Tonight we want to look at “The flood of Noah”. There are many in the religious world who do not believe in the flood of Noah. Many folks who believe in all or part of evolutionary teaching, and others, teach that the flood was either a local flood or a mythical story. Let’s take a look at what God says about the flood. Please read Genesis 6:1-16 with us.

 

1. Facts About The Ark: The ark was built with dimensions (ratios) perfect for floating, very seaworthy, and almost impossible to capsize (Genesis 6:14-16). The stability of such a barge is great and increases as it sinks deeper into the water. Since it had 3 decks, it had a total deck area of about 101,250 sq ft when assuming an 18 in cubic (124,500 sq ft for my 20 in cubic) (equivalent to the area of 24 to 32 college basketball courts). The total weight would have been about 13,960 tons, which is about the same as large metal ocean-going vessels today. The ark had a carrying capacity of over 500 standard railroad stock cars. The size of the ark rules out a local flood. Why so big if a local flood? Less animals would be needed.

 

2. Why not migration? The requirement for Noah to build a gigantic barge to "keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth" (Genesis 7:3) was unnecessary if it was a local flood. All that went into the ark, its construction and stocking would be a waste of time (possibly 100 years) and energy if the flood were only a local event. Migration would have been a better solution to the problem, for both Noah and the animals. Noah was commanded to take birds in the ark (Genesis 6:20). Birds can escape a local flood, and can migrate for thousands of miles. But none of the birds outside the ark were able to escape this flood! (Genesis 6:7)

 

3. The Flood Itself: Forty days and nights of rain (Genesis 7:11-12, 17-24). The waters prevailed on the earth 150 days, covering the mountains. The water continued to prevail for five months and took considerable time to recede (Genesis 8:3-4, 14). Noah and his family left theArk one year and 10 days after the flood started (compare Genesis 7:11 with 8:13-14). Do local floods keep one off the land for an entire year? Would it take 7 months to run aground if this had been a local flood? It is stated that all things that breath on dry land died (Genesis 7:21-23). A local flood could not have done that.

 

4. The Irony: Genesis 6:13 “I will destroy them with the earth”. The same earth they loved destroyed them. Sadly, that will be the same for those who love “Mother Earth” and do not know love God today!

 

5. Other Flood Accounts: Since the entire human race is descended from the three sons of Noah and their wives, it is only logical that cultures have a flood story. Various stories of a great worldwide flood have been found in ancient cultures from Hawaii, Greece, North American Indian, Babylon, China, etc. The word for flood in Chinese is “8 men in a boat”. 

6. Historical Fact: The Flood is viewed as a historical fact by the prophets, Jesus, the Hebrew writer, and Peter (Psalm 104:5-9, Isaiah 54:9; Ezekiel 14:14-16, 20; Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 3:36, 17:26-27, Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:18-22; 2 Peter 2:4-6).

 

7. Promise to Noah and His Descendants: God's promise never to send a worldwide flood again has been broken repeatedly if the flood of Noah was just a regional or local flood (Genesis 8:21-22, 9:8-17). God’s promise is demonstrated by His Rainbow in the sky! Have you ever seen God’s rainbow? It is a sign of God keeping His promise! Also, notice Noah set an example that ended with his sons having a personal relationship with God. Parents, if you can accomplish that with your children, you have done very well!

 

LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM NOAH AND THE FLOOD

 

1. God Takes Sin Seriously - Genesis 6:5 “Great in the earth”:  Widespread and firmly rooted. “Only evil continually”:  Man had committed every sin imaginable. Genesis 6:7 “I will destroy man”: (NASV “blot out”), lit., to blot or wipe out by washing. Genesis 6:11 “The earth was corrupt before God”:  Openly, publicly, and flagrantly. The flood is just one example in the Bible of the severity of God. Man may choose to reject God, but man never gets away with it. When evil reaches a certain point, judgment must fall (2 Peter 3:5-7). Therefore we cannot afford to think that God will not punish us, if we continue to remain in sin.

 

2. God’s Longsuffering - Up to 100 years (Genesis 5:32, 9:28-29) prior to judgment. During this time Noah was preaching (1 Peter 3:19-20, 2 Peter 2:5). But only his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law responded to the preaching. Today God still warns people by preaching!

 

3. God’s Way is Narrow - 2 Peter 2:4-6. God has executed judgment in the past where only a few were saved, while the majority was lost forever. God did not lower His standards, even though that meant “the world” was condemned. The way is still narrow (Matthew 7:13-14), no matter what the issue.

 

 

4. Noah Was Saved By Grace, His Faith, Obedience, and Water!

 

a. God grants grace to those who are Faithful and Obedient (Genesis 6:8-9). Noah was “perfect” or “blameless” (NASV) in his generations. Over Noah's 500-year life so far, his character stood out. Noah overcame the sinful environment that surrounded him. He refused to be conformed to the sinful world (Romans 12:2). We need to be the same way!

 

b. Noah’s faith: Noah’s obedience was quick and motivated by a great respect for God (Hebrews 11:7). And Noah did not have to see something to believe God. He may have never seen it rain before the flood! If we have a hard time obeying and having faith in God’s will, it is probably because we are not taking Him seriously!

 

c. Noah’s obedience: He did exactly as God had commanded (Genesis 6:22). Noah understood that when God gives instructions, man is not permitted to add, subtract, edit, or change His commands (Proverbs 30:6; 2 John 9).

 

There is no record of Noah complaining. Noah certainly had friends/relatives who did not come in the ark, yet Noah did not claim God was being cruel or unfair. In addition, building the ark was a huge task that required tremendous dedication and hard work. Yet we have no record of any complaints from Noah.

 

d. Water was required for the salvation of Noah (1 Peter 3:18-22). Forgiveness comes when one is baptized in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38, 8:38). When you are baptized, your sins are washed away, and you come up out of the waters a new creature, a Christian, to live your life for Him (Romans 6:4)!

 

CLOSING

 

The worldwide destruction of the world by the flood of Noah teaches us many things. Many today prefer sin rather than what is right. It is so easy to simply be lulled into a false sense of security. We do not know whether God will grant us the next moment to live. Noah found grace, because he was trying to do what was right (Genesis 6:9, Acts 10:34-35).

 

How about those of you who are not Christians today? Maybe you have thought about becoming one, but have not taken the step to obey. Have the courage to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. True, you will need to give up practicing a life of sin. You may have to give up certain friends. You may be made fun of like Noah probably was. The question is; “Do you want to be saved like Noah or do you want to be lost like those in the flood?” It would be interesting to ask those lost in the flood now if they thought that their worldly life without God was worth losing their soul?

 

If you have not repented of your sins and been baptized for the remission of yours sins, why not decide to be like Noah. Humble yourself, obey God, and trust the Lord with your life! God will save your soul like he saved Noah and his family. We hope to see you next time on “Speaking the Truth in Love”!