coming again to judge the world ought to motivate God's people to lives of holiness and obedient service (1 John 2:28—3:3).
Throughout sacred history, it has been the godly remnant that has kept the work of the Lord going in this world. Time after time, the nation of Israel drifted into idolatry and spiritual lethargy, but a believing remnant was raised up to keep the light burning. These courageous people cried out to God for deliverance, and He heard them and answered their prayers.
After the flood, Noah's small family was the remnant God used to people the earth. The prophet Elijah thought he was alone in serving Jehovah, but 7,000 people in the land re-mained faithful to the Lord (1 Kings 19:9–18). Whoever wrote Psalm 119 was part of a faithful remnant (v. 63), and the prophets wrote about the believing remnant in their day (Isa. 10:20–23; 37:31–32; Jer. 11:23; Mic. 4:7; Mal. 3:16). Isaiah named one of his sons "a remnant shall return" (Isa. 7:3), and a remnant did return to their land after the Babylonian captivity. God used them to rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem and to restore the Jewish nation as a political entity.
The sobering phrase "and he died" isn't used of Enoch, because Enoch is one of two men in Scripture who never died. Both Enoch and Elijah were taken to heaven alive (2 Kings 2:1–11). Some students see in Enoch's pre-flood "rapture" a picture of the church being taken to heaven before God sends tribulation on the earth (1 Thess. 4:13—5:11).
It was "by faith" that Enoch was taken to heaven (Heb. 11:5). He believed God, walked with God, and went to be with God, which is an example for all of us to follow. Imagine how difficult it must have been to walk with God during those years before the flood, when vice and violence were prevalent and only a remnant of people believed God (Gen. 6:5). But Enoch's life of faith wasn't a private thing, for he boldly
How many people does God need to get a job done? Ten righteous people in Sodom could have saved
Genesis 5—6
pagans around them, but their warnings weren't heeded, and the nation experienced shameful defeat at the hands of their enemies.
announced that God would come to judge the world's sins (Jude 14–15). In his day, the judgment of the flood did come, but the judgment Enoch was announcing will occur when Jesus Christ returns, leading the armies of heaven and condemning Satan and his hosts (Rev. 19:11ff.). Enoch's life and witness remind us that it's possible to be faithful to God in the midst of "a crooked and perverse generation" (Phil. 2:15). No matter how dark the day or how bad the news, we have the promise of our Lord's return to encourage us and motivate us to be godly. One day sin will be judged and God's people will be rewarded for their faithfulness, so we have every reason to be encouraged as we walk with God.
What was Satan's plan for defeating God's people in Noah's day? To entice the godly line of Seth ("the sons of God") to mix with the ungodly line of Cain ("the daughters of men") and thus abandon their devotion to the Lord. It was the same temptation that Christians face today: be friendly with the world (James 4:4), love the world (1 John 2:15–17), and conform to the world (Rom. 12:2), rather than be separated from the world (2 Cor. 6:14–7:1). Of course, this could lead to being "condemned with the world" (1 Cor. 11:32). Lot is an example of this danger (Gen. 13; 19).
Some interpreters view 6:1–7 as an invasion of fallen angels who cohabited with women and produced a race of giants.4 But as interesting as the theory is, it creates more problems than it solves, not the least of which is the union of sexless spirit beings with flesh and blood humans. Even if such unions did occur, could there be offspring and why would they be giants? And how did these "giants" (Nephilim, "fallen ones") survive the flood (v. 4; Num. 13:31–33), or was there a second invasion of fallen angels after the flood?
Noah—rest and comfort from God (5:28—6:8) Though they bore the same name, Lamech in the line of Seth was radically different from Lamech in the line of Cain (4:18–24). Seth's Lamech fathered a son, Noah, who walked with God (6:9) and was used of God to save the human race and continue the messianic promise. Cain's Lamech murdered a young man who had wounded him and then boasted to his wives about his evil deed.
The term "sons of God" does refer to angels in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7, but these are unfallen angels faithfully serving God.5 Even if fallen angels could make themselves appear in human bodies, why would they want to marry women and settle down on earth? Certainly their wives and neighbors would detect something different about them and this would create problems. Furthermore, the emphasis in Genesis 6 is on the sin of man and not the rebellion of angels. The word "man" is used nine times in verses 1–7, and God states clearly that the judgment was coming because of what humans had done. "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth" (v. 5).
Hope (5:28–32). Lamech's great concern was that mankind find comfort and rest in the midst of a wicked world where it was necessary to toil and sweat just to stay alive. Life was difficult, and the only hope that true believers had was the coming of the promised Redeemer. Lamech named his son Noah, which sounds like the Hebrew word for "comfort." His prayer was that his son would somehow bring to the world the rest and comfort that people so sorely needed. Centuries later, weary people would hear the voice of Jesus say, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28 nkjv).
