De-Creation And Re-Creation

[0:00] In case some of you are confused, if you're reading, that's an abridged reading. That's why some parts were skipped. I am going to preach on the whole passage, 6.9 to 9.29, but for the sake of time, we did abridged the reading.

[0:17] Now, many of the world's oldest civilizations preserve some kind of mythological record of a worldwide flood that wiped out the earth.

[0:31] Of these, the fullest and most similar to the account in Genesis is the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, which is from about 2100 B.C. Gilgamesh is a king of a region called Uruk, and he undertakes an arduous journey to discover eternal life. He doesn't find eternal life, but he does meet a man who has attained immortality, named Utnapishtim. And on his end, he tells Gilgamesh about how he attained immortality by surviving a worldwide flood by making a boat and taking shelter in it.

[1:08] And this story is closely paralleled by other accounts, for example, the Akkadian Epic of Atrahasis, the Sumerian Flood Epic about Ziyu Sudra, and there's more distant, you know, culturally distant, but still similar stories outside of Mesopotamia as well.

[1:22] For example, the ancient Hindu text Matsya Pirena tells of how King Manu survives the great flood with the assistance of the god Matsya. And in Greek mythology, in Obed's Metamorphosis, it tells a story of Deucalion, who is a son of Prometheus, who survives the flood brought on by an angry Zeus by building a large chest and taking shelter in it.

[1:46] So there's some striking parallels in these stories, but the fact that these parallels exist shouldn't cast doubt on the Genesis account. Instead, they should confirm it.

[1:58] Because if the flood really happened, it's not surprising to find echoes of the reality, even if it's distant and muffled across the various mythologies of ancient civilizations.

[2:10] Right? And without the benefit of the divine revelation that Moses had, of course, the theological interpretation of the events are wrong.

[2:21] That's why we have these variances in these accounts. But nevertheless, at the basic level, they confirm the fact that there was indeed a widespread flood that wiped out the earth, a catastrophic event that changed human history.

[2:35] And once again, as we've seen throughout the book of Genesis up to this point, it's the divergences from these other ancient Near Eastern accounts, not the convergences and similarities that make the most important theological points.

[2:49] So, for example, I'm just going to highlight a few. In the other ancient Near Eastern epics, there are many gods, not one. And they created mankind for the purpose of relieving the gods and to feed the gods.

[3:01] But then they get later incensed by the fact that men are multiplying way too much. There's way too many people, and they're overpopulating the earth, and there's too much noise.

[3:12] And that's the reason why they send the flood. But in the Bible, the Lord God does not create men to relieve himself, but he works and provides all that man needs.

[3:24] And he judges the earth with the flood, not because of too much noise or because of too many people, but because of their thoroughgoing wickedness and violence, as it says.

[3:37] In the other ancient Near Eastern accounts, the gods, the many of them, can't even agree on what they're going to do. So, one or two of the gods defect from the council and inform a human being, a human subject that happens to worship him.

[3:49] But in the biblical account, there's only one god. And he's, of course, he's in complete agreement with himself. And he decides to send the flood. There's no conflict of interest. And in the other accounts of the engineers, it's highlight the heroes of the tale, the human heroes, about their initiative and daring.

[4:09] But the Bible highlights God's initiative and his provision for Noah. In fact, Noah doesn't say a single word throughout the entire narrative until after the flood when he blesses his children.

[4:19] And finally, in the other ancient Near Eastern account, when the flood comes, the gods are panic-stricken. And it says that they, quote, coward like dogs.

[4:33] They're afraid of what they themselves have brought. But you don't see that in the biblical account. The Lord God is in full control. He's all-powerful. And he's all-knowing. And he's not surprised that there's a survivor because he's the one that made provision for Noah's and his family's survival.

[4:48] Actually, one more thing, last thing, which is important, as we'll see later, is that after these accounts in the ancient Near East of the flood stories, the gods decide that in order to avoid another overpopulation problem, that they decree that some women should be celibate or infertile.

[5:06] And they also decree that some infants will die soon after birth. But in stark contrast, in the Bible, the Lord God says three times and commands and blesses three times meant to be fruitful and multiply, right?

