Noah and the Flood
Genesis 4-8
Noah and the Flood, Genesis 4-7. Think of this the next time you see a rainbow in the sky. God is a God of righteousness and truth; He does not tolerate sin.
1 Now Adam knew Eve his
wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with
the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel
was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course
of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the
ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of
their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5
but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry,
and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why
has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And
if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for
you, but you must rule over it. 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
25
And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name
Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead
of Abel, for Cain killed him.
Genesis 4:1-8 and 25, ESV
5
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth,
and it grieved him to his heart. 7 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.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 6:1-8, ESV
1
Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your
household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this
generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male
and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and
his mate, 3 and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and
female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4
For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty
nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the
face of the ground.” 5 And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded
him.
Genesis 7:1-5, ESV
Noah and the Flood
Genesis 4-8
Genesis 4-7 continues with the stories of Cain and Abel, Adam's descendants to Noah, increasing corruption on earth, and Noah and the flood.
We
left Adam and Eve, in Genesis 3, being driven from the Garden of Eden;
sin did not wait long to rear its ugly head. Adam and Eve gave birth to
two sons, Cain and Abel. How appropriate that we see the two classes of
people, believers and non-believers, appearing in the first two
children. Abel, the Christian, gave an offering that was pleasing and
acceptable to God. Cain, the non-believer, decided to go his own way and
give an offering that he thought would be pleasing to God. Because God
was pleased with Abel's offering, but not with Cain's offering, Cain
became jealous of Abel, his brother, and murdered him.
Right
away, we see Satan trying to destroy the Godly line from off the face
of the earth! God, then, gave another son, Seth, to Adam and Eve who
would carry on the Godly line. Notice that when God lists the genealogy from Adam to Noah, it is through Seth.
Does
this mean that everyone in the line of Seth was a believer? No, even
the line of Seth became more and more corrupt until God finally decided
to destroy man from the face of the earth.
Noah and the Flood: Noah Finds Favor in the Eyes of the Lord
But, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Again, Satan's attempt to destroy man is thwarted by God.
When speaking of Noah and the flood, there is much talk today of the flood being a myth, or that it was just a
local flood and not one that covered the entire world? What do you
think? How quickly we try to limit God and twist the words of the Bible.
Noah and the Flood: The Flood Covers the Entire Earth
17
The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and
bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters
prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the
face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the
earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.
20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen
cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds,
livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and
all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the
breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on
the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of
the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left,
and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on
the earth 150 days.
Genesis 7:17-24, ESV
I believe that when God said, All the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered, and when He said, All flesh died that moved on the earth,
He meant the entire world was covered by the waters of the flood.
Remember, this is the same God who spoke and the whole world came into
being. Was it too hard for Him to destroy the earth with a flood?
It was an extreme time. Though sin was rampant throughout the entire world, God provided salvation through the flood for Noah and his family, along with animals from all kinds and species. Nothing is too difficult for God!
Noah and the Flood: A Rainbow in the Sky
Think
of this the next time you see a rainbow in the sky. God is a God of
righteousness and truth; He does not tolerate sin. Because we are
creatures of sin, our only hope lies in the salvation offered to us
through Christ, who died for the sins of His people.
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