Sunday, November 23, 2008
ENCOURAGMENT FOR PARENTS
The first command God ever gave to a human being was: “Be fruitful and multiply.” Adam and Eve brought forth children for the glory of God. Children were totally God’s idea. They were born at His command and as a result of His creative power. But the blessing we receive along the way is no small thing. How God has blessed us, even as He says in His Word: “Children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Ps. 127:3). Look around you this morning. We are praising God for the blessing of children.
With those children comes a precious privilege and an awesome responsibility. We are not only blessed to participate with God in the creation of these children, but we are equally blessed to participate with Him in the raising of those same children. On the surface, we might even get the idea that the main responsibility is ours. God tells us clearly, “Train up a child in the way that he should go…” (Prov. 22:6).
This morning Tracy and Lindsay are reminded again of that precious privilege and awesome responsibility of raising up a godly seed for the glory of God, but they are not alone. Many of you parents are still in the process of raising your children. Many others are grandparents, and we have the privilege of praying for those children and grandchildren who are currently raising their families. Others are praying faithfully for parents in this congregation. Praise God that we can all work together. What greater task is there than raising godly children? Recently one of you fathers said something like this: “I don’t care if I never do anything else, if I can just raise my children to know Jesus.” I say “Amen” to that.
Very briefly this morning I want to give us a brief reminder and a word of encouragement from two passages of scripture…
I. Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Let’s read Deut. 6:1-9…
Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2. That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
We know this passage well, so I am not going to review all the details. Let’s come right to the subject matter before us. We read in verse 7 that parents are commanded to “teach them diligently” to their children. Teach what? Primarily the great truths summarized in verses 4-5, “The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” And how do you teach those truths to your children? You talk with them about those things. No, you don’t do it just by having a designated period of time when you set them down and teach them. Rather, you teach them throughout the day, throughout the various experiences of life, from morning until evening. In other words, you relate these truths to every area of life. And you keep these same truths before their eyes. In other words, they are to hear it and see it – “The Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Parents are responsible for giving them continual audible and visible reminders of these precious truths.
Are we all clear on that? You parents must creatively instill these truths into your children. This is not a responsibility you can discharge and check off the box. There is a sense in which you will never quite get done. You aren’t doing it to get done; you are doing it to bring glory to the God who loaned you those children. You must do everything in His power (your power is woefully insufficient) to bless your children with these truths.
At this point, I hope many of you are aware that although what I have said is true, I have left out something very important. As a matter of fact, it could be argued that I have left out the most important thing of all. And what is it? It is verse 6, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.” But why is that so important? If they are not in your heart, you cannot expect to instill them into the hearts of your children. If the dearest thing in your life is not love of the Lord, you are fighting a losing battle. And I’m not talking about a warm feeling. I am talking about that love that has a deep affection and is demonstrated by obedience to Him. The bottom line is that your children, whether conscious of it or not, may know better than you whether you really love the Lord with all your heart. Even if you fool yourself, you won’t fool them. What a time to pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be some wicked way in me; and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Let me illustrate my point. Many of you home school. At first glance, we might think that the best home school teacher would be the smartest person. That is not necessarily the case. Or maybe it is the person who made the best grades in school. No, not necessarily. Or maybe the best home school teacher is the one who has been a school teacher in public or private schools. Perhaps that is helpful, but it by no means settles the issue. The truth is that it is possible for the smartest, best educated person in the world to do poorly at homeschooling. Why is that? While these and other assets may be valuable, there is something far more important. What? A deep love and devotion for those children that is rooted in love for the Lord. It is that devotion that will enable that home school teacher, when she is ready to throw in the towel, to come to the Lord with a broken heart and draw from Him life and strength that is found nowhere else.
So it is with instilling God’s greatest truths in the lives of our children. The best methodology in the world can never substitute for these things being in your own heart. Some of us parents who are aware of our tendency to fail in this area cling to the scripture, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” What we must remember is that our love for our children must be rooted in unwavering love for the Lord.
Now go back up to verses 1-2…
Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2. That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his command-ments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
Notice that there are three generations listed here in verse 2 – you, your children, and your grandchildren. When you are training your children, you are looking beyond them, because they will be training their children as well. The time will come when it will be their responsibility to audibly and visibly keep these great truths before their children, creatively instilling them in their hearts and minds. Of course, just as is true for you, they will not be able to do this unless these truths are in their hearts, unless they truly love the Lord with everything they are.
Now please hear me carefully, parents. You can train your children. You can teach them the Bible. You can bring them to all the meetings here. I encourage you to do both. But the time will come when your children move out on their own. You will no longer be able to keep these truths before them audibly and visibly, as you were when they were living with you. If they are going to raise their children in the manner of Deut. 6, something has to take place. The audible and visible training must have taken root deep within the heart. It will not be enough for them to just repeat what you have given them. “Mom and Dad taught me these scriptures, so I will teach them to my children.” No, that won’t do. The key issue is the heart.
So what is the greatest key that will unlock their hearts, that will insure that the things you audibly and visibly teach them will take root in their hearts? I don’t want to oversimplify, but there is clearly one thing that is more important than anything else. The greatest key is your love for God, that you yourself love Him with all your heart, soul, and strength. So am I saying that if you do that, it doesn’t matter how well you do in training your child? No, that is not what I am saying. As a matter of fact, as you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength, you will be empowered to do the best possible job of training your children and instilling these things in their heart. On the other hand, don’t expect these truths to take root as a result of outward training, when you yourself are not sold out to loving Him with everything in you.
II. I Corinthians 7:14
Please turn to I Corinthians 7. Some of you will recognize this chapter immediately as being about marriage. Though the passage is about marriage, in the last couple of months there is a verse that has come up in my conversations with others more than once, and it deals with children. In order to get the context, we need to read I Cor. 7:12-16…
But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. 13. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. 14. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. 15. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. 16. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?
In verse 12, Paul is not saying that what he is writing is not from God, that he is not directed by the Holy Spirit. He is simply saying that the Lord Jesus did not talk about this particular issue when He walked on the earth. Having made that clear, Paul then begins to talk about what we might refer to as a mixed marriage. In other words, one of the partners is a Christian and the other is not.
So how does that happen? It can happen in one of two ways. I think the most common way it happened there in Corinth was along these lines. Here is a married couple. Paul comes to Corinth and begins to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord works in the husband and he responds to the gospel. The wife does not. So now the husband is a believer and his wife is not. That still happens today. A number of you have experienced that very situation. On the other hand, it can happen that a believer marries an unbeliever. That shouldn’t happen, but it does. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul makes it very clear that this is wrong. “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?” (II Cor. 6:14). While this may refer to other practices, the primary reference is to marriage. There are some of you here who did that very thing; you married an unbeliever. It is not my purpose to condemn you, but we must be clear that this practice is sin and it has serious consequences. Even if you disobeyed the Lord in this area years ago, if you haven’t repented and received His forgiveness, you need to do so now.
But what about that marriage union – the believer and the unbeliever? Regardless of how it came about, what must be done about it? Paul says clearly that if the unbeliever is willing to remain in the marriage, the believer must not leave. This is as true of believing husband and unbelieving wife, as it is of believing wife and unbelieving husband. Let no Christian ever divorce a spouse because he or she does not follow the Lord, because he or she doesn’t seem interested in spiritual things, or because he or she is ugly, mean, and impossible to live with. If the unbelieving spouse is content to remain in the marriage, the believer must do the same. God’s instructions are very clear.
But why? Why should a believer remain married to an unbeliever? Isn’t that difficult? Yes, it can be very difficult. Then why would the Lord require such a thing, especially if the believer came to know the Lord after they were married. It isn’t her fault that her husband rejects the gospel? Why should she have to endure it? Doesn’t the Lord say, “What fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness?” Surely God must have a very good reason.
The greatest reason is because marriage is sacred. It was instituted by God and it should not be trampled on by those who have been entrusted with it. But here in I Cor. 7, Paul also gives us a very down-to-earth, practical reason for the believer to remain in the marriage. That reason is found in verse 14, “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband…” That is, the unbelieving spouse is made holy by the believing spouse. The one who is not a Christian is set apart by the fact that his or her spouse is a Christian.
But what does this mean? Does that mean that the unbelieving husband is saved, that he has a relationship with God because his wife is a believer? No, it definitely does not mean that. Paul makes that clear. He concedes in verse 15 that if the unbeliever does not want to remain in the marriage and wants to depart, then let him go. But in verse 16 he comes back to the mixed marriage again. Verse 16, "For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?" Paul isn’t saying that a human being has the power to save another. He is simply saying that the testimony of the unbelieving spouse may lead the salvation of the other. But if you leave your unbelieving spouse, then he will not have the benefit of your testimony. So we see clearly that the unbelieving spouse is not saved, is not a child of God, because he or she is married to a Christian. That is the goal, but that may or may not become a reality. Nevertheless, the unbelieving spouse is sanctified, made holy, set apart by the believing spouse.
So if it doesn’t mean he is saved, then what does it mean? Before we answer, we need to read all of verse 14 again. "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy." Now Paul gives us some clue as to what he means when he says the unbelieving spouse is sanctified by the other. It is like the situation with your children. If there wasn’t this sanctifying effect, then your own children would be unclean. But that is not the case. They are holy. The word “holy” is the same basic word as “sanctify,” being the adjectival form instead of the verbal form. So as Christian parents sanctify their children, so the believer sanctifies the unbelieving spouse.
Christian parent, did you know that your children are sanctified by you? Isn’t that comforting to know? No, it doesn’t mean they are saved, that they are children of God. They are not children of God. They were born sinners as much as any person who ever entered this world. Your relationship with God does not change that fact. So what value is there in your children being sanctified? How does your relationship with God set them apart?
Notice that there is nothing here about anything the parents have to do. Though we rejoice to join Tracy and Lindsay in dedicating their baby to the Lord, this act does not in itself make this child holy. He was holy, sanctified, set apart, from the very time he was born. How so? Simply because his parents are saints, possessing the Holy Spirit of God. He is sanctified in the same way that the unbelieving spouse is sanctified.
But what advantage is there for the child of Christian parents? Now we are getting down to heart of the issue. This is the essence of our children being holy; they have been given great advantage. Even if a child has just one believing parent, he has something very unique that other children to not have. He has a parent or parents who love the Lord and through whom the Lord’s love can be poured out. She has parents who can live out the reality of Christ before her and teach her the truth about God and His dear Son. In that sense, the child is holy. He is set apart to Christian parents. As the unbelieving spouse has the privilege of seeing Christ in the believer (whether he appreciates it or not), the child has the privilege of seeing Christ in his parents. May we never take that lightly.
And what is the goal? The goal is the same for the child as for the unbelieving spouse, that he or she may be “saved,” may come into a vital relationship with God through His Son. I must clarify. Remember that the goal of salvation is more than just “being saved.” God brings us salvation in order that we might live for His glory. That is what our goal is for our children. There is a greater likelihood of that happening because this child has been set apart. When God put your children in your home, He set them apart, giving you the precious privilege and awesome responsibility of modeling for them the character of God and the person of His Son. As you think about it, do you realize what a great responsibility this is. To whom much is given much is required. Most of the children in this world do not have even one Christian parent. Millions of children have parents who go to church and are Christian in name, but they don’t know the Lord. What a responsibility is yours. But don’t miss the fact that your responsibility is also a great privilege. Imagine it – cooperating with God to raise them in a way that they will ultimately bring great glory to the Lord you love. Praise God for His wonderful plan.
Conclusion
Let’s conclude this morning by praying for our children and praying for their parents. A child can have no greater blessing in life than parents who truly love the Lord and demonstrate to their children what that really means. And listen to the blessing for the parent: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." (3 John 4).
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
One Man, One Way, One Chance -- 11/16/08
Sunday, November 16, 2008
ONE MAN, ONE WAY, ONE OPPORTUNITY
Genesis 6-8
Of all the books ever written, there is one that stands out from them all. Of all the books ever produced, it has sold by far more than any other. And what book is that? Yes, it is the Bible. But of all the books every written, there is one that is hated more than any other. There is one book that has met with more opposition than any other. What book is that? Yes, it is the Bible. Everyone that hates the Bible does not tear it up or burn it. It has been opposed in many ways. You can go to a major university and take a class called, “The Bible as Literature.” Isn’t that exciting that secular colleges would have a class about the Bible? Not when you find out what they teach about the Bible. They oppose the Bible and demonstrate their hatred for it by doing all they can to make students believe that it is just a book, a book that is no different from any other book. (Actually, many will teach that it is lesser than many other books). Most professors of such classes will not treat kindly a student who believes the Bible is the authoritative Word of God.
Why is the Bible hated and opposed in our world? We could give many reasons, but one of the major reasons is this: The Bible is absolute. In His Word, God makes black and white statements that cannot be misinterpreted by the honest inquirer. For example, the Bible says there is one true God and that all the gods of the nations are idols. The Bible says that all have sinned. There are no exceptions. The Bible condemns adultery, homosexuality, idolatry, and covetousness. We could give many more examples which demonstrate that the one Lord and God is absolute and He expresses Himself absolutely in the Bible.
So what is so inflammatory about absolutes? That view does not fit well into a culture that worships the god of tolerance. I am not talking about the old tolerance, which said, “I may not agree with you, but I believe you have a right to believe what you believe. I will still respect you.” That is not the tolerance that is promoted today. Today’s tolerance says: “I have my beliefs, and you have your beliefs. I cannot say that my belief is better than yours or that yours is better than mine. I cannot claim that one way is right. And I will oppose anyone who claims to know absolute truth.” We could go on and on, but that is the gist of what is called “tolerance” in our modern world. There is only one attitude that is not tolerated, and that is the attitude that claims to have absolute answers for life. Religion will be tolerated, as long as it doesn’t stand for anything. But let a man say there is only one way to the one God, and he will bring upon himself the wrath of those who claim to be tolerant.
