GOD’S GREATEST DESIRE

Genesis 7- 8
Bob Bonner
September 19, 2004

For most Christians, the subject of prophecy is popular and fascinating for several reasons. One is that it satisfies our curiosity to know something of our future. In addition, since Christians know how the story ends, this gives us a great deal of hope as we live in a world that is spinning out of control with terrorism, economic uncertainty, natural disasters such as hurricanes, crime, etc. Every person who has ever lived has wanted to know the answer to haunting questions, such as: “Will there ever be peace in the world? Peace in my soul? Life without conflict, disease, suffering and death?”

The Bible makes it very clear that one day this world, as we know it, will come to an end; then there will come a new beginning, a new heaven and a new earth, all uninfected by sin, evil and all that goes along with it...conflict, disease, suffering and death. In the end, we know that God is making it possible to enjoy perfect fellowship with Jesus forever. Through Jesus Christ, God is pointing the way to true and ultimate peace. How and when this will take place is what Biblical prophecy spells out.

But for the uninitiated, those who don’t know Jesus Christ, they quite often look at Christians the same way many in Noah’s day must have looked at him...as a pure nut case! How hard it must have been for Noah and his family to build an ark and preach about the coming disaster, a flood, when there had yet to be experienced one drop of rain. For 120 years, they built and preached, and no one, not one single person, friend or extended family member believed their message or took them seriously. Yet, just as the day of reckoning came to the earth in Noah’s day, so it will in our day.

This morning, we are going to read about that day of reckoning for Noah and his family. We are going to read through Genesis 7-8. As we do we will highlight a few things as we go, but wrap up in the end what I believe the Lord wants us to focus on from this passage. It is the theme of scripture. It is the reason the God of all creation made earth and the human race. It is God’s greatest desire, as it concerns every human being.

The first four verses of chapter 7 speak of a divine invitation and some instructions. Note that as we begin this section, the title used for God is “the Lord” or “Yahweh”. It is His personal name, which reflects His personal interest and concern for Noah and his family. This is not some distant deity dealing with Noah and his family, but One, who greatly desires fellowship with us. In short, this is about a god who really cares about those who care about Him.

As we begin reading verse 1, note God’s personal invitation to Noah. We read, “Then the Lord said to Noah, “Enter [literally “You come into”] the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time.” This is the first time this familiar or personal word “come” occurs in the Bible. It is used some 600 times in the rest of the Bible. But it is significant here because it suggests that God is personally inviting Noah and his family to join God in the Ark. It is significant because God could have said, “Go get on board”, but He didn’t. He said “Come!” God wanted them to know that He would be with them in the Ark. He wanted them to know that only in His presence is salvation.

These words also remind me of Jesus’ invitation to His many curious followers found in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.”

We continue, verse 2, “You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female; also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth.” The “clean” and “unclean” animals refer to those that could be eaten and those not to be eaten. Later, in Leviticus 11, God spells out the rules that govern clean and unclean animals.

Verse 4, “For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made.”

At this point, Noah enters the Ark. Remember, in verse 1, God has already told us that Noah alone, of all the men on the planet, was seen by God as righteous. Why was he considered righteous? The first evidence of Noah’s uniqueness amongst his peers is given to us in verse 5 as he approaches the Ark. We read, “Noah did according to all that the Lord had commanded him.” It is no coincidence that we read once more the title for God as being “the Lord.” It signifies that Noah was not a religious man, but a man who had developed an intimate relationship with the Lord. He listened to God, took God seriously and did all that God had instructed him to do.

Verses 6 - 9, “Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth. Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the flood. Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and everything that creeps on the ground, they went into the ark to Noah by twos, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.” Once again, we are reminded of Noah’s complete obedience to God.

From here down to verse 24, we read about the Flood, itself. Verses 11 - 12, “It came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.” In other words, the Flood was not caused just by rain falling from the sky, but also from gigantic springs under the earth opening up and adding to the deluge. So water was filling the earth from above and below.

Verses 13 - 16, “On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark, they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds. So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the Lord closed it behind him.”