[5:21] So over and over again, in contradistinction to the other flood stories, Genesis teaches us that God is the sovereign judge over all creation who saves the righteous.

[5:31] That's the main point. That God is the sovereign judge over all creation who saves the righteous. We're going to first talk about this in three phases. First, we're going to talk about the decreation of earth.

[5:42] Second, about the recreation. And then third, we're going to talk about the new creation. So verse 9 begins with the phrase that leads off every major section in the book of Genesis. These are the generations of Noah.

[5:54] And then it gives us a little more detail about who this man is. It says, So this three-fold description really kind of builds on his righteousness.

[6:08] So righteousness, the word, has legal overtones that he does all that is right. He follows the law of God. The blameless word has ceremonial overtones because sacrifices offered to God had to be without blemish.

[6:21] It had to be blameless. So he's saying that Noah is blameless in that way. And then the final word, walked with God, of course, has relational overtones. Noah walks closely with God in the same way Enoch was described as having walked with God previously.

[6:37] The rest of the earth, however, is completely different. It says in verses 11 to 13, Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence.

[6:49] And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them.

[7:02] Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. So in the span of these three verses, the word earth is mentioned six times to convey a kind of a tragic sense of loss.

[7:14] God created the earth. He created the earth good, but this earth, the earth that he created now is corrupt. And the word corrupt can be translated as spoiled or ruined.

[7:27] It refers to kind of a defilement or deterioration of something that used to be good. And it could also simultaneously mean, because of that, to destroy something. So when he says that God will destroy them with the earth, it's the same word for spoil that is used to describe the corruption of the earth.

[7:45] So we're to kind of convey that. It's just an instance of God's punishment, feeding the crime, defeating the sin. It's got the inhabitants of earth, trash the earth, and now God will himself trash it.

[7:58] So, and violence itself is singled out as one of the main reasons for this, for God's judgment over the earth. And it's, violence in Hebrew doesn't really refer to physical violence, although that's what we think of when we hear the word violence.

[8:11] But it refers to any kind of fundamental violation of the command to love one's neighbor, any kind of antisocial, you know, unneighborly behavior. And so, so the earth is filled with violence and no one is exempt.

[8:25] It says all flesh is indicted by God. And that includes not just all men, but all creatures as well. They live, the land animals that are, that have the breath of life in them.

[8:36] And given the corruption of the earth, God intends to destroy it. So, because, and, but, you know, because of the righteousness of Noah, he wants to preserve Noah. So he tells him to build an ark in verses 14 to 16.

[8:50] And the main thing that's important about the description of the ark is that it's parallel to the description of the tabernacle in Exodus. So, for example, in Exodus 25, 31, 20, 25, chapter 25 to 30, when he describes the construction of the tabernacle, and the ark is said to have three decks, right, three levels.

[9:11] And they all have the same height as the tabernacle. And the ark is said to have a covering. And the tabernacle is also said to have a covering. So the connection that Moses is making is that like the tabernacle, which is the place for the righteous to gather, the safe haven for the righteous.

[9:28] The ark is a safe haven for the righteous. When God destroys the earth, those who are in the ark will be spared. And only those who are in the ark will be spared. And so God says in verse 18, but I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

[9:52] Now, God's not making a new covenant. Rather, he's reaffirming a covenant he's already made. We know that because throughout the Old Testament, the language of covenant is completely consistent.

[10:03] So when God's making a new covenant, it's used the language of cutting a covenant. When it's speaking of reaffirming an old covenant, it uses the language of establishing a covenant. So God's reestablishing, reaffirming a covenant that he already made with the rest of creation to provide for it, to rule over it.

[10:21] And so he's saying, I remember that covenant. I will care for you, and I will preserve creation in light of this. And Noah is chosen because of his obedience, right?

[10:36] And you can see in verses 21 to 22 how completely he obeys this. God tells him, every sort of food that is eaten, he says to pack it. And that's kind of a supposed reminder to us of the fact that Adam and Eve took of the fruit that was not to be eaten, but Noah takes all the food that is to be eaten.

