Reflections on the Flood
1996059
Topic # 0890
I. Introduction.
A. Many people today view
the flood as being a mere myth—but it wasn't to Jesus: He uses it to illustrate His coming in
Matt. 24:36-39.
B. The flood was tragic, but even more tragic was the spiritual
condition of the earth's inhabitants -- Gen. 6:5-7, 11-13,17.
1. It was the wickedness of man that prompted God into destroying the
world and what He had made.
a. One lesson we learn from this is that God's bountiful patience can be exhausted. The sinner will not get away with sin indefinitely.
1. NUM 32:23 (Moses) -- "But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out."
b. e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah
c. The heathen that lived in Canaan -- Gen. 15:16, "But in the
fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites {is} not yet complete."
d. Korah's rebellion -- Num. 16 (Korah, Dathan,Abiram, their families,
and 250 other men were destroyed because of a wrong attitude they had toward
God).
e. Israel's rebellion eventuated in Assyrian destruction and captivity
in 721 B.C.
f. Judah's rebellion resulted in Babylonian exile in 606 B.C.
g. Even though God spared the great city of Nineveh due to the preaching
of Jonah, 100 years later the city was destroyed because of its ungodliness.
C. Gen. 7:4 -- For forty days and nights God caused it to rain upon the
face of the earth.
II. The story of the flood declares God's
righteous indignation toward sin.
A. The Lord does not treat inquity lightly. Only eight souls were saved out of all humanity.
1. The rescue of so small a
number illustrates a truth that the Lord taught in Matt. 7;13,14 ("Enter
by the narrow gate....").
a. The lesson implied in this passage is that the majority will be lost
in the Judgment Day because they are traveling on the broad road that leads to
destruction, whereas the redeemed are few because they have chosen the narrow path of righteousness which is ignored by
the masses.
b. The narrow way to everlasting life is spoken of in Matt. 7:21. It is a way that has been built by God
Himself, and one can only follow by taking heed to His word.
B. In the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, only Lot and his two daughters
were saved from among all the inhabitants therein.
C. Out of the estimated two million people who were led by Moses through
the Red Sea, only two of the original fighting men, Joshua and Caleb, finally
made it to the
Promised Land from among all the fighting men of Israel -- the rest died in the
wildnerss (even Moses and Aaron).
III. We Often Do Not Realize the Seriousness of Sin.
A. One of man's problems today is often not realizing the seriousness of
sin--perhaps it's because some people just don't know what sin is.
1 . e.g., a very close realitive of mine went to church years and years
ago. She was there every time the
door was open. Husband was a
deacon, and very involved in church. Husband later died, and people at church did not do much in comforting
her during rough time. She now
attends church only sparingly. Says her good works in the
years past will suffice. Is
confident that God understands. How sad!
B. It's hard to get some people in denominations to see that fund
raising projects are not the work of the church. This is especially so with
regard to those who are so zealously given over to these endeavors.
1. A preaching friend received something in the mail just recently
concerning this. It was a little
"guardian angel" pin. The
pin cost 75 cents, but could be sold for $2.00 in order to make a 1.25 profit on each one.
2. There was even a little
sales pitch that went along with it: "Everyone needs a 'Guardian Angel' in
these trying times--and we hope you--or someone dear to you--will derive
comfort from wearing the enclosed 'Guardian Angel' pin."
a. The package was addressed to the "Fundraising Director." Though this
sounds very strange to us, in many churches it is probably quite common.
C. Though we're not under the greater portion of the Bible today--the
Old Testament--there is a good reason why it has been given to us--1 Cor.
10:5-11.
1. God's word is to help us to not make the same mistakes as some of
these made long ago. Let us be made
aware of God's repugnance toward sin and steer our lives away from all
entrapments of such.
IV. God Cruel for Destroying Man as He Did???
A. Some might think that God was very cruel for destroying the world
with a flood and carrying out the severe punishments which He did upon the
guilty, but was He?
B. Actually, it was the people who were cruel for turning their backs on
God the way they had.
C. Also, we must first realize that God never acts unbecomingly or
unfairly--even if we don't always understand His ways or not.
1. Isaiah 55:8-9
a. From this passage, it is obvious that God doesn't need us to tell Him
what to do.
1. Romans 11:33-34
2. If all the intelligensia
could be gathered together in one place, their deep learning and wisdom would
not even be great enough to be likened to nursery school children when in
contrast to God's unfathomable omniscience.
a. 1 Cor. 1:20, "Where
is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not
God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"
b. 1 Cor. 3:18-20
1. One conclusion of this
is seen in the very next passage: "Therefore let no one glory in men...."
2. Part of believing in God is trusting in His fairness.
a. Deut. 32:4, "He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice;
righteous and upright is He."
b. Let's listen to the words of Abraham as he speaks about God. The Bible tells us
that Abraham was a "friend of God." Doesn't that indicate that he must have known the Lord pretty well?
1. GEN 18:25 "Far be
it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked,
so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not
the Judge of all the earth do right?"
a. This was stated in part of the prayer that Abraham was making for the
righteous who dwelt in Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham knew that God would be just in His dealings with
them.
D. God is more than just and fair, He is also merciful and
longsuffering. To the wicked
people of Noah's day, God gave a chance to change their ways--but they would
not.
1. GEN 6:3, "And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with
man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and
twenty years.'"
a. 120 years. This was the
period that God showed His mercy. It was also the time in which Noah worked on the construction of the
ark.
b. 2 Pet. 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as
some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any
should perish but that all should come to repentance."
c. During this time, not only did Noah work on the ark, but he also
strove to turn sinners from the error of their way--1 Peter 3:19-20:
1. The "by whom...He went" is Jesus' Spirit in Noah.
a. 2 Pet. 2:5 and 1
Pet. 1:10,11.
2. Noah was "a preacher of righteousness."
a. Just the sight of Noah
working on the ark for 120 years--because the world was going to be
destroyed--was certainly a sermon
in itself.
V. Conclusion.
A. If the world were coming to an end, shouldn't one do something about
it? Noah did, and we must, too.
B. "to know the right thing to do, but to do it not, is sin."
1. 1 John 4:1-2:
a. Not every spirit
is of God, but Noah's was. He had the
Spirit of God, just as all of God's prophets had.
b. JOH 13:20 "Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he
who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."
C. To receive Noah would have also been to receive the Lord.
1. It is obvious that 1
Pet. 3:19,20 is not talking about Jesus preaching to the lost in hades because
there is no second chance after this life.
a. illus. Consider the parable of the rich man
and Lazarus Luke 16:19-31
2. There are no
missionaries in the hadean realm.
D. God, out of His kindness and love, gave man an opportunity to repent,
but man rejected His offer.
1. All through history, God has given man a chance again and again.
2. No one will be able to blame God for their lost condition in the
judgment Day.
a. Ezek. 33:11, "Say to them: {As} I` live,' says the Lord God, `I
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his
way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house
of Israel?'
b. Matt. 23:37, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the
prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather
your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under {her} wings, but you
were not willing!
E. There comes a time when man will have no more chances.
1. This happened to the people of Noah's day. Note how it is described in Gen. 7:17-24.
2. How many of us know how long are opportunity will continue?
a. Let us learn the right lesson from the parable of the foolish rich
man in Luke 12:16-21. Our last
chance can come suddenly and without warning. Don't be caught unprepared when that time comes.
3. What could be more important than making oneself ready for heaven?
4. Let us also not forget the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke
16:19-31.
a. One day no one will have anymore time or opportunities--don't let
that day catch you unprepared!