
Part 4: Saved By The Flood
• Series: Back to the Start
TEACHING NOTES Introduction In the world of theology, there are many debates and questions about the character of God. How God deals with sin and why He needs to deal with sin has been a major point of discussion for a long time. Today’s passage will focus on the flood of Noah’s time. This story is often misused to portray God as an angry and wrathful God who killed off humanity because He didn’t like them anymore. Or that God was angry with sinners and had to make them pay. If we were to ask Jesus if God was angry and destroyed humanity to make them pay for their sin, Jesus would tell us to go back and read the story again. Why? Because the flood story in Gen. 6-8 says nothing about God being angry. Review of the Storyline Gen.1 - God creates the world and fills it with life. God creates humanity to share His love and rule with them. Gen. 2 - God creates Adam & Eve to rule/spread the garden of Eden. God creates the garden to spread His love everywhere. Gen. 3 - Adam & Eve disobey and are exiled from the garden. God exiles Adam & Eve out of love and mercy to protect them. Gen. 4 - Cain kills Abel and his descendants spread immorality and violence. God acts with love and mercy toward Cain to protect him. Gen. 5 - Seth’s descendants begin to call out to God for help. God answers by bringing Noah into the story. Genesis 5:28–29 ESV 28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” Lamech = This is not the same Lamech from Gen. 4. The Lamech of Gen. 4 is a descendant of Cain. The Lamech in Gen. 5 is a descendant of Seth. Noah = This name means relief, comfort, or rest. The text connects Noah’s name to a Hebrew word (naham) that means to be consoled from sorrow. This connects Noah’s name to the same word in Gen. 6:6 “And the Lord sorrowed [naham] that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” Therefore, we’re meant to think that Noah’s faith will relieve or comfort God’s regret for how the world has turned out. The writer of Hebrews tells us that our faith pleases God (Heb. 11:6). Genesis 6:1–2 ESV 1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Man began to multiply = People are reproducing and spreading out. Sons of God = Heb. bene ha elohim. These are not humans but spiritual beings. In Job 38:4-7 tells us that the “sons of God” were created before God created the world and they watched and rejoiced as God created the heavens and earth. The sons of God were considered to be the most powerful spiritual beings God created. The sons of God are often referred to as God’s divine council and are higher in rank than the angels. They saw and took = This theme connects back to Gen. 3:6 when Eve “saw that the tree was good” and that “it was a delight to the eyes” and “to be desired” and she “took” it for herself. The sons of God “saw that the daughters of man were attractive [delight to the eyes]” and “took them as wives for themselves.” The author is portraying that this was evil. Later in the Bible we learn that these "sons of God” were sentenced and consigned to spend eternity in Hades and the Lake of Fire. In case this sounds unbelievable, Peter and Jude believed it: 2 Peter 2:4 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;” Jude 6 “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—” Genesis 6:3 ESV 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” My Spirit shall not abide in man forever = This translation confuses the Hebrew more than it helps. The ESV includes a footnote with the correct reading. The Hebrew text reads, “My Spirit shall not contend with or strive against man forever.” For he is flesh = This implies that humans have been so corrupt that they are no longer functioning as God’s image on the earth. They have become so evil that they have become simply flesh/bodies contending against the Spirit of God, rather than cooperating with God to rule the world. His days shall be 120 years = This does not mean that God is changing the lifespan of humans. It means that humanity will have 120 years before God brings the flood. The 120 years is the timeframe that God will allow humanity to continue. Genesis 6:4 ESV 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. Nephilim = Heb. nepilim - giants. In the ancient world, these giants were believed to be the offspring of the gods and human women. Every ancient culture believed some form of this story. Ancient kings in Ugarit, Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt claimed to be descendants of their gods. In the rest of the Old Testament story, the Nephilim are also called the Rephaim, Emim, Anakim, Zamzummim, Avvim (see Deut. 2:10-11, 20-23). These kind of hybrid beings were considered to be demonic and are the origin of the demons we read about in the New Testament. The demons in the New Testament are descendants of the Nephilim. When a Nephilim’s body died, their spirit would go on the possess another human or animal. On the earth in those days, also afterward = The Nephilim existed before and after the flood. This implies that what happened before the flood in Gen. 6:1-2 also happened again after the flood. This is why we