Genesis 7:1-8:19

Genesis 7:1-8:19

The opening verses of this chapter make me wonder what would have happened had Noah failed to follow the clear instructions that God had laid before him. It says that God told Noah to go into the ark because He had found Noah righteous. If Noah had neglected to follow God’s commands, he too would have been left out in the middle of the storm. But as seen in Genesis 6, Noah did all that he was asked, and as God continued to give him instructions as the flood drew nearer, Noah did not falter.

The floods then came just as God had promised, and Noah and his entire family were saved from the flood because of Noah’s righteousness and God’s mercy. It is not much of a stretch to see this as an image of our salvation. God does not have to reach out to us. God does not need us to do anything. In fact, our righteousness compared to God is as “filthy rags.” It does not compare. But out of God’s mercy, He chooses to reach out to us and give us those opportunities. Noah is a clear picture of God’s love, God’s choice to give mankind a second chance. But this would not have been an option at all if Noah had not shown obedience to God as he had done.

As the storm came, the world experienced its most catastrophic event, even more so than anything that we have seen recently. Nothing that has happened since the Great Flood can compare to what God did that day. The rest of the chapter outlines how everything on earth was killed. Now the population may not have been that great, and the number of lives lost may not compare to some of the statistics we have today. But consider this; we know that only eight people out the entire earth’s population were saved. I would guess that it is safe to say that more than 99% of the earth’s population, man and animal, was wiped out in one event. Our world has never seen and will never see an event of this magnitude until the end.

So what does this say about God? The question most people would have at this point would be about God’s love. How can a loving God do such a thing? It is true that God is loving, but it is also true that our sins have consequences. Just as a parent punishes their children, God punishes His children for their sin. Remember, in God’s eyes we are all sinful. So truthfully we all deserve death (Romans 6:23). But it goes back to God’s mercy. He gives us the opportunity to turn away from that sin and turn to Him. That is what Noah did, and that is why God chose Noah to board the ark with all the other animals. That is why Noah was chosen to be the one to repopulate the earth.

After the storm, God was still with Noah. In the middle of life’s storms we tend to forget that God is still there ready to help. Many times we lose sight of Him and think that He no longer loves us or that He has abandoned us. But at the beginning of Genesis 8 the text says that God remembered Noah and all who were with him on the ark. God knew exactly how the storm would be, and He had plans for Noah’s life after the storm. He did not put Noah on the ark, send him through a ferocious storm, and then just decide to let Noah figure out the rest on his own. He always provides us with the wisdom to conquer life’s hardest battles. Noah did this by sending out the birds, testing to see how far the water’s had subsided. Think back to this storm. The waters were high enough that they covered the earth’s highest trees! The ark rested on a mountain after the flood! This was not just a 1-2 foot flood or even a 10-20 foot flood. It was a huge storm! But God had provided all that they needed to survive not only the flood but the days they would spend in the ark waiting for the water to subside.

Noah was 600 when the flood came, and he was 601 when he left the ark. He spent an entire year waiting for this particular storm to end. Waiting is so hard to do for us. We know that God has plans for our lives, but so many times we want it to be immediate. We do not want to wait for God to give the all-clear. But that is exactly what Noah did. I am sure that he was antsy to get off that ark, having been on it for almost a year, but he patiently waited for God. When the time was right, God called them out of the ark and allowed them to live on the earth again. No matter how hard it might be, sometimes we just have to wait. In life’s tough decisions, in life’s storms, we must remember that God is in control. He is still with us. He will be the one to see us through.

Matt