This morning we are going to see that even in the early chapters of Genesis God has always been absolute. As we look at the story of Noah, we are going to see one man, one way, and one opportunity. The idea of “one” is not a friend to a society of extreme pluralism and tolerance, but it is God’s way.
Let’s begin by reading Genesis 6-8…
I. One Man – Against a Background of Extreme Wickedness
If we want to see what the world was like in Noah’s day, we can find a very graphic picture in Gen. 6:5, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” What a picture. There was great corruption, but that wasn’t even half the story. The outward corruption came from the thoughts of evil hearts. The outward wickedness was only the tip of the iceberg, and that’s the way it always is. Listen again to the words of Jesus in Mark 7:20-23…
And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22. Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Things were so bad that the heart of God was grieved. We’re talking about the God who created everything, and man was the great climax. Throughout the creation story in Genesis 1, we read the statement, “And God saw that it was good.” Six times God created something and then we are told, “And God saw that it was good.” But after the creation of man, what did God say? “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). But now, after God has seen the corruption that was pouring out of the evil imaginations of man’s heart, He was deeply grieved.
Can anyone blame God for saying, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them”? If we have any question about God’s plan of destruction, it would be this: “But God, why will you destroy the animals, when it is man that has become so wicked?” We may have questions about the destruction of the rest of the living creatures, but we cannot blame God for wiping out the human race. Who can begin to conceive of such ingratitude? How could they not be thankful to the God who made them?
BUT NOAH FOUND GRACE IN THE EYES OF THE LORD. Noah is like an oasis in the desert, like a breath of fresh air. Of all the people in the world (and there may have been billions), only Noah is singled out as a righteous man. In the middle of a world where the thoughts of men’s heart were only evil continually, there was one man who walked with God. It was to this man that God revealed His plan. As a result, Mr. Noah became a shipbuilder and a preacher of righteousness. He obeyed God and He proclaimed that God was righteous even in the judgment He was bringing.
One man found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Here’s a question for you: What if there hadn’t been this one man who found favor in God’s eyes? We can be thankful for Noah, through whom the human race was preserved. Not only are we all related to Adam, but we are all related to Noah as well. Because Noah obeyed God and built that ark, our lives were preserved. Praise God for the one man through whom He worked to carry out His plan. This one man Noah stands out, especially when seen against the background of such corruption and wickedness.
Now let’s read about another man who was as unique as Noah. We read about him in Romans 5:12-19. In these eight verses, we will find the word “one” no less than 12 times. As you will see, the contrast is between the one man Adam and the one man Jesus. Read Rom. 5:12-19…
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13. (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
I realize that some of that is hard to get hold of, and we won’t try to deal with all of it this morning. For now, focus on verse 19, for that verse summarizes the concept of this entire passage. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Who is the one man who disobeyed? Yes, it was Adam. And because of his disobedience, we were made sinners. But that isn’t the end of the story, for “by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” And who is this one who obeyed God? Yes, it was Jesus. We are told in verse 14 that Adam was a figure (or type) of Jesus. How so? As Adam came into this world with the freedom to obey or disobey God, so Jesus had that same choice. No one else did. We all came into this world as absolute slaves to sin, but not Jesus. And whereas Adam disobeyed, Jesus obeyed His Father in all things.
Can you see a certain parallel between Noah and Jesus? Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord and obeyed his Lord. We can say the same of Jesus, who humbled himself and became obedient even to the point of death (Phil. 2:8). But the parallel goes even deeper than that. Noah was the only man who found favor in the Lord’s eyes and who carried out God’s plan. Noah stands out because of the great wickedness of the world around him. How much more can we say that about Jesus! Consider the billions of people who have lived in this world, from the time of Adam until now. All have been sinners, rebels, the enemies of God… except one, and that one is Jesus.
Think of great heroes of the past. Consider Abraham Lincoln. Americans would recognize him as a great man. But what could Abraham Lincoln do for mankind in light of eternity? Or even go to the Bible. Think of Abraham and Moses, two of the great men of the Old Testament. Abraham was the father of the faithful, the father of many nations. Moses was the great lawgiver, who delivered God’s people from Egypt. But could they do anything to make us right with God? Nothing. Jesus is unique among all men. He and He alone fulfilled the law, living a life that was totally pleasing to God the Father. And He obeyed His Father in all things.
What if there had been no Jesus, no Son of God who came into this world and lived a life of perfect righteousness? What if Jesus had gone the way of other men? We will see the answer to that question more clearly, as we consider the one way…
II. One Way – Against a Background of Coming Judgment
So how did God use Noah? Everyone knows the answer to that question. Nothing could be clearer. God was able to give Noah a plan to preserve mankind and the other creatures He had created. And because Noah was a man who walked with God, God could trust him to carry out the plan. Though it took 120 years to accomplish, Noah was faithful to what the Lord told him to do. With no help, except presumably from his three sons, this man of faith built a boat that was 450 long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
The tendency in our day is to look at the work of Noah as a great engineering feat. That it was. As we mentioned last week, not only did he have little help, but he probably had no power tools. Add to that the fact that he could not devote his full time to building the ark, because he still had to make a living for his family. But the key to understanding Noah is not in what he did, but in why he did it. Noah didn’t build that huge ark to impress people with his ability; he did it because God told him to do it. And God didn’t instruct him to build the ark so that He could show off Noah’s ability. God told Noah to build the ark because He had a specific purpose in mind. And what was that purpose? Yes, so that those inside would not be drowned by the flood.
Had there been no coming judgment, there would have been no ark. It’s that simple. Had there been no ark, we wouldn’t know nearly as much about Noah. The life of Noah stands out brightly not only because he was the one man who found favor in the eyes of the Lord, but also because he provided the one way to escape coming judgment. This is why the ark wasn’t built like a speed boat. It didn’t need to go anywhere, except up with the waves. It had only one purpose, and that was to preserve life in the midst of a once-in-the-history-of-the-world flood. The ark was the one way for people to escape the judgment of God. There was no other way. There was no tree high enough to keep a person out of the flood. There was no mountain which would not be covered with the coming flood waters. There was no secret door through which people could sneak into the ark. No, there was only one door. The ark was the one and only way to escape judgment.
Was the ark successful? Did it do what it was built to do? Indeed, it did. So who escaped the flood? Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives, and representatives of all the other creatures. Of course, there was no problem housing eight people on the ark. On the other hand, many skeptics have questioned the idea of the ark being big enough to house two of each kind of animal. The biggest problem for us is that we have trouble visualizing how big the ark was. Remember, it was 450 x 75 x 45. If it was a box structure with square angles, we could multiply those numbers together and get the number of cubic feet. Perhaps the angles weren’t perfectly square and some space was lost, probably not that much. Let’s suppose he lost 18,000 cubic feet, he would have still had over one and a half million cubic feet to work with. And remember that the Lord told him to make three stories in the ark. Someone has estimated that 522 box cars could have fit inside the ark. God’s plan was perfect, and the ark accomplished exactly what the Lord intended.
Now let’s move down through the centuries to the present day. As Noah was one man who trusted and obeyed God in his day and as Jesus was the one man who has fully obeyed God, does the ark have a parallel as well. Noah built the ark for the saving of his house (Heb. 11:7) and saved the animals as well. He was used of God to preserve his family and ultimately us as well. The instrument was the ark. But remember, as Noah is seen best against a wicked generation, Jesus is seen best against the wickedness of all mankind. In the same way, the ark is seen most clearly when it is viewed in light of the coming judgment. Greater vessels have been built, but none has ever accomplished what the ark accomplished.
Now let me ask you a question: Is there another judgment coming? Will the Lord flood the world again? No, He will not. However, last week we closed our study with the reading of II Peter 3. Is there a coming judgment? How will God judge the world? By fire. Many scoff at the idea, just as the people of Noah’s day must have laughed while Noah built the ark. Nevertheless, the judgment is coming. Is there “an ark of safety” in light of the judgment to come? If so, what is it? The only safety is in Jesus. Jesus is the one man who is fully righteous before God, and Jesus is the one way by which we must escape the coming judgment.
In our day of extreme tolerance, there is no statement so offensive as Jesus’ words in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” And the more “enlightened” the crowd that hears those words, the more violent will be reaction. And mark my words, it is not going to get any better. It is possible that some of us may have to die because we cling to that truth and proclaim it to a world that is under the wrath of God. There are some things we believe about which we are not absolutely sure. There are some things we must be willing to die for, and this is one of them. No one will ever come to the Father, no one will ever escape the judgment, no one will ever find real life except through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way; Jesus is the only way.
However, it is not enough to say that in our day. We have to be much more specific than that. Why? Because Jesus is not seen against the background of coming judgment. Let me explain briefly what I mean. Jerry says that he believes in Jesus. He believes he is all right and that some day he will be in heaven. But then you ask him, “So what do you believe about Jesus?” “He’s the greatest man who ever lived.” “That’s absolutely correct. And what makes him so great?” “We all know that. Look at His great teachings. And look at the miracles He did. There was no one like Jesus.” “Jerry, do you have a relationship with Jesus?” “Well, yes, I would say that I do. I pray to Him every day.” “And how did you come into this relationship with Jesus?” “I just love Him with all my heart. I believe in Him. I try to learn everything I can about Him.”
So does Jerry have a relationship with Jesus? No, he does not, and let me tell you why. Jerry likes the teaching and miracle-working power of Jesus, but he does not see Jesus against the background of coming judgment. Though Jerry says he loves Jesus, he is not desperate for Jesus. You see, Jerry doesn’t believe that he himself is that bad. Of course, he will admit that he has done many things wrong, but he isn’t as bad as some people. He wouldn’t go so far as to say that all his deeds are like filthy rags and that he was dead in his sins, under the wrath of God. Jerry doesn’t want any part of that philosophy. And because he hasn’t seen his sin and the judgment of God, he isn’t much concerned with Jesus taking upon Himself the wrath of God when He went to the cross. He would just as soon avoid that kind of talk.
That is why we have to be specific, when we talk about Jesus being the only way. Jesus is the one man, and His crucifixion and resurrection is the one way. It isn’t just any Jesus who is the only way to the Father. It is only the Jesus of the Bible, the Christ who “also hath once suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,” (I Pet. 3:18), the One whom the Father was pleased to crush (Is. 53:10), the One whom the Father sent “to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10). Any other Jesus is powerless to save us from the wrath of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son -- Jesus Christ of Nazareth, “who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (I Pet. 2:24), whose body was broken and whose blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:26-28), who was rich but became poor for our sakes, that through His poverty we might be rich (II Cor. 8:9)… That is the Son God gave that whosoever believes might not perish, but have everlasting life. There is no life in any other Jesus. And if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than this, let him be accursed from God.
There is only way, and that way is through the crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ. To the Jews He is a stumblingblock; to the pagans His death and resurrection is foolishness; but to us who are called He is Christ the wisdom of God and the power of God (I Cor. 1:23-24). Because He is the crucified Lord who died and rose to save us from the wrath of God and the bondage of our sins, we respond to Him in repentance and faith. We gladly acknowledge that we have nothing good in ourselves whereby we may claim God’s mercy and grace. We forsake ourselves and throw ourselves on Jesus and Jesus alone. Even if God kills us, we will trust Him (Job 13:15).
As there was one door into the ark, so there is only one door into the kingdom of God, and that door is none other than Jesus and Him crucified. Jesus Himself said in John 10:7-9… “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." Praise God for Jesus, the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, the open door into the presence of God.
This is strong medicine. True, but it is the only cure for sinners who are corrupt to the core, who are dead in their trespasses and sins. A Jesus placebo can do nothing for anyone. It has to be the real thing, the real Jesus. No one will ever know that Jesus until his eyes are opened to why Jesus died. If righteousness can come in other way than through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then our Lord died in vain (Gal. 2:21).
III. One Opportunity – Against a Background of “Life as Usual”
Now let me ask you a question. What do you think of God wiping out millions and likely even billions of people in the flood? Isn’t that a picture of a cruel God? Shouldn’t that make us mad and defiant against Him? Why not? Because He gave the people a chance. They had opportunity to respond to the one man who provided the one way, prescribed by the one God who created them. There was plenty of room on the ark for those who could have responded. God opened the door and God closed the door, but not before Noah, his family, and all the animals came in. The elephants and kangaroos would have let any number of repentant sinners take cuts in the line.
This is where we have to remember that the building of the ark required lots of time, even 120 years. We talked about this last week. They didn’t have to wonder why Noah was building that huge boat. All they had to do was ask him, and the man who walked with God would have explained how God was going to send a flood of judgment and how He was perfectly right in doing so. I imagine many asked and many were blessed with that message of truth. But the record demonstrates clearly that not a single person outside Noah’s own family responded in repentance and faith. Praise God that Noah was able to take his own family into the ark! That is no small thing.
Think of it for just a minute. Noah walked with God. Where did he walk? Where did he live? He lived among the people, as he walked with God. If he wasn’t well known before the age of 480, he was well known from the time he was 500 to the time he was 600. By then the ark was beginning to grow and could not be hidden, even if he had wanted to hide it. He walked with God and preached the righteousness of God. I am simply emphasizing that the world had ample opportunity to know the truth and to respond to it. God didn’t destroy a world of innocent people; He destroyed a world of God-defiant rebels.
They had plenty of opportunity, but it was only one opportunity. Once the door was shut, the window of opportunity was gone. It was a long window of opportunity, spanning 120 years, but it had an end. Once the door was shut, it did no good to beat on the side of the ark. When the flood waters began to rise, no cry was desperate enough to cause Noah to open the door. There was only one opportunity, and it ended when God closed the door.
