The Great Flood and Noah

The Great Flood and Noah’s Ark

CUMC: 4 February 2007

Andy Langford

Genesis 6-9 and Psalm 46

“People began to multiply on the face of the earth. . . . The LORD saw that the wickedness of people was great . . ., and that every inclination of the thoughts of men and women was only evil all the time. And the LORD was sorry that God had made people on the earth.” (6:1-6, excerpts)

We began our study of the Bible with stories from before history began. In the beginning, God created everything. God created man and woman to be in intimate relationship with God, but Adam and Eve rejected that relationship and were cast out from the Garden of Eden. We skipped over the stories of Cain and Abel and how people began to spread across the earth. Today, we come to the story of how God attempted to cleanse the evil that Adam and Eve began, and start creation anew.

The story of Noah and the ark is a beloved tale. Almost everyone knows part of the story: the big boat, animals entering two by two, and the gift of the rainbow. Yet, many people wonder about the Noah story. Did a great flood really cover the whole earth? Why did God cause such destruction? Could all the animals fit in one boat? Does the ark still exist? Where are the dinosaurs? What happened to the unicorns? For many people, Noah’s story remains a great mystery.

The story begins in the sixth chapter of Genesis. I am sharing with you excerpts from the next four chapters.

The world God created good was out of control. The sin, the failure, the corruption of Adam and Eve had spread throughout all the earth. Wanting to be like God, every person made themselves their own god. We do not have to suspect what evil abounded; those sins still surround us: pride, envy, lust, gluttony, murder. Imagine a world in a downward spiral. How would God respond?

“So the LORD said, "I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created -- people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them all." (6:7)

Many ancient cultures told stories about great floods. The Babylonians told the epic story of Gilgamesh. Peoples around the Black Sea, north of Turkey, tell of a great flood. Several years ago, scientists from the National Geographic Society discovered that the Black Sea, seven thousand years ago, rose hundreds of feet when flooded by the Mediterranean Sea. That flood buried an ancient culture. Ask the people in New Orleans, floods happen.

What is different about this biblical story from all those other stories, was the god behind the flood. For the Babylonians, their gods caused havoc on a whim. When the Black Sea arose, the deluge was simply an act of nature over which the gods had no control. Hurricane Katrina can be explained by meteorologists.

But in our Bible, we see a divine purpose behind the flood. The flood was God’s judgment on the wickedness of people. Even more significantly, in the midst of a flood, God saved a faithful remnant of people, God started creation anew. It started with a man named Noah.

“But Noah found favor in the sight of the LORD. . . . Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. . . .” (6:8-10)

The name Noah means “rest.” Noah alone rested in the assurance of God’s care. Noah alone listened when God spoke. Noah accepted that he was created by God and let God be God. The sad truth is that most of us are not like Noah. We are so busy talking to ourselves and one another that we cannot hear God’s voice. But Noah listened.

“And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence . . .; now I am going to destroy all living beings along with the earth. Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover the ark inside and out with resin. This is how you are to make the ark: . . . 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Make a roof for the ark, . . .; and put the door of the ark in its side . . . ” (6:13-16)

The ark would fit inside the Carolina Panther’s football stadium, or even inside the Concord High School football field. It was half the size of the Titanic. Having no rudder, sail, or crew, the ark was more like a floating house than a boat.

Can you imagine the ridicule Noah took from his neighbors, or even worse, his wife? Noah’s wife probably wanted a beach house, and here was Noah building a boat in the middle of the countryside.

God then said, “For my part, I am going to bring a flood of 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.” (6:17)

God continued, “But I the LORD will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come 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 kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds . . ., and of the animals . . . , of every creeping thing of the ground . . . , . . ., to keep them alive. Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up . . . ." Noah did . . . all that God commanded him. . . .” (6:18-22)

The passengers were the eight members of Noah’s family, plus pairs of all the birds, animals, and even insects of the earth. No one, except maybe the unicorns, was left out. Humans and animals were connected with one another. They all lived together in a shelter God commanded. Because God provided shelter in the midst of the flood, today we celebrate our ministry with Habitat for Humanity.

