As you read this chapter I would like you to focus not so much on the interesting miracles of the flood during Noah's time, but on the survival of Noah and his family. Jesus challenged us in Matthew chapter 24:37 that our season of living today can be compared to the days of Noah. In Noah's day there was an "end time" disaster that devastated an evil world. As I am editing this chapter in 2010 we are also in a season of "end times."
Noah found grace because he had respect for the blood that covered his sin. However he found that grace by hearing God speak. I submit that the very fact that he heard God speak, and obeyed, is why he and he alone survived the "end times" of his time. In summary, Noah had an intimate real-time relationship with the Creator God. And just imagine, that was before Christ and the cross. Just think how much more access you have now to that kind of intimacy!
What is the application of this idea for your life?
When you have a two-way conversation with God, and you include the confessing of your sin, then you have invited God to plant the seed of His Word in your heart. The result is that you will have a transmission of the blood covenant (See John chapter 6:63). The seed that is planted in your heart will provide for your every need. That is how the Kingdom of God operates. Mark 4:11 states that the very mystery of the Kingdom of God is embedded in the Parable of the Sower.
It does not matter how bad the world has become!
When you live your life in the mystery of the Kingdom of God, through His Word bearing fruit in your life, it matters not how bad the economy is, how bad the evil morals of this world have become, you will live above the world system and will experience the supernatural grace of God as Noah did!
What kind of fruit can you expect?
I submit that the Word of God gives us three major categories of fruit. When you look at the Ark of the Covenant inside the Tabernacle, it contains three major items which represent the three types of fruit:
1. The Law. This represents your character, as in the Fruit of the Spirit.
2. Manna. This represents your daily provisions for your natural life supernaturally provided for by God.
3. Aaron's Rod that budded. This represents your outreach or the fruit you bear by ministering to others.
For a more detailed look at this idea you may find it in our book Grow or Die, chapter 2, The Flowing River. [1]
Approximately 1,500 years passed from Adam to Noah’s day.
People lived to be over 900 years old in those days. It is possible that Adam, who lived 960 years, and Noah, who was 600 years old when the flood occured, were both alive at the same time. The earth was much different then. The earth had a protective layer, the firmament, which kept out the destructive ultra-violet rays from the sun. According to reliable Spirit-filled scientists, the geysers that rose up during the flood process destroyed the firmament.
Here is history of generations to orient you to the time.
Some scientists estimate that the population on the earth was 3 billion people at that time. The Bible does not tell us for sure. However, the Bible does tell us that the people who lived on the earth at that time were very evil.
Genesis 6:5-6 says,
5 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved [deeply hurt and pained] in His heart.”
Does God have emotions?
Yes! Look at the above Scripture. God was deeply hurt because He loved man so much. He saw them destroying themselves with immoral living. It would be like a father or mother watching their children hurting him or herself.
The people in Noah’s day were very wicked. Most of them did not care anything about God. They just did what they wanted to do. They partied and participated in many other ungodly acts. We can only guess.
Was God unfair to the wicked people? The Bible says that God gave them a long time to change their minds, and that Noah preached to them, but they would not listen (2 Peter 2:5).
God was going to destroy the entire human race except for Noah and his family!
Genesis 6:11-13 says,
11 “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
13 And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’”
Genesis 6:8-10 says,
8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
I have asked the question: “What was it about Noah that caused his family to get into the Ark and believe what he had heard from God?” In Genesis 7:1 God said that Noah was righteous. In God’s eyes that could only mean righteous through the blood covenant, not in his own righteousness.
Here was God’s plan.
Noah would build a boat, or an ark. God gave Noah the exact dimensions and sizes for all the details of this ark.
Genesis 6:14 says,
14 “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.”
The word pitch means in Hebrew “A ransom, satisfaction, bribe, a sum of money, a covering, the price of a life.” Jesus is the pitch for our ark.
Scientists have stated that the dimensions of this ark were perfect for survival. Until 1844 the ark was the largest vessel ever built. There was more than enough room in this ark to carry everything that God would tell Noah to carry. The ark was God’s plan to save Noah from the coming judgment. The only reason Noah had this way of escape was that he had found grace in the eyes of God.
Genesis 6:17-19, 22 says,
17 “And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.
