Remsen Bible Fellowship, 01/28/2024
“God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 3:20–21
Introduction
Of all the problems facing humanity, here is the greatest: God. God, the Creator and Ruler of all, is a just judge. And we, his creatures, have all rebelled against him. What this means is that we, like those in Noah’s day, are in a place of needing salvation. Because the judgment of God will come. Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” We have sown rebellion, and so we are in line to receive wrath.
If you remember our text from last week, this is precisely where the people of Noah’s day were. The wickedness on earth had increased to the point where God had determined to blot humanity out. We’ll pick up in Genesis 6:9 and read through the end of chapter 7.
Read the Text
Transition
Before I get too far into this sermon, I should address a common question: is this narrative true? I’m not going to delve into the scientific and historical reasons that we can have confidence in this text: there are plenty of resources along those lines, and if that’s the sort of material that turns your crank, I can give you some suggestions. For the purposes of this morning, I think it’s simple enough to say that all of the later Old Testament writers, as well as the New Testament writers - and our Lord Jesus himself (Matthew 24:37) - took this narrative to be historical. Here’s how I reason through this (argument from the greater to the lesser): if someone tells you something impossible - that he would rise from the dead three days after his crucifixion - and then does it…well, let’s just say I’m going to take his word about history, even if it conflicts with modern theories. This text presents itself as a historical narrative, that’s how Jesus read it, and so as Christians, that’s how we read it. No one today is smarter than Jesus.
As we look at the very long text, I want to focus on three words: earth, Noah, and Ark.
Earth
I was amazed, when I read this passage out loud [sidenote: a helpful thing to do if you’re having a hard time concentrating or staying awake while reading the Bible - stand up, walk slowly, read out loud - involve multiple sense if you are struggling to stay awake or comprehend], how frequently the word “earth” occurs. By my count, it occurs at least 18 times between 6:9-7:24. And what do we learn about the earth? Well, primarily we learn what an awful place it had become.
Verse 11 tells us that the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence. This is repeated in v12 when we are told that God saw the earth’s corruption, and that it had become so corrupted because “all flesh” had corrupted their way upon the earth. The level of corruption had become so bad that God determined to destroy the entire earth.
This feels like whiplash from just a couple of chapters earlier when in Genesis 1-2 we hear repeatedly, “it was good, and God saw that it was good, it was good, and God saw that it was very good, etc.” Now it has become so ruined, so corrupted, so polluted by sin that God decides to undo everything and essentially start over.
How can this be? Couldn’t God have just sent some kind of super disease to only kill humans, I mean, it was their fault, right? Why did the rest of all the living creatures have to die - and why destroy the earth itself?
Two observations along those lines:
It’s worth noting that v12 says that “all flesh” in this passage relates primarily to animals, not humans. Though the Hebrew word can be used with reference to the human body, in v19 we have reference to “every living thing of all flesh” clearly in association with animals; likewise again in 7:15, 16, 21. And in that final reference “all flesh” is distinguished from “all mankind” or all adam in Hebrew. What this means is that the reference to all flesh becoming corrupt in v12 means that even things within the animal kingdom are awry. The animals themselves have become corrupted, and now sit under God’s judgment.
This does clearly relate to human sin, though. Remember the argument I made back in the early chapters of Genesis that men and women are made to be lords over creation. As those given dominion and responsibility, our actions do matter for the created world. The idea that the earth is just this great, big, unshakeable force and what we do doesn’t really matter because the earth doesn’t care - this is not the Christian worldview. God’s word says that humanity’s sin matters for all of creation. This was true in the days leading up to the flood, and it is true today (Romans 8:18-23).
All of this to say, it makes perfect sense that in humanity’s great corruption and wickedness, the animals would begin to act in ways not originally natural to them, as well. They would become corrupted. And they suffer for the consequences of the sins of mankind.
What we have in the flood narrative is essentially the language of de-creation. God is unmaking the world because of human sin, and violently so:
“10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” Genesis 7:10–12.
Notice that the fountains of the deep are bursting forth and the windows of heaven are opened - it’s as if the separation of waters from water in Genesis 1:6-7 is being undone. Similarly with the waters covering the earth to a depth of over 15 cubits, or over 20 feet (7:20) - the separation of land and waters from Genesis 1:9-10 is being undone. God is not just destroying all life - he’s unmaking the world.
Noah
How could anyone survive such a fearsome de-creation? Well, the obvious answer is that no one could - apart from divine intervention. And Noah was the recipient of such divine help. The passage is introduced to us in v9 as the generations of Noah. Remember, that phrase “generations of”, or toledot in Hebrew, marks off each new section in the book of Genesis. And what we are told about Noah stands in stark contrast to what we have learned about the rest of humanity in his time period. He is described as a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Now, this does not mean, as will become obvious later in his story, that Noah was a sinless man. But he did not share in the blame of the general corruption and debauchery which characterized his day. What made him different? Noah walked with God.
Now, it’s important to get this clear reading in retrospect: Noah’s righteousness did not fit him for a relationship with God. Noah had a sin nature like everyone else this side of Adam. Though Moses isn’t using these terms, which will be introduced in the life of Abraham, Noah clearly has faith in God. He believes what God says. He listens when told that judgment is coming upon the earth. And he believes the word of promise, the good news, that he receives: obey me, and you will live. Though Moses (the author) hasn’t given us faith language yet, that’s clearly what we see: Noah has faith in what God says, he believes God.
How clear is this, you ask? Look at Noah’s behavior: God gives him some pretty rough blueprints for an “ark.” We’ll talk about the ark shortly, but this thing was huge. How could anyone undertake such a task without faith?
There is an incredibly important word in v18 that sets a pattern for God’s relationship with humanity: covenant. God tells Noah that he is going to make a covenant with him, and that covenant is going to bring Noah salvation. This covenant is all of grace - Noah did not deserve it - and yet it also does require Noah to give his full trust and obedience to the Lord if he is to be saved. To quote OT scholars Ross and Oswalt,
“The arrangement that God made with Noah includes the main features of a unilateral covenant. The Lord announced what he was going to do for and through Noah and made stipulations for Noah to follow. The announcement of God was sure; but Noah’s participation in the plan required faith, faith demonstrated by obedience.”
Noah was told to build this great ship, to lay aside food for himself and his family, and to bring in two of each kind of living creature. This is a massive undertaking. An undertaking of faith.
This is an incredibly important distinction to make: Noah’s obedience in building this boat and making these preparations didn’t earn him God’s salvation. God did not owe Noah anything, Noah wasn’t putting God in his debt, “see what I’ve done to earn salvation!” No, God was giving this to him as a gift. But the nature of the gift was such that if Noah did not respond with obedient faith, then he and his family would be lost. This is, in fact, the whole point of the book of James. True faith is a matter of the heart. No true faith stays in the heart. As one pastor put it, faith comes out your fingertips. Noah received God’s gracious covenant of salvation, and by faith he laid hold of a hammer and saw.
Ark
And what did he build with that hammer and saw? Just what God told him to: an ark. The word “ark” is probably borrowed from an Egyptian word meaning “chest” or “coffin.” And the description we get of the ark is a lot like a giant chest. In the ESV the dimensions are rendered in cubits, and the cubit was a measurement of elbow to fingertip - roughly 18 inches. Admitting that these numbers are rough, it still gives us a good guess at the size of this thing: 450 ft long, 75 ft wide, and 45 ft high. With three decks, this thing would have had the floorspace of well over 100,000 sq ft. I looked up WalMart in Le Mars, and their building is just shy of 150,000 sq ft. So basically, think about something that would have about as much floorspace as the actual shopping part of your local WalMart. This begins to answer some of the questions about “how would all the critters fit?” There was a lot of space.
The most important thing for us to consider, as we think about this passage, though, is what was the purpose of the ark? What role did it play?
The ark was the place of salvation. Noah and his family, and all these animals, entered into a giant coffin. Then God shut them in, and after 7 days (what a long seven days that must have been for Noah and his family!) God unleashed the waters of his judgment. But this ark bore them up, it was lifted by the waters, and the waters of judgment lifted Noah and company to safety. The ark, a giant symbol of God’s wrath upon the corrupt earth, was the means of salvation for Noah and his family.
It’s interesting to note that the only other time the word “ark” is used in the OT, it is in reference to the basket Moses’ mother made for him in the book of Exodus (the “ark” of the covenant is a different Hebrew word).
If we return to our 1 Peter 3 passage briefly, we get some light on Peter’s imagery: baptism saves, like the ark saved: the means of God’s judgment (watery death) is what lifted the very ark in which they were saved. So those who trust in Christ have been identified with his judgment-absorbing death, and are brought into his body. This is symbolized in the waters of baptism, when they pass through a watery death. They then pass into the ark of…of what? Christ himself, yes, that is good New Testament language. But that language in the NT isn’t just “spiritual” or figurative language. To be joined to Christ spiritually means you are called to enter the ark that Christ himself is building: the ark of his church.
Tying it Together
An earth filled with evil faced the righteous judgment of God. Noah and his family found God’s favor, and walked with God. God gave the ark as a means of his salvation.
The earth is just as filled with violence, wickedness, and evil as it was in the days of Noah. And we all, by nature, participate in that corruption. In Isaiah 6:5 the prophet cries out “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” A vision of God on his throne undid the prophet, because he recognized his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of his people. But, as Paul writes in the opening verses of Ephesians 2, though those who trust in Christ were by nature children of wrath, through Christ we have been given a new identity. This brings us back to the baptism imagery which Peter connects with the ark and the flood in his first letter.
In the New Testament, baptism is the visible expression that someone has moved from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Beloved Son of God. Baptism is the visible entry into the covenant community of God, the body of Christ, the church. You don’t get into the ark to get right with God - that comes through faith. But your faith won’t last long in this world outside the ark.
Individual Christians come into the ark; we come to Christ by faith, and when we come to him, we enter. But as a community of believers, the church, we are the living ark, the body of Jesus. So baptism saves us in the sense of bringing us visibly into Christ’s family; it’s Christ doing all the saving, not the act itself (“not the removal of dirt from the flesh…”). But part of how he preserves his people through this life and prepares us for the next is by bringing us into his family, his house. His shelter through the storm.
And so as we conclude, here are two questions you should chew on this week: do you personally know Christ, have you trusted him to save you? He is the only way of salvation, he bore the wrath of God for you.
“18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…[to the middle of 20]... God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” 1 Peter 3:18–22.
If you have trusted in the resurrected, ruling, and reigning Jesus, the next question is this: have you entered the ark he is building - have you committed to his people? As we cannot survive the flood of God’s judgment apart from Christ, so we cannot maintain a faithful walk with him apart from his people. Trust Jesus, and commit to his church.
Escaping God's Wrath