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and which is the breath of life everything that is on the earth shall die but I will establish my covenant with you and you shall go into the ark you your sons your wife and your sons wives with you and of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you they shall be male and female of the birds after their kind of animals after their kind and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive and you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten and you shall gather it to yourself and it shall be food for you and for them thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him so he did amen well in this particular section of course we're dealing with the flood here in Chapter six and seven and eight the science behind it I would refer you to Answers in Genesis or one of those sorts of organizations where they get into all of the nuts and bolts in terms of the actual construction of the Ark and the makeup and the particulars with reference to the flood account I've mentioned several times in our studies in Genesis that this is not a scientific Bible study rather it's an attempt to do at least some justice to the text and draw out some theological lessons but in terms of the flood narrative basically we have seven stages or seven sections first the decision to send the flood and rescue Noah here in Chapter six at verses 8 to 12 secondly the command to build the ark chapter 6 verses 13 to 22 thirdly the command to enter the ark in chapter 7 verses 1 to 5 fourthly the floods come according to 7 6 22 24 v the floods abate in chapter 8 verses 1 to 14 sixth we have the command to exit the ark in chapter 8 verses 15 to 19 and then finally the building of the altar and the establishment of the Covenant in 822 9 17 so those are the various stages involved in the flood narrative now tonight we've already looked at verses one to seven last week so tonight we'll pick up verses 8 to 22 under two heads first the grace of God in the life of Noah in verses 8 to 12 and then secondly the instructions from God for the preparation of the ark but note first with reference to the grace of God in the life of Noah we looked at this last week but it bears repeating notice in verse 8 but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord there is a conspicuous pattern in scripture where grace comes and then conduct and we see that here with reference to Noah it's not the case that Noah found grace because he was a just man verse 9 and perfect in his generations rather he was a just man and perfect in his generations because he found grace in the eyes of the Lord that's the pattern that Scripture sets forth before us it's not that we do good things and God then rewards us with grace but rather God in His mercy and in his kindness grants us His grace and it's based on that that we engage in justice and the word perfect there with reference to Noah implies wholeness or completeness or blamelessness it does not mean sinless perfection do you see this in Ephesians 1 in Ephesians 1:3 Paul says blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ and then in verse 4 just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love he doesn't do so because we were holy and without blame he doesn't choose us because he looks down the tunnel of time and then he says wow this particular individual is going to do holy things and he's going to do blameless things therefore I'm gonna choose him and place him in Christ that's not the flow of the scripture and we see it here in Genesis chapter 6 with reference to Noah Noah found grace in the eyes of Yahweh and it's based on that reality that his conduct is conditioned it's not the case that God rewarded him with grace because of his goodness so the conspicuous pattern in the narrative the grace of God precedes the conduct of Noah as we consider the grace of God and what Noah does in light of the grace of God according to verses 9 and following we ought to consider Hebrews 11:7 the place of faith in other words when God grants grace to us we believe the gospel when God grants grace to us and we believe the gospel then we conduct ourselves in holiness and blamelessness and the writer Paul most likely in the book of Hebrews writes concerning Noah by faith Noah being divinely warned of things not yet seen moved with godly fear prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith so grace and faith are present in the heart and in the life of Noah it's not the case that his conduct somehow secured for him or one for him the grace of God but the grace of God provided for Noah so that he may conduct himself in contrast to the world around him and that's something we ought to appreciate here specifically in verses 8 to 12 there's a great market contrast between Noah and the rest of the world there's a contrast between righteous godly Noah vs. all flesh that have degraded themselves in terms of their rebellion against God their lack of justice and their lack of perfection that's what the author is doing here so it says Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and then in verse 9 this is the genealogy of Noah Noah was a just man perfect in his generations now walki defines it this way and the New King James margin has blameless as well this literally means whole or complete signifying wholehearted commitment commitment and wholeness of relationship the pairing of blameless and righteous suggests that no is wholly committed to righteousness giving his contemporaries no excuse to criticize his conduct blameless denotes to abstain from sin not to be without sin I think that's most important that we maintain that because the bible does not picture redeemed believers as those who are sinlessly perfect it's not the case that blamelessness or even the word perfection as used here necessarily implies that we'll arrive at that condition of sinless perfectionism on this side of heaven in fact you can turn to 2nd Samuel for just a moment 2nd Samuel chapter 22 