Lamech was 682 years old and Noah 500 years old when Noah's son Japheth was born. The listing in Genesis 5:32 is not the sons' birth order, because Ham was Noah's youngest son (9:20–24) and Japheth his eldest (10:21). The birth order would be Japheth, Shem, and Ham.
III. NOAH AND HIS FAMILY (6:1—11:9) A.The flood—6—7
The 120-year limit expressed in verse 3 probably refers to the years until the flood would come. God is longsuffering with lost sinners, but there comes a time when judgment must fall. During that "day of grace," Noah prepared the ark and gave witness that judgment was coming (2 Peter 2:5), the same message Enoch had given during his lifetime (Jude 14–15). God gave His message in the mouth of two witnesses, but the people wouldn't listen.
Compromise (6:1–7). After chapter 3, Satan isn't mentioned by name in Genesis, but he and his demonic hosts are at work doing their utmost to keep the promised Redeemer from being born. This was Satan's purpose throughout all of Old Testament history. After all, he didn't want to have his head crushed by the Savior (3:15)! God had declared war on Satan and the deceiver intended to fight back.
The word "giants" in Genesis 6:4 (kjv) is a translation of the Hebrew word nephilim which means "fallen ones." Some who follow the "angel theory" of chapter 6 make the nephilim the fallen angels whose children became great leaders. As we've already seen, if these nephilim were angels with human bodies, then they either survived the flood (because the Hebrew spies saw them in Canaan; Num. 13:31–33), or there was a second invasion of "fallen angels" after the flood. Both ideas seem incredible.
One of Satan's most successful devices is compromise. If he can delude God's people into abandoning their privileged position of separation from sin and communion with God, then he can corrupt them and lead them into sin. He did this to Israel in the land of Moab (Num. 25; Ps. 106:28–31) and also after they had conquered the land of Canaan (Judg. 2; Ps. 106:34–48). The prophets warned the Jewish people not to compromise with the idolatrous worship of the
The most likely interpretation of Genesis 6:4 is that God saw the people of that day as "fallen ones," while men saw these people as mighty leaders. Even today,
Genesis 6
much of what is admired by the world is rejected by the Lord (Luke 16:15). When the Sethites compromised by mingling with the Cainites, they fell from God's blessing. God was grieved that they married godless Cainites, choosing wives as they pleased without considering God's will (Gen. 6:2). In doing this, they endangered the fulfillment of the 3:15 promise, for how could God bring a Redeemer into the world through an unholy people? The people of that day "married and were given in marriage" (Matt. 24:37–39) and thought nothing of the warning that Enoch and Noah gave about the coming judgment. Human history was now at the place where only Noah and his family—eight people—believed God and obeyed His Word. God's Spirit was striving with lost people, but they resisted the call of God, and God was grieved at what man was doing.6
also Ruth 4:18–22.) Furthermore, ancient Semitic peoples used the term "father" to refer to any male ancestor. 2 The Hebrew word translated "call upon" carries the meaning of praying in God's name and also proclaiming His name in worship. The sentence can also be translated "men began to call themselves by the name of the Lord." All three meanings are probably true: the believing remnant met to praise God and pray to Him for help, and in time, they identified themselves as those who bore His name. 3 When you add up the ages of Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah when their eldest sons were born (187 + 182 + 500), plus the 100 years between 5:32 and 7:11, you get a total of 969 years. 4 See Earth's Earliest Ages, by G.H. Pember (Revell) and the writings of E.W. Bullinger, especially The Companion Bible (The Lamp Press) and How to Enjoy the Bible (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1928). James M. Gray also espouses the "angel" theory in his Christian Worker's Commentary (Kregel reprint). For an able refutation of the "angel theory," see Studies in Problem Texts by J. Sidlow Baxter (Zondervan). The theory is the result of juggling some puzzling passages (Jude 6–7; 1 Peter 3:19–20; 2 Peter 2:4–9) and overlooking some basic principles of hermeneutics. 5 "Sons [children] of God" can also refer to humans. See Deuteronomy 14:1; Psalm 82:6; Isaiah 43:6; Hosea 11:1. 6 God the Father was grieved at man's sin on the earth (Gen. 6:6); God the Son was grieved by the hardness of heart of religious people (Mark 3:5); and God the Spirit can be grieved by the sins of the saints (Eph. 4:38).
Read Romans 1:17ff. for a description of what civilization was like in those days. Man's wickedness was great, every imagination of all his thoughts was only evil continually, so it was no surprise that God chose to send judgment.
Grace (v. 8). The only way people can be saved from God's wrath is through God's grace (Eph. 2:8–9), but grace isn't God's reward for a good life: it's God's response to saving faith. "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household" (Heb. 11:7 nkjv). True faith involves the whole of the inner person: the mind understands God's warning, the heart fears for what is coming, and the will acts in obedience to God's Word.
