Introduction
It makes such a wonderful children’s story. Can you see lovely old uncle Noah with a white beard? There he is with a saw and hammer and nails, making his cosy little boat. And there are all the lovely animals walking 2 by 2 into the ark with smiles on their faces. A cloud appears, it starts to rain. But inside it’s all OK. And outside there is a lovely, colourful rainbow. In the middle of the rainbow, on the horizon, bobbing up and down on the floodwaters is the ark. Ah! How nice!
But if you were living near the beach in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, or India on December 24th 2004, then you’d realise that floodwaters aren’t very romantic. Some say up to 350,000 men women and children were killed by the Tsunami that day. Well, the story of Noah is anything but nice. It is not lovely, it is not cosy, and most definitely is not a children’s story. It’s the story about a messed up world, the heart of God, and a man who dared to be different.
1. A Messed Up World, vv1-4
And this is one of the Bible’s most mysterious of passages. Who are these sons of God in verse 2? And why was God so angry with what they did? Well there are two main answers to that question. The first answer is that the sons of God were angels. Job 1:6 uses the same Hebrew word, and it means angel. And in the NT, Jude 1:6 talks of angels who rebelled against God and abandoned their own home. So sons of God here in Genesis 6, they argue, means fallen angels. These rebellious angels came down and had sexual intercourse with human women – daughters of men. And this is why God was angry. Further proof for this point is seen in the type of children produced by this angelic-human hybrid. Verse 4, they were called Nephilim – men who liked to make a name for themselves. Moses says in Numbers 13:33 that the Nephilim were abnormally tall people. What we would call today ‘giants’.
On the other hand, there are those who believe that sons of God were the descendants of Seth. They say there were two types of people. Those who followed God and those who didn’t. Adam and Eve’s third child Seth followed God and so did his descendants. But Cain and his descendants didn’t follow God. And so, the sons of God were Seth’s descendants, who sinned by having mixed marriages with those who didn’t follow God – i.e. with the daughters of men.
To be honest with you, I don’t know which of these two theories is right. But I do know a few things: I know that whatever it was, it made God angry. I know that whatever had happened, mankind had again crossed boundaries that God had set in place. That is, they had obviously done things God had forbidden. And I know that when humans crossed those boundaries it produced giants! It caused problems.
Man had got to the point, v5, where “every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” How amazing that man has gone from very good in Genesis 1, to only evil in chapter 6. And I’d like to leave this verse right where it is. But the truth is, it’s a verse that describes my own heart, and yours. The NT confirms ‘there is no one who does good, not even one. And Jesus says there is no hope for any of us to believe in him “unless the Father... draws him.” (John 6:44).
We all overstep God’s will.
And when we overstep God’s will we give birth to ‘giants’
When we overstep scientific boundaries we give birth to the giant of nuclear weapons.
When we overstep biological boundaries we give birth to the giants of clones and genetically modified animals and humans.
When we overstep sexual boundaries such as homosexual behaviour and any kind of sexual promiscuity, we give birth to the giants of HIV/AIDS, STDS, and brokenness.
When we overstep industrial boundaries we give birth to the giant of ecological catastrophe.
When we go against what God has told us, in other words, when we sin, we give birth to giants. These giants will terrorise us. Your life, your world, becomes unsafe. You crossed a boundary. That is the unfolding tragedy of Genesis chapters 1-11. A world that started good. But a world that is going from bad to worse because of the choices and actions of mankind.
2. The Heart of God, vv5-7
The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on earth had become. The last time God SAW his creation, Genesis 1, he saw that it was good, good, good, good, good, good and very good. Now he looks and it is bad, bad, bad, and worse.
So how does God feel about all this? Verse 6 tells us how God feels when he looks what people have done to his creation. How God feels when he sees what people do to each other. How God feels when he sees what they do to themselves.
He feels this: He feels like you and I feel when someone we love dies. He feels grief. God is grieved. And God’s heart is filled with pain. Pain like the wounded heart of the artist whose work is rejected; pain like the broken heart of the lover who is not loved back. We tend to think we do what we do and it doesn’t matter; but the reality is we touch God’s heart. God feels it deeply.
