Genesis 6:1-8:22  (Noah and the Flood)

Noah is the only one left who is found to be righteous.  He is the last remnant of those who worship Yahweh.  God’s righteous anger is kindled against the world of evil.  And so, in judgment, He floods the earth, wiping away all the wicked in one cataclysmic act of destruction. In the midst of this destruction, Noah, his family, and a remnant of the created order are preserved on board an ark which God instructed Noah to build.  Noah is told to make preparations well in advance of the great deluge.  When all seemed well, Noah started preparing for the end of the world.  It was not his own plan but God’s plan which prevented His destruction.  Noah and his sons and his sons’ wives were preserved and life began again on the earth after the flood.

How does this point towards Christ?

Well, first let us ask what it displays of the nature and character of God.

• Destruction of the entire world
  • God is just.  He punishes the wicked.
  • Evil will not go unabated forever.  There comes a day when God destroys the evil doers.
• Preservation of Noah and his family
  • God is just.  He does not punish the righteous alongside the wicked.
  • God is loving and extends the standing of Noah to his sons.
    • Noah alone is called righteous, not his sons.
    • Yet God preserved Noah’s sons as well on the basis of the righteousness of Noah.

Now, let us ask how this text is used elsewhere in Scripture.

• Nahum 1:7-8
  • This text does not explicitly quote the flood narrative, but it calls forth its imagery.
  • The imagery of the flood narrative is used to describe the future judgment and destruction of the enemies of God (Nahum focuses on Ninevah’s destruction).
• Matthew 24:36-44
  • These are the words of Christ.  This is His application of the flood narrative.
  • He was asked about the end of the age, the cataclysmic judgment of God upon the whole earth.
  • His response (the text above) is that it will be just as it was for those in the days of Noah.
    • So the flood narrative is used by Christ to speak of His return and the judgment the world will finally undergo.

So what does the flood narrative have to say to us today that goes beyond a history lesson?

Just as in the days of Noah, God is not content to allow evil to continue.  The wicked will see an abrupt end brought upon their ways.  There will not be leniency given to those who do not fear and follow God.  They will be taken suddenly in judgment.  Meanwhile, the righteous will be preserved, they will remain forever.  (Take special note here how the Matthew passage looks like it is speaking about the supposed rapture.  But if you examine what Jesus is saying, He is saying that it is the wicked who will be taken, not the righteous!)  The judgment comes quickly and takes the world by surprise.  But just as Noah was told by God to prepare, all Christians are called to prepare.

We will not be building an ark by which to escape judgment.  We are placed in the ark, that is Christ, which delivers us from judgment.  In the judgment, God destroys the world, bringing an end to all things.  But the righteous will be preserved by God, delivered through the waters of judgment.  While all the wicked are ended dramatically and finally, the righteous will continue in life on a new earth just as Noah had.  But this new earth will not be corrupted any longer.  It will remain pristine and unblemished, just as the He is, who has prepared it for the righteous to live forever with Him, forever.