Then, the rain began.

“And Noah with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. . . . All the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. . . . And the ark floated on the face of the waters. The waters swelled so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. . . .” (7:7-19)

And the rains came down and the flood came up. The flood was not just a heavy rainfall but the very heavens overflowing. The catastrophe was like the chaos at the beginning of creation. The flood was God’s tough love for a world gone mad.

“And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all swarming creatures . . . , and all human beings; everything on dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. God blotted out every living thing . . . Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. And the waters swelled on the earth for one hundred fifty days.” (7:21-24)

The whole world washed away. The breath of God disappeared from all creatures. Some persons want to prove that such a flooding is scientifically possible. Almost all scientists doubt the possibility of a flood that would cover even the Himalayan Mountains. Scientists, however, do warn us that if the icecaps from the North Pole and South Pole melt, we in Concord may own oceanfront homes. But the truth of the story does not depend on the accuracy of the science but the divine truth within the story. God was so disappointed in people that God sought to wash away all evil from the world. The water became a cleansing agent.

After being on the boat about one full year, Noah and everyone felt forgotten. Can you imagine the odors and the constant motion of the ark? One biblical scholar has suggested that these animals would have created 800 tons on manure. Do you believe that Noah’s family enjoyed cleaning up that mess? Like a floating casket, the ark was filled with sounds like growling, snarling, baying, barking, and cooing. This boat was not a luxury cruise with a midnight buffet but a floating barn. But, all was not lost.

“But God remembered Noah and all the . . . animals . . . that were with Noah in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided; the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters gradually receded from the earth. . . . The waters had abated; and . . . the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. . . .” (8:1-4)

God remembered Noah. God began the task of restoration. God remained in charge.

Some people want to prove the truthfulness of the Bible by finding remains of the ark on a mountain peak in the northeast corner of Turkey. Bluntly, there is no evidence that such a boat exists. But again, the truth of Scripture does not depend on finding physical proof of these stories from before time. The truth is that God remembered the people God had saved.

“At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark . . . and sent out the raven; and the raven went to and fro. . . . Then Noah sent out the dove . . .; but the dove found no place to set its foot . . . Noah waited another seven days, and again Noah sent out the dove from the ark; and the dove came back to him . . ., and there in the dove’s beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. . . .” (8:6-11)

God realized that people would not change. People were hopeless. But God was willing to start anew. God no longer would punish creation for our sin with a flood. Instead, God offered unqualified grace.

“Then God said to Noah, "Go out of the ark . . . . Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh-- birds and animals and every creeping thing . . . -- so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." . . . (8:12-17)

Creation started anew. And Noah worshiped God for that gift.

“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, . . . and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the LORD smelled the pleasing odor, the LORD said . . . , "I will never again curse the ground because of people, for the inclination of the human heart is evil . . .; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease." (8:20-22)

“God blessed Noah and his family, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. . . . Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; . . . I give you everything.” . . . (9:1-3)

God is faithful. In this story, we hear of the first time God made a covenant, a formal contract with a human being. This covenant is not just with Noah, but all people everywhere.

God loved human beings, even when they did not deserve that love. Today, God loves us, even when we do not deserve that love. God limited God’s justice. The cosmic order even today remains steadfast.

God said, "I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you . . .. Never again shall all flesh be cut off . . ., and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." (9:8b-11)

“God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant . . .. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh . . .." (9:12-15)

The sign of this relationship is a rainbow. The rainbow did not and does not hold an arrow. This bow, a weapon of war, without an arrow is a sign of peace.

In conclusion, the story of Noah tells us at least two things about our relationship with God. I have listed even more lessons from Noah in our bulletin.

First, like people before and after the flood, you and I disappoint God all the time. That is simply who we are. We love ourselves more than God. We must never believe that we are better than we truly are.

Second, despite point one, God still loves us. As God saved Noah and the animals, God will also save you and me. Every time we see a rainbow in the sky, let us remember that like Noah we are special in God’s sight.

The story of Noah is a great story from the time before history. And today, like Noah who rested in the presence of God and listened to God, may we still also listen and learn.