Genesis (Part 11)
Bible Study Time 8-24-08
(From James Roberts 10-13-96)
Bible Study Time 8-24-08
(From James Roberts 10-13-96)
Last week in our Journey Through the Scripture, we saw something of the longsuffering of God in the days of Noah. God had told Noah to build an ark, and so for 120 years Noah did exactly that. But all of the time that Noah was building the ark, he was faithfully preaching to the people and warning them of the coming judgment of God.
Prior to Noah, God had a prophet by the name of Enoch who was the seventh from Adam. Enoch had a son whose name was Methuselah. Not much is said in the scriptures about Methuselah, but Methuselah is unique in that he lived longer than any other person who has ever lived on this earth. Methuselah was almost a thousand years old when he died, and this shows something of the longsuffering of God because his name means, when he is dead, it shall be sent.
Methuselah’s name stood as a prophesy to the people of his day concerning the coming of the great flood judgment. Undoubtedly, when Methuselah was born, God spoke to Enoch and said, when this baby dies, the great judgment of God will come. So, from the time that Methuselah was born, Enoch walked with God and was a faithful preacher and teacher. He was a faithful prophet concerning the coming judgment of God.
The people before the flood had the preaching of Enoch for 300 years, and they had the living object lesson of Methuselah who was living right there in their midst. Every time they saw Methuselah, his name would remind them of what God had told Enoch concerning the judgment that would come at Methuselah’s death. These people also had the preaching of Noah as he built the ark for 120 years. But in spite of all these warnings from the Lord, we find that none repented. Not one turned to the Lord.
When Noah finished the ark, God told Noah to bring into the ark seven of each kind of clean animal and two of each kind of unclean animal. With this task accomplished, God told Noah to “come into the ark.” It is very important to see the language that God used here. God did not tell Noah to go into the ark. That would have indicated that God was going to remain outside the ark while Noah and his family went inside.
The Bible makes it clear that God was already in the ark when He invited Noah to come into the ark. God said, come into the ark, and when Noah and his family were safely inside, God shut the door to the ark, and the day of grace was over for the people of that day.
After the door to that ark was shut, God opened up the windows of heaven and the water that had been reserved in the heavens for that day of judgment came pouring out. Then, the waters that were being held in reserve underneath the earth came gushing forth. This tremendous flood of water rushed across the face of the earth for forty days and forty nights.
This year we have seen the damage that the hurricanes and tropical storms have caused along the eastern seaboard. Well, the surge of water caused by these storms was but a little sprinkle in comparison with the great volume of water that was produced during the flood of Noah’s day. The flood of Noah’s day was so great that it covered the whole earth in a little over a month. This was a universal flood that covered even the highest mountains of the earth. As a result of this flood, the earth and everything in the earth perished.
After forty days and forty nights of rain, Noah had to remain in the ark because the flood waters were still covering even the mountains. Noah waited in the ark for 150 days, and then the Bible says that God remembered Noah. Isn’t that a beautiful thought?
God remembered Noah, and how could he forget Noah when He was right there with Noah in the ark. God had invited Noah to come into the ark, and when it was time for Noah to leave, God told Noah to “go out of the ark.” He did not say, come out of the ark. Once again, this shows that God was in the ark with Noah all of the time that Noah and his family were in the ark.
What a place of safety! What a place of security! Right there in the ark was the very presence of God as the ark was being tossed about by the flood waters. And may I say this to you? There may be times in your life when you feel that you are being tossed about by the flood waters of life. You may have to face some trials or temptations or afflictions that seem overwhelming.
But remember this. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you can rest assured that God is with you. He said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. The book of Philippians tells us that the Lord is at hand and anytime there is trouble, we can go to the Lord. He tells us to come boldly before His throne of grace to ask for help in the time of need. You and I can cast all of our cares upon Him for He cares for us.
God remembered Noah because God was right there with Noah in the ark. God knew every emotion, every problem, and He was right there with them to help them. He was there to supply every need.