a passage we have looked at before in our in our Sunday services but in 2nd samuel chapter 2 at verse 21 the lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompense me for i have kept the ways of the lord and have not wickedly departed from my god for all his judgments were before me and as for his statutes i did not depart from them I was also blameless before him and I kept myself from my iniquity therefore the Lord has recompense me according to my righteousness according to my cleanness in his eyes oh I'm sorry second Samuel 22 I didn't mention that I did not mention that sorry I meant second sin second Samuel 22 at verse 21 second Samuel 22 at verse 21 the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness according to the cleanness of my hands he has recompense me for I've kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my god for all his judgments were before me and as for his statutes I did not depart from them I was also blameless before him and I kept myself from my iniquity therefore the Lord has recompense me according to my righteousness according to my cleanness in his eyes now we all know the history of David David was not a sinlessly perfect man David in fact had a pedigree of great scent David had committed the sins of adultery and he had committed the sin of murder David certainly was not a man who walked perfect perfectly before God in terms of utter commitment to the law but nevertheless the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ which we know David enjoyed based on Psalm 32 enables him to say what he says in this particular passage he highlights his own righteousness he highlights his having kept the ways of the Lord he highlights the reality that he was blameless he highlights that he had kept himself from iniquity he can even say the Lord has recompense me according to my righteousness according to my cleanness in his eyes brethren the righteousness of Christ does a produce for the people of God that status or standing before God our brother quoted her cited second Corinthians 5:21 in his prayer God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become what the righteousness of God in him so going back to Genesis chapter 6 were not to suppose that Noah never sinned Noah was a just man Noah was a perfect man in his generations all of that because he had received the grace of God that is an order that is conspicuous that we need to observe and we need to he adhere to and then notice it highlights his sons Shem ham and Japheth they are mentioned again later in the chapter and certainly will come up later in the larger narrative so that's the description of Noah now note the contrast with the world in verses 11 and 12 the earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence now consider that language it was filled with violence God made man and woman in his own image Genesis 1:26 to 28 he told them to fill the earth he didn't tell them to fill the earth with violence rather he told them to fill the earth with other image-bearers that was the per in the plan they were to engage in the marital relationship they were to be fruitful and multiply and they were to fill the earth with the image of God they were to extend that garden temple throughout the earth so that the glory of God would be known all over the earth but instead man sent instead Adam rebels against God we see a rapid declension in terms of man before God such to the point now that the earth instead of being filled with people bearing the image of God though it is it is filled with violence in fact one man makes the observation mankind I don't want to say people kind had been enjoyed and joined to multiply and fill the earth but the proliferation of human population leads to a proliferation of lawless behavior you see once sin enters into the created order once sin is here it spreads rapidly and again we see that in the narrative from Adam to Cain all the way down the line another fellow has says whereas God has blessed the human family with the power of procreation to fill the earth these culprits have filled the earth by procreating violence so that is conspicuous in the passage we'll notice back to chapter 6 in verse 5 then the Lord saw pastor cam mentioned last week that is juxtaposed with the creation account throughout the creation account God saw what he made and it was good Genesis 6:5 then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth here the earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence sin brings a topsy-turvy situation into effect sin is most messy and it produces chaos rather than cosmo's God created a cosmos where he made man he made woman he made creature there was a particular order we get to Genesis 3 we've got the the snake speaking to the woman who gives the fruit to her husband it inverts God's design and purpose and plan and that's the nature of sin and you here being worked out among the sons of man such that the earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence and then in verse 12 we we so God looked upon the earth and indeed it was corrupt for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth go back again to verse 5 then the Lord saw notice in verse 12 so God looked upon the earth now that's language that's spoken in the manner of men we dealt with this last week there's a way to approach passages like these an omniscient God doesn't have to look to try and determine something does he God knows all things all the time every bit of knowledge is always before God this is written by God for us so that we can understand something the idea isn't that one Thursday morning God woke up from a long nap and he looked upon the earth and he saw that it was corrupt and filled with violence know the narrator is speaking to us in the manner of men to teach us something about God in terms of his response to the various situations that are going on on the earth the same sort of idea there in verse 6 the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth and he was grieved