THROUGH THE BIBLE: Genesis 7..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. This is the word of the Lord. 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 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, 40 days and 40 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 600 years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth.

And Noah and his sons, and his wife, and his son's 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 600th year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the 17th day of the month, on that day, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of heaven were opened, and rain fell upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights. On the very same day, Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark.

They and every beast according to his kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every winged creature They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh, in which there was breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him, and the Lord shut him in. The flood continued 40 days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters.

And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them 15 cubits deep, and all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and male and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth.

Only Noah was left and those who were with him in the ark and the waters prevailed on the earth. 150 days. Amen. This is a story that is so familiar to all of us, whether we have lived in Christian circles for many years or if we haven't. This story is well known, the story of Noah and the ark is well known to every one of us.

But the picture painted for us may have been a different picture. See, as we were growing up, we may have actually seen that Noah, we've seen pictures or depictions of Noah and his family in an ark with all these animals hanging their heads over the ark, looking upon this wonderful, serene river, so to speak, and maybe a giraffe poking his head out of the boat, because it's too long for the boat. But brothers and sisters, this is not the picture the pie of the Bible paints for us. This story is far, far from being pleasant. It's the most devastating event in history in terms of loss of human lives.

It's estimated at the time of the flood, the population was up to a billion people, not including animals. One billion people. All of them, every single person, except for the eight that were on the ark, faced the horrific death of drowning in this unparalleled mass destruction of human life caused by a universal flood. The shocking news for many is that this mass killing was not a product of, or a freak product of nature. Rather, this was designed and executed by God himself.

Last week, Nelson summarized for us chapter six of Genesis with the word judgment, judgment. God in his holiness and in his justice pronounces judgment upon the world. Why? The text tells us why. 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.

Now in chapter seven, God affects that judgment. Listen to God's chilling words in verse four. 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." This devastation is the doing of the Almighty God. He takes full responsibility for it, all of it.

all living creatures, and up to a billion human beings died that day. God is cleansing the world of sin and corruption, and he has the right to do so. We sometimes think in our contemporary minds that the pre-deluvian or the pre-flood generation back then was so much more wicked and vile than our generation here today. We think that the human corruption back then was much worse than it is today. But can I say, my beloved, not much has changed.

Sin is still sin. Don't for a moment think that you or I are any better than those people. Don't for a moment think that apart from Christ, we aren't also sinfully depraved, completely, fully given over to the lusts of this world. The description given in chapter 6, every intention of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually, apart from the incarnate Son of God, applies to every single human being who ever existed, you and I included. Paul writes to the Christians in Rome, none is righteous.

No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside together. They have become worthless.

No one does good, not even one. Beloved, don't look down on the pre-generation or the pre-flood generation in disgust. Look up to God with gratitude. However, judgment and death is not the end for everyone. There is good news for some.

Few will be spared this righteous indignation of God. Eight people, in fact, and a bunch of animals. Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their three wives. A pair of every kind of animal, male and female, and seven pairs of every clean animal. Now we know many of the clean animals in the next chapter, chapter eight, after Noah and his family comes off the ark, will be offered as sacrifices to God.

Last week, it was explained to us that the favor of God upon Noah was not because of Noah's own doing or because of Noah's own work. It was the extension of God's grace that caused Noah to believe and walk with God. Beloved, apart from the divine intervention, we are all totally depraved, including Noah. Noah exercised his faith in God only because God gave him spiritual eyes to believe. He was accounted righteous because he believed in God and obeyed God.

Throughout the text of this chapter and the previous one, we see these words, and Noah did all that God commanded him. True faith is always accompanied with true obedience. If we claim to have faith in God, but don't obey His words, what we have is not faith at all. James 2, 26 is clear on this point. Faith apart from works is dead.

True faith is obedient faith, and it's zealous for God. Peter tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. His message, we're not told. But surely it was to repent and turn to God for forgiveness. Do you know how many converts this preacher had?

None. Zero. No one cared. Sin has a blinding effect on man and it makes man a fool. But Noah believed, and he did all that God commanded.

Despite the mocking, he believed God's promise and obeyed. He built this massive wooden structure, taking possibly up to 100 years to build, and remained faithful despite being seen as a madman among his peers. Now by faith Noah and his family bought the ark, with all the animals now on board, in an act of fatherly love and kindness, the doors of the ark are now closed by God himself. And the text tells us this. And they're not to be reopened until the waters that brought about destruction of all flesh and all that God has created is accomplished.

Seven days later, the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven, the windows of the heavens open up, gushing water upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights. Outside the ark, maybe for a short few hours, there was novelty and excitement, possibly. You see, no one had ever seen rain before. But after a very short period of time, this novelty wore out quickly, turning into sheer terror. all that these people had ever worked for, all their possessions, all that they had ever built over their whole existence, all of it, including their families and their very own lives were being destroyed before their very eyes.

It's not the stuff that they'd accumulated over time that is their main concern now. It's their very lives. The horror would have been unthinkable. No matter how much screaming, shouting, wailing, or weeping, it's too late. The doors of the ark are now shut.

They've been shut by God. God turned his back on these people. He pours out his wrath on them. But the worst is yet to come. You see, after they die physically, they open their eyes only to experience an eternity in their never-ending fires of hell.

Beloved, God hates sin. God hates corruption. God hates rebellion. A holy and righteous God must act in response to evil. He may let it go unpunished for a time, but he would eventually have to judge the world in righteousness.

And so he destroys all flesh in the time of Noah. Back on the ark though, Noah and his family, they were dry. They were safe and they were secure. They had nothing to fear because God had made a covenant with Noah to preserve his life and the life of his own family. God would be their protection and God would be their refuge.

Noah trusted God's promises and acted in obedience. The Bible tells us that the judgment of God will be executed one final time. He has appointed a time and an hour by his own choosing through his son. When that time comes, beloved, and that time will come, it'll be too late for anyone who is not on the ark of refuge. Many would have mocked and ridiculed Noah and his family, but they got on the ark only because they believed the promises of God.

We know this ark is the type of Christ. And the Bible tells us, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. That's Paul 12. God has made a covenant to save everyone who believes upon his son. He will save them as he saved Noah and his family.

All else, beloved, will come to nothing. And apart from Christ, there is only death and destruction. Beloved, are you in this covenant with Christ? Are you in the ark? Have you by faith been united with Jesus Christ, the only Saviour?

Because if you have been, just like Noah and his family, you have nothing to fear. Amen.