2024年6月9日 / グレース・トロント日本語教会
創世記 6章
11 地は神の前に堕落し、地は暴虐で満ちていた。
12 神が地をご覧になると、見よ、それは堕落していた。すべての肉なるものが、地上で自分の道を乱していたからである。
13 神はノアに仰せられた。「すべての肉なるものの終わりが、わたしの前に来ようとしている。地は、彼らのゆえに、暴虐で満ちているからだ。見よ、わたしは彼らを地とともに滅ぼし去る。
14 あなたは自分のために、ゴフェルの木で箱舟を造りなさい。箱舟に部屋を作り、内と外にタールを塗りなさい。
15 それを次のようにして造りなさい。箱舟の長さは三百キュビト。幅は五十キュビト。高さは三十キュビト。
16 箱舟に天窓を作り、上部から一キュビト以内に天窓を仕上げなさい。また、箱舟の戸口をその側面に設け、箱舟を一階と二階と三階に分けなさい。
17 わたしは、今、いのちの息のあるすべての肉なるものを天の下から滅ぼし去るために、地上に大水を、大洪水をもたらそうとしている。地上のすべてのものは死に絶える。
18 しかし、わたしはあなたと契約を結ぶ。あなたは、息子たち、妻、それに息子たちの妻とともに箱舟に入りなさい。
Jun 9, 2024 / Grace Toronto Japanese Church
Genesis 6 (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. 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. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 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.
Introduction
What is the largest country in the world? It’s Russia. It occupies 11% of the world’s total landmass. Do you know the second largest country? It’s Canada. Canada’s land is not only large but also beautiful. Canada has some of the most beautiful and inspiring landscape in the world—the Canadian Rocky Mountains, prairies, forests, lakes, rivers, and even tundra and glaciers. It’s too bad that we don’t have enough time and money to see and enjoy all of Canada’s stunning nature.
Have you ever wondered what the world was like before Noah’s Flood? I think, before the Flood, the world was so much better a place than now. Genesis 6–9 says that God punished the entire earth through the Flood. The Flood was not local but global. It means that the world before the Flood was destroyed and gone. The world we see today is not the world Noah saw before the Flood. What was it like? We don’t really know, but we can guess:
- It was before “the fountains of the great deep” and “the windows of the heavens” (7:12) opened and poured out all the waters into the earth. So, the whole earth enjoyed perfect humidity and moderate climate (neither cold nor hot).
- Ultraviolet (UV) rays were minimum.
- Food (trees and fruits) was plentiful.
- The people and animals enjoyed long lives (e.g., people were healthy and strong and didn’t get sick; they lived 800 to 900 years) giving birth to hundreds of children—something that we can never imagine now (cf. God himself warned in 6:3: “Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever . . . his days shall be 120 years”).
- The population was large—some scholars say it was probably already a few hundred million before Noah’s Flood.
- Humans and animals seemed to be bigger than us because their environment was so good (e.g. the Nephilim [6:4]).
What about us? If you’re “lucky,” you will live probably about 80–90 years. If you are “really lucky,” you will live 80–90 years without being sick. But the world before the Flood was so much different from what we see and experience today. In fact, I am jealous of those people.
Let me ask you one question: if you lived a such a long, healthy, and abundant life in such a beautiful world, how would you live? What kind of life would you be living?
Unfortunately, before the Flood, all the people were going crazy.
Body 1: The earth: corrupt and violent, all flesh (vv. 11-12)
The Bible says, “the wickedness of man was great in the earth” (6:5). All men were evil and wicked and even “the sons of God” (i.e., the descendants of Seth all the way down to Noah’s generation) (6:2) displeased God. These were the people who knew and believed in God. They were the people of God. But “the sons of God” began to marry “the daughters of man” (6:2), and the people of God stopped honoring and worshiping God.
They forgot about God their Maker. And they lived their lives on their own—according to the principles of the world, not based upon the teachings of God. What happens when we live apart from God? We become corrupt and violent. Instead of seeking God, we pursue money, power, and pleasure. We use violence to secure our own power and to suppress others. That’s what v. 12 in today’s passage says: “all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (v. 12).