[10:54] And then in verse 22, it's really emphatic. It says, Noah did this. He did all that God commanded him. In contrast to Adam and Eve, who did not do what God commanded them.

[11:08] And the fact that Noah's obeyed in this way is repeated three times in chapter 7, verse 5, 9, and 16. He did as God had commanded him. And this is exactly the way creation was supposed to work.

[11:21] So Noah is an example of how creation was supposed to function, but because it hasn't been that way, the rest of creation will be judged. And this becomes a little more significant later, but it's important.

[11:34] That's why you see Noah observing the seven-day week. He seems to be resting on the Sabbath day. So that's why God announces, I'll send the flood in seven days. And then Noah waits for seven days.

[11:45] And after seven days, the flood comes, the rain begins. So he seems that he works, you know, six days, rests on the seventh day. And then on the beginning of the new work week, God sends a flood.

[11:56] So he's kind of this paragon of biblical obedience. Now, verse 11 tells us exactly when the flood began. It says, In the 600th year of Noah's life, in the second month, in the 17th day of the month, on that day, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.

[12:20] And then later, in 8.14, it tells us when it ended, a precise date for that as well. So if you add up the days, so it took me a long time. My math is rusty, trying to calculate everything.

[12:32] But the entire flood lasted exactly one year and 11 days. And because the Jews used a lunar calendar, which is exactly 11 days short of the solar calendar, it's saying that it lasted the entire calendar year, solar year, to represent the completeness of God's judgment.

[12:51] And this full year of God's judgment is a complete deconstruction of the world he made. It's a decreation of what God made.

[13:03] So remember, I told you that this is going to be important later, that he observed a seven-day week. So if you trace it from the seven-day week to, and fast forward 150 days, which is specifically mentioned in the narrative, in 7.24 and 8.3, it turns out that God began, just as God began his work of creation on the first day, on a Sunday, now God begins his work of decreation on a Sunday.

[13:28] And just as God completed his work of creation on Friday, God completes his work of decreation also on a Friday. So this is kind of a systemic reversal of what God did in Genesis 1.

[13:43] The world is being decreated. And verse 11 highlights this in a dramatic way. It says, On that day, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.

[13:57] So remember the description in Genesis 1, that at the inchoate stage of God's creation, there is watery chaos, right? It's all water, there's darkness. And now with the fountains of the deep bursting forth and the windows of the heavens opening, the earth is once again being reduced to watery chaos before God completed his work of creation.

[14:19] This is an example of God decreating the earth. And this judgment is complete, right? It talks about the waters prevailing, waters increasing.

[14:31] And the word increasing is the same word that is used to say multiply, be fruitful and multiply. So instead of the creatures multiplying, now we see the water multiplying on the earth.

[14:42] It's again a reversal of what God did in Genesis 1. And why does God do this? Because humanity is so incorrigible and earth is so corrupt.

[14:55] God, the righteous judge, must wipe it out, must judge it all together. Destruction was total. He says every living thing was blotted out from the face of the ground. And this reminds us of the gravity of our own sins.

[15:07] As we think about this great judgment of the flood. See, God created the world, created us to be his representatives, yet we live without reference to God.

[15:18] And that pride, that ignorance, that faithlessness is at the heart of our sin and rebellion. And of course, it's easy for us to say, like, oh, God will just simply forgive everyone because we're not the offended party, right?

[15:32] We're the offenders. And it's easy for, it's in people, it's such a part of human nature to demand mercy for ourselves but justice for others, is it not? And so it's easy for us to say, God should just simply forgive everyone.

[15:45] But no, God rightly should judge the earth for its corruption and rebellion and treason. We are really ungrateful subjects, rebellion against God who generously provides all that we need.

[15:58] And so God decreates the world as a way of judging the earth. But God hasn't forgotten his covenant with creation. And he reaffirmed his covenant with Noah in 6.18.

[16:13] And he will continue to preserve the line of Seth from which he promised the Messiah will come to crush the head of the serpent. And so we see the face of recreation in chapter 8 through chapter 9, verse 17.