CHAPTER EIGHT Genesis 6:9—7:24 ONE MAN'S FAITH, ONE MAN'S FAMILY E
To understand God's truth but not act upon it is not biblical faith; it's only intellectual assent to religious truth. To be emotionally aroused without comprehending God's message isn't faith, because true faith is based on an understanding of the truth (Matt. 13:18–23). To have the mind enlightened and the heart stirred but not act in obedience to the message is not faith, for "faith without works is dead" (James 2:14–26). The mind, heart, and will are all involved in true biblical faith.
xcept for the increase in violence and crime, the times were pretty good. People were "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage" (Matt. 24:38), and life was going on as usual. When friends met at the market or at wedding feasts, they laughed about Noah and his family ("Imagine building that big boat on dry land!") or discussed Methuselah, the world's oldest man ("He'll die one of these days, mark my word!"), or talked about Enoch, the man who suddenly disappeared ("Strangest thing I ever heard!").
Everybody who has ever been saved from sin has been saved "by grace, through faith," and this includes the Old Testament worthies listed in Hebrews 11. Nobody was ever saved by bringing a sacrifice (Heb. 10:1–4; Ps. 51:16–17), by keeping the law (Gal. 2:16), or by doing good works (Rom. 4:5). Salvation is a gracious gift that can be rejected or received by faith. Like Noah, we must all "find grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Gen. 6:8).
Methuselah was Noah's grandfather, and Noah knew that when he died, nothing stood in the way of God's judgment falling on a wicked world. For over a century, Noah had been warning people about the coming judgment, but only his own family had believed him and trusted the Lord.
Then Methuselah died and things began to happen. One day, Noah and his family entered their "boat" and the rains came. ("It can't go on forever," people said. "It'll stop one of these days.") But it rained for forty days and forty nights, and subterranean explosions discharged more water on the earth. Even after the rain
1 Some Old Testament scholars warn us against building too strong a case for biblical chronology solely on the basis of the lists found in Genesis 5, 10, and 11. Comparison with other genealogies in Scripture indicates that these lists may not be complete. The fact that the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 both have ten generations suggests an artificial pattern. (See
Genesis 6
judgment. Enoch modeled a godly way of life for Methuselah. Methuselah must have passed it along to his son Lamech who shared it with his son Noah. How wonderful it is when generation after generation in one family is faithful to the Lord, especially at a time in history when violence and corruption are the normal way of life.
stopped, the water continued to rise, and within five months, the whole earth was under water and everything that breathed was dead. Everything, that is, except Noah and his family, the eight people everybody laughed at.
What kind of a person was Noah? He was the kind of person you and I should be and can be as we live in our world today.
The life of faith and obedience is compared to a "walk" because this life begins with one step: trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This step of faith leads to a daily walk, a step at a time, as the Lord directs us. He commands us to "walk in love" (Eph. 5:2), "walk as children of light" (v. 8), "walk in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16, 25), and "walk circumspectly [carefully]" (Eph. 5:15). A step at a time, a day at a time, we walk with the Lord, and He guides us into His will and blesses us with His wisdom and strength.
A believing man who walked with God (6:9–13) "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (v. 8) introduces the third of the "generation" statements in Genesis: "These are the generations of Noah" (v. 9). Noah wasn't a minor character in the story of redemption; he's mentioned fifty times in nine different books of the Bible.
Noah was a righteous man (v. 9; 7:1). This is the first time the word "righteous" is used in the Bible, but Noah's righteousness is also mentioned in other places (Ezek. 14:14, 20; Heb. 11:7; 2 Peter 2:5). Noah's righteousness didn't come from his good works; his good works came because of his righteousness. Like Abraham, his righteousness was God's gift in response to his personal faith. Both Abraham and Noah believed God's Word "and it was counted to [them] for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6; see Heb. 11:7; Rom. 4:9ff.; Gal. 3:1ff.). The only righteousness God will accept is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, His Son (2 Cor. 5:21), and the only way people can receive that righteousness is by admitting their sins and trusting Jesus Christ to save them (Rom. 3:19–30; Gal. 2:16). Noah must have learned this important truth from his father Lamech (Gen. 5:28–29), who learned it from his father Methuselah, who learned it from his father Enoch. How important it is to teach our children and grandchildren how to trust the Lord!
Noah was an obedient man (Gen. 6:22; 7:5, 16). One of the major messages in Scripture is that we must not only hear God's Word but we must also obey it (James 1:22–25). Because Noah was obedient to the Lord, his "house" wasn't destroyed when the storm came (Matt. 7:24–27). It wasn't easy for Noah and his family to obey the Lord, because the rest of the population was disobeying God and rebelling against His will. According to Enoch, they were ungodly people committing ungodly deeds in ungodly ways and speaking ungodly words against the Lord God (Jude 15).