Noah had built the ark according to the blueprints that God had given him. The ark was a three story ark which had a window in the top that looked up into heaven. There was only one door by which believers could enter the ark. But the ark, itself, is also a beautiful picture if the Lord Jesus Christ.
First of all, the ark was built with wood and then it was covered within and without with pitch. The word that is translated pitch is the word for atonement which means a covering. Throughout the Old Testament, God provided a means of atonement for the sins of the people so that their sins would be covered.
When the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, He died, not to cover our sins but to take away our sins. No longer was there a need for a covering. When Christ died on the cross, He took away our sins. So the pitch that was on the ark speaks of the atonement that was for those Old Testament saints, and it points us to the redemption that Christ has provided for us through His death on the cross.
The three stories in the ark also represent the kind of salvation that we have in Christ today. The Lord Jesus Christ is the ark, and we enter into Christ by means of the one door which is faith in the work of Christ upon the cross. On the first floor of the ark, we find that we are saved from the guilt and the penalty of sin. We come into that ark burdened down with sin, but the very moment that we put our faith in Christ, God takes away our burden of sin. The death of Christ on the cross takes away our sin.
As we move to the second story of the ark, we find that we have been delivered from the power of sin. This speaks of the safety and security that believers experience in Christ. We live in a world that is hostile to believers. We find ourselves on a spiritual battlefield, but the victory is ours through the power of the Holy Spirit. As we yield to the Holy Spirit, we are delivered from the power of sin. When Christ died for our sins, our old sin nature was put to death so that we would no longer have to serve sin. We can be delivered day by day and moment by moment from the very power of sin.
The third story is beautiful because it speaks of the aspect of our salvation that will be fully realized in the future when we are delivered from the presence of sin. One day the Lord is going to take us up to be with Himself. One day the last member of the Church which is the Body of Christ will be added to the Church, and that very moment God is going to catch up the Church to be with Him in heaven.
Those who have died in faith are going to be raised up to receive a glorified body as they ascend into heaven. As for those who are alive and remain at the time of this catching up, they will be given a new body as they ascend into heaven, but they will never see death. Whether dead in Christ or alive in the world, all believers will be taken up to be with the Lord where we are finally saved from the very presence of sin.
I trust that you can see this threefold salvation that we have Christ. We are saved from the guilt and the penalty of sin when we put our faith in Christ. We are saved from the power of sin as we daily walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. Then one day we will be saved from the very presence of sin when the Lord Jesus takes us up to be with Himself in the glory of heaven.
Now, there is another aspect of the flood that I would like for us to see. When the rain stopped after forty days and forty nights, Noah remained in the ark for another 150 days. Then at some point after that 150 days, Noah let two birds out of the ark. One was a raven, and the other was a dove. The raven flew off and was never seen again. The raven was a scavenger, and so it was able to live off the dead flesh that was no doubt in great abundance after the flood.
However, when Noah sent out the dove, the dove could not find any place for the soul of her foot to land. She could not stand to be around the old dead flesh, so she returned to the ark. When Noah saw the dove, he put out his hand and took the dove back into the ark. Seven days later, Noah sent out another dove, and this time the dove returned to the ark with a freshly plucked olive branch which showed signs of new life.
The dove is a picture of the person who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior. As believers endeavor to live for the Lord, they find no rest or peace in the dead things of the world. Believers are dead to the things of the world because the old nature is crucified with Christ. Though believers choose to stay close to Christ, they carry a wonderful message with them of the life and the peace that can be found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In sharp contrast to the dove, the raven found plenty to feast upon in the death and corruption that was so prevalent in the world that had been judged by God.
As we close the broadcast this morning, may I ask you which of these two birds would represent you? Are you like the dove in that you have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Do you feel uncomfortable when you drift away from the ark and find yourself among the dead things of this world, or are you still feasting upon the dead things of the world as the raven did? True peace and joy can only be found by those who forsake the world and choose to stay close to Jesus Christ.