18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark – you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female…
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.”
God told Noah to take his wife, his three sons, and their wives into the ark. He instructed Noah to bring seven of each clean animal, seven of each bird, and two of each unclean animal. Noah would need more clean animals later because he would offer blood sacrifices to the Lord. He told him to take the animals and food for all his family and for the animals. There was more than enough room for this.
Genesis 7:11-12 says,
11 “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.”
Genesis 7:24 says,
24 “And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.”
Genesis 8:3-4 says,
3 “And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.
4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.”
Genesis 8:16,18 says,
16 “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.”
18 “So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him [after being the in ark one year and ten days].”
Notice the first thing that Noah did after the flood, he recognized the blood!
Genesis 8:20-21 says,
20 “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma [a scent of satisfaction to His heart]. Then the LORD said in His heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.’”
According to this Scripture, Noah was in the habit of offering blood sacrifices, animals, on the Lord’s altar. By doing this, Noah was showing his faith in God’s promise for the promised blood covenant Lamb. Remember, Adam, Eve and Abel found grace by the shedding of blood.
How could Noah have been perfect? How could he have walked with God? How was he considered righteous?
How did Noah find grace with God?
I don’t think that Noah never made mistakes or never sinned. That would be impossible. There must be another reason that God called him perfect.
Grace means that God gave Noah something that Noah did not deserve or work for. Mercy means that we do not receive a punishment that we really deserve to get.
Why did Noah find grace in the eyes of God? Digging into the Scriptures shows us that Noah respected the blood covenant sacrifices. This made him righteous, which allowed him to hear God speak, and which further allowed him to make the choice to obey God’s voice.
Genesis 6:22 says,
22 “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.”
Genesis 7:1 says,
1 “Then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.’”
Genesis 7:5 says,
5 “And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him.”
Noah was a man who offered blood sacrifices to the Lord God. Noah understood that it took the blood of an innocent victim, in his case an animal, to restore fellowship with God. The result was, Noah could hear God speak. Noah obeyed God when he heard Him speak.
Genesis 6:9 says,
“…Noah walked with God.”
God and Man reconnected into intimate friendship by the covenant blood.
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Perfect fellowship between God and man had not been restored yet. That would happen when the promised blood covenant Lamb would come. However, the blood gave Noah and God a living relationship and they enjoyed each other.
The following is a quote from the book The Blood Covenant by H. Clay Trumbull [2]:
After the destruction of mankind by the deluge, when God would begin anew, as it were, by the revivifying of the world through the vestige of blood – of life preserving in the ark, he laid new emphasis on the sacredness of blood as the representative of that life which is the essence of God himself. Noah's first act, on coming out from the ark, was to proffer[3] himself and all living flesh in a fresh blood-covenant with the Lord. "Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar" (Genesis 8:20).
From all that we know of the method of the burnt-offering, either from the Bible-text or from outside sources, it has, from the beginning, included the preliminary offering of the blood – as the life – to Deity, by its outpouring, around, or upon, the altar, with or without the accompaniment of libations of wine; or, again, by its sprinkling upon the altar.
It was then, when the spirit of Noah, in this covenant-seeking by blood, was recognized approvingly by the Lord, that the Lord smelled the sweet savor of the proffered offering, - "the savor of satisfaction, or delectation [pleasure]," to him, was in it, - and he established a new covenant with Noah, giving commandment anew concerning the never-failing sacredness of blood: "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man" (Genesis 9:3-6).
Here, the blood of even those animals whose flesh might be eaten by man is forbidden for food; because it is life itself, and therefore sacred to the Author of life. And the blood of man must not be shed by man, - except where man is made God's minister of justice, - because man is formed in the image of God, and only God has a right to take away – directly or by his minister – the life from one bearing God's image.
Noah respected the need for blood.
He was responding to the blood covenant. Because of his response, God delivered him and his family through impossible circumstances.
How did he respond? How can we respond in the same way?+
1. Blood covenant people press in to hear God’s voice. He took the time to hear the voice of God, and most likely coveted hearing Him speak.
2. Blood covenant people press in to obey God. Noah was a “doer of the Word.” He obeyed God’s voice no matter how he was viewed by others in his culture. In John 14:21-23 Jesus said He would reveal Himself to those who obey His voice and keep His Word.
3. Blood covenant people press in to consecrate themselves to God. He was separate from his culture and did not partake in its ways. I don’t believe that we can truly consecrate ourselves to God without Him actually doing it. We can cooperate, but I believe that it takes a real “seeing” of Jesus and His loveliness to bring about consecration.
4. Righteous parents, husbands and wives, put their spouses and children first! I submit that Noah’s wife and children all knew that their husband and daddy was looking out for them first. Sure, Noah preached to the unrighteous masses, but I submit that his ministry did not come before his family.
5. Blood covenant people know that it is only God’s blood that makes them qualified for union and fellowship with God. They do not hold on to any self-righteousness. They treat others with the same mercy and love that they know they are receiving from God.
6. Noah preached. He did not consider it foolish to speak the truth in love. We don’t have to preach condemnation to people and bash them over the head with Bible laws. However, we do owe everyone in our realm of influence the truth of the blood covenant inheritance that they are ignoring. We should tell every person that there is a magnificent blood covenant inheritance waiting for them, but also that the “final flood” is coming as well.
What did Noah preach? We are not told the answer to that question, but I submit that he could not have possibly preached what many churches hear every Sunday morning. He knew nothing about self-righteousness or religion. All he knew was that he received grace because of the blood sacrifice.
2 Peter 2:5 says,
5 “[A]nd did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.”
My opinion is that Noah did not “preach righteousness” by comparing their filthy lifestyle to his, like so many self-righteous people do. I feel that he knew why he was righteous, that it was the blood of the Lamb that made him righteous; I feel that is what Noah preached! Preaching condemnation and “better than thou” Bible bashing will drive people away from the Lord by the droves! We need more merciful preaching and fewer “church police” who run around the church telling people how bad they are, especially when compared with themselves. I don’t think that Noah’s family would have entered the Ark had Noah preached anything but grace.
Our message.
We need to tell people that God will take their past mistakes, sins and wrong decisions, no matter how bad or how deep, and give them mercy and grace. He is able to reconcile all the evil in one’s life and turn it into a blessing, Colossians 1:20. There is now no condemnation for those who really give their lives to Christ, Romans 8:1-2. The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has overcome the Law of Sin and Death!
7. Noah did not know when the flood would take place. He simply worked and preached every day, obeying the smallest details of the architecture of the magnificent craft that God was directing him to build. Can you imagine hearing, in that much detail, to construct one of the most scientifically perfect ships ever built?
Hebrews 11:7 says,
7 “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
8. The only thing Noah had to do was believe in the blood. Remember, the word “believe” is an active verb that demands action on the believer’s part!
9. Noah found grace in the blood. The blood allowed Noah to have a real time living relationship with God.
One leg in and one leg out?
What if Noah or any of his family had one leg in the door of the ark and one leg outside the door when God closed it? Ouch! Christians who try to live dual lives are always “lame.” They are miserable. Often God allows them to reach the end of themselves until they get both legs in the “Ark of Christ.”
You really need to "see" Jesus.
You cannot give away what you have not received. If you have never really "seen" who Jesus really is, then ask Him for that. It may take some major breaking. Are you broken enough that you must depend upon His Word, or do you have another plan? When the Word of God and the blood of God are the last resort you have, when you have run out of self-sufficiency, then you can really see the real Jesus! Jacob was changed and saw God when he ran out of plans. In my opinion, we can all look forward to seeing more of Him, even in this life, as we run out of plans and our own strength.
Today is just like the days of Noah!
A Liberian brother in the Lord who is very dear to my heart, Arthur, called me just as I was going through the final proof reading of this chapter. He said, “Brother Larry, the world is coming apart. It is like the days of Noah.” Just that week, my wife and I were saying the same thing. We saw treacherous weather, multitudes of sexual crimes and murders, and more. Besides all of that, this world’s civilized cultures are being seriously threatened by the most vicious radical Muslim violence and wars that the world has ever seen. If the radical Islam agenda is carried out to its end, the entire world will never be civilized and free again. Even as I am writing this in July 2006, Israel has come under a serious and vicious military attack by radical Islam. There is now a major threat to world peace and to Israel. As real as that threat is, and as probable that terrorists would eventually succeed, I believe that the Lord will intervene in some way to bring His purposes to pass. God’s plan supercedes all future events. His judgment will prevail through and in spite of the evil that mankind is bringing upon this earth.
God’s coming judgment is for certain, but He will give you supernatural protection, and/or overcoming power.
One major lesson we can take from Noah is that in spite of what evil comes upon the earth, even into our realm of influence, we can trust God’s grace to provide for our every need! It would seem to the outside observer that nobody could have survived such a flood. However, reading Noah’s story we can have the confidence, that if God saved Noah and his family from the impossible circumstances, that He is also able to save and protect us. We must however meet the same conditions, as Noah did. We must totally consecrate our lives and trust in nothing but the blood and the blood covenant relationship. We all need to get “both legs into the Ark” while there is still time.
People have not changed that much from the days of Noah. People, like in Noah’s day, really do not believe that there will be final judgment for them or for the world at large. They live their lives focused on vain things that really have no eternal value.
Peter writes an admonition and warning to all of us in his second epistle.
2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-10 says,
3 “[K]nowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
4 and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’”
8 “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
Jesus is the grace giver, however He does warn all of us of the coming judgment as well so we can be spiritually prepared.
Matthew 24:37-51 says,
37 “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking [drinking: striving for that which is transitory], marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’
49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,
51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This Scripture that compares today to Noah’s day also talks about a blessed servant whom we need to emulate in order to secure our safety.
Here is the description of that servant that the Lord called blessed.
Matthew 24:46 (NIV) says,
45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
46 “It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.”
The servant lived the life of unselfish love.
The servant was ready for His Lord to return.
This not only means that we should be ready for Jesus to return to earth someday, but also for Him to “return” now, during this life, to observe our faithfulness with that which He has entrusted to us.
The servant was telling others about the coming wrath and judgment in an attempt to save their lives.
I believe this was some of the "food" mentioned in Matthew 24;45.
The servant was faithful.
Being faithful in the small things in life is important to God. God is interested in how we handle the daily affairs in our lives. God never gives us more until we handle the little that we already have with faithfulness. We need to be faithful in practical things, like money, and in spiritual things.
The servant was a giver.
He was taking care of others.
The servant was not treating other people harshly.
Self-righteous Bible bashing crushes people. Our only hope is to bring others closer to an intimate relationship with Jesus. This means removing guilt and shame, which is the greatest hindrance to a living relationship with Jesus. I do not mean ignoring guilt as so many unbelievers do, but removing it by trusting in the blood and the Word!
The servant was not living like the unbelievers.
The servant was wise.
Obviously, this is not referring to the wisdom of the world, but to Godly wisdom.
1 Corinthians 2:6-8 (NIV) says,
6 “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7 No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
1 Corinthians 1:23-24 tells us that Christ crucified is wisdom.
I believe that true wisdom from God is reserved for those who have experienced “a type of death.” It is reserved for those who have lost hopes, dreams, family members, position, reputation; the list goes on. It is for those who have made bad decisions in life and are now willing to make Jesus Lord. Wisdom says that the Cross has given you a fresh start; there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1-2).
Job 28 talks about looking for wisdom. It says that it is not found in the land of the living. It implies that only death has seen it. The Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19 had too much to trust in. He had all of his worldly wisdom, power and wealth.
When you know for sure that the “world system” and your own efforts offer no hope, then you are a candidate for wisdom. If you fall into this category, lift up your head with hope, because you are a candidate for the supernatural intervention of God!
Are you broken enough that you must depend upon His Word, or do you have another plan? When the Word of God and the blood of God are your last resort, when you have run out of self-sufficiency, then you can see the real Jesus!
When you have experienced God’s grace as Noah did and as the servant Jesus described in Matthew 24, then you will have a hunger to get yourself completely into the “Ark of Jesus,” and to live like Noah and like the blessed servant. Then you can have the absolute confidence that God will take care of you no matter how impossible circumstances appear to be.
My wife and I can testify to this. We have faced impossible odds in many facets of life, and God has delivered us every single time!
[1] Grow or Die book - http://isob-bible.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=292
[2] Trumbull, H. Clay. The Blood Covenant. Kirkwood, MO: Impact Books, 1975 - pp 213-214
[3] Proffered: To offer something for consideration to somebody.