Jesus is the one man who is righteous and provides righteousness for sinners. Jesus is the one and only way into the presence of the Father, saving all those who come to Him in repentance and faith. What an opportunity for one and all. But we must understand that it is only one opportunity, and it will end very soon. The opportunity for man in Noah’s day ended with God shutting the door. How will the opportunity end in our day? In exactly the same way. When God shuts the door of opportunity, no one will be able to open it again.
So how will God close the door of opportunity to come to Jesus in repentance and faith? In one of two ways. For many, the door will be closed by death. As long as there is life in a person, we can hold out hope, but the scripture says that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). There will be no second chance after you die. The person who has not responded in repentance to the one man Jesus, who is the only way into the Father’s presence, will hear Jesus say, “I never knew you; depart from me, ye who work iniquity” (Matt. 7:23). Just as there were no exceptions in Noah’s day, so there will be no exceptions for those who die today. Death slams the door on the opportunity to come to the cross of Jesus Christ.
There is another way God will close the door. Jesus is coming again. We often talk about how this truth is our great hope. “Our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20), “Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Tit. 2:13-14). And then we have that wonderful passage in I Thes. 4:13-17…
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Did you catch that? We who are alive and remaining in this world will be caught up together with those saints who have died to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Praise God! Paul even says in the next verse, “Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.” Let’s suppose that I die next week. God did not shut the door of opportunity for me; I responded to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. But I died. Don’t despair. When the Lord comes to get His own, I will be one of those who rise first. Take comfort in that truth.
However, that isn’t the end of the story. Listen to Rev. 1:7, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." Understand that when Jesus comes back to this earth, everyone is not going to be glad to see Him. Many who don’t truly know Christ think they will be glad when Jesus comes, but they won’t. It was the same in the days of the prophets. Listen to Amos 5:17-20…
And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. 18. Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. 19. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
Many of the people desired the day of the Lord, but Amos told them the day of the Lord would not be light for them, but darkness. In the same way, many think they are ready to meet Jesus. Remember that many will say to Him in that day, “Lord, Lord,” but Jesus will say, “I never knew you; depart from me.”
Surely people will understand that the time is short, that Jesus could come back or they could die any day. Because the stakes are so high, everyone should be eager to get right with God. That only makes sense. This is where the Word of God reveals something we need to learn. Let’s read this truth in Luke 17:26-27… (also Mt. 24:37-38)
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
I find this very interesting. We have already read in Genesis 6 about how wicked the people were, about how even their hearts were full of evil imaginations continually. But when we read the account here, there is nothing about such wickedness. Rather, the emphasis is upon the tasks of daily life. They ate, drank, and got married unto the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. So why were they destroyed? Was it because they were wicked? Yes, and no. Their greatest wickedness lies in the fact that they refused to turn from their sin in repentance and trust God enough to enter the ark. No matter what they had done, they could still come into the ark, but not if they continued with their daily routines, as if judgment would never come.
What a powerful message for our day. The key isn’t how bad a person is, for every person born into this world is so wicked that he is dead in his sins, and even his best deeds are like filthy rags. A person’s condemnation is not in how bad his sin is, but in his unwillingness to turn to the light. He will throw away his opportunity because he will not forsake the routine things of life long enough to seek God with all his heart.
Isn’t that what we see today? Many moral people will go to hell because they are so wrapped up in the things of this life that they are blinded to eternal truth. They are eating, drinking, buying a house, getting married, raising their children, and ignoring the coming judgment and God’s remedy. People live like they will continue to live in a world that will go on forever.
We stopped reading in verse 27, but now let’s go ahead and read Luke 17:28-30…
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
It was the same with Lot. Lot lived in the notoriously wicked city of Sodom. Even the world knows the name Sodom and how it is associated with unspeakable evil. Nevertheless, Jesus says nothing about its great corruption. Rather, He tells how they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. And what happened to them? God rained down fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. As bad as their sin was, it wasn’t beyond God’s forgiveness. But once the opportunity was gone, there was no remedy. They lived as if the door of opportunity would be open forever, but it was slammed shut quickly and finally.
There is only one opportunity, and that opportunity must be seen against the danger of living “life as usual.” Surely it is time to look not on those things which we can see, for they are temporary, but rather on the things which we cannot see, for they are eternal (II Cor. 4:18).
Conclusion
I know that we have spoken a great deal about judgment this morning. There is a reason. You cannot honestly look at the story of Noah and not emphasize judgment. That is the background of the whole story. Judgment was real in Noah’s day, and it is just as real today. Jesus said, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28). Jesus is not talking about Satan, but about God Himself, who will assign lost people to the hell which He made for the devil and his angels. It is popular in our day to decide hell is not real or that hell is nothing more than annihilation, but don’t be deceived. Hell is as bad as heaven is good.
Here is the good news – no one has to go there. Jesus came that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly (Jn. 10:10). Jesus died and rose that we might share in the glory of the God who created this universe. He is the way, the sure way, the way that will never fail. To know Him is life eternal; to miss Him is everlasting torment.
My purpose is not to scare anyone into heaven. I don’t believe that is possible. Fear of hell is a good motivator to start with, but in and of itself, it is not enough. But when we turn to Jesus, who took hell upon Himself, then we discover what real life is. As God draws us, we begin to see that there is life in Jesus that we know nothing about, that we have rebelled against the God who deserves the devotion of all our being.
Let’s close with this…
ONLY ONE WAY
The ark was a rockin’
And the people were knockin’
And the waters were risin’ high;
But they couldn’t come in
Because of their sin…
The people were about to die.
Except that one man
Who certainly can
Enter the ark by God designed;
Yes, Noah will live
And new life will give
To the eight by the ark confined.
So a picture we find
Of God’s mercy so kind
In the ark which had but one door;
Yes, Jesus alone
For sin did atone
Man’s fallen soul to restore.
I am the way,
Jesus did say,
The truth and the life divine;
By no other name
A sinner e’er came
God’s gracious salvation to find.
You must enter the door
And do it before
God’s mercy has come to an end;
For nothing is worse
Than the sting of the curse
For those who die in their sin.
Abruptly it ends,
But a message it sends,
This short little poem of mine;
Just as a life
Will end up in strife,
Unless the Savior it find.
We have a great fear
That you will not hear
And turn from the bondage of sin;
So lend us your ear,
Draw ever so near,
And we’ll gladly tell it again… (Repeat through “Unless the Savior it find.”)
ONE MAN, ONE WAY, ONE OPPORTUNITY
Genesis 6-8
Of all the books ever written, there is one that stands out from them all. Of all the books ever produced, it has sold by far more than any other. And what book is that? Yes, it is the Bible. But of all the books every written, there is one that is hated more than any other. There is one book that has met with more opposition than any other. What book is that? Yes, it is the Bible. Everyone that hates the Bible does not tear it up or burn it. It has been opposed in many ways. You can go to a major university and take a class called, “The Bible as Literature.” Isn’t that exciting that secular colleges would have a class about the Bible? Not when you find out what they teach about the Bible. They oppose the Bible and demonstrate their hatred for it by doing all they can to make students believe that it is just a book, a book that is no different from any other book. (Actually, many will teach that it is lesser than many other books). Most professors of such classes will not treat kindly a student who believes the Bible is the authoritative Word of God.
Why is the Bible hated and opposed in our world? We could give many reasons, but one of the major reasons is this: The Bible is absolute. In His Word, God makes black and white statements that cannot be misinterpreted by the honest inquirer. For example, the Bible says there is one true God and that all the gods of the nations are idols. The Bible says that all have sinned. There are no exceptions. The Bible condemns adultery, homosexuality, idolatry, and covetousness. We could give many more examples which demonstrate that the one Lord and God is absolute and He expresses Himself absolutely in the Bible.
So what is so inflammatory about absolutes? That view does not fit well into a culture that worships the god of tolerance. I am not talking about the old tolerance, which said, “I may not agree with you, but I believe you have a right to believe what you believe. I will still respect you.” That is not the tolerance that is promoted today. Today’s tolerance says: “I have my beliefs, and you have your beliefs. I cannot say that my belief is better than yours or that yours is better than mine. I cannot claim that one way is right. And I will oppose anyone who claims to know absolute truth.” We could go on and on, but that is the gist of what is called “tolerance” in our modern world. There is only one attitude that is not tolerated, and that is the attitude that claims to have absolute answers for life. Religion will be tolerated, as long as it doesn’t stand for anything. But let a man say there is only one way to the one God, and he will bring upon himself the wrath of those who claim to be tolerant.
This morning we are going to see that even in the early chapters of Genesis God has always been absolute. As we look at the story of Noah, we are going to see one man, one way, and one opportunity. The idea of “one” is not a friend to a society of extreme pluralism and tolerance, but it is God’s way.
Let’s begin by reading Genesis 6-8…
I. One Man – Against a Background of Extreme Wickedness
If we want to see what the world was like in Noah’s day, we can find a very graphic picture in Gen. 6:5, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” What a picture. There was great corruption, but that wasn’t even half the story. The outward corruption came from the thoughts of evil hearts. The outward wickedness was only the tip of the iceberg, and that’s the way it always is. Listen again to the words of Jesus in Mark 7:20-23…
And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22. Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Things were so bad that the heart of God was grieved. We’re talking about the God who created everything, and man was the great climax. Throughout the creation story in Genesis 1, we read the statement, “And God saw that it was good.” Six times God created something and then we are told, “And God saw that it was good.” But after the creation of man, what did God say? “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). But now, after God has seen the corruption that was pouring out of the evil imaginations of man’s heart, He was deeply grieved.
Can anyone blame God for saying, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them”? If we have any question about God’s plan of destruction, it would be this: “But God, why will you destroy the animals, when it is man that has become so wicked?” We may have questions about the destruction of the rest of the living creatures, but we cannot blame God for wiping out the human race. Who can begin to conceive of such ingratitude? How could they not be thankful to the God who made them?
BUT NOAH FOUND GRACE IN THE EYES OF THE LORD. Noah is like an oasis in the desert, like a breath of fresh air. Of all the people in the world (and there may have been billions), only Noah is singled out as a righteous man. In the middle of a world where the thoughts of men’s heart were only evil continually, there was one man who walked with God. It was to this man that God revealed His plan. As a result, Mr. Noah became a shipbuilder and a preacher of righteousness. He obeyed God and He proclaimed that God was righteous even in the judgment He was bringing.
One man found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Here’s a question for you: What if there hadn’t been this one man who found favor in God’s eyes? We can be thankful for Noah, through whom the human race was preserved. Not only are we all related to Adam, but we are all related to Noah as well. Because Noah obeyed God and built that ark, our lives were preserved. Praise God for the one man through whom He worked to carry out His plan. This one man Noah stands out, especially when seen against the background of such corruption and wickedness.
Now let’s read about another man who was as unique as Noah. We read about him in Romans 5:12-19. In these eight verses, we will find the word “one” no less than 12 times. As you will see, the contrast is between the one man Adam and the one man Jesus. Read Rom. 5:12-19…
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13. (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
I realize that some of that is hard to get hold of, and we won’t try to deal with all of it this morning. For now, focus on verse 19, for that verse summarizes the concept of this entire passage. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Who is the one man who disobeyed? Yes, it was Adam. And because of his disobedience, we were made sinners. But that isn’t the end of the story, for “by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” And who is this one who obeyed God? Yes, it was Jesus. We are told in verse 14 that Adam was a figure (or type) of Jesus. How so? As Adam came into this world with the freedom to obey or disobey God, so Jesus had that same choice. No one else did. We all came into this world as absolute slaves to sin, but not Jesus. And whereas Adam disobeyed, Jesus obeyed His Father in all things.
Can you see a certain parallel between Noah and Jesus? Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord and obeyed his Lord. We can say the same of Jesus, who humbled himself and became obedient even to the point of death (Phil. 2:8). But the parallel goes even deeper than that. Noah was the only man who found favor in the Lord’s eyes and who carried out God’s plan. Noah stands out because of the great wickedness of the world around him. How much more can we say that about Jesus! Consider the billions of people who have lived in this world, from the time of Adam until now. All have been sinners, rebels, the enemies of God… except one, and that one is Jesus.
Think of great heroes of the past. Consider Abraham Lincoln. Americans would recognize him as a great man. But what could Abraham Lincoln do for mankind in light of eternity? Or even go to the Bible. Think of Abraham and Moses, two of the great men of the Old Testament. Abraham was the father of the faithful, the father of many nations. Moses was the great lawgiver, who delivered God’s people from Egypt. But could they do anything to make us right with God? Nothing. Jesus is unique among all men. He and He alone fulfilled the law, living a life that was totally pleasing to God the Father. And He obeyed His Father in all things.
What if there had been no Jesus, no Son of God who came into this world and lived a life of perfect righteousness? What if Jesus had gone the way of other men? We will see the answer to that question more clearly, as we consider the one way…
II. One Way – Against a Background of Coming Judgment
So how did God use Noah? Everyone knows the answer to that question. Nothing could be clearer. God was able to give Noah a plan to preserve mankind and the other creatures He had created. And because Noah was a man who walked with God, God could trust him to carry out the plan. Though it took 120 years to accomplish, Noah was faithful to what the Lord told him to do. With no help, except presumably from his three sons, this man of faith built a boat that was 450 long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
The tendency in our day is to look at the work of Noah as a great engineering feat. That it was. As we mentioned last week, not only did he have little help, but he probably had no power tools. Add to that the fact that he could not devote his full time to building the ark, because he still had to make a living for his family. But the key to understanding Noah is not in what he did, but in why he did it. Noah didn’t build that huge ark to impress people with his ability; he did it because God told him to do it. And God didn’t instruct him to build the ark so that He could show off Noah’s ability. God told Noah to build the ark because He had a specific purpose in mind. And what was that purpose? Yes, so that those inside would not be drowned by the flood.