Well, I see our time is gone for today. Be sure to tune in again next week as we look at Noah and his family after the flood. Until that time, we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
Prior to Noah, God had a prophet by the name of Enoch who was the seventh from Adam. Enoch had a son whose name was Methuselah. Not much is said in the scriptures about Methuselah, but Methuselah is unique in that he lived longer than any other person who has ever lived on this earth. Methuselah was almost a thousand years old when he died, and this shows something of the longsuffering of God because his name means, when he is dead, it shall be sent.
Methuselah’s name stood as a prophesy to the people of his day concerning the coming of the great flood judgment. Undoubtedly, when Methuselah was born, God spoke to Enoch and said, when this baby dies, the great judgment of God will come. So, from the time that Methuselah was born, Enoch walked with God and was a faithful preacher and teacher. He was a faithful prophet concerning the coming judgment of God.
The people before the flood had the preaching of Enoch for 300 years, and they had the living object lesson of Methuselah who was living right there in their midst. Every time they saw Methuselah, his name would remind them of what God had told Enoch concerning the judgment that would come at Methuselah’s death. These people also had the preaching of Noah as he built the ark for 120 years. But in spite of all these warnings from the Lord, we find that none repented. Not one turned to the Lord.
When Noah finished the ark, God told Noah to bring into the ark seven of each kind of clean animal and two of each kind of unclean animal. With this task accomplished, God told Noah to “come into the ark.” It is very important to see the language that God used here. God did not tell Noah to go into the ark. That would have indicated that God was going to remain outside the ark while Noah and his family went inside.
The Bible makes it clear that God was already in the ark when He invited Noah to come into the ark. God said, come into the ark, and when Noah and his family were safely inside, God shut the door to the ark, and the day of grace was over for the people of that day.
After the door to that ark was shut, God opened up the windows of heaven and the water that had been reserved in the heavens for that day of judgment came pouring out. Then, the waters that were being held in reserve underneath the earth came gushing forth. This tremendous flood of water rushed across the face of the earth for forty days and forty nights.
This year we have seen the damage that the hurricanes and tropical storms have caused along the eastern seaboard. Well, the surge of water caused by these storms was but a little sprinkle in comparison with the great volume of water that was produced during the flood of Noah’s day. The flood of Noah’s day was so great that it covered the whole earth in a little over a month. This was a universal flood that covered even the highest mountains of the earth. As a result of this flood, the earth and everything in the earth perished.
After forty days and forty nights of rain, Noah had to remain in the ark because the flood waters were still covering even the mountains. Noah waited in the ark for 150 days, and then the Bible says that God remembered Noah. Isn’t that a beautiful thought?
God remembered Noah, and how could he forget Noah when He was right there with Noah in the ark. God had invited Noah to come into the ark, and when it was time for Noah to leave, God told Noah to “go out of the ark.” He did not say, come out of the ark. Once again, this shows that God was in the ark with Noah all of the time that Noah and his family were in the ark.
What a place of safety! What a place of security! Right there in the ark was the very presence of God as the ark was being tossed about by the flood waters. And may I say this to you? There may be times in your life when you feel that you are being tossed about by the flood waters of life. You may have to face some trials or temptations or afflictions that seem overwhelming.
But remember this. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you can rest assured that God is with you. He said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. The book of Philippians tells us that the Lord is at hand and anytime there is trouble, we can go to the Lord. He tells us to come boldly before His throne of grace to ask for help in the time of need. You and I can cast all of our cares upon Him for He cares for us.
God remembered Noah because God was right there with Noah in the ark. God knew every emotion, every problem, and He was right there with them to help them. He was there to supply every need.
Noah had built the ark according to the blueprints that God had given him. The ark was a three story ark which had a window in the top that looked up into heaven. There was only one door by which believers could enter the ark. But the ark, itself, is also a beautiful picture if the Lord Jesus Christ.
