2024年6月23日 / グレース・トロント日本語教会
創世記 7章
17 大洪水は四十日間、地の上にあった。水かさが増して箱舟を押し上げたので、それは地から浮き上がった。
18 水がみなぎり、地の上に大いに増し、箱舟は水面を漂った。
19 水は地の上にますますみなぎり、天の下にある高い山々もすべておおわれた。
20 水は、その上さらに十五キュビト増し加わり、山々はおおわれた。
21 こうして、地の上を動き回るすべての肉なるものは、鳥も家畜も獣も地に群がるすべてのものも、またすべての人も死に絶えた。
22 いのちの息を吹き込まれたもので、乾いた地の上にいたものは、みな死んだ。
23 こうして、主は地の上の生けるものすべてを、人をはじめ、動物、這うもの、空の鳥に至るまで消し去られた。それらは地から消し去られ、ただノアと、彼とともに箱舟にいたものたちだけが残った。
24 水は百五十日間、地の上に増し続けた。
Jun 23, 2024 / Grace Toronto Japanese Church
Genesis 7 (ESV)
17 17 The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.
Do you sometimes use ChatGPT? I tried it a few times just for fun. But I never used it for preparing Sunday messages. But this time, I wanted to check it out. Instead of doing the research myself, I simply asked a question: What percentage of Canadian people believe that Noah’s flood was a real historical event? And ChatGPT immediately gave me an answer: “As of recent surveys and polls, around 25% of Canadians believe that Noah’s flood was a real historical event.” Of course there’s a warning: “ChatGPT makes mistakes—check important information.” So, what do you think? 25% of Canadians believe the story of Noah’s flood is literally true. Is it higher than you thought, or lower? As for me, it’s much higher than I expected.
What do you think? What is your response to the biblical narrative of Noah and the flood in Genesis 6–9? Especially, the flood portion that we read today, do you believe it was a real historical event, or not?
There are 3 responses to Noah’s Flood in Gen 6–9; roughly speaking, I think people fall into one of these 3 groups when it comes to Noah’s Flood:
- #1. Those who fully believe it; they believe that there was a global flood.
- #2. Those who partly believe it; they believe that there was a local flood—yes, there was a flood. But the flood didn’t cover the whole earth (that is impossible). Probably the flood affected some parts of the Middle East and Mesopotamia but never the whole world.
- #3. Those who do not believe it at all; they say there was no flood—we cannot trust Genesis.
Each response has reason.
- #1. Genesis (Bible) is the true and inerrant Word of God. There really was a global flood because the Bible says so. Genesis is a historically reliable record.
- #2. Genesis (Bible) is of course the Word of God. However, we should not take Gen 1–11 literally. There only was a local flood because Gen 1–11 is not a historical but a literary description.
- #3. There was no flood at all because (1) the Bible is a myth (of a book of fairy tales); (2) there is no God; and (3) there is no scientific evidence of a worldwide flood.
One of the most common objections to Noah’s story is that modern people simply do not believe that a few ancient men built such a huge boat. They often take Wyoming as a counter example. Wyoming was the biggest boat ever built in the early twentieth century (1917), and she had roughly the same length as Noah’s ark (approx. 140 meters). But her width (breadth) (15 m) was much shorter than that of the ark (46 m). In 1924 it met a storm and sank, killing all 14 crew members on board. What people say is, if even Wyoming—built with relatively modern technology and hundreds of skilled shipbuilders—couldn’t endure the sea storm, how could the ancient boat survive the strong storms and waves of the global flood? I admit that it is a convincing argument.
However, what we have in the Bible is that (1) God had commanded Noah and his sons to build a boat according to the specific measurements; (2) Noah built the boat according to God’s detailed instructions; (3) and the ark never sank but endured the whole time of the flood. So, if there is no God – Yes, the ark could have broken and sunken. However, we can suspect and believe that God supernaturally protected the ark.
Now, I must warn you that the world does not like #1. To be accepted and respected in today’s world, you will need to choose either #2 or #3. However, you know my stance. My conviction is confidently and undoubtedly #1. Genesis is a trustworthy history: there was a global flood that covered the entire earth.
- The Holy Scripture is the Word of God (inerrant and infallible).
- Gen 6–9 is not obscure but clear that the flood was worldwide.
- We do not depend on scientific evidence—but we can still provide some.
- We believe in the God who is sovereign and almighty.
- We embrace God even if it will mean that we are ridiculed by the world.
More than anything else, we should go back to the text itself and see what it says. By reading the text closely, we can learn lots of things. So, I’d like us to take a close look at the text itself, the Word of God.
The “Flood” text is in fact 7:1—8:19.