Had there been no coming judgment, there would have been no ark. It’s that simple. Had there been no ark, we wouldn’t know nearly as much about Noah. The life of Noah stands out brightly not only because he was the one man who found favor in the eyes of the Lord, but also because he provided the one way to escape coming judgment. This is why the ark wasn’t built like a speed boat. It didn’t need to go anywhere, except up with the waves. It had only one purpose, and that was to preserve life in the midst of a once-in-the-history-of-the-world flood. The ark was the one way for people to escape the judgment of God. There was no other way. There was no tree high enough to keep a person out of the flood. There was no mountain which would not be covered with the coming flood waters. There was no secret door through which people could sneak into the ark. No, there was only one door. The ark was the one and only way to escape judgment.
Was the ark successful? Did it do what it was built to do? Indeed, it did. So who escaped the flood? Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives, and representatives of all the other creatures. Of course, there was no problem housing eight people on the ark. On the other hand, many skeptics have questioned the idea of the ark being big enough to house two of each kind of animal. The biggest problem for us is that we have trouble visualizing how big the ark was. Remember, it was 450 x 75 x 45. If it was a box structure with square angles, we could multiply those numbers together and get the number of cubic feet. Perhaps the angles weren’t perfectly square and some space was lost, probably not that much. Let’s suppose he lost 18,000 cubic feet, he would have still had over one and a half million cubic feet to work with. And remember that the Lord told him to make three stories in the ark. Someone has estimated that 522 box cars could have fit inside the ark. God’s plan was perfect, and the ark accomplished exactly what the Lord intended.
Now let’s move down through the centuries to the present day. As Noah was one man who trusted and obeyed God in his day and as Jesus was the one man who has fully obeyed God, does the ark have a parallel as well. Noah built the ark for the saving of his house (Heb. 11:7) and saved the animals as well. He was used of God to preserve his family and ultimately us as well. The instrument was the ark. But remember, as Noah is seen best against a wicked generation, Jesus is seen best against the wickedness of all mankind. In the same way, the ark is seen most clearly when it is viewed in light of the coming judgment. Greater vessels have been built, but none has ever accomplished what the ark accomplished.
Now let me ask you a question: Is there another judgment coming? Will the Lord flood the world again? No, He will not. However, last week we closed our study with the reading of II Peter 3. Is there a coming judgment? How will God judge the world? By fire. Many scoff at the idea, just as the people of Noah’s day must have laughed while Noah built the ark. Nevertheless, the judgment is coming. Is there “an ark of safety” in light of the judgment to come? If so, what is it? The only safety is in Jesus. Jesus is the one man who is fully righteous before God, and Jesus is the one way by which we must escape the coming judgment.
In our day of extreme tolerance, there is no statement so offensive as Jesus’ words in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” And the more “enlightened” the crowd that hears those words, the more violent will be reaction. And mark my words, it is not going to get any better. It is possible that some of us may have to die because we cling to that truth and proclaim it to a world that is under the wrath of God. There are some things we believe about which we are not absolutely sure. There are some things we must be willing to die for, and this is one of them. No one will ever come to the Father, no one will ever escape the judgment, no one will ever find real life except through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way; Jesus is the only way.
However, it is not enough to say that in our day. We have to be much more specific than that. Why? Because Jesus is not seen against the background of coming judgment. Let me explain briefly what I mean. Jerry says that he believes in Jesus. He believes he is all right and that some day he will be in heaven. But then you ask him, “So what do you believe about Jesus?” “He’s the greatest man who ever lived.” “That’s absolutely correct. And what makes him so great?” “We all know that. Look at His great teachings. And look at the miracles He did. There was no one like Jesus.” “Jerry, do you have a relationship with Jesus?” “Well, yes, I would say that I do. I pray to Him every day.” “And how did you come into this relationship with Jesus?” “I just love Him with all my heart. I believe in Him. I try to learn everything I can about Him.”
So does Jerry have a relationship with Jesus? No, he does not, and let me tell you why. Jerry likes the teaching and miracle-working power of Jesus, but he does not see Jesus against the background of coming judgment. Though Jerry says he loves Jesus, he is not desperate for Jesus. You see, Jerry doesn’t believe that he himself is that bad. Of course, he will admit that he has done many things wrong, but he isn’t as bad as some people. He wouldn’t go so far as to say that all his deeds are like filthy rags and that he was dead in his sins, under the wrath of God. Jerry doesn’t want any part of that philosophy. And because he hasn’t seen his sin and the judgment of God, he isn’t much concerned with Jesus taking upon Himself the wrath of God when He went to the cross. He would just as soon avoid that kind of talk.
That is why we have to be specific, when we talk about Jesus being the only way. Jesus is the one man, and His crucifixion and resurrection is the one way. It isn’t just any Jesus who is the only way to the Father. It is only the Jesus of the Bible, the Christ who “also hath once suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,” (I Pet. 3:18), the One whom the Father was pleased to crush (Is. 53:10), the One whom the Father sent “to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10). Any other Jesus is powerless to save us from the wrath of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son -- Jesus Christ of Nazareth, “who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (I Pet. 2:24), whose body was broken and whose blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:26-28), who was rich but became poor for our sakes, that through His poverty we might be rich (II Cor. 8:9)… That is the Son God gave that whosoever believes might not perish, but have everlasting life. There is no life in any other Jesus. And if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than this, let him be accursed from God.
There is only way, and that way is through the crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ. To the Jews He is a stumblingblock; to the pagans His death and resurrection is foolishness; but to us who are called He is Christ the wisdom of God and the power of God (I Cor. 1:23-24). Because He is the crucified Lord who died and rose to save us from the wrath of God and the bondage of our sins, we respond to Him in repentance and faith. We gladly acknowledge that we have nothing good in ourselves whereby we may claim God’s mercy and grace. We forsake ourselves and throw ourselves on Jesus and Jesus alone. Even if God kills us, we will trust Him (Job 13:15).
As there was one door into the ark, so there is only one door into the kingdom of God, and that door is none other than Jesus and Him crucified. Jesus Himself said in John 10:7-9… “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." Praise God for Jesus, the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, the open door into the presence of God.
This is strong medicine. True, but it is the only cure for sinners who are corrupt to the core, who are dead in their trespasses and sins. A Jesus placebo can do nothing for anyone. It has to be the real thing, the real Jesus. No one will ever know that Jesus until his eyes are opened to why Jesus died. If righteousness can come in other way than through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then our Lord died in vain (Gal. 2:21).
III. One Opportunity – Against a Background of “Life as Usual”
Now let me ask you a question. What do you think of God wiping out millions and likely even billions of people in the flood? Isn’t that a picture of a cruel God? Shouldn’t that make us mad and defiant against Him? Why not? Because He gave the people a chance. They had opportunity to respond to the one man who provided the one way, prescribed by the one God who created them. There was plenty of room on the ark for those who could have responded. God opened the door and God closed the door, but not before Noah, his family, and all the animals came in. The elephants and kangaroos would have let any number of repentant sinners take cuts in the line.
This is where we have to remember that the building of the ark required lots of time, even 120 years. We talked about this last week. They didn’t have to wonder why Noah was building that huge boat. All they had to do was ask him, and the man who walked with God would have explained how God was going to send a flood of judgment and how He was perfectly right in doing so. I imagine many asked and many were blessed with that message of truth. But the record demonstrates clearly that not a single person outside Noah’s own family responded in repentance and faith. Praise God that Noah was able to take his own family into the ark! That is no small thing.
Think of it for just a minute. Noah walked with God. Where did he walk? Where did he live? He lived among the people, as he walked with God. If he wasn’t well known before the age of 480, he was well known from the time he was 500 to the time he was 600. By then the ark was beginning to grow and could not be hidden, even if he had wanted to hide it. He walked with God and preached the righteousness of God. I am simply emphasizing that the world had ample opportunity to know the truth and to respond to it. God didn’t destroy a world of innocent people; He destroyed a world of God-defiant rebels.
They had plenty of opportunity, but it was only one opportunity. Once the door was shut, the window of opportunity was gone. It was a long window of opportunity, spanning 120 years, but it had an end. Once the door was shut, it did no good to beat on the side of the ark. When the flood waters began to rise, no cry was desperate enough to cause Noah to open the door. There was only one opportunity, and it ended when God closed the door.
Jesus is the one man who is righteous and provides righteousness for sinners. Jesus is the one and only way into the presence of the Father, saving all those who come to Him in repentance and faith. What an opportunity for one and all. But we must understand that it is only one opportunity, and it will end very soon. The opportunity for man in Noah’s day ended with God shutting the door. How will the opportunity end in our day? In exactly the same way. When God shuts the door of opportunity, no one will be able to open it again.
So how will God close the door of opportunity to come to Jesus in repentance and faith? In one of two ways. For many, the door will be closed by death. As long as there is life in a person, we can hold out hope, but the scripture says that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). There will be no second chance after you die. The person who has not responded in repentance to the one man Jesus, who is the only way into the Father’s presence, will hear Jesus say, “I never knew you; depart from me, ye who work iniquity” (Matt. 7:23). Just as there were no exceptions in Noah’s day, so there will be no exceptions for those who die today. Death slams the door on the opportunity to come to the cross of Jesus Christ.
There is another way God will close the door. Jesus is coming again. We often talk about how this truth is our great hope. “Our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20), “Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Tit. 2:13-14). And then we have that wonderful passage in I Thes. 4:13-17…
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Did you catch that? We who are alive and remaining in this world will be caught up together with those saints who have died to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Praise God! Paul even says in the next verse, “Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.” Let’s suppose that I die next week. God did not shut the door of opportunity for me; I responded to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. But I died. Don’t despair. When the Lord comes to get His own, I will be one of those who rise first. Take comfort in that truth.
However, that isn’t the end of the story. Listen to Rev. 1:7, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." Understand that when Jesus comes back to this earth, everyone is not going to be glad to see Him. Many who don’t truly know Christ think they will be glad when Jesus comes, but they won’t. It was the same in the days of the prophets. Listen to Amos 5:17-20…
And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. 18. Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. 19. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
Many of the people desired the day of the Lord, but Amos told them the day of the Lord would not be light for them, but darkness. In the same way, many think they are ready to meet Jesus. Remember that many will say to Him in that day, “Lord, Lord,” but Jesus will say, “I never knew you; depart from me.”
Surely people will understand that the time is short, that Jesus could come back or they could die any day. Because the stakes are so high, everyone should be eager to get right with God. That only makes sense. This is where the Word of God reveals something we need to learn. Let’s read this truth in Luke 17:26-27… (also Mt. 24:37-38)
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
I find this very interesting. We have already read in Genesis 6 about how wicked the people were, about how even their hearts were full of evil imaginations continually. But when we read the account here, there is nothing about such wickedness. Rather, the emphasis is upon the tasks of daily life. They ate, drank, and got married unto the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. So why were they destroyed? Was it because they were wicked? Yes, and no. Their greatest wickedness lies in the fact that they refused to turn from their sin in repentance and trust God enough to enter the ark. No matter what they had done, they could still come into the ark, but not if they continued with their daily routines, as if judgment would never come.
What a powerful message for our day. The key isn’t how bad a person is, for every person born into this world is so wicked that he is dead in his sins, and even his best deeds are like filthy rags. A person’s condemnation is not in how bad his sin is, but in his unwillingness to turn to the light. He will throw away his opportunity because he will not forsake the routine things of life long enough to seek God with all his heart.
Isn’t that what we see today? Many moral people will go to hell because they are so wrapped up in the things of this life that they are blinded to eternal truth. They are eating, drinking, buying a house, getting married, raising their children, and ignoring the coming judgment and God’s remedy. People live like they will continue to live in a world that will go on forever.
We stopped reading in verse 27, but now let’s go ahead and read Luke 17:28-30…
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
It was the same with Lot. Lot lived in the notoriously wicked city of Sodom. Even the world knows the name Sodom and how it is associated with unspeakable evil. Nevertheless, Jesus says nothing about its great corruption. Rather, He tells how they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. And what happened to them? God rained down fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. As bad as their sin was, it wasn’t beyond God’s forgiveness. But once the opportunity was gone, there was no remedy. They lived as if the door of opportunity would be open forever, but it was slammed shut quickly and finally.
There is only one opportunity, and that opportunity must be seen against the danger of living “life as usual.” Surely it is time to look not on those things which we can see, for they are temporary, but rather on the things which we cannot see, for they are eternal (II Cor. 4:18).
Conclusion
I know that we have spoken a great deal about judgment this morning. There is a reason. You cannot honestly look at the story of Noah and not emphasize judgment. That is the background of the whole story. Judgment was real in Noah’s day, and it is just as real today. Jesus said, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28). Jesus is not talking about Satan, but about God Himself, who will assign lost people to the hell which He made for the devil and his angels. It is popular in our day to decide hell is not real or that hell is nothing more than annihilation, but don’t be deceived. Hell is as bad as heaven is good.
Here is the good news – no one has to go there. Jesus came that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly (Jn. 10:10). Jesus died and rose that we might share in the glory of the God who created this universe. He is the way, the sure way, the way that will never fail. To know Him is life eternal; to miss Him is everlasting torment.
My purpose is not to scare anyone into heaven. I don’t believe that is possible. Fear of hell is a good motivator to start with, but in and of itself, it is not enough. But when we turn to Jesus, who took hell upon Himself, then we discover what real life is. As God draws us, we begin to see that there is life in Jesus that we know nothing about, that we have rebelled against the God who deserves the devotion of all our being.