First of all, the ark was built with wood and then it was covered within and without with pitch. The word that is translated pitch is the word for atonement which means a covering. Throughout the Old Testament, God provided a means of atonement for the sins of the people so that their sins would be covered.
When the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, He died, not to cover our sins but to take away our sins. No longer was there a need for a covering. When Christ died on the cross, He took away our sins. So the pitch that was on the ark speaks of the atonement that was for those Old Testament saints, and it points us to the redemption that Christ has provided for us through His death on the cross.
The three stories in the ark also represent the kind of salvation that we have in Christ today. The Lord Jesus Christ is the ark, and we enter into Christ by means of the one door which is faith in the work of Christ upon the cross. On the first floor of the ark, we find that we are saved from the guilt and the penalty of sin. We come into that ark burdened down with sin, but the very moment that we put our faith in Christ, God takes away our burden of sin. The death of Christ on the cross takes away our sin.
As we move to the second story of the ark, we find that we have been delivered from the power of sin. This speaks of the safety and security that believers experience in Christ. We live in a world that is hostile to believers. We find ourselves on a spiritual battlefield, but the victory is ours through the power of the Holy Spirit. As we yield to the Holy Spirit, we are delivered from the power of sin. When Christ died for our sins, our old sin nature was put to death so that we would no longer have to serve sin. We can be delivered day by day and moment by moment from the very power of sin.
The third story is beautiful because it speaks of the aspect of our salvation that will be fully realized in the future when we are delivered from the presence of sin. One day the Lord is going to take us up to be with Himself. One day the last member of the Church which is the Body of Christ will be added to the Church, and that very moment God is going to catch up the Church to be with Him in heaven.
Those who have died in faith are going to be raised up to receive a glorified body as they ascend into heaven. As for those who are alive and remain at the time of this catching up, they will be given a new body as they ascend into heaven, but they will never see death. Whether dead in Christ or alive in the world, all believers will be taken up to be with the Lord where we are finally saved from the very presence of sin.
I trust that you can see this threefold salvation that we have Christ. We are saved from the guilt and the penalty of sin when we put our faith in Christ. We are saved from the power of sin as we daily walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. Then one day we will be saved from the very presence of sin when the Lord Jesus takes us up to be with Himself in the glory of heaven.
Now, there is another aspect of the flood that I would like for us to see. When the rain stopped after forty days and forty nights, Noah remained in the ark for another 150 days. Then at some point after that 150 days, Noah let two birds out of the ark. One was a raven, and the other was a dove. The raven flew off and was never seen again. The raven was a scavenger, and so it was able to live off the dead flesh that was no doubt in great abundance after the flood.
However, when Noah sent out the dove, the dove could not find any place for the soul of her foot to land. She could not stand to be around the old dead flesh, so she returned to the ark. When Noah saw the dove, he put out his hand and took the dove back into the ark. Seven days later, Noah sent out another dove, and this time the dove returned to the ark with a freshly plucked olive branch which showed signs of new life.
The dove is a picture of the person who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior. As believers endeavor to live for the Lord, they find no rest or peace in the dead things of the world. Believers are dead to the things of the world because the old nature is crucified with Christ. Though believers choose to stay close to Christ, they carry a wonderful message with them of the life and the peace that can be found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In sharp contrast to the dove, the raven found plenty to feast upon in the death and corruption that was so prevalent in the world that had been judged by God.
As we close the broadcast this morning, may I ask you which of these two birds would represent you? Are you like the dove in that you have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Do you feel uncomfortable when you drift away from the ark and find yourself among the dead things of this world, or are you still feasting upon the dead things of the world as the raven did? True peace and joy can only be found by those who forsake the world and choose to stay close to Jesus Christ.
Well, I see our time is gone for today. Be sure to tune in again next week as we look at Noah and his family after the flood. Until that time, we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
No comments:
Post a Comment