“Jesus, Noah and the Ark”

Where do you stand on spanking a child as part of the disciplinary process? Is that okay? What if a child hits another child? Should you spank that child as part of teaching them not to hit? Is that not hypocritical?

Let’s take that further. What about the death penalty? If someone murders somebody, should we kill them? “I’ll teach you not to kill. I’ll kill ya!” What’s the difference?

The difference in spanking a child is the child is acting out on uncontrolled physical aggressiveness and is disciplined in a controlled way. If the father doing the spanking is uncontrolled and violent, then it’s abuse.

The murderer is likewise acting out his uncontrolled physical aggressions and society has a responsibility to protect the rights and welfare of its citizens. But if the execution of capital punishment is not a thoughtful, controlled process and is just a tool of repression and tyranny, then it becomes equal to murder.

We are told in Genesis 6:5 that “the LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” So…you know what He did? He killed ‘em. Now, we have had this conversation before and some of you still struggle with the concept of God doing anything that is bad.

I know. I know. You like to say that God allows bad things to happen but He causes good things to happen. Well, how do you explain the great flood? It was a really, really bad, horrible thing that happened to 99.99% of all people and animals on the earth and God takes full credit for it. In chapter 6, verse 7, God says, "I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created.”

Is that hypocritical? “Man is really, really bad so I will do something really, really bad.” No, that’s not hypocritical. They deserved it. God had given them every opportunity to repent of their evil ways and follow Him but they chose not to. Noah was the only one who was obedient. And since Noah did it, we know it could be done. God showed them mercy for a long time but finally He had enough and brought justice. My only question is how much longer does the world we live in have before God brings His justice again?

From the beginning of time, God has been preparing the world…for the end of the world. He has been preparing man for the end of life as we know it. All through the Old Testament, God was showing that, while God’s creation was, as He called it, good, it wasn’t perfect. All the way back to the Garden of Eden and the forbidden fruit, God has been telling man that one day there will be something better.

With the institution of the blood sacrifice that covered over their sins, God was telling mankind, “Just wait. Something better is coming.” With the Law of Moses came a window to show them how sinful they really were but what they really needed was a door to escape that sin. God gave prophets to tell the people to be looking for something bigger and better and we now know that something was actually someone and His name is Jesus.

We are continuing our focus on finding Jesus in the Old Testament and this week we get to look at the incredible story of Noah and the Ark. I said something about this last week at Bible study and Cindy kind of laughed and said, “Noah?” And I thought, “Oh, no! Did I say the wrong guy? Is it Jonah? Is it Moses? No, it’s Noah.” Cindy, it’s Noah. And if I say it wrong in this message, you know who I’m talking about and you know who to blame, right?

Now, before we get into reading about it, I need to know something. Are you like I am when I read a book or watch TV? I spend way too much time thinking about all the reasons why whatever I’m seeing is impossible. “You can’t do that. That wouldn’t happen that way. That’s not how you do it!” And it ruins the whole show for me but I can’t help it.

If you are that way, then you will hate this story. You thought David and Goliath was unbelievable! But there are two things you need to know about this story. First, a lot of the questions you will have get answered when you do deep research and find out just how big this ark was and how long they were there and all the details help explain a lot of things.

But secondly, a big part of being a Christian is having faith. It’s not blind faith but at some point, you will have some questions that don’t get answered and you just trust that the same God who spoke all of creation into existence could get a bunch of critters on a boat and keep them safe from a flood. Like usual, if you get bogged down in the details, you will miss a beautiful jewel.

So, let’s start reading in Genesis chapter 6. We are going to read 6:9-22 and then skip over a few verses and read some more to get the whole picture without having to read three whole chapters.

This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Now, skip over to 7:11. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

17-19 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. ¹⁹ They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.

8:1-5 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. 2 Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. 3 The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, 4 and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.

Let’s stop there. There is a little more to it but that much will keep us busy for a while. So, I sent out an email this past Friday encouraging you to read this story and be looking at this as a picture of Jesus. Does anybody see anything in this story that might point to Jesus or have some characteristics of Jesus or make you think of Jesus in any way?

This is another story that is just dripping with symbolism. I can’t wait to get to Heaven so Jesus can show me all the symbolism all through the Bible and tell me everything that pointed to Him or was Him but until then, this is some of the symbolism I uncovered in my studies this past week.

Do you remember that song you used to sing in Sunday School as a kid called “Rise and Shine”? Rise and Shine and give God the glory, glory. Rise and Shine and give God the glory, glory. The Lord told Noah to build him an arky arky. The Lord told Noah to build him an arky arky. Build it out of…gopher barky barky.

