Judgment
Comes
9/6/15
Gen 7:15-8:5
15 They went into the ark
with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16
And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had
commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.17 The flood continued forty days on
the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the
earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark
floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on
the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20
The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21
And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all
swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind.22 Everything on
the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out
every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals 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. 24 And the waters
prevailed on the earth 150 days.
8: But God remembered
Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.
And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The
fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from
the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth
continually.
At the end of 150 days
the waters had abated, 4 and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of
the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters
continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day
of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
History is marked with notable people & notable events.
· Many
people know where they where when certain events happened: Pearl Harbor, JFK,
9/11, Osama,
· The flood
is fixed in history…it’s not a myth, legend, or symbolic.
o 250-300 “flood stories” in diverse &
geographically distant cultures without contact with Christianity or Judaism = common historical event as source.
No other judgment in history is as widespread & severe as the flood.
· The flood came suddenly, but not without warning.
o For 120 years the
people were warned of the coming judgment to no avail.
o Animals came
to the ark @ exactly the right time. It was the final warning: and one of the great
miracles of Old Testament.
§ If the flood
was local, migration would be easier than spending 120 years building ark!
2nd catastrophic event in the history of world tied to 1st
= creation in 6 days. Gen 1:6-10, 7:10-12, 18-21
· God
brings water from below and above together again which destroys earth.
· ALL mountains
everywhere were under 23’ water. Ararat
= 17,000’ altitude
o From
entering > leaving ark = 371 total
days.
· There was
massive destruction: possibly 3-15 billion people died.
o People
lived to 900 plus years back then and there was no birth control aids.
This is not simply a natural worldwide disaster, but a supernatural
universal judgment by a sovereign,
omnipotent, Creator & Judge.
· It is entirely
fair & right, no matter how severe...people had time to repent.
o All people
were absolutely corrupt & deserved judgment.
· The
question should not be “how can a holy God judge sinful men?”; but rather, ‘Why
did He save any people?”
The flood is a story of redemption: God judge's sinners & graciously
rescues some from judgment. Gen 7:16-18,
8:1-2, 1 Pet
3:20-21, 2 Cor
1:21-22
· God
provided undeserving people a means of escape from judgment: ark
o Outside the
Ark: death & destruction. Within: life, safety & protection.
· God Himself closed and sealed door miraculously, without human
hands.
o Christians
are brought safely through judgment by being in Jesus Christ (ark) & are sealed
with the Holy Spirit.
§ That’s
what Communion celebrates!!!
· God continued treating
Noah graciously: the water stopped & the earth began drying out.
o Remembered
= action based on previous commitment not simply recall.
Flood is the single greatest warning/guarantee of fiery final judgment. Mt 24:37-39, 2 Pet 2:5, 9; 3:5-10, Acts 17:31
· This is
one of the reasons skeptics don't want to accept the universal flood.
· None
escaped judgment then, none will escape God’s coming judgment.
o Just as
then, the Lord has provided a means of salvation from judgment: Jesus!
Both then and now the Lord is in complete control of the world/people
& protects/provides for His people
in times of difficulty & midst of great judgments.
· You can trust
in the Controller of universe & what He brings into your lives.
o Like Noah
we are embarking on an incredible journey of faith that ends in a place very
different from world we leave behind.
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