continue to read about the evil giants throughout the Old Testament until king David kills the last of them. Goliath and his brothers are the last of the giants. Mighty men of old = Heb. gibborim - powerful giant warriors. After the flood, we find out that Nimrod is called a gibbor (Gen. 10:8). This is a hint that more sons of God rebelled after the flood. Nimrod was the first giant after the flood. Also, Nimrod is the founder of Babel/Babylon (Gen. 10:10). Men of renown = Heb. ish ha shem - Literally, “men of name” which was a way of saying that they were famous on the earth. And they were, because every ancient culture write about the giants who were the descendants of gods and human women. Why are we told about the Nephilim? The flood story is often portrayed as only a human rebellion. However, the author of Genesis wants us to realize that a spiritual rebellion is also part of the story. The flood is God’s way of dealing with two problems at once. These demonic creations were helping to exterminate humanity and teaching them how to destroy themselves. Ancient Jewish writings tell that the sons of God and the Nephilim taught humanity to make weapons of war and would eat the humans when they ran out of food. Humanity had no chance of survival. Genesis 6:5–6 ESV 5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. The wickedness of man was great = Literally, all of humanity (except for Noah) were wicked. The time leading up the flood was so brutal and evil that humanity was at risk of extinction. Every intention of his heart is only evil continually = God knows that the situation will never get better on its own. Mankind is so evil that there is no other solution but to start over. The LORD regretted that he made man = Our English word “regret” makes us think that God didn’t see this coming and now He wishes He hadn’t created humanity. However, that is not exactly what this verse is saying. The Hebrew could also read, “Yahweh reflected on the man he made and he was deeply grieved.” Important Note: Many people tell the flood story as God’s wrath and anger against sinful humanity. However, God’s anger or wrath is never mentioned in the flood story. Rather, God is grieved because the flood is the old solution. Genesis 6:7–8 ESV 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Hebrew Wordplay: God is “sorry” (Heb. nhm) but Noah (Heb. nh) found favor or grace in the eyes of Yahweh. Noah is presented as the solution to God’s sorrow. Also, God “saw” the wickedness of the world (Gen. 6:5) and it was “corrupt in God’s sight” (Gen. 6:11), but the “eyes of the LORD” sees grace for Noah. Noah found favor = Literally, “Noah found grace.” The ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) uses the word charis here, which is the word for grace. In the New Testament, grace is what saves us from sin, death, and judgment. Noah’s trust (faith) in God led him away from wickedness and toward God’s grace. Genesis 6:9 ESV 9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. Righteous, blameless, walked with God = There are only four people in the Bible who are described as having these three qualities: (1) Adam: In the Garden Adam was righteous, blameless, and walked with God. Adam and Eve begin the family of God. But Adam suffered temptation of a spiritual enemy, disobeyed, and eventually died. (2) Noah: Righteous, blameless, and walked with God. Noah begins a new family of God. But Noah eventually gets drunk, which leads to evil in his descendants, and he eventually died. (3) Job: Righteous, blameless, walked with God. Job’s story is unique in that he never fails. Also, at the end Job is portrayed as one who mediates between God and the nations and is blessed with a new family. Job suffers at the hands of a spiritual enemy, prays for the nations, and is rewarded with a new family. But Job also dies. (4) Jesus: In the Gospels, Jesus is presented as righteous, blameless, and walking with God. Jesus suffers at the hands of a spiritual enemy to save the nations so they can walk with God as His new family. Jesus died, but rose from death and breathed the Spirit of God into God’s new family. Genesis 6:11–12 ESV 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. The earth was filled with violence = The cause of the flood is the looming extinction of humanity. People are killing each other off. This has nothing to do with God being angry over sin. God knows humanity will go extinct if He doesn’t stop the violence. Genesis 6:13 ESV 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. I have determined to make an end of all flesh = The ESV includes a footnote here with the alternate translation, “The end of all flesh has come up before me.” This is the more accurate reading. Because God knows the future, He sees that humanity is about to exterminate itself. The end of humanity is coming soon because they are killing each other off. I will destroy them with the earth = This can also be translated, “I will destroy them out of the earth.” Since we know the entire earth was not destroyed, we should understand this line as God removing humans from the earth (land). Global or Local Flood? An