Whether it has to do with sexual abstinence, using alcohol and drugs, or joining gangs and breaking the law, we hear a great deal today about "peer pressure." It's the excuse for all kinds of illegal and immoral behavior, from cheating on your income tax to cheating on your spouse. But anybody who has ever developed godly character has had to fight against peer pressure, including Noah and his family, Abraham and his family, Moses in Egypt (Heb. 11:24–26), and Daniel and his friends in Babylon (Dan. 1). Resisting peer pressure means not only saying a determined no to people but also a dedicated yes to the Lord (Rom. 12:1–2). Most people know that Noah built an ark. What they may not know is that he also built a godly character and a godly family. Had it not been for Noah's godly family, Abraham wouldn't have been born, and without Abraham, would there have been a Jewish nation, the Bible, and the Savior?
Noah was a blameless man (v. 9). If "righteous" describes Noah's standing before God, then "blameless" describes his conduct before people. "Blameless" doesn't mean "sinless," because nobody but Jesus Christ ever lived a sinless life on this earth (1 Peter 2:21–22). The word means "having integrity, whole, unblemished." It was used to describe the animals acceptable to God for sacrifice (Ex. 12:5; Lev. 1:3, 10). Noah's conduct was such that his neighbors couldn't find fault with him (Phil. 2:12–16).
The person who is right before God through faith in Christ ought to lead a life that is right before people, for "faith without works is dead" (James 2:14ff.). Paul warned about "unruly and vain talkers and deceivers … who profess that they know God, but in works they deny him" (Titus 1:10, 16). Noah wasn't that kind of person.
A faithful man who worked for God (6:14–22) "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant" (Ps. 25:15). When you walk with God, He speaks to you through His Word and tells you what you need to know and to do. Christians are more than just servants who do His will; we're also His friends who know His plans (John 15:14–15). God's plan involved three responsibilities for Noah and his family.
Noah was a man who walked with God (Gen. 6:9). His great-grandfather Enoch had "walked with God" and was suddenly taken to heaven and rescued from the impending judgment of the flood (5:24). Noah walked with God and was taken safely through the
Building an ark (vv. 14–17). God told Noah what his task was: to build a wooden vessel that would sur-
Genesis 6—7
whom would be used for sacrifices (8:20; 9:3). Noah and his family not only learned about the faithfulness of God, but they also saw the sovereignty of God in action.
vive the waters of the flood and keep Noah and his family safe. If the cubit mentioned was the standard cubit of eighteen inches, then the vessel was 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. It had three decks, one door, and a series of small windows eighteen inches high right under the roof, providing light and ventilation. The three decks were divided into compartments (Gen. 6:14) where the various animals would be kept and where Noah and his family would live.
In His sovereign power, God brought the animals to Noah and his sons and controlled them so that they did His bidding. However, this magnificent demonstration of God's power didn't touch the hearts of his neighbors, and they perished in the flood. The birds, beasts, and creeping things knew their Creator's voice and obeyed Him, but people made in the image of God refused to heed God's call. Centuries later, God would say through His servant Isaiah, "The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand" (Isa. 1:3 niv).
This vessel was designed for flotation, not navigation. It was a huge wooden box that could float on the water and keep the contents safe and dry. Dr. Henry Morris calculated that the ark was large enough to hold the contents of over 500 livestock railroad cars, providing space for about 125,000 animals. Of course, many of the animals would be very small and not need much space, and when it came to the large animals, Noah no doubt collected younger and smaller representatives.1 There was plenty of room in the vessel for food for both humans and animals (v. 21), and the insects and creeping things would have no problem finding places to live on the ark.
During all of this important activity, Noah was serving the Lord and bearing witness to a sinful world. For 120 years (Gen. 6:3), God was longsuffering toward careless and rebellious sinners, but they ignored His message and lost their opportunity for salvation.
A secure man who waited on God (7:1–24) "Do not be like the horse or like the mule," God counsels in Psalm 32:9, and Noah obeyed that counsel. The horse sometimes wants to rush ahead impetuously, and the mule wants to drag its feet and stubbornly stay back; but Noah walked with God and worked for God and let God arrange the schedule.
Trusting God's covenant (v. 18). This is the first use of the word "covenant" in the Bible. The word appears often in Scripture because the covenant concept is an important part of God's great plan of redemption. (God would explain His covenant to Noah after he left the ark; 8:20–9:17.) A covenant is an agreement that involves obligations and benefits for the parties involved. In some of the covenants, God alone is the "covenant party" and makes unconditional promises to His people. But there were also covenants that required His people to fulfill certain conditions before God could bless them.
A week of waiting (vv. 1–10). Since the rains started on the seventeenth day of the second month (Gen. 7:11), it was on the tenth day of the second month that Noah and his family moved into the ark at God's instruction (v. 1). During that final week before the flood, they finished gathering the animals and putting in their supplies. They followed the Lord's instructions, trusted His covenant promise, and knew that there was nothing to fear.
