Genesis 7:13-24
13 On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— 14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life.
16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.
17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died.
23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.
24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.
The flood waters extinguished the breath from every man, woman, and land animal as the world was washed clean by God of sin’s corruption in all life due to the disobedience of Adam and Eve and the destruction with immortality and murder that followed since Cain. Only those eight people chosen by the LORD as more righteous than any others in their generation and selected animals were delivered from the waterlogged world that followed. The breath of life was washed away from all those left upon the earth as the torrential rains swept down from the sky to bury all life in primordial mud to create fossils later, erode the mountains and carve great canyons on the ground when they ran off and dried up. Such a deluge is unheard of today and incomprehensible to us to read that the mountains were covered by the waters over the whole world and all living things on land died in the destructive judgment on sinful man. Only Noah and his family with all the rescued animals weathered the storm and floated safely above the judgment below them. These floodwaters stayed there for one hundred and fifty days (Genesis 8:3, 5) and gradually evaporated away by the winds blown by God over the waterlogged ground. This washing of the flood temporarily cleansed the world of sinfully corrupt people who were filled with violence against one another of God’s precious creations made in His image. By killing one another and defiling with immorality, they rejected and dishonored their Maker and brought swift judgment on themselves. It will be even more so in the final judgment when fire (Hebrews 10:27, 2 Peter 3:7, 12, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9) will consume those rejecting Him and His Son whose gospel words they mock and act in opposition to. If only people would read this account of the flood and see the hope offered by God to deliver them from a certain destruction by a perfect hope of deliverance by His goodness of grace! The world was temporarily washed clean of sin which returned again in the fallen nature of the original sin inherited from Adam () but will be completely rid of the presence of sin and kept from returning because all who are rescued in the Ark of Christ will be made new and sinless in body and soul. There will be no more original sin as we will inherit the righteousness of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:45, 49, 51-52), God’s Son, and be made new along with the earth to sin no more and not ever corrupt the world again. This is the promise of deliverance with a certain hope from sin’s presence and consequences in Jesus Christ. Knowing these truths of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-11), who would want to suffer such a fate by continuing to reject Him and His goodness to rescue them from these things? Why not turn from sin by acknowledging and forsaking it and turn to Him for forgiveness and deliverance? Remember the judgment of the flood and consider that of the fire to come. Find refuge above it in the Son of God as an Ark come to take away the sin of the world and bring us safely through judgment (John 5:24).
No comments:
Post a Comment