in his heart this is what's called an anthro papa 'the ism we've often heard the term anthropomorphism the ascription of body parts to God when we speak of God's mighty right arm we say the eyes of Yahweh run to and fro throughout the whole earth well God is spirit he doesn't have eyes he doesn't have hands he doesn't have feet he doesn't have a nose he doesn't have eyes ears and specifically in verse 6 it even speaks of him being grieved in his heart this is anthro Pope a thick language teaching us something about the badness of man and the justice and the righteousness and the judgment of God most high verse 7 so the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth both man and beast creeping thing and birds of the air for I am sorry that I have made them again the idea is not that God is going through some sort of emotional flux that God has somehow come unraveled or unglue but rather it's language spoken to us as men so that we can get our minds wrapped around something that is true of God and that true thing of God in this narrative is his judgment is coming upon a wicked and rebellious world that's the lesson that Noah would have for us not that God is like us in terms of emotional change so the narrative continues in that vein in verse 12 so God looked upon the earth and indeed it was corrupt for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth the narrator paints Noah as pure white and his world as pitch-black this is Walt gay I think that's a very good observation the contrast between Noah and the world is definitive and it's stark what makes the difference it's the grace of God what makes the difference for any of us that were not considered amongst the all flesh of our generation that is given wholly to corruption and wholly to violence it's not that we're good it's not that we've arrived it's not that we have an adversity or an aversion rather to corruption and violence we're not any better off than anybody else saved for the grace of God we often say that but for the grace of God there go I but I'm not sure we really actually embrace that when it comes to the realization in what we're dealing with it's grace that distinguished Noah it's grace that produced Noah as a just man perfect in his generations in contre distinction from this earth that was filled with corruption and violence it's owing to God's grace God's goodness God's mercy and God's Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ we see that collective seed of genesis 3:15 being even more distinguished we see it narrowed down now to just Noah and his family they're gonna be the family from whence Messiah the seed of the woman will ultimately come everybody else at this particular juncture is the seed of the devil and they're gonna die in a watery grave imposed by God now notice secondly in terms of the instructions from God for the preparation of the art there's this announcement of judgment in verse 13 God said to Noah the end of all flesh has come before me for the earth is filled with violence through them in other words it's because of the all flesh it's because of their conduct it's because of their violence that they are bringing this judgment upon themselves man is responsible for his depravity man is responsible for his corruption man is responsible when he murders when he Rob's when he rapes when he engages in the sorts of things that God condemns and that is highlighted here the end of all flesh has come before me for the earth is filled with violence through them and then note the divine initiative in terms of the judgment to come and behold I will destroy them with the earth verse 17 and behold I myself and bringing flood waters on the earth this wasn't due to natural causes this wasn't due to a you know a full canopy this wasn't due to the earth just needed a good soaking this was due to the sovereignty of God in his wrath his fury and his judgment in terms of bringing punishment upon sinners for the violence that they had brought into the earth now brethren if there's ever a time when our generation ought to take heed we live in a violent generation abortion and euthanasia and the you know drive-by shootings and the various sorts of violence that are perpetuated on the earth this passage ought to terrify us now we don't have the prompt or we do have the promise of God that there'll be no worldwide flood duplicate it but that does not mean there isn't chastisement there isn't judgment there isn't negative sanction there isn't justice coming from God upon a people that continue to perpetuate the sorts of things that they did in this pre flood situation and then note the instructions in terms of the building of the art in verses 14 to 16 the general construction in verse 14 the sighs of the art in verse 15 now some suggested that the cubit here wasn't your typical 18 inch cubit some suggested that it was a larger q but a larger measure our unit of measure because of all that was necessary in terms of of sheltering Noah and his family and the animals but I think again those scientific places have shown that the the ark as it was fashioned was able to do the job and basically what it was was 450 feet long 70 feet 75 feet wide and 45 feet high and Walt key again says the key word Ark is used seven times in the instructions to build the ark and seven times in the report of the society of the waters and only once again in scripture in the salvation of baby Moses one wonders as Moses was writing Exodus chapter 2 it did he muse on the fact that this is the same word that was utilized in terms of Noah and his deliverance from the judgment to come maybe he had a bit of a Amen moment or a bit of doxological praise unto God that he too was delivered from a watery grave by an ark similar to Noah and then Walt eek Walt he continues and says the narrator does not mention a rudder or navigational aids I mean that would be the first thing we'd do it's got this great engine it's got this outboard it's got you know all this stuff the narrator does not mention a