And God’s heart is moved to action. His creation is so destroyed that he decides to un-create it. “I will wipe mankind from the face of the earth. I am grieved that I have made them”. The flood story is shocking reminder that there will always be a judgment day for those who try and live without God. There is a heaven and there is a hell. But thank God there was at least one.
3. One Man Who Dared To Be Different, vv8-22
Verse 8 says, But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord. In other words one man was living within the grace of God. One made was making God smile.
It says Noah was a righteous man. The prophet Ezekiel describes a righteous man for us: He says a righteous man or woman is someone who does not commit sexual sin, or idolatry, but who gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked” (Ezekiel 18). In other words, someone who doesn’t do bad things but does do good things. In plain English, Noah was a good man. And 2 Peter 2 tells us that Noah not only lived righteously, he preached righteousness. As he built his boat he tried to warn others. You can imagine lots of people coming to see what Noah was doing. How strange to build a big boat so far from the sea. How crazy to collect so many animals and bird and put them in the boat. What a bunch of weirdoes the Noah family must’ve looked to everyone else. The butt of many jokes no doubt. Hey, did you hear what lights Noah’s having on his ship? No, what lights is Noah having on his ship? Flood lights! Boom boom! But as he built the thing, so he preached to those around him.
It says Noah was a blameless man. Meaning he lived his life carefully. Not that he never sinned, but he was consistent in his attempt to live a life pleasing to God.
It says Noah walked with God. In other words he had a relationship with God. He spoke with God. He listened to God. And he did what God said.
It says time after time that Noah obeyed God; it say, “and Noah did everything just as God had told him”. Noah didn’t bother about what people thought. He just did what God told him to. He dared to be different. He was different in his righteous behaviour. He was different in his blamelessness. He was different because he walked with God. He was different because he obeyed God.
So keep building that ark! When people make fun, or can’t understand, patiently tell them the reason for the hope you have. But keep on building!
Application & Conclusion
My friends, the world is more messed up than ever;
The heart of God is still grieving;
Are YOU daring to be different?
Are you living a righteous life?
Are you walking with God in prayer?
Are you giving him control of your temper, you appetites, your wallet, your diary, your gifts and talents?
And to those this morning that are sitting on the fence of indecision. To those who know the name of Jesus, but haven’t let him be Lord, comes Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man... Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come... So you also be ready.”
Are you ready? There will come a time when you will meet Jesus either as your Saviour and friend, or as your judge.
Noah took his family into the protection of the ark. They were saved from the flood. WE can take protection in Jesus Christ, the one who died on the cross for our sins, and was raised again alive. Peter says of him, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21). You see one day God will come to bring this current world order to an end.
You see the flood of God’s judgment IS coming, but are you ready?
There’s no safety outside of the ark.
There’s no mountain of your own goodness to stand on, no tree of escapism to climb, nowhere to run.
The flood is coming.
Outside of Christ the dark clouds are gathering.
Knowing about the ark won’t help you. Believing there is an ark won’t help you. Only getting into the ark will do.
If you haven’t yet, then come into Jesus Christ!
Come out of the rain. Say goodbye to the old life, Stop grieving the heart of God, and Dare to be different.
A minister was marrying a bride and groom. He turned to the groom and asked: “Do you take this woman to be your wife?” The man hesitated. He looked very nervous. Then he said, “Well, maybe. I do like her, and I think she’s quite nice”. “I didn’t ask you if she was nice or not. I asked you if you will marry her”. “I will”, said the groom. The minister turned to the bride. “Do you take this idiot to be your husband?”
The point is this: You may like the story of Noah and think it’s nice. But it’s asking you for commitment. Will you be a Noah? Will you dare to be different? Will you commit to a righteous life? To walking with God? Or if you have never turned your life over to Jesus, will you do that today? I’m not asking you if you like the story. I’m asking you if you’ll say yes.