[16:29] Verse 1 of chapter 8 begins this way. But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.

[16:39] And God made a wind blow over the earth and the waters subsided. There's a really clever chiasm throughout chapter 6, and all throughout chapter 6.9 to 9.19.

[16:52] And we've seen examples of chiasm already, which is just a literary device that uses a symmetrical structure. So first, every element of the first half has a corresponding matching element in the second half.

[17:06] And except for the middle element, which stands alone. And that's used to highlight what's in the middle, the main point. And so there's about a dozen or so corresponding elements.

[17:16] It's a huge chiasm. It's the best one we've seen and the biggest one we've seen so far. And I'll just highlight a few to show you what I mean. So in 6.9 to 10, it mentions Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

[17:27] And then in chapter 9.18 to 19, it mentions Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And then chapter 6.11 to 17, God vows to destroy all flesh and tells Noah to build an ark, which is God's sign of his preservation.

[17:41] And then in chapter 9.11 to 17, God vows never to destroy all flesh and then makes a bow as a sign of their preservation. And then in chapter 7.45, there's seven days of waiting for the flood.

[17:53] And then in chapter 8.12 to 13, there's seven days of waiting for the waters to subside. And then chapter 7.17, 40 days of flood. And then 8.6, 40 days to come to an end.

[18:05] 7.17 to 18, the waters multiply and prevail. And then 8.5, the waters abate. And then so on and so on. So top of the mountains are hidden. Top of the mountains are revealed.

[18:17] 150 days of water prevailing and 150 days of water abating. And at the center of it all is the statement, this verse 1. But God remembered Noah.

[18:28] And this whole thing is intended to point out the fact that this main point is God's grace, his remembering Noah. And when God remembers something, he shows mercy.

[18:39] He reaffirms his resolute commitment to his people. And so that's what we see. It's the beginning of recreation in chapter 8, verse 1. And remember how the Spirit of God was hovering over the watery chaos, right?

[18:52] And preparing the world for the creative work of the Father. And so now we see here, again, the wind of God, it says, was blowing over the earth. Wind, the same word as Spirit. Preparing the way for the recreation of the world.

[19:07] And that's probably why Moses structured it this way, to have every aspect of the decreation of the earth have a corresponding element to show that the recreation also is complete.

[19:18] God's merciful, he's gracious. And so he says in chapter 8, verse 17 to Noah, bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, birds and animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may swarm on the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.

[19:35] And then chapter 9, verses 1 to 3, mirrors God's charge that he gave to Adam and Eve after creating the heavens and the earth, to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

[19:47] And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.

[20:00] Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. So God's now recreating the earth and giving them a new cultural mandate, new charge to go and rule over the earth.

[20:14] But it's not an exact repetition of the original cultural mandate. There seems to be a further change, a further deterioration of the relationship between man and animals.

[20:27] And we see this in the fact that God gives mankind not only the fruit and vegetation to eat, as he did earlier, now he gives them animals to eat as well, which is a change in their previous relationship to the rest of creation.

[20:40] There is now, it appears, a violent struggle between the animals and mankind. And this is echoing, of course, the enmity that Genesis 3.15 predicted between the offspring of the serpent and the offspring of the woman.

[20:56] And because of that, the language of fear and dread is used, which are military terms. He says that animals will dread and fear man. And, but even as in Genesis 2, when God commanded Adam and Eve to eat of all the fruit and all the trees in the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in the same way here, God's generous provision to eat of all these animals comes with a prohibition.

[21:23] It is that, but you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is its blood. Chapter 9, verse 4, right? Blood signifies life, right? Just as a heartbeat and a pulse today is the surest sign of someone's life, right?

[21:36] So out of respect for life, and more importantly, out of respect for the author of life, the giver of life, God forbids the consumption of blood. And this doesn't mean just that you have to worry about your soul because you've eaten a rare steak or blood pudding or blood sausage, right?

[21:55] And you guys have, some of you guys have eaten that. And because reason for that is that this law was intended to point to and be fulfilled by Jesus, as we will see later. That's why you can eat and elaborate on that later.