Let’s close with this…
ONLY ONE WAY
The ark was a rockin’
And the people were knockin’
And the waters were risin’ high;
But they couldn’t come in
Because of their sin…
The people were about to die.
Except that one man
Who certainly can
Enter the ark by God designed;
Yes, Noah will live
And new life will give
To the eight by the ark confined.
So a picture we find
Of God’s mercy so kind
In the ark which had but one door;
Yes, Jesus alone
For sin did atone
Man’s fallen soul to restore.
I am the way,
Jesus did say,
The truth and the life divine;
By no other name
A sinner e’er came
God’s gracious salvation to find.
You must enter the door
And do it before
God’s mercy has come to an end;
For nothing is worse
Than the sting of the curse
For those who die in their sin.
Abruptly it ends,
But a message it sends,
This short little poem of mine;
Just as a life
Will end up in strife,
Unless the Savior it find.
We have a great fear
That you will not hear
And turn from the bondage of sin;
So lend us your ear,
Draw ever so near,
And we’ll gladly tell it again… (Repeat through “Unless the Savior it find.”)
Monday, November 10, 2008
Character & Message of Two Great Heroes -- 11/9/08
Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008
THE CHARACTER AND MESSAGE OF TWO GREAT HEROES
Gen. 5:18-32
PE Time = Preparing the Ears {To the kids up to 15 before the main message}
Have the young ones come down or stand up…
Do you have any heroes in life? Just think of one of your heroes. Heroes can come from lots of different places. Sometimes a person chooses a movie star as his hero. I wouldn’t recommend it. Another person might choose a star from the sports world. Someone else might choose a fictional character, like Batman. I want to encourage you to choose heroes that are really heroes. There is no better place to find them than in the Bible.
You may wonder why I am singling you out this morning as young people. Please allow me to tell you. You sit there 30-45 minutes every Sunday morning while I speak about the truths of the Bible. God has convicted me that I need to help you to listen as much as I can. I realize that I can’t make that happen; you are the one who has to decide whether you will listen or whether you will tune me out. But I want to do my part. That’s why I gave you an assignment last week. I want to help you sustain an interest in what you are talking about.
Some of you are tempted to think, “Oh this stuff is for adults. I’m just a kid; I can’t understand what he is talking about.” Let me remind you that there are very few things I say that you can’t understand. And if I do talk about something that is hard to understand, you can ask your parents. As a matter of fact, if you make a habit out of asking your parents questions about the sermon, you will be encouraging them to listen too.
Or you may think that what we talk about is not very important. I guarantee you the day will come when you will wish you had paid very careful attention. When we talk about truths from the Bible, we are talking about the most important things in life. All the rest of your thoughts will amount to very little; but we are talking about the things that have eternal value. Parents, I want to ask you to help me. Prepare your kids before you come. Take time to pray with them, asking God to give them grace to listen. For Sunday lunch, don’t be content with meat and vegetables. Have a healthy helping of “what did you learn from the Bible this morning?”
Parents, let me be perfectly honest with you. It’s really not a matter of you helping me; it’s a matter of me helping you. You have the primary responsibility for instructing your children in the things of the Lord. But I do want to be a part of that.
So, young people, today we are going to be looking at two heroes from the Bible. When we get through, you should know them pretty well. We will be focusing on one other person, because that person is a link between the two. By the way, who is the oldest person who ever lived? Yes, Methuselah. And how long did he live? 969 years. He is the person who links our two heroes together. And, yes, I do remember that I gave you an assignment. During the sermon I will be asking you that question about when Methuselah died in relation to the flood.
Let’s pray…
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Please turn to Hebrews 11. I trust that by now when you hear “Hebrews 11,” you already know what that chapter is about. This is “the faith chapter.” Or we might refer to it as the roll call of the faithful. This morning I want us to begin by reading the first seven verses of this chapter. Read Heb. 11:1-7…
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2. For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 5. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
There are three people mentioned in these verses. Who are they? Abel, Enoch, and Noah. We have encountered all three of them in Genesis. During the first ten generations of mankind, these were three great men of faith. That doesn’t mean that no one else had faith, but simply that these are the most notable. You might say, but what about Seth? Perhaps Seth isn’t specifically mentioned because he was the replacement for Abel. At any rate, these three – Abel, Enoch, and Noah – represent man’s faith in a great God.
The title of the message this morning is “The Character and Message of Two Great Heroes.” The heroes I am speaking of are Enoch and Noah. We have already taken a good look at Abel and last week we were introduced to Enoch and Noah, but this morning we want to focus on these latter two – Enoch and Noah. We might conclude that Noah is the greater hero, because we know more about him. Someone else might argue that Enoch is the greatest hero, because there is nothing negative said about him (not true of Noah).
Let’s read again this morning Genesis 5, which gives us the descendants of Adam through Seth. As we read, pay particular attention especially to Enoch and Noah. By the way, you understand when we read that Seth begat Enos, and Enos begat Cainan, etc. that it was really the wives who bore the children. Many things changed after the flood, but this wasn’t one of them. Even then, it was the woman who bore the children! Read Gen. 5:1-32 and 6:8-9…
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 2. Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: 4. And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5. And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. 6. And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: 7. And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: 8. And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. 9. And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan: 10. And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: 11. And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died. 12. And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel: 13. And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: 14. And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died. 15. And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: 16. And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: 17. And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died. 18. And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: 19. And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 20. And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died. 21. And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22. And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23. And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24. And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. 25. And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: 26. And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: 27. And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. 28. And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: 29. And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. 30. And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: 31. And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. 32. And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:8-9, But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
So let’s look at the character and the message of these two heroes, Enoch and Noah.
I. They Walked with God
Now when we talk about the character of men, there are many things we could discuss. That is especially true of Noah, because we know a great deal about him. With regard to Enoch, it seems that we know very little. We learned from Hebrews 11 that these two men have something in common – they were both men of faith. I don’t want to discount that in any way, but that isn’t what I want us to dwell on this morning (though it goes hand in hand with what we are going to talk about).
Here is the question I want to ask you. From Genesis 5, regarding character, what do Enoch and Noah have in common? Do a little review. You will find Enoch in verses 18-24 and Noah in 5:28-32, along with 6:8-9. By singling out these two verses in chapter 6, I have given you a great hint. So what did they have in common? That’s right; they both walked with God. 5:24, “Enoch walked with God.” At the end of 6:9, “And Noah walked with God.” Not only did Enoch and Noah share this common character, but the Bible says this about no one else. That certainly doesn’t mean that no one else ever walked with God, but surely it does mean that God wants us to take note of this fact.
But what does it mean to walk with God? How would you describe it? First of all, let’s take note that when a person walks with God, God Himself is pleased. We know this from Heb. 11:5. The writer talks about the fact that God took him, just as we read here in Genesis 5. And why did God take Him? Why did God translate him to heaven without him having to die? We find the answer at the end of Heb. 11:5, “…for [because] before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” In Gen. 5:24 we see that he walked with God; in Heb. 11:5 we see that he pleased God. It was this walking with God that was pleasing to the Lord.
But that still doesn’t answer our question: What does it mean to walk with God? We do find it recorded that men like Abraham, Isaac, and David walked “before” the Lord (Gen. 48:15; I Kings 9:4). David specifically prayed that he might walk before God in the light of the living (Ps. 56:13). So we might find some clues in looking at the lives of these men. Notice especially what Micah says. "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Mic. 6:8). Surely humility and walking with God go hand in hand.
In the scripture “to walk” speaks of lifestyle. To walk is to live. Enoch and Noah lived in the presence of God. The most common use of the word “walk” with relation to God is in the sense of walking in His ways, in His commandments, in His statutes. We find this language over and over in the Old Testament. This idea of walking with God seems to go even beyond that. To walk with God is to dwell in His presence. Surely it is described by the familiar words of Ps. 91:1, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." We find it in the attitude of David in Ps. 27:4, "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple." We could turn to Psalm 15 and Psalm 24 and discover that the person who is in the presence of God walks uprightly and lives righteously and has clean hands. While those things are certainly true, this idea of walking with God goes beyond that. It speaks of intense fellowship, a fellowship that goes beyond even the intimate fellowship of husband and wife. This is fellowship with the One who created us and redeemed us.
Think about it for a moment. What is most amazing is that God would invite any human being to walk with Him, to live in His presence. Imagine Almighty God walking together with any man. No wonder David cries out in Ps. 65:4, "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." This dwelling in the courts of the Lord speaks of walking with Him. How blessed is the person who has been chosen for such a walk with the Lord. There is no greater blessing in this life!
Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that this is a mutual walk. When a person walks with God, rest assured that God is walking with him or her as well. We first read about this in Gen. 3:8, "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." While Adam and Eve hid from the Lord on this occasion, the clear implication is that before this the Lord had walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. Of course, we might quickly say, “That was before sin entered the picture. After they sin, they hid from God. They no longer walked together with God, nor did God walk together with them.”
Think about it. That makes it all the more remarkable that God would walk with man, for after Adam, all men were sinners. It is one thing for God to walk with a man and a woman who had never committed sin, but it is another for God to walk with a person who came into this world as a sinner, as a rebel, as His enemy. Nevertheless, we know that God does indeed walk with such men, for we see that both Enoch and Noah walked with God. You can’t walk with another person unless that person is willing to walk with you.
We used this illustration not long ago, but let’s use it again. The church is referred to in a number of ways; among them is the analogy of being the bride of Christ. We read in Rom. 7:4, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." We have become married to Christ. Now here’s the point. In a true marriage, there is a mutual longing for fellowship, for companionship, for intimacy. We are the bride Christ. Not only do we long to be close to the Lord, but He longs to be close to us. He desires our company. Yes, God longs to walk with human beings in close communion and fellowship.
I want to ask you a simple question this morning: Are you walking with God? Do you long to walk with God? Do you believe it is possible to walk with God? Do you believe it is possible for you to walk with God? Notice that there is nothing unusual about Enoch or Noah? They were born in the exact same way that everyone else was born. They had no special qualifications. As a matter of fact, notice that Enoch’s life is divided into two parts. He lived 65 years before the birth of his son Methuselah and then he lived 300 years after the birth of Methuselah. It was during those 300 years after the birth of his son that he walked with God. There is no indication that he walked with God before Methuselah was born. If Enoch lived 65 years before he walked with God, then there is hope for you and me. Brothers and sisters, we can walk with God. This is essentially the Christian life. May God work in each of us until we can say, “One thing have I desired – that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple” (Ps. 27:4).
We will talk in a little while about effect of the birth of Methuselah upon Enoch. No doubt, God used that birth in Enoch’s life. Nevertheless, regardless of what God did, Enoch himself desired to walk with God. God didn’t force Enoch to walk with Him. Enoch desired it.
Earlier we read what Hebrews 11 had to say about Enoch. That is in verse 5, but now notice what we read in verse 6. While it seems to be a general statement, it is in the context of Enoch’s God-pleasing faith. Heb. 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Enoch was a diligent seeker of God. We don’t seek God and then cease to seek Him because we have found Him. To find God is to long for more of Him. If we think we have found Him and don’t long to know Him more, then we have found only the counterfeit. A. W. Tozer makes this little statement: “It can be said without any qualification that every man is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wants to be.” You may have to think about that for a while, but Brother Tozer is emphasizing the importance of seeking God.
O may God give us grace to long to know Him, to desire to walk with Him.
II. They Proclaimed a Message of Judgment
So we have looked at the character of these two early heroes of the faith. Now let’s turn from the fact that they walked with God and look at the message they preached. What kind of message would you expect to be preached by men who walked with God? (Give time to answer). We could spend a great deal of time speculating, but far better that we simply look at the Bible and see what it was that they preached.
Let’s begin with Noah, since we know more about Noah. Later we will read more of Noah’s story chapter 6, but most of you know it pretty well. Because of the great wickedness of mankind, God said that He would destroy mankind, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Now listen to what God said to Noah in Gen. 6:13-18…
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
The Lord went on to say that he would also preserve two of every kind of the animals on the earth.
So what about the people on the earth. Didn’t God give them a chance? Or, was it too late for them? What did God do for them? As we will see later, it would take Noah 120 years to build the ark. It isn’t difficult to figure out what took him so long. This was no row boat he was building. It was one and a half football fields long, and best we can tell, Noah didn’t have any power tools. Add to that the fact that he still had to make a living for his family. If he had any help at all, it came only from his three sons. So for 120 years the people around Noah watched him build the big boat. No doubt, news of such a structure could not be confined to the local area. Word must have spread far and wide that crazy Noah was building a monstrosity. Don’t you know that people came to see it.
So what did Noah say to those people who observed him building the ark? If you read only the Genesis account, you might conclude that Noah said absolutely nothing. Praise God that we have the entire Bible, not just the account in Genesis. Let’s begin by looking at the testimony of Hebrews 11. "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith" (Heb. 11:7). By building the ark, Noah comdemned the world. The building of the ark was a constant reminder that the flood was coming. While we are not specifically told that Noah told them about the flood, surely we can assume that. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the big question everyone was asking was: “Noah, why are you building this huge boat?” We could expect a man who walked with God to tell them the truth. “I am building this boat because God has revealed to me that because of man’s wickedness, He is going to destroy life on the earth by a huge flood.”
Now let’s come to II Peter. We read this little letter just three weeks ago. You may recall that chapter 2 deals especially with false teachers. In that context, Peter writes in 2 Pet. 2:4-5, "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5. And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly." Notice that Peter refers to Noah as “a preacher of righteousness.” Noah was not only a builder, but he was also a preacher. By the way, just because you are a teacher, that doesn’t mean you can’t be a preacher. Just because you are a retired person, that doesn’t mean you can’t be a preacher. This doesn’t mean that Noah had him a little church building and pulpit; it means that Noah went about proclaiming God’s truth. In this case, he proclaimed the message of righteousness to those who were watching him build the ark.