Body 2: But there was Noah (vv. 8, 9, 10, 13)
But in the middle of this wicked world, God showed grace to one man, Noah: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (6:8). Noah was the only descendant in the line of Seth who was righteous. Noah was a God-believer, and he lived a different life as one who loved God. The reason that the Bible says Noah was a “righteous” and “blameless” man was because “Noah walked with God” (6:9b). It was God who made Noah righteous.
Body 3: God’s judgment (v. 13)
But the wickedness of the world was so bad that God said, “I will blot out man . . . from the face of the land, man and animals [and everything]” (6:7). God said to Noah, “I will destroy them with the earth” (v. 13). How? God would use a global cataclysmic flood: “I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth” (v. 17).
One thing that we should learn from this is that God’s judgment is coming, and it is dreadful and terribly scary. What Genesis 6–9 shows us is that God’s judgment causes a panic and fear in us. When God’s judgment comes, we’ll be absolutely terrified by it. And nothing can escape from his judgment: “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” (v. 13); “I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die” (v. 17).
Body 4: God’s salvation (vv. 14–16)
But God’s judgment is not the end of the story. Again, he gives his rescue plan. God judges and punishes the world. But he saves his people.
God would save Noah and his family. And God commanded Noah to build an ark. And he even gave detailed instructions for it (vv. 14–16):
- Material = gopher wood (cover it with pitch)
- The length = 300 cubits = 138 m (cf. a soccer field = 120 m)
- The breadth = 50 cubits = 46 m
- The height = 30 cubits = 14 m (higher than a modern four-story building)
- Build 3-stage decks (lower, second, third decks)
He and his sons built this ark for about 50 to 70 years. Still, it is a miracle that one family could build such a gigantic boat. So, I believe that God’s helping hand was upon them as they built the ark.
The ark was God’s salvation plan for Noah and his family. He would punish the entire world for their wickedness and corruption. But God would save his own people—Noah and his family through this ark. And not just Noah and his family but also his creation: “you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive” (vv. 19–20).
Noah obeyed: “Noah did all that God commanded him” (v. 22).
Applications
(1) The end time will be like Noah’s day
I know Noah’s Flood is one of the most fascinating stories in the Bible. Even many non-believers are aware of this narrative. It’s one of the most favorite topics taught in many Sunday school classes.
But don’t think this is just a children’s fun story. Rather, Noah’s Flood is God’s warning to humanity. This is not my saying—Jesus said it himself: “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:37–39).
Isn’t this so precise? Look at today’s world. People do not pay attention to God who is there. They are ignorant of God. They don’t see him. They don’t feel him. Their heart is full of the worldly things but is empty of God. Go to a crowded place in Toronto and speak to a stranger and say to him, “Jesus is coming back. He will come back soon and unexpectedly!” They will yell at you.
“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:37) is a scary warning. But few seem to care.
(2) The ark and the cross
When Noah and his sons were building this big ship, I’m certain that the people were laughing at them and mocking them. Why would you spend such many years building a stupid boat? Just eat, drink, and enjoy your life!—they said. To them, Noah was a crazy and foolish man. However, what they didn’t know was that the judgment day was soon coming and that this foolish wooden boat was their only hope.
The same is true with the wooden cross of Jesus Christ. The final judgment day is coming. Jesus is soon coming back. And modern people should know that this foolish looking cross of Christ is their only hope of salvation: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
(3) Those who believe are few
That’s why the number of the saved is always small. In Noah’s day, out of that large population, the number of the saved people was only 8 (Noah and his family members) (cf. 1 Pet 3:20 and 2 Pet 2:5). Even Jesus said, in Matt 7:13–14, “Enter by the narrow gate . . . for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Yes, those who find it are few. God’s chosen people are not many. We know this when we look at today’s world. There are not many people who believe. It becomes harder and harder to find those who believe.
Closing
I said it took a minimum of 50 to a maximum of 70 years for them to finish building the ark. So, we can say that the people in Noah’s time had almost a 70-year warning period, right? But there was no one who repented and returned to God. No one cared. And on the day the flood came, Noah and his family, and all the animals God brought went into the ark . . . “And the LORD shut him in” (Gen 7:16). And that was the end. All those people who didn’t enter the ark died in the flood.
In the same manner, can we see our lives, sort of, as a warning period? If we live 80 to 90 years, I think we have 80 to 90 years either to turn away from God or to turn to Christ and love him and worship him. How would you live? What kind of life would you be living?