[22:07] So in order to curb this now, newfound violence between animals and mankind, in order to protect humanity, create an image of God, God issues this decree in chapter 9, verses 5 to 7.

[22:19] And for your lifeblood, I will require a reckoning. From every beast, I will require it. And from man, from his fellow man, I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

[22:33] Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. For God made man in his own image. And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.

[22:46] Right? So the proliferation of animals on the earth is not to get in the way of or impede human proliferation. And so God, in order to make provision for that, God says he will punish even the animals who kill man.

[23:00] And he demands this, not just of animals, but also from men. And there's a threefold repetition here as well. A reckoning, of the word reckoning. And the word translated fellow here is actually the same word for brother.

[23:14] So if you remember, you know, story of Cain and Abel, Abel murders his brother. And so here he's saying that the humanity is your brother. It's the family that God created. And how heinous is it then to kill your fellow human?

[23:30] And he says that God would demand a reckoning from them all. And the grounds, the reason for this reckoning is this. For God made man in his own image.

[23:42] Right. The severity of the punishment is due to the fact of their transcendent value because they're created in the very image of God. And that's why, you know, even though animal blood may be shed, human blood may not even be shed.

[23:58] Like animal blood cannot be eaten, but they can still be shed. The human blood may not even be shed. And this is, this biblical principle is actually the reason why, historically, every manslaughtering animal was put down.

[24:09] Right. It's, it's, it's, it's an enactment of this decree, a commandment. But because people have lost sight of the value of the human life, now we now have far different sentiments.

[24:20] Right. When you hear stories of, you know, animals being put down because of interaction with humans. Some people will not say things like this. The animals are just being animals and doing what animals do. It's the careless humans who didn't take proper precaution that are to blame.

[24:33] And we should spare the animals. I mean, you guys have probably heard this, right, from all kinds of different stories, news stories. Well, God does care about all animal life. And we see this very clearly in the story of Noah, probably clearly here, more clearly here than anywhere else in scripture.

[24:47] So we see this in the fact that God specifically instructs Noah to spare the animals. He brings a pair of every animal so that they can survive the flood. And not only that, does he make a covenant, not just with Noah and his offspring, but also with every living creature that is with Noah.

[25:03] Chapter 9, verse 10. So then animal abuse is an abomination, according to scripture. We are to be good stewards of animals. But that should not keep us from teaching the fact that there is a clear hierarchy.

[25:18] Human life is far more valuable than animal life because humanity is created in the image of God. And we should not risk human life, the well-being of humanity, for the sake of preserving the animals.

[25:30] There is something profoundly disordered about a person who treats animals with greater affection and respect than fellow human beings. That is outside of the creative order that God intended.

[25:45] And the fact that man and woman are created in the image of God is also why, historically, capital punishment has been enforced throughout the world. This doesn't mean that you have to be a political proponent of capital punishment today in this precise context because just administration of capital punishment requires a just government, an equitable government.

[26:08] And some people are not convinced that their respective governments have a just system. Now, with that said, however, this teaching does mean that you can't, on the principle of sanctity of life, oppose capital punishment.

[26:21] Because it's the very sanctity of life that is the basis for God's decree here of capital punishment. It's because man is so supremely valuable as being created in the image of God that when you harm, when you kill a man, you deserve to pay it with your own blood.

[26:37] So then, in this manner, the life of the recreated earth begins with the new commandments that echo the first commandment in Genesis 2. And it seems that Noah has fulfilled his destiny.

[26:50] If you remember from last week, Noah's name means rest and it rhymes with, and it sounds like the phrase, this one shall bring us relief from our work. And so you see this in chapter 8, verses 20 to 21.

[27:04] Turn that part with me, 8, 20 to 21. Noah builds an altar and then sacrifices some of the clean animals and birds. And this seems to be the reason why he took extra of the clean birds and animals into the ark, not just one pair, but seven pairs.

[27:18] When he offers the sacrifice, it says that the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and 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.

[27:33] Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. The pleasing aroma, the word used to describe the aroma here, literally means to pacify or propitiate, to satisfy someone's wrath or anger.