rudder or navigational aids suggesting what that the fate of the art depends solely on the will of God Meredith client agrees the course nots and destination were completely in the hands of God so they were to enter the ark as the means of deliverance or salvation or preservation it would be God Most High that would guide it direct it and bring it to wherever it is he would want it and then the interior of the Ark in verse 16 you shall make a window for the ark you shall finish it to a cubit from above you shall set and set the door of the ark in its side you shall make it with lower second and third Dax again the literature gets into the various sorts of ways that animals and humans and various things were placed on the ark all that stuff is available I think probably the you know simplest explanation I think was John Gill the big animals were on the bottom the food was in the middle and man and the the birds were on the top floor and he just seems to make sense to me that seems the most common sensical way to go to go about that and then note with reference to god's covenant in verses 17 to 21 this is important it'll be developed later in Genesis chapter 9 the no way at covenant the reality that God makes this covenant with Noah and when we get to Genesis chapter 9 we'll see the particular points involved in terms of its application to creation here specifically God is referring to his promise to Noah and his family with reference to their provision the protection their sustenance their deliverance from these floodwaters later as I said the noahic covenant will be developed and essentially the noahic covenant is a common grace covenant it provides sort of the structure the the moral Stabila the stability in the moral order for the preaching of redemptive grace it's not the covenant of grace but rather it serves the covenant of grace in terms of providing a stable context in which the special grace of God can be preached so we'll get to that Genesis 9 no way at covenant God willing in a in a couple of weeks but notice here in verse 17 and behold I myself and bringing flood waters on the earth to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life everything that is on the earth shall die and I think if anything we ought to appreciate that the judgment of God you know it's one thing to figure try and reckon what was on the bottom level of the ark and what was in the middle level and what was on the top level and miss the point of the narrative God is angry with the wicked every day God does not Brook rivals when it comes to his glory and he certainly does not bear up under creation where image bearers have corrupted themselves corrupted the earth and filled it with violence you may be able to recite the various dimensions of the art but if you don't get the emphasis in the passage it's ultimately not going to do you a whole lot of good in other words when you take your kids through Genesis chapter 6 yeah kids love to hear about Noah's Ark then you know it always you know amazes me that you see these pictures of you know the boat and all the happy animals with their smiling faces and and it's such a positive image isn't it now it is certainly a positive thing with reference to Noah and his family but not for those outside the ark and that far outnumbered those within New York it was the judgment and the wrath and the fury of God most high so by all means teach your kids the dimensions of the ark but teach them what God thinks concerning sin everything that is on the earth shall die now note verse 18 but I will establish my covenant with you now it's interesting because this isn't the language typically used in terms of covenant making typically covenant making is used or the terminology is I will cut a covenant with you and commentators and lexicographers and those who are tasked with such things suggest that cutting a covenant most likely has to do with the the ceremony oftentimes utilized in covenant making in other words cutting a covenant refers to or reflects the practice say found in Genesis chapter 15 when God comes to make covenant with Abraham God cuts animals into pieces and puts them on either side of a path and then the idea is with reference to covenant making the parties to the covenant walk between those carcasses walk between those cut animals and the idea is is that if one or both parties renege on the Covenant then may what happened to those animals happen to the participants in the Covenant in other words may we be cut in half like these animals if we break the commitment or covenant that we have made so a lot of people suppose that this language of cutting a covenant has that sort of ceremony in the background that's not what's in view here it's not I will establish my covenant but rather I will renew I will remember which has led some to suppose that there was a previous promise from God to Noah that he would in fact uphold that he would in fact continue in this covenant that he had made with Noah so the noahic covenant properly speaking is defined in in genesis chapter 6 in terms of its application to the created order this is God's covenant with Noah specifically that he would preserve his family and that is precisely what we have in incidentally this is the first use of covenant in the Bible Genesis 6:18 that doesn't mean that covenant isn't present if we weren't being sort of live-streamed right now it pause and say where's the first instance of covenant in the Bible and everybody would say Genesis chapter 2 because in Genesis chapter 2 we have what's called the covenant of works and for those who say but you just said that the word covenant doesn't appear appear until Genesis 6:18 how in the world could it be in Genesis to someone else would rightly answer that's the the word concept fallacy the word doesn't have to be present for the concept to be present the word Trinity never shows up in the Bible the doctrine of the Trinity is everywhere in the Bible in other words you don't need the word covenant in Genesis chapter 