God's words in 6:13–21 were addressed specifically to Noah, but God also included Noah's family in the covenant (v. 18). Noah didn't become a father until he was 500 years old (5:32), and he entered the ark when he was 600 (7:6); so his three sons were still "young" as far as pre-flood ages were concerned. Ham was the youngest son (9:24) and Japheth was the eldest (10:21), and all three boys were married (7:13).2
David watched a thunderstorm one day and from that experience wrote a hymn (Ps. 29) telling how he had seen and heard God in that storm. As he pondered what happened, David thought about history's most famous storm in the time of Noah, and he wrote, "The Lord sat enthroned at the flood, and the Lord sits as King forever" (v. 10 nkjv). The sweeping rain, the echoing thunder, and the flashing lightning reminded David of the sovereignty of God. No matter how great the storms of life may be, God is still on the throne causing everything to work together for good. That's why David ended his hymn with, "The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace" (v. 11 nkjv).
The fact that God had covenanted to care for Noah and his family gave them the peace and confidence they needed as they prepared the ark and then lived in it for over a year. God is faithful to keep His promises, and as God's covenant people, the eight believers had nothing to fear.
Gathering the animals (vv. 19–22). God not only wanted humans to be preserved from destruction but also every kind of creature that would be drowned by the waters of the flood. But how was Noah to gather such a large number of animals, birds, and creeping things? God would cause these creatures to come to Noah (v. 20; 7:8, 15), and Noah would take them into the ark (6:19). This included not only pairs of unclean animals who would be able to reproduce after the flood, but also seven pairs of clean animals, some of
At the end of that final week of preparation, Noah and his family obeyed God's command and entered the ark, and God shut the door and made it safe (Gen. 7:16). They didn't know how long they would live in the ark, but the Lord knew, and that's really all that mattered. "My times are in Your hands" (Ps. 31:15 nkjv). One year and ten days later, the same God
Genesis 7
ple. In July and August, the Yellow, Yangtze, and Hai rivers flooded nine provinces in China and left 2,000 people dead. If Noah's flood was a local event like these floods, then God's promise and the covenant sign of the rainbow mean nothing.
opened the door and invited them to come out to live on His freshly cleansed earth (Gen. 8:16).
The day of reckoning (7:11–24). The flood was God's judgment of a wicked world. God opened the floodgates of heaven so that torrential rains came down, and "all the springs of the great deep burst forth" (v. 11 niv), so that even the highest mountains were covered by water (v. 20). God had waited for over a century for sinners to repent, and now it was too late. "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near" (Isa. 55:6).
The plain reading of the text convinces us that the flood was a universal judgment because "all flesh had corrupted his [God's] way upon the earth" (6:12). We don't know how far civilization had spread over the planet, but wherever humans went, there was sin that had to be judged. The flood bears witness to universal sin and universal judgment.
The rain stopped after forty days, which would be on the twenty-seventh day of the third month (Gen. 7:12). However, the water continued to rise for another 110 days and reached its peak after 150 days (v. 24). At that time, the ark rested on a mountain peak of Ararat (8:4). It would take 150 days for the water to recede (v. 3), which takes us to the twelfth month, the seventeenth day. Two months and ten days later, Noah and his family left the ark and set the animals free (v. 14). From the day that God shut them in, they had been in the ark a year and ten days.
Both Jesus and Peter used the flood to illustrate future events that will involve the whole world: the return of Christ (Matt. 24:37–39; Luke 17:26–27) and the worldwide judgment of fire (2 Peter 3:3–7). If the flood was only local, these analogies are false and misleading. Peter also wrote that God did not spare "the ancient world" (nkjv) when He sent the flood, which implies much more territory than a limited area.
A patient family. In spite of the devastation on the outside, Noah and his family and the animals were secure inside the ark. No matter how they felt, or how much the ark was tossed on the waters, they were safe in God's will. Patiently they waited for God to complete His work and put them back on the earth. Noah and his family spent one year and seventeen days in the ark, and even though they had daily chores to do, that's a long time to be in one place. But it is "through faith and patience" that we inherit God's promised blessings (Heb. 6:12; 10:36), and Noah was willing to wait on the Lord.
A universal judgment. In recent years, people who want to accommodate Scripture to the views of modern science have opted for a flood that was "limited" and not universal. They suggest that the writer of Genesis used "the language of appearance" and described only what he could see.
There are problems with both views, but the "limited" interpretation seems to be the weaker of the two.3 The clear language of the text seems to state that God was bringing a universal judgment. God said He would destroy humans and beasts "from the face of the earth" (6:7),4 and that "every living thing" would be destroyed (7:4, 21–23; 8:21). If the mountains were covered to such a height that the ark could float over the Ararat range and eventually settle down on a peak, then the entire planet must have been completely immersed (7:18–20). A person reading Genesis 6—9 for the first time would conclude that the flood was universal.