[27:48] And more literally, it means rest giving. It comes from the exact same word that Noah comes from. So Noah is offering a Noahic sacrifice and it brings rest.

[28:01] God's satisfied by his offering. And in doing so, Noah secures God's gracious disposition toward the rest of creation. And check out the wording here.

[28:12] Previously in chapter 6, verse 5, it said a very similar thing. It said that every intention of the thought of man's heart was only evil continually. You mentioned the evil intention of the human heart.

[28:23] But in chapter 6, verse 5, that that statement was given as a reason for God's judgment. Because the man's intention of the heart is evil, God will not judge the earth.

[28:34] But now here in chapter 8, 21, the same observation is made. It says the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. But instead of sending another judgment, God promises, I will never again curse the ground because of man.

[28:49] What happened? What's the change? Humanity hasn't changed. Why does God treat them differently? And it seems that narrative suggests it's Noah's rest-giving sacrifice. He's interceding on behalf of humanity, making atonement, really, for the sins of the earth.

[29:04] And in doing so, he secures that God will never again destroy the earth in the same way he did with the flood. And so he gives a sign of the covenant, the bow, which is referring to the rainbow.

[29:17] Just as rainbow appears when it is light penetrating the clouds, the water, it is reflected by the water, it will cause God to remember his covenant. And this is really, it parallels what God does in his act of creation, doesn't it?

[29:32] So he speaks, let there be light into watery chaos. In the same way the rainbow, the light now comes into the water, piercing the water and the clouds. And so again, it's God establishing his re-creation of the earth.

[29:48] But, if Noah brings earthly rest, he still fails to bring heavenly rest.

[30:00] Though his intercession and propitiating sacrifice is good, and he ensures that the earth will not again be cursed with a flood, the original curse of Genesis 3 still remains.

[30:15] Creation is still alienated from God. And the intention of man's heart is still evil. So then how can we find eternal rest? How can humanity be saved?

[30:27] And if we think for a moment that Noah can once again come to our deliverance, we are immediately disappointed in chapter 9, verses 18 to 29, Noah invents viticulture, which is in and of itself a blessing.

[30:41] He says, wine gladdens the heart of man according to Psalm 104, 15. However, Noah becomes a drunk. And in his state of drunkenness, he exposes himself.

[30:57] And Scripture consistently and frequently warns of the dangers of wine, even though wine itself is not evil. The dangers of inordinate drinking and consequent drunkenness are always condemned throughout Scripture, especially when that drunkenness leads to public exposure, as it does.

[31:16] Habakkuk 2, 15 talks about that. Lamentations 4, 21 talks about that. And so Noah is here clearly being condemned with people because it's written to an audience who knows the law of Moses.

[31:26] And then his son, Ham, commits an even graver crime. Instead of, you know, discreetly covering up his father, he goes over to his brothers and makes a public spectacle of his father.

[31:43] But his other brothers, Shem and Japheth, are more honorable and in fact, it's a really awkward picture, but they're walking in backwards, you know, trying not to look at the nakedness of their father and he covers him.

[31:56] Right? They cover him. And so, and then because of, as a result of this, Ham, who is the father of Canaan, and Canaan is cursed by Noah once he finds out what has happened.

[32:09] And this account is included here to tell the Israelites in the wilderness who's the original audience of Moses that it is their God-given destiny to go and conquer Canaan, which is occupied by the descendants of cursed Ham.

[32:23] And they are the descendants of Shem. So that's what's going on with that passage. So if this is what happened, then what Psalm 14, 2-3 teaches is sadly all too true.

[32:34] And it describes even Noah and his sons that the Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside.

[32:47] Together, they have become corrupt. There is none who does good, not even one. And if God is the sovereign judge of all creation who saves the righteous, how can we who are not righteous be saved?

[33:09] But praise be to God, there is someone who is even more righteous than Noah, one who does good and is not corrupt. And that's Jesus, our Savior.

[33:23] And in Romans 3, 10-12, Paul quotes Psalm 14. And he says, None is righteous, no, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together, they have become worthless.