What is meant by the statement that he was a preacher of righteousness? Surely Noah preached the righteousness of God. When He told people that God was going to send a flood, no doubt, many of them questioned him. “What kind of God would destroy the earth with a flood?” Noah must have explained how God was perfectly righteous and just in doing so. He explained the judgment in terms of God’s righteousness. He likely also pleaded with people to pursue the way of righteousness instead of their current life of wickness. Surely the people around Noah heard him proclaim a message of the coming judgment of the righteous God.
But what about Enoch? Genesis 5-6 tells us much less about Enoch than about Noah. Did Enoch proclaim any message? Or did he just walk with God? There is certainly a sense in which walking with God is a message and a very loud message. But did he proclaim anything while he was walking with God? The name of this Enoch appears 9 times in the Bible, with 6 of them coming here in Genesis five. The other three are in the New Testament. In the genealogy of Luke 3 Enoch’s name appears, because he is one of the ancestors of Jesus (Luke 3:37). We have already read the record of Heb. 11:5. That leaves one other passage which mentions Enoch. We find it in Jude. It is very interesting that Jude has many parallels with II Peter 2, the chapter where we discovered that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Jude also is dealing with false teachers. In that context, let’s read Jude 14-15…
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15. To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Many of you remember us reading verse 14 last week, when we were confirming that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam. We contrasted him with the seventh generation from Adam through Cain. That man was Lamech, in whom we found the climax of the wickedness of the descendants of Cain. Now we find out a good bit more about Enoch. How did Enoch prophesy of these false teachers? Back in verse 11 we read that these false teachers had gone in the way of Cain. It seems clear that Enoch prophesied of these false teachers when he spoke these words to the descendants of Cain. He told them, “Behold, the Lord is coming with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” What a description of society in the days of Enoch, when people (especially the descendants of Cain) were becoming more and more wicked. Though we are not told about the prophesying of Enoch in Genesis, we are told by Peter, who was being led along by the Holy Spirit as he wrote. Enoch was preaching a message of judgment to that ungodly generation.
So there we have it. These two men who walked with God were preaching a message of judgment from the righteous God. Brothers and sisters, does that have any implications for us? Let me ask you a simple, straightforward question: “Can a Christian walk with God in this wicked world in which we live and not proclaim a message of judgment?” But maybe we live in a day when people aren’t so wicked. I remind you that the scripture speaks of the last days, when perilous times shall come… (II Tim. 3:2-5)
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Who can deny that the wickedness of our day fits the description here, especially those last words, which describe the state of modern religion – “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.”
But shouldn’t we be proclaiming the love of God? Yes, but against a background of coming judgment. God’s love can never be appreciated by people who do not recognize their own sin and the righteous judgment of God against that sin. Tell people about God’s love, and they may say “Amen” or nod approvingly. But let a man despair of himself because of the depth of his own sin, and then watch him soak up the love of God like a thirsty dessert drinks in the rain. Let me say it again: God’s love can never be appreciated by people who do not recognize their own sin and righteous judgment of God against that sin.
III. The Bridge Between These Two Heroes
Now we come to the oldest man in the Bible. Who was he? Methuselah. And how old was he when he died? Yes, he was 969 years old. Now let me ask you a question: Why do you think the Lord let him live so long? Oh yes, we read here in Genesis 5 of several men who lived over 900 years. Adam died at 930 and Jared lived to be 962 years. Nevertheless, it was Methuselah who topped them all at 969. Do you think it is important that Methuselah lived longer than any other man? If so, what is the significance of it.
Let’s begin by looking at the birth of Methuselah. Let’s read again Gen. 5:21-22, "And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22. And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters." Earlier we noted that it was at the birth of Methuselah that Enoch began to walk with the Lord. Why was that?
Remember that the biblical names have meaning. So what did the name “Methuselah” mean? While there is some debate about the meaning of his name, I think we can be sure about the general meaning. The name contains two words: “death” & “to send” (or “to bring forth”). The idea seems to be that there is a death that will bring forth something. Just keep that in mind.
Now let’s go back again to Jude 1:14-15…
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15. To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Enoch prophesied of a coming judgment. While there is a sense in which this speaks of the ultimatele judgment of God that will come at the end of the age, was there a nearer judgment coming? All we have to do is turn to the very next chapter, Genesis 6, and we begin to read about that judgment. Of course, we are talking about the flood. Just three generations from Enoch the flood would come upon the earth.
So if Methuselah’s name means “death shall bring forth” and there is a coming flood, is it possible that Methuselah could have been a part of this prophecy? Remember that it was after the birth of Methuselah that Enoch began to walk with God. Consider this idea. God reveals to Enoch that He is going to send judgment on the earth. He also tells him to name his son Methuselah, “death shall bring forth.” In other words, the death of your son will bring forth God’s judgment. If that is the way it happened, it could explain how the birth of Methuselah impacted Enoch’s life. It could explain why Enoch began to walk with God. He was living under impending judgment. The judgment of God could come at any time. That made life urgent. There is only one place where a person can escape God’s judgment, and that is in the presence of God Himself.
So maybe that is a plausible theory. But now let’s bring in the last piece of the puzzle. When did Methuselah die? Nine hundred sixty nine years after he was born. But when did he die in relation to the flood? We find the answer here in Genesis 5 and 6, as we simply add up the numbers. (See the chart below). 187 years after Methuselah was born, Lamech was born. Add to that 187 the 182 years of Lamech’s life before the birth of Noah. Now we have 369 years between the birth of Methuselah and the birth of Noah. And how old was Noah when the flood came? The answer is found in Gen. 7:6, "And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth." Now add that 600 to the 369, and what do we have? 969. Does that number ring a bell? That is how old Methuselah was when he died. Methuselah died in the year of the flood. That is a fact.
Of course, some would say that is very easy to explain. They would say that Methuselah died in the flood, just like multitudes of other people. While that is possible, it does not fit with what we know of his name – “his death shall bring forth.” The fact that Methuselah died in the year of the flood confirms the idea that his life was a living proclamation of Enoch’s prophecy. Enoch prophesied of coming judgment, and the presence of Methuselah was a constant reminder of that prophecy. When Methuselah dies, the judgment will come, and so it did.
Turn to Genesis 7 for a moment. In verses 1-3, the Lord tells Noah and his family to get aboard the ark. Also, He instructs Noah to bring in the animals. Now notice verse 4, “For yet seven days and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights…” It wouldn’t take long to get the eight people on board, but it would require some time to load the animals. So Noah did what he was commanded (vs. 5). Then we read that note in verse 6, “And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.” Verses 7-9 tell of the actual boarding. Then verse 10, “And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.” This reference to seven days is very interesting. Jewish writers taught that the seven days represented the time between the death of Methuselah and the beginning of the flood. So Methuselah dies; God tells Noah to get everyone aboard; after the loading of the ark, the flood comes, seven days after the death of Methuselah. While we cannot be sure of that, I can’t find any good reason to discount it.
I must tell you that there are those who disagree with the idea that Methuselah’s name means “death shall bring forth.” One commentator renders it “man of the dart,” but in the end he too believes that Methuselah’s death was the signal that the judgment had come. He just uses a different explanation to get there.
The other thing I need to mention is the problem with genealogies. There are many who would say that we cannot take Genesis 5 at face value. In other words, there may have been other men in between some of these generations. Why would anyone say that? Because of other examples in the Bible itself. For example, consider the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. Pick it up in verse 7. Now while you follow in Matthew 1, I am going to read you the same genealogy from I Chronicles 3. Please follow in Matt. 1:7-10, while I read I Chron. 3:10-14…
Matt. 1:7-10… And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8. And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9. And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10. And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
1 Chron. 3:10-14… And Solomon's son was Rehoboam, Abia his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, 11. Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, 12. Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, 13. Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, 14. Amon his son, Josiah his son.
Did you follow with me? We did fine until we came to Joram. But after Joram, I read three names that you didn’t have – Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah. At the end of verse 8, Matthew 1 reads, “And Joram begat Ozias. Ozias is a variant name for Uzziah, as is Azariah, which is the name used here in I Chron. 3. Nevertheless, there are three generations included in I Chronicles 3 that are not included in Matthew 1. If you follow the historical account in II Chron. 21-27, you will find that it follows I Chronicles 3 very exactly. So why does Matthew skip three generations?
First of all, we need to know that this was sometimes common in Jewish genealogies. “Begat” didn’t always mean a father-son relationship. In this case, it speaks of a great great grandfather. I imagine Matthew did it to aid in his memory device. Let’s read Matt. 1:17, "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations." In order to make everything fit, he had to skip those three generations. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t telling the truth. After all, most everyone that read the genealogy knew well that there were three generations between Joram and Uzziah. Furthermore, a number of other scriptural texts make that fact very clear. So Matthew was not leading anyone astray.
So here is the question: How do we know that the same thing isn’t true here in the genealogy of Genesis 5? Can we believe that there were actually 1656 years between the creation of Adam and the flood of Noah’s day? Let me tell you why I believe that the genealogy here in Gen. 5 can be taken at face value, that all the generations are included and none have been left out. First of all, this is not the only record we have. Please turn to I Chronicles 1 and Luke 3. Luke 3 is another record of the genealogy of Jesus, but Luke doesn’t stop with Abraham, he takes it all the way back to Adam. Look first at I Chron. 1:1-4, "Adam, Sheth, Enosh, 2. Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered, 3. Henoch, Methuselah, Lamech, 4. Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth." Other than the variation in the spelling of the names Sheth, Enosh, Kenan, and Enoch, they are identical to what we have in Gen. 5. Now go to Luke 3:38 and work your way backwards through the list (backwards, because the genealogy begins with Jesus and proceeds back to Adam). You find the names Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Malaleel (variant spelling), Jared, Methusala, Lamech, and Noe (the NT spelling of Noah). Without question, these records are identical. So unlike the deletion in Matthew 3, there is no record anywhere in the Bible that would indicate that there are not exactly ten generations between Adam and Noah.
There is a second reason I believe this is to be taken exactly as it is. It has probably occurred to many of you as well. If some generations have been left out, it is a powerful coincidence that there just happened to be 969 years between the birth of Methuselah and the coming of the flood. Do you see it? The inclusion of the exact number of years each man lived and the age at which the first son was born makes it very difficult to believe that some of the generations were left out. All the evidence supports the idea that these ten generations were all there were between Adam and Noah and that these numbers represent actual times that can be added together to arrive at some amazing facts. Just in passing, do you realize that Methuselah bridges the gap between Adam and Noah? In other words, could have known the first man Adam and the man who built the ark, Noah. That fact underscores the dramatic length of the lives of these men.
Conclusion
So we have viewed the lives of two men who walked with God and who preached a message of judgment. There is a message here for us. Anyone who walks with God will be keenly aware of coming judgment. But wait a minute, the flood is behind us. Is there a judgment in the future? Indeed there is. Is the Lord going to destroy the world again with a flood? No? Then what? We will read the answer in just a few moments.
Before we read about the coming judgment, let’s consider this great comforting truth. I’m sure it has already occurred to you, but let’s make sure we give it some emphasis. Methuselah was a living prophecy that God’s judgment was coming. When Methuselah died, judgment would come. Isn’t it wonderful to know that Methuselah lived longer than any other human being (at least, that we know of)? God sent judgment, but it delayed it for 969 years. That is a long time. No wonder we read in Ps. 103:8, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” We could find many passages that proclaim the same truth, but Methuselah is the living illustration of that truth. We have the record of his life to continually remind us that though He is a God who executes judgment, He is also a God who is longsuffering and merciful to those who deserve His judgment. Yes, the time of mercy will come to an end, but praise God that He extends that mercy. If He hadn’t been longsuffering and merciful, none of us would have any hope.
Now let’s read of both the judgment and longsuffering of the Lord God in II Peter. Let’s just go ahead and read all of II Pet. 3...
This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2. That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4. And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6. Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 15. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 17. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
PE Time = Preparing the Ears {To the kids up to 15 before the main message}
Have the young ones come down or stand up…
Do you have any heroes in life? Just think of one of your heroes. Heroes can come from lots of different places. Sometimes a person chooses a movie star as his hero. I wouldn’t recommend it. Another person might choose a star from the sports world. Someone else might choose a fictional character, like Batman. I want to encourage you to choose heroes that are really heroes. There is no better place to find them than in the Bible.
You may wonder why I am singling you out this morning as young people. Please allow me to tell you. You sit there 30-45 minutes every Sunday morning while I speak about the truths of the Bible. God has convicted me that I need to help you to listen as much as I can. I realize that I can’t make that happen; you are the one who has to decide whether you will listen or whether you will tune me out. But I want to do my part. That’s why I gave you an assignment last week. I want to help you sustain an interest in what you are talking about.
Some of you are tempted to think, “Oh this stuff is for adults. I’m just a kid; I can’t understand what he is talking about.” Let me remind you that there are very few things I say that you can’t understand. And if I do talk about something that is hard to understand, you can ask your parents. As a matter of fact, if you make a habit out of asking your parents questions about the sermon, you will be encouraging them to listen too.
Or you may think that what we talk about is not very important. I guarantee you the day will come when you will wish you had paid very careful attention. When we talk about truths from the Bible, we are talking about the most important things in life. All the rest of your thoughts will amount to very little; but we are talking about the things that have eternal value.
Parents, I want to ask you to help me. Prepare your kids before you come. Take time to pray with them, asking God to give them grace to listen. For Sunday lunch, don’t be content with meat and vegetables. Have a healthy helping of “what did you learn from the Bible this morning?” Parents, let me be perfectly honest with you. It’s really not a matter of you helping me; it’s a matter of me helping you. You have the primary responsibility for instructing your children in the things of the Lord. But I do want to be a part of that.