That comes from chapter 6, verse 14 that the NIV and most others translate Cypress wood. The KJV interprets that as gopher wood. It is a type of wood that would have been common and plentiful in those days and it was used and still is used to make things that you want to last. It didn’t rot or decay easily.

In Psalm 16:10, David is speaking of Jesus when he prophecies, “you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.” Jesus, the “root of Jesse”, who it is said in Daniel 9 will be “cut off” is our Ark of salvation.

Okay, I’m going to have to go through some of this pretty quick because we don’t have time to do them justice. But we will see this and more tonight at 6 pm. I love this next one. In chapter 6, verse 14, God told Noah to build the ark and then cover it inside and out with pitch. That word “pitch” is the same basic Hebrew word for “atonement” which is what the blood of Jesus does for us. It covers us. Jesus died on the cross to atone for us or reconcile us back to God. We can have a relationship with God through His Son Jesus because of that atonement or pitch. Isn’t that cool?

Another point is there is only one way to enter the ark and it’s through the one and only door. Jesus calls Himself the one and only way (John 14:6), which He is (Acts 4:12), and the door to His sheepfold. Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). If not, they have the wrath of God abiding on them (John 3:36b). Even though Noah had to choose to enter the ark, “the Lord shut him in” (Gen 7:16), showing it is God alone Who saves us and preserves us.

The waters represent God’s judgment, but Noah didn’t save himself…it was God who instructed him how to do so. Today, God instructs us how to be saved and that’s by trusting in Christ. Noah trusted the ark, and we can trust in Christ. The ark was made of wood, just as the cross was. The pitch protected the people inside, making a water-tight seal, and Jesus’ blood covers our sins and protects us from the wrath of God. God prepared a place for Noah and his family when the ark settled. Jesus said He will return for us and is preparing a place for us too (John 14:3).

One last bit of symbolism I have to mention is the date on which the ark rested on the mountain. Look again at chapter 8, verse 4. and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The Hebrew calendar started in October and so the 7^th month would have been what we call April. The 14^th of April was Passover and also the day Jesus died. Remember? And so what happened on the 17^th day of April, 3 days after the Passover? Jesus rose up out of that grave and rested in His glory. By the way, “Ararat” means glory. Just like the ark rested on the mountains of glory, Jesus rested in His glory. You think that is coincidence?

Okay, so all that symbolism is well and good and some of you maybe thinking I made some of that up or that it doesn’t really matter and that’s okay. You can just leave and never come back. Just kidding. Before you leave, I want you to see three quick things with me about this story.

What’s the problem in this story? God is about to flood the world. That’s a pretty big problem. I know you are going through some stuff right now but I bet it doesn’t compare with that. You may be pretty stressed out but the rest of the world is not going to die. Noah was faced with a choice. Do it God’s way or do it his way. Twice it says, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

You have that same choice. Even as a Christian, we sometimes think we know better than God. “God, I know your Word teaches that we should tithe but I just can’t afford it so, obviously, I know better than you.” “God, I know your Word says I shouldn’t worry but that’s just how I’m made so, obviously, I know better than you.” God, I know your Word says all things are possible with Jesus but I’m an addict so obviously I know better than you.”

God told Noah to build a huge ark in the middle of the desert and fill it with animals and it says, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” I know you are either going into a storm, coming out of a storm or about to go into a storm. All you have to do is be obedient. Just do what He tells you to do and continue to do it until He tells you to do something else. And if He’s not telling you to do anything, just be still and know He is God! (Psalm 46:10)

Next, abide in Him. If the ark is symbolic of Jesus, then we see that Noah was abiding in Him. He was living there, camped out there. It’s all he could see. It was all he needed. He didn’t crawl out the upper window and look at the storm. If he had he probably would have fallen away. The ark was shelter. It was provision, protection and a covering. It was a blessing of God. Noah went through the same storm that killed everybody else. The difference was abiding in Him.

We abide in Jesus when we go where He goes and we do what He does. We live in Him and through Him. Bible study starts to be a necessity. Prayer is unceasing and church is our happy place. 1 John 2:6 says, “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” We will start to look, act, sound, probably even taste and smell like Jesus. That is abiding in Him. An hour or so at church every couple of weeks is most definitely not abiding.

Obey Him. Abide in Him. And lastly, have faith in Him. Now, this last one sounds easy, right? Faith. What is faith? In Hebrews 11 it says, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” When warned about things not yet seen, Noah made the decision that is was better to do what God said to do even if it was hard, even if it made him look foolish, even when nobody else was doing it.