Background (7:1–16)
The ark was now complete. And God commanded them to “go into the ark”: (1) You (Noah); (2) all your household; (3) Seven pairs of all clean animals (male and female) (v. 2); (3) one pair of (each) unclean animal (male and female) (v. 2); (4) seven pairs of birds (male and female) (v. 3).
How many species were brough to the ark? I don’t know. Some people say that there were more than 14K species and that it was impossible for all of them to fit in the ark. But Genesis says it was God who brought them to the ark. All that Noah had to do was simply to let them in. So, we can believe that God brought every necessary species he wanted to bring. And that was just enough.
And God gave his final word (v. 4): “For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.“
And as for the beginning day of the flood, the Bible gives us a very precise date: 600th year, 2nd month, 17th day (v. 11). On this day, the flood started, and the waters of the flood came upon the earth (v. 10).
The Flood (7:17–24)
The flood continued for 40 days on the earth. It means the waters were pouring into the earth for 40 days. But it was not the same rain as what we see today. Modern scientists (and people) don’t believe the story because they think 40-day rain cannot give enough water to cover the whole earth. However, if we look at the text (v. 11), we can see that God opened the two fountains of water to flood the earth. The two major sources of water were both (a) below the earth and (b) in the heavens: “all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened” (v. 11). So, based on what we read in the Bible, we can see that there was more than enough water to flood the entire planet. And when the water from these two sources poured into the land. What then happened?
- Of course, the waters increased.
- The waters then lifted up the ark.
- The waters rose above the earth—“The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters” (v. 18)
The phrase “on the earth” (עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ) deserves our attention. This phrase has already been used 5 times since 7:1. This means that the Bible is emphasizing that the whole world was under water. Let’s look at vv. 18–19 together:
- v. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
- v. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.
This is how Hebrew emphasizes certain things. So, in these two verses in a row, the Bible strongly emphasizes that the waters prevailed on the earth (see “greatly” in v. 18 and “so mightily” in v. 19). This means the waters covered the entire earth. There was nothing uncovered by the waters. Verses 19b-20 give us an even more vivid description: “all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.” Again, we see that the description of Genesis is really specific and detailed.
What this mighty flood brought was, of course, death (vv. 21-23): “all flesh died . . . all mankind” (v. 21); “everything . . . died” (v. 22). And this accomplished God’s judgment in 7:4 “And then every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.”
The Aftermath (8:1–19)
Noah’s flood continued for one full year:
- Rain: 40 days
- The whole world under water: 5 months (7:24)
- The water subsided (were reduced): 5 months
- The land dried: 2 months
And when the waters were subsiding (i.e. on the 7th month), the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (8:4). And during the final two months, to check if there was any dry land, Noah opened the window and sent forth a bird (raven) (8:7); next time, he sent forth a dove and it returned. He sent a dove again, and this time the bird came back with a freshly plucked olive leaf (8:11). It was a good sign. After another 7 days, he sent forth a dove again, and this time the bird didn’t return. The flood ended in the 601st year, 2nd month, 27th day (14) (8:13-14).
Another reason that I fully believe (1) that Noah’s flood was a real historical event and (2) that it was a worldwide flood is because of what Jesus said in the New Testament. In Matthew 24, Jesus Christ describes the judgment day when Jesus Christ would return. When the disciples asked, “When will these things be?” (24:3), Jesus said, “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (24:36). But Jesus said there’s one thing we know for sure: “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (24:37). In Noah’s days, people didn’t know the flood was coming until the last minute and “the flood came and swept them all away” (Matt 24:39).
Jesus is clearly connecting the day of his coming back to the day of Noah’s flood! Can you see that? This is my second reason that I believe that (1) Noah’s flood was a real historical event, and that (2) Noah’s flood was a global catastrophe/disaster that wiped out every living being on the planet.
Think about the day when Jesus is coming back to judge the world. Would it just be a local event? Absolutely not. The whole world will see him come, and it will be the end of the world we know today. Jesus says, in Matt 24:44, “therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (v. 44).
Some of you may have seen this photo. The lady’s name is Ariane Sherine, a British comedy writer, and the gentleman is, as you know, the most famous atheist of this day, Dr. Richard Dawkins. From 2008 to 2009, Ariane Sherine, a strong atheist, carried out something called the “Atheist Bus Campaign” in London, England. She put a sign that said, There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life. And this campaign of course pleased Richard Dawkins, and she received official support from him.
All throughout human history, human beings have always had two choices:
- God exists. His judgment is real and dreadful. His judgment day is coming. “therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt 24:44).
- There is no God. There is no judgment day coming. Jesus is not coming back. Sleep in on Sunday mornings and enjoy your life.
In today’s text, we see God’s grace for Noah and his household: PPT v. 23b “They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark” (v. 23b). In the New Testament, Hebrews 11:7: “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Even in the middle of his judgment, God showed his grace and mercy toward Noah and his household. He shows the same mercy toward those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.