Peter saw in Noah's experience a picture of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:18–22). The earth in Noah's day was immersed in water, but the ark floated above the water and brought Noah and his family to the place of safety. This was, to Peter, a picture of baptism: death, burial, and resurrection. The earth was "dead" and "buried" because of the water, but the ark rose up ("resurrection") to bring the family through safely.6 Jesus died, was buried, and arose again, and through His finished work, we have salvation from sin. Peter makes it clear that the water of baptism doesn't wash away sin. It's our obedience to the Lord's command to be baptized (Matt. 28:19–20) that cleanses the conscience so that we are right before God.
But if the flood was not universal, why did God give the rainbow as a universal sign of His covenant? (9:11–15) Why would people in a local area need such a sign? Furthermore, if the flood was a local event, why did God tell Noah to build such a big vessel for saving his family and the animals? Noah certainly had enough time to gather together his family and the animals in that area and lead them to a place where the flood wouldn't reach them.5
The British expositor Alexander Maclaren said:
For a hundred and twenty years the wits laughed, and the "common-sense" people wondered, and the patient saint went on hammering and pitching at his ark. But one morning it began to rain; and by degrees, somehow, Noah did not seem quite such a fool. The jests would look rather different when the water was up to the knees of the jesters; and their sarcasms would stick in their throats as they drowned.
God promised that He would never send another flood like the one He sent in Noah's day (vv. 8–17). But if the flood was only a local event, God didn't keep His promise! Over the centuries, there have been numerous local floods, some of which brought death and devastation to localities. In 1996 alone, massive flooding in Afghanistan in April left 3,000 people homeless; and in July, flooding in Northern Bangladesh destroyed the homes of over 2 million peo-
Genesis 7—8
rest after tribulation. The chapter records the end of a storm and the beginning of new life and hope for God's people and God's creation. Just consider what God does in Genesis 8 and take courage!
So is it always. So it will be at the last great day. The men who lived for the future, by faith in Christ, will be found out to have been the wise men when the future has become the present, and the present has become the past, and is gone for ever; while they who had no aims beyond the things of time, which are now sunk beneath the dreary horizon, will awake too late to the conviction that they are outside the ark of safety, and that their truest epitaph is, "Thou fool."7
God remembers His own (8:1a) When you're going through a storm, it's easy to feel forsaken. "I think the Lord has forgotten me," said a church member whom I was visiting in the hospital. In her mind, she could recall Hebrews 13:5 and quote it ("I will never leave you or forsake you" [nkjv]); but in her heart, she felt lonely and abandoned. Where was her God? When would the storm end?
Feeling forsaken is a normal human emotion that most of us have experienced, whether we admit it or not. "Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?" asked the psalmist. "Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?" (Ps. 10:1 nkjv). Paul confessed that his troubles in Asia had been so severe that he almost gave up on life (2 Cor. 1:8), and Jesus, who experienced all our human trials, cried from the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46 nkjv). Feeling desolate is nothing new to the people of God; but then they recall the song:
1 The Genesis Record, by Henry M. Morris (Baker, 1976), 180ff. See also The Genesis Flood, by Henry M. Morris and John C. Whitcomb, Jr. (Baker, 1967), and Studies in the Bible and Science by Henry M. Morris (Baker, 1966). 2 The three boys are usually identified as Noah's sons and not by their given names (6:18; 7:7; 8:16, 18; 9:1, 8). We are never told Noah's wife's name or the names of his three daughters-inlaw. God's covenant with Noah included all the members of the household. 3 For a fair discussion of both views that leans toward the limited flood interpretation, see The Book of Genesis: An Introductory Commentary, by Ronald F. Youngblood (Baker, 1991; second edition), chapter 10. 4 While it's true that the Hebrew word for "earth" can also mean "land," "land" doesn't fit with the universal statements in the text, such as 6:12–13 where God promises to wipe out "all flesh," and 7:4, "every living thing." 5 To argue that the building of the ark was a "witness to the people" is to ignore what God had to say about the ark, that its purpose was to keep humans and animals alive during the flood (6:19–20; 7:23). Although the building of the ark surely attracted attention, there's no mention in the text of the ark serving as a witness to the lost. 6 New Testament baptism was by immersion, picturing the believer's identification with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6). 7 Expositions of Holy Scripture, by Alexander Maclaren (Baker, 1974), vol. 1, 84.
God is still on the throne, And He will remember His own!
The word "remember" in Genesis 8:1 doesn't mean to call something to mind that may have been forgotten. God can't forget anything because He knows the end from the beginning. Rather, it means "to pay attention to, to fulfill a promise and act on behalf of somebody." For example, God's promise "and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb. 10:17) means that God doesn't hold our sins against us and treat us as sinners. Certainly God knows what we've done, but because of our faith in Jesus Christ, our sins are "forgotten." God deals with us as though our sins had never been committed! The Lord remembers them against us no more.