2 when you have all the parties when you have the stipulations when you have the sanctions when you have the promises the blessings all that stuff is there so Genesis 2 is the first covenant that we see in the Bible Genesis chapter 9 in terms of the noahic covenant is that which is apply to all of creation but here specifically the promise says deliverance for Noah and his family verse 18 I will establish my covenant with you and you shall go into the ark you your sons your wife and your sons wives with you and again when you're teaching your kids you might want to get a little tip illogical and say boy isn't Jesus like that Ark isn't Jesus and art for all of God's know us isn't Jesus the the one that can shield you from those those waters of God's wrath I mean that's that's legit it may not be the case that Moses wanted us to develop a whole church or kingdom or or sort of Jesus theology from Genesis 6 in terms of the art but it's certainly applicable and it's certainly something that we ought to point kids to and we ought to remind ourselves off that Jesus is as an art for all of God's Noah's and so it's not only for Noah it's for his sons it's as his wife and his sons wives with them and then in verse 19 and of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you they shall be male and female for obvious reasons now some again would say how could he ever Marshall them or corral them others have suggested it and any of them hibernated while they were on the ark maybe you know many of them were brought in as babies you you don't necessarily need to bring a fully grown mature at Elephant you could bring a baby elephant as long as you have a baby elephant boy and a baby elephant girl then once they hit the you know riper years or everything will be fine so you know there's ways to explain what is going on here but what is really intriguing is found in verse 20 of the birds after they're kind of animals after their kind and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind sounds like the creation account doesn't it we're gonna end tonight by looking at some parallels between Adam and Noah Noah is a second Adam Noah is another Adam Noah is functioning in that particular capacity the language here is the language used in the creation account but then notice in verse 20 of the birds after they're kind of animals after their kind and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind two of every kind no two we'll come to you to keep them alive so the God of heaven and earth that made the world and all things in it the God who has purpose to preserve Noah didn't make Noah go out on this expedition to find two of every animal the animals come to Noah just like they came to Adam see Adam and Noah both had a function with reference to animals exercising dominion over them Adam in the naming Noah in the preserve a but God brought these animals to the ark so he didn't you know put his safari hat on and his khaki pants and get his whip out so he could go out and you know chase down the giraffes no God brought the animals to Noah so that he could secure them on the ark the divinity or the the the sovereignty of God is conspicuous in the passage not walki notes this he says God's power can be discerned in the instinctual coming of the animals to Noah can't imagine just being a spectator to see all these animals going to Noah if you were the ones that rejected the preaching of Noah that would have had to have alarmed you that would have really probably freaked you out I mean remember this doesn't happen overnight Noah's at this for a while Peter tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness Noah's not only pounding nails into the heart but he's calling on the sinners to repent and so these sinners are probably just waving their arms at him probably you know scoffing at him belittling him saying why would you ever in the world engage in this kind of an activity well when those sinners see those animals wandering to the ark I would imagine that I would you would like to think that it would at least cause a bit of a double tank you know kind of like those those troops of Pharaoh when they're walking between the waters that were spread apart by the Red Sea I've always thought of that particular crew is they're wandering they're probably seeing the fish you know you don't really think of that but the the waters are sort of walled up everything that's in the water you could still see and then their chariot wheels fall off I got to imagine somebody in that line thought man this does not bode well for us you're between these two walls of water and your chair wheels fall off that's got to be a scary situation that's the kind of situation man is in today when he reads this sort of thing and he doesn't take heed to it he's no better than that soldier in Pharaoh's army walking between those water's walled up he's no better than those who are watching all these animals wander to Noah I mean that this happens should have caused them to say Oh Noah please invite me into the Ark with you and yet today people read this stuff they scoff at it they reject it they don't listen to it they they write it off as as so many fairy tales and yet this is the judgment of God most high and then note that Noah has a particular responsibility in verse 21 you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten and you shall gather it to yourself and it shall be food for you and for that and this takes work it's about a hundred year period between the time the construction of the ark starts and when the flood waters calm now that doesn't necessarily mean that every you know moment of those hundred years Noah was built building the ark but it didn't happen overnight and the collection of sufficient food to make sure that that Noah his family and all these animals had something to eat would require a great deal of diligence on the part of Noah you want to talk about industry Noah knew something about being like an ant no one knew what it was to be a diligent man