[33:34] No one does good, not even one. But then later, he continues, verses 21-26. But now, the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law.

[33:44] The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith.

[34:06] This was to show God's righteousness because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time so that He might be the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

[34:19] We're asking, how can a just, righteous God spare a sinful world? How can He spare Noah and his offspring who are also prone, who are not immune to sin? It's because God was looking ahead forward to the propitiation, the sacrifice that Jesus, His Son, would make.

[34:39] And Noah's sacrifice is, it foreshadows that, is a type of the sacrifice that Christ would make. And that's why in Leviticus 17, 11, He explains further the significance of the blood that this passage mentions.

[34:51] It's that the life of the flesh is in the blood and God has given it to us for the altar to make atonement for our souls. The blood is intended to make atonement for our souls and Noah's propitiating sacrifice as well as all the Old Testament sacrifices point ultimately to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

[35:15] So then it's through His spilling of His blood that we are cleansed from our sin, washed from our sins. And it's through the expiration of His life that we find heavenly rest, eternal life, communion with God.

[35:34] Noah might have spared humanity from the judgment of the flood, but He was not able, He was inadequate to save them from God's ultimate judgment, eternal damnation and separation from God.

[35:45] But Christ is the better, greater Noah who could save all those who entrust themselves to Him and His blood is sufficient. It's the wellspring of eternal life.

[35:55] It's sufficient for all of us no matter how great a sinner we are. So I want to ask you then, would you come to Him? Would you come to Him today? If you're not yet a follower of Jesus, don't delay, don't wait indefinitely for a sign because in Luke 17, Jesus compares His second coming to the flood.

[36:18] It says, Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.

[36:32] Jesus is saying that just as no one expected the flood, no one knows when Jesus will come and He will return. His return will be unexpected.

[36:42] It will come when no one's expecting Him. And the biggest hindrance to our faith in Him and following Him is not some heinous evil. It's the eating and drinking and going about our daily business.

[36:56] Are you delaying? Are you going about your daily business not knowing that a flood is upon you? Today, if you come to His righteousness, if you forsake your own righteousness and come to Him for His righteousness, then you can find salvation this day.

[37:23] If you are already a believer, a follower of Christ, there's encouragement for us in this passage as well. 1 Peter 3, 18-21, it says, God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through water.

[37:41] Actually, this is an encouragement for those who are not yet saved as well. It says, but baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[37:55] So he's comparing here the flood and how people come through death to life, through the flood to baptism. And when you decide to get baptized and to follow Jesus by taking that step of faith, you are buried with Him in His death by going under water and then you come out to His resurrection life.

[38:15] That joy and privilege of new life and salvation can be yours. And if you have entrusted yourself to Jesus, then you find encouragement in 2 Peter 2, 4-10. It says, God preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.

[38:33] Then, the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials. Are you grieved by trials? Are you grieved by the injustice, the immorality, the violence you see all around you?

[38:50] God can preserve you in the midst of that because He preserved Noah in the world of ungodliness, wickedness. So don't lose your hope. Recognize that your momentary affliction is bearing for yourself, preparing you for the eternal weight of glory that will be revealed.

[39:09] Maybe you are grieved not by your surroundings but by your own besetting sins. You struggle with guilt and shame of what you've done. You feel unworthy to approach God in worship and prayer.

[39:24] Then we ought to remember that it was never our righteousness that was the basis for our approaching God but it was Christ's righteousness. It's the atonement that Christ makes as the sacrificial lamb of God.

[39:37] That is the basis for acceptance of God. That's the propitiation of God's wrath. So place your hope in Christ today then and not on your own righteousness and go to Him unreservedly without fear and He will prove to you to be a sure Savior and deliverer.

[39:55] Let's pray together. God, we want to be your subjects who fit snugly into your creation plan.

[40:20] we've seen your judgment of the creation and your grace and recreation but most importantly we have seen you have made us into a new creation through Jesus with a new heart with a new spirit.

[40:44] help us now to live by the power of your spirit in obedience. Enable us by your preserving grace to persevere in this life in righteousness and holiness for your glory.

[41:06] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.