So, young people, today we are going to be looking at two heroes from the Bible. When we get through, you should know them pretty well. We will be focusing on one other person, because that person is a link between the two. By the way, who is the oldest person who ever lived? Yes, Methuselah. And how long did he live? 969 years. He is the person who links our two heroes together. And, yes, I do remember that I gave you an assignment. During the sermon I will be asking you that question about when Methuselah died in relation to the flood.
Let’s pray…
THE CHARACTER AND MESSAGE OF TWO GREAT HEROES
Gen. 5:18-32
PE Time = Preparing the Ears {To the kids up to 15 before the main message}
Have the young ones come down or stand up…
Do you have any heroes in life? Just think of one of your heroes. Heroes can come from lots of different places. Sometimes a person chooses a movie star as his hero. I wouldn’t recommend it. Another person might choose a star from the sports world. Someone else might choose a fictional character, like Batman. I want to encourage you to choose heroes that are really heroes. There is no better place to find them than in the Bible.
You may wonder why I am singling you out this morning as young people. Please allow me to tell you. You sit there 30-45 minutes every Sunday morning while I speak about the truths of the Bible. God has convicted me that I need to help you to listen as much as I can. I realize that I can’t make that happen; you are the one who has to decide whether you will listen or whether you will tune me out. But I want to do my part. That’s why I gave you an assignment last week. I want to help you sustain an interest in what you are talking about.
Some of you are tempted to think, “Oh this stuff is for adults. I’m just a kid; I can’t understand what he is talking about.” Let me remind you that there are very few things I say that you can’t understand. And if I do talk about something that is hard to understand, you can ask your parents. As a matter of fact, if you make a habit out of asking your parents questions about the sermon, you will be encouraging them to listen too.
Or you may think that what we talk about is not very important. I guarantee you the day will come when you will wish you had paid very careful attention. When we talk about truths from the Bible, we are talking about the most important things in life. All the rest of your thoughts will amount to very little; but we are talking about the things that have eternal value. Parents, I want to ask you to help me. Prepare your kids before you come. Take time to pray with them, asking God to give them grace to listen. For Sunday lunch, don’t be content with meat and vegetables. Have a healthy helping of “what did you learn from the Bible this morning?”
Parents, let me be perfectly honest with you. It’s really not a matter of you helping me; it’s a matter of me helping you. You have the primary responsibility for instructing your children in the things of the Lord. But I do want to be a part of that.
So, young people, today we are going to be looking at two heroes from the Bible. When we get through, you should know them pretty well. We will be focusing on one other person, because that person is a link between the two. By the way, who is the oldest person who ever lived? Yes, Methuselah. And how long did he live? 969 years. He is the person who links our two heroes together. And, yes, I do remember that I gave you an assignment. During the sermon I will be asking you that question about when Methuselah died in relation to the flood.
Let’s pray…
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Please turn to Hebrews 11. I trust that by now when you hear “Hebrews 11,” you already know what that chapter is about. This is “the faith chapter.” Or we might refer to it as the roll call of the faithful. This morning I want us to begin by reading the first seven verses of this chapter. Read Heb. 11:1-7…
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2. For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 5. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 7. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
There are three people mentioned in these verses. Who are they? Abel, Enoch, and Noah. We have encountered all three of them in Genesis. During the first ten generations of mankind, these were three great men of faith. That doesn’t mean that no one else had faith, but simply that these are the most notable. You might say, but what about Seth? Perhaps Seth isn’t specifically mentioned because he was the replacement for Abel. At any rate, these three – Abel, Enoch, and Noah – represent man’s faith in a great God.
The title of the message this morning is “The Character and Message of Two Great Heroes.” The heroes I am speaking of are Enoch and Noah. We have already taken a good look at Abel and last week we were introduced to Enoch and Noah, but this morning we want to focus on these latter two – Enoch and Noah. We might conclude that Noah is the greater hero, because we know more about him. Someone else might argue that Enoch is the greatest hero, because there is nothing negative said about him (not true of Noah).
Let’s read again this morning Genesis 5, which gives us the descendants of Adam through Seth. As we read, pay particular attention especially to Enoch and Noah. By the way, you understand when we read that Seth begat Enos, and Enos begat Cainan, etc. that it was really the wives who bore the children. Many things changed after the flood, but this wasn’t one of them. Even then, it was the woman who bore the children! Read Gen. 5:1-32 and 6:8-9…
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; 2. Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: 4. And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5. And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. 6. And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: 7. And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: 8. And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. 9. And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan: 10. And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: 11. And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died. 12. And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel: 13. And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: 14. And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died. 15. And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: 16. And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: 17. And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died. 18. And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: 19. And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 20. And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died. 21. And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22. And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23. And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24. And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. 25. And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: 26. And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: 27. And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. 28. And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: 29. And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. 30. And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: 31. And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. 32. And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
6:8-9, But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
So let’s look at the character and the message of these two heroes, Enoch and Noah.
I. They Walked with God
Now when we talk about the character of men, there are many things we could discuss. That is especially true of Noah, because we know a great deal about him. With regard to Enoch, it seems that we know very little. We learned from Hebrews 11 that these two men have something in common – they were both men of faith. I don’t want to discount that in any way, but that isn’t what I want us to dwell on this morning (though it goes hand in hand with what we are going to talk about).
Here is the question I want to ask you. From Genesis 5, regarding character, what do Enoch and Noah have in common? Do a little review. You will find Enoch in verses 18-24 and Noah in 5:28-32, along with 6:8-9. By singling out these two verses in chapter 6, I have given you a great hint. So what did they have in common? That’s right; they both walked with God. 5:24, “Enoch walked with God.” At the end of 6:9, “And Noah walked with God.” Not only did Enoch and Noah share this common character, but the Bible says this about no one else. That certainly doesn’t mean that no one else ever walked with God, but surely it does mean that God wants us to take note of this fact.
But what does it mean to walk with God? How would you describe it? First of all, let’s take note that when a person walks with God, God Himself is pleased. We know this from Heb. 11:5. The writer talks about the fact that God took him, just as we read here in Genesis 5. And why did God take Him? Why did God translate him to heaven without him having to die? We find the answer at the end of Heb. 11:5, “…for [because] before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” In Gen. 5:24 we see that he walked with God; in Heb. 11:5 we see that he pleased God. It was this walking with God that was pleasing to the Lord.
But that still doesn’t answer our question: What does it mean to walk with God? We do find it recorded that men like Abraham, Isaac, and David walked “before” the Lord (Gen. 48:15; I Kings 9:4). David specifically prayed that he might walk before God in the light of the living (Ps. 56:13). So we might find some clues in looking at the lives of these men. Notice especially what Micah says. "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Mic. 6:8). Surely humility and walking with God go hand in hand.
In the scripture “to walk” speaks of lifestyle. To walk is to live. Enoch and Noah lived in the presence of God. The most common use of the word “walk” with relation to God is in the sense of walking in His ways, in His commandments, in His statutes. We find this language over and over in the Old Testament. This idea of walking with God seems to go even beyond that. To walk with God is to dwell in His presence. Surely it is described by the familiar words of Ps. 91:1, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." We find it in the attitude of David in Ps. 27:4, "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple." We could turn to Psalm 15 and Psalm 24 and discover that the person who is in the presence of God walks uprightly and lives righteously and has clean hands. While those things are certainly true, this idea of walking with God goes beyond that. It speaks of intense fellowship, a fellowship that goes beyond even the intimate fellowship of husband and wife. This is fellowship with the One who created us and redeemed us.
Think about it for a moment. What is most amazing is that God would invite any human being to walk with Him, to live in His presence. Imagine Almighty God walking together with any man. No wonder David cries out in Ps. 65:4, "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." This dwelling in the courts of the Lord speaks of walking with Him. How blessed is the person who has been chosen for such a walk with the Lord. There is no greater blessing in this life!
Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that this is a mutual walk. When a person walks with God, rest assured that God is walking with him or her as well. We first read about this in Gen. 3:8, "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." While Adam and Eve hid from the Lord on this occasion, the clear implication is that before this the Lord had walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. Of course, we might quickly say, “That was before sin entered the picture. After they sin, they hid from God. They no longer walked together with God, nor did God walk together with them.”
Think about it. That makes it all the more remarkable that God would walk with man, for after Adam, all men were sinners. It is one thing for God to walk with a man and a woman who had never committed sin, but it is another for God to walk with a person who came into this world as a sinner, as a rebel, as His enemy. Nevertheless, we know that God does indeed walk with such men, for we see that both Enoch and Noah walked with God. You can’t walk with another person unless that person is willing to walk with you.
We used this illustration not long ago, but let’s use it again. The church is referred to in a number of ways; among them is the analogy of being the bride of Christ. We read in Rom. 7:4, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." We have become married to Christ. Now here’s the point. In a true marriage, there is a mutual longing for fellowship, for companionship, for intimacy. We are the bride Christ. Not only do we long to be close to the Lord, but He longs to be close to us. He desires our company. Yes, God longs to walk with human beings in close communion and fellowship.
I want to ask you a simple question this morning: Are you walking with God? Do you long to walk with God? Do you believe it is possible to walk with God? Do you believe it is possible for you to walk with God? Notice that there is nothing unusual about Enoch or Noah? They were born in the exact same way that everyone else was born. They had no special qualifications. As a matter of fact, notice that Enoch’s life is divided into two parts. He lived 65 years before the birth of his son Methuselah and then he lived 300 years after the birth of Methuselah. It was during those 300 years after the birth of his son that he walked with God. There is no indication that he walked with God before Methuselah was born. If Enoch lived 65 years before he walked with God, then there is hope for you and me. Brothers and sisters, we can walk with God. This is essentially the Christian life. May God work in each of us until we can say, “One thing have I desired – that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple” (Ps. 27:4).
We will talk in a little while about effect of the birth of Methuselah upon Enoch. No doubt, God used that birth in Enoch’s life. Nevertheless, regardless of what God did, Enoch himself desired to walk with God. God didn’t force Enoch to walk with Him. Enoch desired it.
Earlier we read what Hebrews 11 had to say about Enoch. That is in verse 5, but now notice what we read in verse 6. While it seems to be a general statement, it is in the context of Enoch’s God-pleasing faith. Heb. 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Enoch was a diligent seeker of God. We don’t seek God and then cease to seek Him because we have found Him. To find God is to long for more of Him. If we think we have found Him and don’t long to know Him more, then we have found only the counterfeit. A. W. Tozer makes this little statement: “It can be said without any qualification that every man is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wants to be.” You may have to think about that for a while, but Brother Tozer is emphasizing the importance of seeking God.
O may God give us grace to long to know Him, to desire to walk with Him.
II. They Proclaimed a Message of Judgment
So we have looked at the character of these two early heroes of the faith. Now let’s turn from the fact that they walked with God and look at the message they preached. What kind of message would you expect to be preached by men who walked with God? (Give time to answer). We could spend a great deal of time speculating, but far better that we simply look at the Bible and see what it was that they preached.
Let’s begin with Noah, since we know more about Noah. Later we will read more of Noah’s story chapter 6, but most of you know it pretty well. Because of the great wickedness of mankind, God said that He would destroy mankind, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Now listen to what God said to Noah in Gen. 6:13-18…
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
The Lord went on to say that he would also preserve two of every kind of the animals on the earth.
So what about the people on the earth. Didn’t God give them a chance? Or, was it too late for them? What did God do for them? As we will see later, it would take Noah 120 years to build the ark. It isn’t difficult to figure out what took him so long. This was no row boat he was building. It was one and a half football fields long, and best we can tell, Noah didn’t have any power tools. Add to that the fact that he still had to make a living for his family. If he had any help at all, it came only from his three sons. So for 120 years the people around Noah watched him build the big boat. No doubt, news of such a structure could not be confined to the local area. Word must have spread far and wide that crazy Noah was building a monstrosity. Don’t you know that people came to see it.
So what did Noah say to those people who observed him building the ark? If you read only the Genesis account, you might conclude that Noah said absolutely nothing. Praise God that we have the entire Bible, not just the account in Genesis. Let’s begin by looking at the testimony of Hebrews 11. "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith" (Heb. 11:7). By building the ark, Noah comdemned the world. The building of the ark was a constant reminder that the flood was coming. While we are not specifically told that Noah told them about the flood, surely we can assume that. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the big question everyone was asking was: “Noah, why are you building this huge boat?” We could expect a man who walked with God to tell them the truth. “I am building this boat because God has revealed to me that because of man’s wickedness, He is going to destroy life on the earth by a huge flood.”
Now let’s come to II Peter. We read this little letter just three weeks ago. You may recall that chapter 2 deals especially with false teachers. In that context, Peter writes in 2 Pet. 2:4-5, "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5. And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly." Notice that Peter refers to Noah as “a preacher of righteousness.” Noah was not only a builder, but he was also a preacher. By the way, just because you are a teacher, that doesn’t mean you can’t be a preacher. Just because you are a retired person, that doesn’t mean you can’t be a preacher. This doesn’t mean that Noah had him a little church building and pulpit; it means that Noah went about proclaiming God’s truth. In this case, he proclaimed the message of righteousness to those who were watching him build the ark.
What is meant by the statement that he was a preacher of righteousness? Surely Noah preached the righteousness of God. When He told people that God was going to send a flood, no doubt, many of them questioned him. “What kind of God would destroy the earth with a flood?” Noah must have explained how God was perfectly righteous and just in doing so. He explained the judgment in terms of God’s righteousness. He likely also pleaded with people to pursue the way of righteousness instead of their current life of wickness. Surely the people around Noah heard him proclaim a message of the coming judgment of the righteous God.