and then note verse 22 then thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him so he did so the grace of God operative in Noah's art produced in Noah faith so that he may lay hold of Jesus Christ which results in a conduct that is marked by just Ness by perfection again not sinless Ness but blamelessness and obedience to the Word of the Living God now that does take great faith that's why the book of Hebrews says what it does by faith Noah being divinely warned of things not yet seen moved with godly fear the essence of faith faith being divinely warned of things not yet seen that's what faith is right we don't need faith to know that this is a black folder this is a blue hem book we we observe that we see that but faith lays hold on those things which are not yet seen and then he's moved with godly fear was grace that taught my heart to fear not just John Newton but Jeremiah the Prophet said that prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith so according a rather thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him so he did now this would have been a great expression of the faith of this particular man in conclusion we ought not to leave the chapter without highlighting first the wickedness of man we see it not only in verses 11 and 12 and verse 13 but also in verse 5 remember verse 5 is sort of a classic passage with reference to the doctrine of total depravity then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth so that's the external conduct the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth but sin isn't just an external conduct thing and that's what the rest of verse 5 goes on to highlight and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually so sin isn't just an out-there thing that sin rather emanates from in here too out there and Genesis 6:5 highlights that it's a crucial passage attached with reference to the doctrine of total depravity if you're gonna ask the Bible what does the Bible say about the doctrine of sin or depravity please make sure you include Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5 he saw the wickedness of man it was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually that's total depravity that's the tax book classic definition of total depravity we ought to appreciate secondly the Justice of God not only verses 13 and 17 in the passage but also in verse seven I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth divine initiative judgment comes from God it's not a natural cause it's not just the the clouds got filled up it is rather the judgment of God Almighty we ought to appreciate the grace of God in the midst of this Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord I mean that's just beautiful isn't it the amazing thing in Genesis 6 isn't that God judged the world by watery flood it's that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord that's what's amazing in Genesis 6 Genesis 6 in terms of the judgment and a watery grave and posed upon these centers that makes sense doesn't it that's what sinners deserve when you are exceedingly corrupt and you fill the earth with violence you're calling upon the moral governor of the universe to judge you that that's all there is to it you know when you give your child a particular command and that child disobeys that command that child is asking for in fact sometimes to say that you're asking for it right that's what's happening in Genesis 6 the truly amazing thing in Genesis 6 is eight Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord in the mass of humanity that it did that it debauch themselves there's this one man who found grace in the eyes of the Lord and then in terms of the faithfulness of Noah the faithfulness of Noah not to sort of parade him as you know Noah's the hero of the story God's the hero of the story it's the grace of God operative in Noah that brings him to faith in Jesus and that produces the justice and the perfection and the obedience to his work but just some observations in terms of the faithfulness of Noah he is faithful in a faithless world and I remember going through Hebrews 11 the various the the various personages they're the persons mentioned they're all have challenging situations we all think that oh man trying to have faith in my life is so hard because my family is terrible well you know Abel is mentioned in Hebrews 11 you may have a bad family but your brother Kane isn't taking you out to the field to introduce you to neither his fist or a rock or a knife or whatever it was that he would use to dispatch Abel you you might have a difficult time in a godless society but it's not like what Noah faced I mean don't we think that was just the worst it's ever been it's just there I mean nobody's ever had at this back nobody knows the troubles I've seen all right there's a little song that goes that way but the earth was corrupt it was filled with violence such that God relented that he had made man on the earth and yet in the midst of faithlessness Noah's faithful you see it can be done the grace of God is powerful enough to sustain support and stabilize the people of God so that they can remain faithful in a faithless world they can remain faithful in a godless family they they're able they can remain faithful even when God tells them things that just seem crazy Abraham or Abraham and Sarah told you're gonna have you be the father of many nations well didn't take Abraham you know to have a PhD in biology to realize that this probably ain't gonna happen at age 100 and age 99 remember this is after when they live to 900 I mean 100 would have been you know puberty if you live to 900 so it would have been no brainer at that point but abraham believed God didn't he you see the Bible tells us that whatever our condition whatever our lot whatever our trial whatever our affliction whatever our difficulty our faith in God in being sustainable and this is what's happening with Noah and then he was faithful in spite of a multitude of challenges not not just the