Last time in “A Seed of Promise,” we focused on Genesis 3:15, where amid Adam’s sin, God promised to send a Redeemer, a seed of the woman who would ultimately crush Satan’s head. Genesis 3:15 tells us who God will send to save us, but Genesis 6-8 tells us how God will save us.
The Flood of Sin: Why God Judged the World in Noah’s Time
Noah and the Ark is one of the most well-known stories of the Old Testament. However, this story often raises doubts about God’s very nature. How could a God who is willing to destroy the entire planet and every living thing on it be just and merciful? To truly understand God’s purpose for the flood, we must understand the world’s condition before the flood.
God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28), and they were obedient. As mankind began to increase on the earth, so did their depravity. In Genesis 1:31, right before God rested from His work, He looked upon His creation and “saw that it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Yet, ten generations later, his view of creation was vastly different: He “saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5).
Humankind was sinking in sin, and sin grieves God. It shatters the very image of Him that we were created to reflect. Because of this deluge of sin, God decided “to wipe from the face of the earth, the human race…” (Genesis 6:7), that is, everyone except one man and his family, Noah.
With the flood, God was bringing the earth back to its pre-creation state—covered in water—before beginning again with Noah, preserving His promise to humanity.. “In the beginning, the earth was formless and covered in water (Genesis 1:1). Dry land didn’t appear until God gathered the waters into one place (Genesis 1:9). God’s purpose for the flood was not to destroy His creation but to recreate it through Noah.
Noah’s Ark and God’s Judgment: Why the Flood Was Necessary
Noah found favor with God (Genesis 6:8). Because of this favor, God told Noah that He would provide refuge from the rising waters through an ark that Noah was to build. God gives Noah specific instructions on what this ark should look like (Genesis 6:14-16) and who and what to bring onto it (Genesis 6:13-21). “Noah did everything just as God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22).
God was patient with humankind, giving them time to repent. During the years leading up to the flood, Noah warned people of God’s coming judgment (2 Peter 2:5), yet they ignored his message. Whether this period lasted 120 years or less, God was patient, giving ample time for repentance.
People ignored Noah’s warning. Distracted by the world, they kept celebrating—eating, drinking, and marrying—until Noah entered the ark (Matthew 24:38). However, Noah did not let the world drown out God’s voice; he was not distracted or deterred by the pull of the culture surrounding him. Instead, he focused on the work God gave him to do.
Noah’s Faith: How Trust in God Led to Salvation
Hebrews 11:7 tells us that Noah’s faith saved him: “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.”
People say, ‘There is no way I would have been good enough to make it on that boat like Noah.’ That is true; no one would have made it on the ark based on their goodness. Even Noah didn’t earn his way on the ark; he found favor with God (Genesis 6:8). His faith was a response to God’s grace, just as our salvation today is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Just like God was the architect of the ark, He is also the architect of our salvation. God began to reveal His plans to mankind in the Garden of Eden when He promised that the Seed of a woman would crush Satan. Then, through Noah, He showed us a picture of salvation.
Just as He did for Noah, God provides us with the means to be saved. But like Noah, we must drown out the call of the world and singularly focus on the One who provides our salvation. When we put our faith in God’s word and trust His chosen refuge, as Noah did, we escape God’s just judgment, and we are saved.
Next time, in the Ark of Salvation, we will discuss how the ark is a picture or a type of Jesus.
For additional resources on Noah and the Flood, visit Answers in Genesis.
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Making Him Known February 28, 2025 9:13 am