To remember means to act on behalf of another. God remembered Abraham and rescued Lot from destruction in Sodom (Gen. 19:29). The Lord remembered both Rachel and Hannah and enabled them to conceive and bear sons (30:22; 1 Sam. 1:11, 19). The Lord remembered His covenant and delivered the Jews from the bondage of Egypt (Ex. 2:24; 6:5). "To remember" implies a previous commitment made by God and announces the fulfillment of that commitment.1 Noah, his family, and the animals had been together in the ark for over a year, which is a lot of "togetherness." Did they ever get impatient with each other or with the animals? There's no record that God spoke to them after He had shut them into the ark, so perhaps somebody in the family experienced an occasional fleeting fear that maybe God didn't care for them anymore.
B.The new earth—8
CHAPTER NINE Genesis 8 THE GOD OF NEW BEGINNINGS W
hen anxious believers are searching the Bible for something encouraging to read, they're more likely to turn to Romans 8 than to Genesis 8. After all, Romans 8 is one of the most heartening chapters in Scripture, while Genesis 8 describes God's "mopup" operation after the flood.
But the next time you find yourself in a storm, Genesis 8 can give you new hope and encouragement, because the major theme of the chapter is renewal and
God not only remembered Noah and his family,
Genesis 8
him what to do. He waited forty days and then sent out the raven; and being an unclean carrion-eating bird (Lev. 11:13–15), it felt right at home among the floating carcasses.
but He also remembered the animals that were with them in the ark.2 God spared these creatures so they could live on the renewed earth and reproduce after their kind. It was His desire that His creatures enjoy the earth and contribute to the happiness of the people He had created in His own image. As we shall see later, the animals were included in God's covenant with Noah.
Noah waited a week and then sent out a dove, which, being a clean bird, found no place to land; so it returned to the ark (Gen. 8:8–9). A week later Noah sent the dove out again, and when it returned with a fresh olive leaf, Noah knew that the plants were growing and fresh life had appeared on the earth (vv. 10–11). A dove bearing an olive branch is a familiar symbol of peace around the world. A week later, when Noah sent the dove out the third time, it didn't return; so he knew the water had dried up.6
We can be sure that God never forgets or forsakes His people, not only because of His promises,3 but also because of His character. God is love, and where there's love, there's faithfulness. He can never deny Himself or His Word, for He's the faithful God, and He can never change, because He's immutable. Because He's perfect, God can't change for the better; and because He's holy, He can't change for the worse. We can depend on Him no matter what our circumstances or no matter how we feel.
Noah had built a "window" (hatch?) in the upper deck of the ark (v. 9 niv reads "covering"), and this he opened so he could survey the world around him. This was on the day the passengers had been in the ark one entire year. Noah saw that the ground indeed was dry, but he didn't make a move out of the ark until the Lord told him to leave. Twenty-six days later, that order came and he obeyed it (v. 15).
God renews His world (8:1b–14) According to 7:24, the flood reached its peak in 150 days. The torrential rain and the eruptions of water from beneath the earth had both ceased (8:2; see niv and nasb), and during the next five months, God caused the water to recede and leave the dry land behind.
God rewards faith (8:15–19) Noah was a man of faith whose name is recorded in Hebrews 11 with those of other heroes of faith (v. 7). He had the faith to walk with God when the people of the world were ignoring and disobeying God. He had the faith to work for God and to witness for God when opposition to truth was the popular thing. Now that the flood was over, he exercised faith to wait on God before leaving the ark.
Where did the floodwaters go? Never underestimate the power of moving water! It's possible that the flood greatly altered the contours of the land and created new areas for the water to fill, both on the surface of the earth and underground.4 Since there were eruptions from beneath the earth (7:11), whole continents and mountain ranges could have risen and fallen, creating huge areas into which the water could spill. The winds that God sent over the earth helped to evaporate the water and also move it to the places God had provided. A God powerful enough to cover the earth with water is also wise enough to know how to dispose of it when its work is done.
After being confined to the ark for over a year, he and his family must have yearned to get back on dry land, but they waited for God's directions. Circumstances on the earth looked suitable for their disembarking, but that was no guarantee that God wanted them to exit immediately and begin their new life. Obedient faith is our response to God's Word, for "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17 nkjv).
Centuries later, God's wind would bring the locusts into Egypt and later drive them into the sea (Ex. 10:10–20). God's wind would also open up the Red Sea and make a dry path for the people of Israel as they left Egypt (14:21–22; 15:10). The stormy wind fulfills God's word (Ps. 148:8).