godlessness around him Calvin has a brilliant section very pastoral in nature if you have comment Calvin's commentaries pull Calvin out on this passage because it's it's just beautiful but he speaks concerning the size of the ark now remember Noah doesn't have you know Northrop Grumman at his disposal no they they build the b-2 bomber he doesn't have you know whoever builds those great cruise ships at his disposal he doesn't have the sorts of tools that we have today at our disposal Noah's got a hammer he's got nails and he's told to build an ark imagine the amount of trees that go into this imagine getting those trees from wherever you cut them down to the point where you're going to put them together as the ark so we don't stop and ponder the various elements involved in the enormity of the task at hand Kalvin brings this out and I think it's beautiful so the multitude of trees the transport of the lumber and the construction itself I mean you'd have crews to go cut down trees another computer to transport the trees via train or helicopter if your way up or or or truck and then you have another crew that constructs it right look at the division of labor we thrive on that today and and there's nothing wrong with that that's that's a smart way to do business but but no it didn't have happened he had faith in God which drove obedience to God and enabled him to persevere through whatever obstacles had to be persevered through because he saw something beyond this present lower world as well the the time involved again about a hundred years between instructions and fought it's probably not the case that every moment of those hundred years but it's probably not the case it took a year this was grit determination for a long time again we have various crews and it still takes a long time to get things done now not only that he is pounding nails and preaching righteousness now if we are to judge from this passage we can't imagine that the defining characteristics of the people of his age would have been friendly they probably wouldn't today we really admire the hard work that you're engaged in they probably mocked him they probably scoffed at him they rejected him imagine you not only have to go to work but when you're actually working people are yelling and screaming and blaspheming and and and basically making fun of you you most people have something in place where they're sort of protected from that kind of work environment you go to your boss and say hey somebody was throwing rocks at me today the boss is gonna get on it take care of it so that you can do good work so he has all these obstacles and then and then Calvin also mentions the gathering of sufficient food I don't know what a giraffe eats oh I think they eat leaves because I saw him at the zoo once you know they just eat leaves but there's probably animals I have no idea what they Noah's gotta figure this out and no one's got to go gather all this stuff and then Calvin after speaking on this or highlighting these various elements makes this observation let us reflect on these conflicts of the holy man so severe and multiplied and long-continued in order that we may know how heroic was his courage in prosecuting to the utmost what God had commanded him to do Moses indeed says in a single word that he did it but we must consider how far beyond all human power was the doing of it and that it would have been better to die a hundred deaths than to undertake a work so laborious unless he had looked to something higher than the present life every nail that he pounded every pitch that he poured every read that he laid in place he looked beyond to the God of heaven and earth in terms of theology the similar use of language and the creation account here and also in the construction of the temple I think Tabernacle / temple there's a compelling case to be made that the ark was a temple as well we saw that with Wrath prince2 the Garden of Eden it's a temple sanctuary God dwells with his people there many have well argued we just don't have the time to go through all the particulars and the data involved with the ark functioned similarly and even the structure of it these sort of three levels that's stuff you see in the tabernacle and you you see in the temple and then the parallels with Adam both worlds are created out of a watery chaos both Adam and Noah are uniquely associated with the image of God both Adam and Noah walk with God both Adam and Noah rule the animals Adam by naming and Noah by preserving both receive the Commission to be fruitful and multiply both work the ground both follow a similar pattern of sinning Adam by eating and Noah by drinking and then the immediate result of their sin is shameful nakedness now again when you look at that sort of thing you see the theology to be sure but you see the that it's a literary masterpiece the way that Moses writes under inspiration holy spirit it is absolutely brilliant the way the narrative is is is knitted together and the way that it produces these things that coalesce into a glorious theology of God is in Christ reconciling the world to himself and then the final observation was the covenant with Noah but will say that for when we get to Genesis chapter 9 well let's close in a word of Prayer our Father we thank you for the book of Genesis for all of the scripture we know it's given by inspiration of God and that it's profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness and we stand amazed at the grace of God given to a man Noah in a in a perverse and a wicked and and an evil generation we rejoice God in the grace given to us we prayed that it would produce in our hearts not only a lively faith in our Lord Jesus Christ but that justness and that that blamelessness and that obedience unto you we ask that you would go with us now help us to be faithful in our generation help us to look beyond the various trials and the difficulties that we all face to the God of heaven and earth and we pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen