And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said,"I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things, and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Gen 6:6)
"For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you." (Gen 6:18)
Lessons:
1. In Genesis 6, the author speaks of an absolute depravity that prevailed among humankind in those days. There was no good to be found in men's hearts or minds anymore. God determined to bring judgement to man's sin, and the judgement would be a universal, worldwide one. This was a judgement by floodwaters. In the last days, God will again destroy the world and cleanse it, this time by fire.
"Scoffers will come in the last days, with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say,'Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgement and destruction of the ungodly." (2 Peter 3:3-7)
The same apostasy, and wickedness, will be present in the Last Days.
"And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold." (Matthew 24:12)
God has already indicated that He will destroy the old world by fire; it is only a matter of time before He pours out his wrath again on mankind. God's judgement upon sin is coming. What we need is a way of escape.
2. Noah put his hope in the Ark, which God told him to build as a means of safety and refuge. Likewise, our hope is in our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus is our Ark, the only one through whom we may be spared the judgement to come. The Ark shows that we are spared from God's wrath through Christ, our substitute. The propitiatory wrath of God fell on Jesus, just as the wrath of God fell on the Ark rather than those inside.
"He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10) (Propitiation: Work of Christ on the Cross which met the demands of the righteousness of God against sin… satisfying the requirements of God's justice.)
Jesus said,"Truly truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24)
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
Jesus said,"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out… And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day." (John 6:37,39)
Like Noah, by faith, we must be moved to trust in Jesus for the saving of our souls.
3. The Ark shows God's provision of salvation in Christ; this was forethought, not afterthought. Before the Flood came, God ordained that Noah and his family should be saved in the ark. He was told to construct it 120 years before the Floodwaters. Likewise, salvation through Christ was not something God planned only after the fall of man. This was the plan of God from eternity past, and Christ "was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8)
4. The Ark shows that Christ is the only way to salvation. There is only one door to the Ark. Likewise, there is only one way of escape from the wrath to come.
Jesus said," No man comes to the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
5. The Ark shows the absolute security of those who are in Christ.
Once Noah was in the Ark, God Himself "shut him in".
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:5)
6. Ahead of the impending judgement of God, 2 Peter cautions us with the injunction to live obediently and expectantly before God. We are also called to be watchful.
"Since everything will be destroyed in this sort of way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." (2 Peter 3:11, 12)
"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28)
"Father, we acknowledge that we live in a world of darkness and sin and that we in ourselves are weak and helpless. We need help; we need a Saviour. We thank you, Father, for the story of Noah and the ark and the way in which it points to Jesus Christ our ark. Move us to find our refuge and our hope in Christ even as we accept your Word as truth. Hear us, we pray, for Jesus' sake. Amen."
*Text taken from Christian Reformed Church ((https://www.crcna.org), and "The Typology of the Ark" by Dr R.L Hymers, Jr (www.rlhymersjr.com)
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