Let’s stop there for a moment, for this is important. Notice that God did not say to Noah, “Noah, go inside and shut the door and slide the bar down or turn the key to lock it.” Instead, we read of the same personal, caring, intimate God taking full responsibility for Noah and his family’s care and ultimate deliverance or salvation. They are under His sole protection. Seven days before the first drop of rain fell, while the sun was still shining and others outside were still convinced that nothing was going to happen, God had them securely placed in His Ark.

Likewise, the Ark is a type of Christ. When a person puts his or her complete trust and confidence in Jesus as one’s savior and Lord, that person is sealed and kept by the power of God. God does not place the safety or eternal security of believers in their own hands or in the hands of others. Our eternal security, according to Ephesians 1:13 is guaranteed by God’s action of sealing us with His Spirit. He closed the door and only He can open it. Revelation 3:7 makes it clear that what God “...opens, no one will shut, and what God shuts, no one but God will open.”

Let’s continue, verses 17 - 24, “Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.”

These days, there are many questioning the veracity of a universal flood and whether or not it occurred. I’m not going to spend any time this morning trying to prove it to you. In Henry Morris commentary on Genesis, he makes 26 points and lists 100 other Biblical and scientific reasons why one can believe that not only did this flood take place, but that it was universal, covering the entire earth.

Folks, one must either accept the Bible or we end up making excuses for it. We either accept it or reject. To hypothesize some other way that things might have occurred is to reject what God says happened. In 2 Peter 3:3-10, the Apostle Peter was dealing with people who denied the prophecies that Jesus would come again and that this world would end in judgment. In order to prove his case that a future physical judgment of the earth would come, Peter points to the historical fact of the universal flood and how it destroyed the earth at a time that others mocked God’s prophecies about judgment. His argument would not have been sound if those who were alive had not known and believed in the reality of the universal flood. Not believing in a universal flood is a relatively new thought. Historically, it has always been accepted as true, based not just on the Hebrew records of the flood, but on various cultures recording a universal flood in their histories. If you are interested in more information on the evidence for the universal flood, I would encourage you to check out your local Christian bookstore. There are more scientific books being written each year in support of the universal flood, based on recent scientific discoveries.

We come now to chapter 8. The first 14 verses point to the receding waters of the flood. In verses 1-5, we read of God’s first actions as the flood waters subsided. His first action mentioned is particularly important to me. We read, “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided.” In 7:16, we read that God shut Noah in the boat. Sometimes as believers, we know that we are saved, but when life gets tedious or difficult, we wonder if God has lost sight of us or if He has forgotten us. Noah remained shut up in that boat for about a year, and there must have been days where he wondered, “How long, Lord? Have you forgotten we are in here?” But God had not forgotten. God never forgets or has an oversight. As God remembered Noah, God remembers you, even in the midst of your difficult days. The only thing God chooses to not remember is your sins, which are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. He remembers them no more.

Let’s keep reading: “Also the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained; and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased. In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.” Although Assyrian records may identify such a name in Armenia of eastern Turkey, the precise location of Mt. Ararat or where the Ark came to rest remains unknown.

From verses 6-14, we read about Noah’s actions. But more important than his actions are his revealed attitudes. As we read these verses, keep in mind Noah has been in this Ark for almost a year. What patience, hope and faith he models for us. We read, “Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made; and he sent out a raven, and it flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth.” Notice, the raven or crow never came back. The reason being that ravens typically feast on the flesh of dead animals, and there must have been a lot of bloated dead and floating animals on the surface of the waters upon which they could sit and eat. By the way, ravens, pigs and some bottom fish are all apart of the unclean group of animals that God forbade the Jews from eating, the reason being that they were God’s natural garbage disposals and He didn’t and doesn’t want us to eat garbage or the garbage eaters. It is unhealthy for us.

The dove, on the other hand, is listed as a clean bird or bird that is listed as edible or good to eat. I, for one, can tell you that they are quite tasty, in fact.

Verses 8 - 14, “Then he sent out a dove from him, to see if the water was abated from the face of the land; but the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, so she returned to him into the ark, for the water was on the surface of all the earth. Then he put out his hand and took her, and brought her into the ark to himself. So he waited yet another seven days; and again he sent out the dove from the ark. The dove came to him toward evening, and behold, in her beak was a freshly picked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was abated from the earth. Then he waited yet another seven days, and sent out the dove; but she did not return to him again. Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, [I believe this was a removable tarp like roof] and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.” When you count up all of the days of the flood to this point of the earth being dry, you have 371 one days. Noah and his family were on that Ark for over one year!!!!!

At this point, God speaks again to Noah and instructs him to leave the Ark. It says in verses 14-17, “Then God spoke to Noah saying, ‘Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.’” According to this account, this is the first time God spoke to Noah since He invited Noah on board. The first time, God says, “Come...” The second time He says, “Go...”

Similarly, Jesus’ first words to us are ones of invitation: “Come unto Me...” After we come to Jesus, after we have been rescued, then Jesus gives us our assignment, the purpose for which we live on this earth. He says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.” He gives us a service project, and assignment. And if we are true followers of Jesus Christ, our worship always involves serving Him in this capacity. It is not to save our world or the whales or the trees (not that that is not important), it is not even to save our country (not that that is not important), but what is to be the focal point of our lives is to reach out to the lost and bring them to Jesus. Come....then Go!

Verses 18-20, “So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by their families from the ark. Then Noah built an altar to the Lord,[“Yahweh”] and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”

Note Noah’s very first action once he gets on dry ground. It is to worship God. He returned to God some of the best of what he had. He remembered the practice of sacrifice that Abel had faithfully observed before being killed by Cain. Heart felt sacrifice was how Noah wanted to begin the refilling of the earth. Those who are true worshipers don’t just give, but they give the best of what they have at the moment, they make it a priority of their lives. Whether we give our possessions, our strength, our service or our time, if we love Him, we give Him the best we have.

And how does God respond to Noah’s gift of sacrifice? We read about God’s divine acceptance, approval and assurance, in verses 21-22. “The Lord [“Yahweh”] smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, ‘I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains [which suggests that it will not always remain, i.e. that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth], seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.’”

Before we move to some conclusions and applications, allow me to point out that verse 22 is the first mention of the four seasons in Biblical history. Although there was day and night, there were not four seasons in a year until after the flood. The atmospheric conditions radically changed after the flood. Along with atmospheric changes came incredible changes with standard time dating techniques for how old the earth is. It is the reason why many scientists are now raising doubts about our current dating techniques of stating how old the earth is. If we had a uniform earth from the outset of creation, (meaning the same atmosphere and four seasons) we might be able to justify the suggested age of the earth or our solar system as being billions of years old. But since Genesis 8 clearly points to a new beginning, one which required four seasons and a different atmospheric make up, one cannot help but be skeptical about modern day time dating techniques used to determine how old the earth is and how long man has lived on the earth.

Now, let’s stand back and ask the question, “So what?” of this passage. What is it that God would have us take away from our study of His word this morning? The first observation of importance is to recognize that there was only one Ark, not a fleet of ships. God did not offer more than one avenue for Noah’s generation to be saved. Many could have said, “I want to build my own ark, in which I could wait out the storm.” But God said that there was only one way to be saved and that was to abide in, to rest in His ark.

Similarly, today, there are many religions, but there is only one way of salvation, one way to avoid judgment, one “ark” so to speak, and that is by putting your confidence in Jesus Christ, by submitting your life to Him as your Lord and Savior. Jesus said, in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved...” Once again, in John 14:6, Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.” In John 15 we are told that real life, a productive life, is one in which the individual places his or her trust in Christ so that he is said to “abide” or literally to “dwell in Christ.”

What John 15 declares is that for us to live, we must rest in, dwell in, abide in Christ, just as Noah rested in, trusted in, dwelled or abided in the Ark. Life begins and ends with Jesus living in you and you abiding in Him.

Have you put your confidence in Jesus Christ as your personal Ark, your savior and Lord? Are you resting or abiding in Christ, or are you trying to live life on your own, trying to earn or maintain God’s approval of you? If have not put your confidence and trust in Christ, why not? He loves you and wants the best for you. If you want to know God intimately and have Him lead and direct your life, you must willingly commit your life to Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you for ignoring and rebelling against God. Ask Him to be your personal savior. When you do, He will come to live within your heart. But Jesus will not force Himself on you.

If you say you have put your confidence in Christ, what’s the evidence? What’s the evidence that you are abiding in the “Ark”, Jesus Christ? What’s the evidence that you are an “Ark Dweller”? In Noah’s case, the evidence is obvious that he placed his faith in God’s only way of salvation, the Ark. The evidence is clear that he is what I call “an Ark Dweller.” Being an “Ark Dweller” today is evidenced by the same things that made Noah an “Ark Dweller” in his day.

Noah, first and foremost was a worshiper of God. And the first place we see the evidence of his genuine worship of God is in his obedience. In several places the Scriptures repeat that Noah obeyed in all that God had asked of Him. That doesn’t mean he didn’t make mistakes. It means that when he did, he kept short accounts with God and turned around and did what is right. In “all that God had asked” means that Noah obeyed God in what we might consider the little things as well as in the big things. Can that be said of you? Is obedience to all that you understand God commands of you characteristic of your life?

• · Have you fulfilled your business commitments and vows to people?
• · Have you asked others to forgive you when you were wrong? Have you forgiven others who have wronged you?
• · Do you pray for your political and spiritual leaders?
• · Do you pay all taxes due Caesar?

• Next to serving the Lord, have you made your spouse the priority of your life, or has someone else come between you? Like a parent or child or another person or your job or hobby?

In Psalm 101:3, it says, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes...” Is that true of you? What are you watching at the theater? At home? What are you reading? Are your entertainment preferences violence and sex?

Closely related to that, but a little different, we read in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.” Are you obeying the Lord in this area? What things preoccupy your thinking? Money, politics, hobbies, having fun, a life of leisure or reaching the lost and honoring God? Don’t misunderstand. I’m all for having fun. I just returned from a vacation full of fun. But that didn’t keep me from sharing Christ with strangers or counseling a Christian father and mother about their wayward son or spending time in daily worship of God and reading His word.

I like money and do what I can to invest wisely and to prepare for my future. But I also make sure that giving to the Lord is my first priority.

You see, there is more to obeying God than in just those areas that we might naturally want to obey Him in anyway. We might naturally not want to drink alcoholic beverages, and thus think that because we don’t and therefore can’t get drunk, that we are being fully obedient to God. No, there is much more to obedience than just those few commands we may be obeying.

Do you have the heart of a reluctantly obedient servant of God, or the whole hearted passion of a servant who is sold out to obeying your savior? Sometimes, it is easy for all of us to get distracted and lose sight of what is most important and what whole hearted obedience to the Lord is all about. That’s why it is wise to periodically ask each other these hard questions. That’s why it is extremely important to quietly, on your own, get away with God and ask Him to search your heart for areas of obedience we have ignored, or disobedience. That’s why it is important to get alone with God and ask Him to show us any thing that might have more of our allegiance than Him.

The second evidence that Noah was an Ark dweller is that which preoccupied his life. The first thing Noah did when he arrived on dry land was to worship God. And he worshiped by giving to the Lord, first and with his best. He did not worship the ark itself, but the God of the ark. He did not count on survival being based on the eating of the animals but his survival depended upon heartfelt worship of the God who had given him the animals to eat. Noah made sure that God knew that Noah knew that he owed everything to God. Is that same spirit of Noah evidenced in you?

As we read this passage, and yes, all of the chapters previous to this and those that follow, there is one obvious desire of God. In fact, I would say it is His greatest desire. God’s greatest desire is to develop a community of true worshipers. If there is one lesson we can take from the Flood and the rest of Scripture, it is this: God will always judge wickedness with severe and catastrophic judgment, in order that He might start life over with a worshiping community. It’s true that He promised that He would never bring about a universal flood again, but He didn’t say He would not use a catastrophic judgment against our world.

Just look at the book of Revelation. How does it say that this world ends? With catastrophic judgment against those who have rebelled against God, have ignored God or have trifled with God. And after judgment, then what does God do? He sets up a permanent home for that community of true worshipers to live with Him forever. These are worshipers who have demonstrated in this life their genuine love for their Savior through their obedience, service, and praise of Him.

I challenge you to think deeply about your own life these next two days, whether you call yourself a Christian or not. I challenge you to make your case before God that you are fulfilling His greatest desire for you that you are one of His true worshipers. Allow Him to search your heart for any areas where your goals or expectations are more important than His. And when you feel conviction, don’t fight Him, repent. Turn away from your goals and seek to better understand and fulfill His goals for your life.

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