age-old debate about this story is whether Noah’s flood was global (the entire world) or local (the entire known world at the time). This is not a difficult issue to resolve if we merely read what Genesis actually describes. First, a global flood was not necessary because humanity had not yet spread to the entire world. It is not until Gen. 11 (the tower of Babel) that humanity is spread out. Second, the genealogy of Gen. 10 describes where people were spread and from which sons of Noah the nations originate. Most likely, the flood covered the areas of land in which humans lived—which was only the middle east area at the time. The crux of this debate in on how we translate Gen. 7:19 “And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.” While “the whole heaven” sounds singular in English—as in heaven where God is—the Hebrew samayim is plural “the . The waters covered all the mountains under all the skies/heavens above the land where humans lived. Genesis 8:1 ESV 1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. God remembered Noah = This does not mean that God had previously forgotten Noah and now He is remembering. In the Old Testament, God remembering is usually connected to God honoring or fulfilling His promise. So this could be read, “God kept His promise to Noah.” God made a wind blow over the earth = In Hebrew, the word for “wind” and “spirit” is ruach. This is the same image from Gen. 1:2, where the Spirit of God is hovering or blowing over the surface of deep waters. The author of Genesis wants us to see the flood story as a new creation story. The waters subsided = In Gen. 1:9-10 the waters were gathered together and the dry land appears. In the creation story, this occured on “the third day.” In the flood story, the new creation sounds like “the third day” from Gen. 1:9-10. In the New Testament, Jesus rises from the dead and breathes the Spirit on the disciples on “the third day.” Also, Jesus was born on the same day as Noah. The flood is not an act of God’s wrath. The flood is an act of rescue. Genesis 8:20 ESV 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. Noah built an altar = The first thing Noah wants to do after the flood is to offer gifts to thank God for saving him and removing evil from the world. Genesis 8:21–22 ESV 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” I will never again curse the ground = God cursed the ground in Gen. 3:17-19 as a result of Adam’s disobedience. This was God’s way of limiting the efforts of humanity. Lamech’s hope for his son Noah—that he would bring relief from God’s curse on the ground—was accomplished. The intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth = This was God’s reason for bring the flood, but now is the reason He will never curse or destroy the earth again. God knows that humanity will continue to be evil, so He must put a different plan in place to deal with evil going forward. This is why God gave Israel the Law, to constrain their evil hearts and keep them from becoming murderous like the rest of the nations around them. The Law was a form of God’s grace. Never again will I strike down every living creature = God promises to never again wipe out humanity, no matter how evil humanity becomes. God will create a different way to deal with evil from now on. While the earth remains, time shall not cease = This eliminates the idea that the earth will be destroyed in the end before the new creation. God’s promise here does not change in the New Testament. In the flood story, the earth is not destroyed, but purified. This is the same idea found in 2 Peter 3:5-7 where fire will purify the earth in the end. The future new creation should be understood as a re-newed creation. Genesis 9:1 ESV 1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth = God gives Noah the same command that He gave to humanity in Gen. 1:28. God has recreated the world and now commissions Noah as a new Adam. The next thing Noah will do is plant a garden (Gen. 9:20), because Adam’s job was to work and keep the garden of Eden. However, it’s not long before Noah, like Adam, also makes a bad decision that creates ongoing consequences. Why This Story Matters Noah is a new Adam through whom God saves humanity from ultimate death to make the world a new creation. Jesus is the last Adam through whom God saves humanity from sin and death to make US a new creation. Approx. 2,000 years after Noah died a child is born in Bethlehem on the first day of the month of Tishri (same day Noah was born). The child is named Yeshua/Jesus, which means “Yahweh saves.” Jesus grows up and begins doing ministry after His baptism (being flooded with water). Jesus claims to be “the Lord of the Sabbath [rest]” (Matt. 12:8). Matthew 11:28 ESV 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Noah was saved by the flood. We’re saved by the blood. Conclusion The reason we end our gathering each week with Communion is to remember and celebrate our salvation through the blood of Christ. Instead of God destroying us for our evil, Jesus gave His life to save us from the power of evil. So we end our time by worshiping Him and taking Him into ourselves.