Was Noah revealing unbelief when he sent out the birds or opened the hatch to look at the terrain? No, he was simply using available opportunities to gather data. It isn't wrong to have an understanding of the situation; just don't lean on your own understanding (Prov. 3:5–6). Obeying the will of God involves not only doing the right thing in the right way for the right motive, but it also means doing it at the right time. "My times are in Your hands" (Ps. 31:15 nkjv).
On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark rested on a peak in the mountains of Ararat, located in modern Turkey. We don't know which peak it was; explorers searching for the remains of the ark can't find much biblical data to help them. In later years, the seventh month was very special to the Jews, for during that month they ushered in the new year with the Feast of Trumpets and celebrated the day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:23–44).5
God rewarded Noah's faith, and the faith of his family, by caring for them in the ark for over a year and then preparing the earth for them so that they could leave the ark. Noah was like a "second Adam" as he made this new beginning for the human race. God had brought the earth out of the waters during creation week, preparing it for Adam and Eve, and now He had brought the earth through the flood and made it ready for Noah and his family. The Lord even gave Noah's
The Hebrew text says that "the ark came to rest," reminding us that Noah's name means "rest" and that his father Lamech had hoped that his son would bring rest to a weary world (Gen. 5:28–29). Though the ark had rested safely, Noah was waiting for the Lord to tell
Genesis 8
divine truth: God was satisfied with the sacrifice, accepted it, and was pleased with His people and their worship (Lev. 1:9; 3:16). If God refused to "smell" the fragrance of the offering, it meant that He was displeased with the worshippers (Lev. 26:31; Isa. 1:11–15).9 In New Testament language, the sacrifice speaks of Jesus Christ offering Himself up for us. "And walk in love, as Christ has also loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma" (Eph. 5:2 nkjv).
family and the animals the same mandate that He had given at the beginning: "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 8:17; 1:22, 28).
Noah prepared the ark "for the saving of his household" (Heb. 11:4 nkjv), and God was faithful to save his household. There's no indication in Scripture that Noah in his witnessing invited others to join him and his family in the ark, but he certainly must have encouraged them to trust God and prepare their own arks. Of course, nobody took his message seriously, and the world of that day perished (2 Peter 3:6).
In and of ourselves, we can't please God by what we are or by what we do, but by faith, we can be accepted in Jesus Christ. The Father said of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). Those who put their faith in Christ are "in Christ" (2 Cor. 5:17), and when the Father looks at them, He sees the righteousness of His Son (2 Cor. 5:21). Believers are "accepted in the beloved" Son who is well-pleasing to the Father (Eph. 1:6).
What was it that caused the population to reject God's word and perish? They were like the people in our Lord's parable (Luke 14:16–24) who were occupied with the ordinary things of daily life (Matt. 24:37–39) and unconcerned about eternity. They believed that life would go on as it always had and that nothing would change. They said that God wouldn't invade the world or interrupt the scheme of things, but He did! People today have the same attitude concerning the return of the Lord (2 Peter 3:1–9; 1 Thess. 5:1–10). When it comes to saving faith, each of us must trust Jesus Christ personally; we can't be saved by the faith of a substitute. Noah's wife, their three sons, and their three daughters-in-law were also believers; and they proved it by standing with Noah while he worked and witnessed, and then by entering the ark in obedience to the Lord.7
Like the ark that saved Noah and his family, Jesus Christ went through the storm of God's judgment for us. Jonah, who is a type of Christ in death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 12:38–40), went through the storm of God's wrath because of his disobedience, but Jesus went through the storm in obedience to God's will. Jesus could say, "All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me" (Ps. 42:7; Jonah 2:3). Our Lord's suffering on the cross was the "baptism" Jesus referred to in Luke 12:50 and that was pictured when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.
God receives worship (8:20) After he stepped out of the ark and stood on the renewed earth, Noah was so filled with gratitude that his first act was to lead his family in worship. He built an altar and offered some of the clean animals as sacrifices to the Lord.
God reaffirms the natural order (8:21–22) The Lord didn't speak these words to Noah; He spoke them to Himself in His own heart. It was His gracious response to Noah's faith, obedience, and worship. What did God promise?
Noah was a balanced believer. He walked with the Lord in loving communion and enjoyed His presence. He worked for the Lord in building the ark, and he witnessed for the Lord as "a preacher of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:5). While in the ark, he waited on the Lord for instructions concerning his leaving, and once he was standing on the earth, he worshipped the Lord. Like Abel, he brought God his very best (Gen. 4:4), and like the Sethite remnant, he called on the name of the Lord (v. 26). The true worship of the Lord had been restored on the earth.
The ground cursed no more (v. 21a). God had cursed the ground because of Adam's sin (3:17) and had added a further curse because of Cain's sins (4:11–12). God's promise recorded here didn't invalidate either of those curses, and they won't be removed until Jesus returns and God's people dwell in the Holy City (Rev. 22:3). But in His grace, God decided not to add to man's affliction.