But what about Enoch? Genesis 5-6 tells us much less about Enoch than about Noah. Did Enoch proclaim any message? Or did he just walk with God? There is certainly a sense in which walking with God is a message and a very loud message. But did he proclaim anything while he was walking with God? The name of this Enoch appears 9 times in the Bible, with 6 of them coming here in Genesis five. The other three are in the New Testament. In the genealogy of Luke 3 Enoch’s name appears, because he is one of the ancestors of Jesus (Luke 3:37). We have already read the record of Heb. 11:5. That leaves one other passage which mentions Enoch. We find it in Jude. It is very interesting that Jude has many parallels with II Peter 2, the chapter where we discovered that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Jude also is dealing with false teachers. In that context, let’s read Jude 14-15…
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15. To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Many of you remember us reading verse 14 last week, when we were confirming that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam. We contrasted him with the seventh generation from Adam through Cain. That man was Lamech, in whom we found the climax of the wickedness of the descendants of Cain. Now we find out a good bit more about Enoch. How did Enoch prophesy of these false teachers? Back in verse 11 we read that these false teachers had gone in the way of Cain. It seems clear that Enoch prophesied of these false teachers when he spoke these words to the descendants of Cain. He told them, “Behold, the Lord is coming with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” What a description of society in the days of Enoch, when people (especially the descendants of Cain) were becoming more and more wicked. Though we are not told about the prophesying of Enoch in Genesis, we are told by Peter, who was being led along by the Holy Spirit as he wrote. Enoch was preaching a message of judgment to that ungodly generation.
So there we have it. These two men who walked with God were preaching a message of judgment from the righteous God. Brothers and sisters, does that have any implications for us? Let me ask you a simple, straightforward question: “Can a Christian walk with God in this wicked world in which we live and not proclaim a message of judgment?” But maybe we live in a day when people aren’t so wicked. I remind you that the scripture speaks of the last days, when perilous times shall come… (II Tim. 3:2-5)
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Who can deny that the wickedness of our day fits the description here, especially those last words, which describe the state of modern religion – “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.”
But shouldn’t we be proclaiming the love of God? Yes, but against a background of coming judgment. God’s love can never be appreciated by people who do not recognize their own sin and the righteous judgment of God against that sin. Tell people about God’s love, and they may say “Amen” or nod approvingly. But let a man despair of himself because of the depth of his own sin, and then watch him soak up the love of God like a thirsty dessert drinks in the rain. Let me say it again: God’s love can never be appreciated by people who do not recognize their own sin and righteous judgment of God against that sin.
III. The Bridge Between These Two Heroes
Now we come to the oldest man in the Bible. Who was he? Methuselah. And how old was he when he died? Yes, he was 969 years old. Now let me ask you a question: Why do you think the Lord let him live so long? Oh yes, we read here in Genesis 5 of several men who lived over 900 years. Adam died at 930 and Jared lived to be 962 years. Nevertheless, it was Methuselah who topped them all at 969. Do you think it is important that Methuselah lived longer than any other man? If so, what is the significance of it.
Let’s begin by looking at the birth of Methuselah. Let’s read again Gen. 5:21-22, "And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22. And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters." Earlier we noted that it was at the birth of Methuselah that Enoch began to walk with the Lord. Why was that?
Remember that the biblical names have meaning. So what did the name “Methuselah” mean? While there is some debate about the meaning of his name, I think we can be sure about the general meaning. The name contains two words: “death” & “to send” (or “to bring forth”). The idea seems to be that there is a death that will bring forth something. Just keep that in mind.
Now let’s go back again to Jude 1:14-15…
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15. To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Enoch prophesied of a coming judgment. While there is a sense in which this speaks of the ultimatele judgment of God that will come at the end of the age, was there a nearer judgment coming? All we have to do is turn to the very next chapter, Genesis 6, and we begin to read about that judgment. Of course, we are talking about the flood. Just three generations from Enoch the flood would come upon the earth.
So if Methuselah’s name means “death shall bring forth” and there is a coming flood, is it possible that Methuselah could have been a part of this prophecy? Remember that it was after the birth of Methuselah that Enoch began to walk with God. Consider this idea. God reveals to Enoch that He is going to send judgment on the earth. He also tells him to name his son Methuselah, “death shall bring forth.” In other words, the death of your son will bring forth God’s judgment. If that is the way it happened, it could explain how the birth of Methuselah impacted Enoch’s life. It could explain why Enoch began to walk with God. He was living under impending judgment. The judgment of God could come at any time. That made life urgent. There is only one place where a person can escape God’s judgment, and that is in the presence of God Himself.
So maybe that is a plausible theory. But now let’s bring in the last piece of the puzzle. When did Methuselah die? Nine hundred sixty nine years after he was born. But when did he die in relation to the flood? We find the answer here in Genesis 5 and 6, as we simply add up the numbers. (See the chart below). 187 years after Methuselah was born, Lamech was born. Add to that 187 the 182 years of Lamech’s life before the birth of Noah. Now we have 369 years between the birth of Methuselah and the birth of Noah. And how old was Noah when the flood came? The answer is found in Gen. 7:6, "And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth." Now add that 600 to the 369, and what do we have? 969. Does that number ring a bell? That is how old Methuselah was when he died. Methuselah died in the year of the flood. That is a fact.
Of course, some would say that is very easy to explain. They would say that Methuselah died in the flood, just like multitudes of other people. While that is possible, it does not fit with what we know of his name – “his death shall bring forth.” The fact that Methuselah died in the year of the flood confirms the idea that his life was a living proclamation of Enoch’s prophecy. Enoch prophesied of coming judgment, and the presence of Methuselah was a constant reminder of that prophecy. When Methuselah dies, the judgment will come, and so it did.
Turn to Genesis 7 for a moment. In verses 1-3, the Lord tells Noah and his family to get aboard the ark. Also, He instructs Noah to bring in the animals. Now notice verse 4, “For yet seven days and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights…” It wouldn’t take long to get the eight people on board, but it would require some time to load the animals. So Noah did what he was commanded (vs. 5). Then we read that note in verse 6, “And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.” Verses 7-9 tell of the actual boarding. Then verse 10, “And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.” This reference to seven days is very interesting. Jewish writers taught that the seven days represented the time between the death of Methuselah and the beginning of the flood. So Methuselah dies; God tells Noah to get everyone aboard; after the loading of the ark, the flood comes, seven days after the death of Methuselah. While we cannot be sure of that, I can’t find any good reason to discount it.
I must tell you that there are those who disagree with the idea that Methuselah’s name means “death shall bring forth.” One commentator renders it “man of the dart,” but in the end he too believes that Methuselah’s death was the signal that the judgment had come. He just uses a different explanation to get there.
The other thing I need to mention is the problem with genealogies. There are many who would say that we cannot take Genesis 5 at face value. In other words, there may have been other men in between some of these generations. Why would anyone say that? Because of other examples in the Bible itself. For example, consider the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. Pick it up in verse 7. Now while you follow in Matthew 1, I am going to read you the same genealogy from I Chronicles 3. Please follow in Matt. 1:7-10, while I read I Chron. 3:10-14…
Matt. 1:7-10… And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8. And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9. And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10. And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
1 Chron. 3:10-14… And Solomon's son was Rehoboam, Abia his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, 11. Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, 12. Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, 13. Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, 14. Amon his son, Josiah his son.
Did you follow with me? We did fine until we came to Joram. But after Joram, I read three names that you didn’t have – Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah. At the end of verse 8, Matthew 1 reads, “And Joram begat Ozias. Ozias is a variant name for Uzziah, as is Azariah, which is the name used here in I Chron. 3. Nevertheless, there are three generations included in I Chronicles 3 that are not included in Matthew 1. If you follow the historical account in II Chron. 21-27, you will find that it follows I Chronicles 3 very exactly. So why does Matthew skip three generations?
First of all, we need to know that this was sometimes common in Jewish genealogies. “Begat” didn’t always mean a father-son relationship. In this case, it speaks of a great great grandfather. I imagine Matthew did it to aid in his memory device. Let’s read Matt. 1:17, "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations." In order to make everything fit, he had to skip those three generations. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t telling the truth. After all, most everyone that read the genealogy knew well that there were three generations between Joram and Uzziah. Furthermore, a number of other scriptural texts make that fact very clear. So Matthew was not leading anyone astray.
So here is the question: How do we know that the same thing isn’t true here in the genealogy of Genesis 5? Can we believe that there were actually 1656 years between the creation of Adam and the flood of Noah’s day? Let me tell you why I believe that the genealogy here in Gen. 5 can be taken at face value, that all the generations are included and none have been left out. First of all, this is not the only record we have. Please turn to I Chronicles 1 and Luke 3. Luke 3 is another record of the genealogy of Jesus, but Luke doesn’t stop with Abraham, he takes it all the way back to Adam. Look first at I Chron. 1:1-4, "Adam, Sheth, Enosh, 2. Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered, 3. Henoch, Methuselah, Lamech, 4. Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth." Other than the variation in the spelling of the names Sheth, Enosh, Kenan, and Enoch, they are identical to what we have in Gen. 5. Now go to Luke 3:38 and work your way backwards through the list (backwards, because the genealogy begins with Jesus and proceeds back to Adam). You find the names Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Malaleel (variant spelling), Jared, Methusala, Lamech, and Noe (the NT spelling of Noah). Without question, these records are identical. So unlike the deletion in Matthew 3, there is no record anywhere in the Bible that would indicate that there are not exactly ten generations between Adam and Noah.
There is a second reason I believe this is to be taken exactly as it is. It has probably occurred to many of you as well. If some generations have been left out, it is a powerful coincidence that there just happened to be 969 years between the birth of Methuselah and the coming of the flood. Do you see it? The inclusion of the exact number of years each man lived and the age at which the first son was born makes it very difficult to believe that some of the generations were left out. All the evidence supports the idea that these ten generations were all there were between Adam and Noah and that these numbers represent actual times that can be added together to arrive at some amazing facts. Just in passing, do you realize that Methuselah bridges the gap between Adam and Noah? In other words, could have known the first man Adam and the man who built the ark, Noah. That fact underscores the dramatic length of the lives of these men.
Conclusion
So we have viewed the lives of two men who walked with God and who preached a message of judgment. There is a message here for us. Anyone who walks with God will be keenly aware of coming judgment. But wait a minute, the flood is behind us. Is there a judgment in the future? Indeed there is. Is the Lord going to destroy the world again with a flood? No? Then what? We will read the answer in just a few moments.
Before we read about the coming judgment, let’s consider this great comforting truth. I’m sure it has already occurred to you, but let’s make sure we give it some emphasis. Methuselah was a living prophecy that God’s judgment was coming. When Methuselah died, judgment would come. Isn’t it wonderful to know that Methuselah lived longer than any other human being (at least, that we know of)? God sent judgment, but it delayed it for 969 years. That is a long time. No wonder we read in Ps. 103:8, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” We could find many passages that proclaim the same truth, but Methuselah is the living illustration of that truth. We have the record of his life to continually remind us that though He is a God who executes judgment, He is also a God who is longsuffering and merciful to those who deserve His judgment. Yes, the time of mercy will come to an end, but praise God that He extends that mercy. If He hadn’t been longsuffering and merciful, none of us would have any hope.
Now let’s read of both the judgment and longsuffering of the Lord God in II Peter. Let’s just go ahead and read all of II Pet. 3...
This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2. That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4. And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6. Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 15. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 17. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
PE Time = Preparing the Ears {To the kids up to 15 before the main message}
Have the young ones come down or stand up…
Do you have any heroes in life? Just think of one of your heroes. Heroes can come from lots of different places. Sometimes a person chooses a movie star as his hero. I wouldn’t recommend it. Another person might choose a star from the sports world. Someone else might choose a fictional character, like Batman. I want to encourage you to choose heroes that are really heroes. There is no better place to find them than in the Bible.
You may wonder why I am singling you out this morning as young people. Please allow me to tell you. You sit there 30-45 minutes every Sunday morning while I speak about the truths of the Bible. God has convicted me that I need to help you to listen as much as I can. I realize that I can’t make that happen; you are the one who has to decide whether you will listen or whether you will tune me out. But I want to do my part. That’s why I gave you an assignment last week. I want to help you sustain an interest in what you are talking about.
Some of you are tempted to think, “Oh this stuff is for adults. I’m just a kid; I can’t understand what he is talking about.” Let me remind you that there are very few things I say that you can’t understand. And if I do talk about something that is hard to understand, you can ask your parents. As a matter of fact, if you make a habit out of asking your parents questions about the sermon, you will be encouraging them to listen too.
Or you may think that what we talk about is not very important. I guarantee you the day will come when you will wish you had paid very careful attention. When we talk about truths from the Bible, we are talking about the most important things in life. All the rest of your thoughts will amount to very little; but we are talking about the things that have eternal value.
Parents, I want to ask you to help me. Prepare your kids before you come. Take time to pray with them, asking God to give them grace to listen. For Sunday lunch, don’t be content with meat and vegetables. Have a healthy helping of “what did you learn from the Bible this morning?” Parents, let me be perfectly honest with you. It’s really not a matter of you helping me; it’s a matter of me helping you. You have the primary responsibility for instructing your children in the things of the Lord. But I do want to be a part of that.
So, young people, today we are going to be looking at two heroes from the Bible. When we get through, you should know them pretty well. We will be focusing on one other person, because that person is a link between the two. By the way, who is the oldest person who ever lived? Yes, Methuselah. And how long did he live? 969 years. He is the person who links our two heroes together. And, yes, I do remember that I gave you an assignment. During the sermon I will be asking you that question about when Methuselah died in relation to the flood.
Let’s pray…
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