"Genesis and Other Things"
Lesson Eight - The Flood
Moderated by Bob Huddlestun
Read Genesis 6:9 thru 9:17
The flood, did it really happen? Jesus, and other New Testament writers speak of it as though it did. Nearly every
group of people on the earth have a flood story among their traditions, tales of a great deluge wherein only one family is
spared; the ancient Babylonians, the Chinese, Hindus, Peruvians, south sea island natives, even the American
Indians, and others. Such traditions, though greatly varied by local customs, indicate a common source and strongly
suggest that it did really happen. Archaeological discoveries in the Middle East further confirm this fact. So, while there is
sufficient evidence to confirm the event, the cause, the reason for it, and the extent of it remain debatable.
If you will accept the Biblical account the answers are clear. What was the cause? God. Though it grieved him,
convinced that mankind was so evil (Genesis 6:5) that life on the earth could not continue, he set in motion events to bring
it to an end. While his first inclination was to destroy all life he mercifully spared one man and his family, Noah, a
preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5). God instructs this righteous man to build a huge box, 750 feet long, 75 feet
wide, and 45 feet high. It was to have three floors, a vent all around the top, and an entrance door in one side. This "ark"
was to protect him and his family, along with every kind of animal, from the destruction to come. Noah obeyed. One
week after Noah and his family entered the ark the flood came, "all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the
floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights." The waters
remained on the earth for nearly five months killing every living thing that crawled, walked, or flew in the air over the earth, except for
those safe in the ark. God's judgment was complete.
The question now becomes, not if it happened, or how it happened, or why it happened, but, what lessons is God
trying to teach us by telling us of this event. Remember, the Bible is not a history book, though it may be historically
accurate. The Bible is a guide book for life filled with warnings and lessons that lead to life and make our life more
meaningful, productive and happy.
As we tried to point out in our previous lessons mankind, prior to the flood, was selfish, self-centered, and
self-sufficient. From the time Adam chose to be like God to that period just before the flood when tyrants ruled by reason
of their size and strength, man rejected the sovereignty of God. Though some of Seth's descendants tried to follow
God's leading, even they fell away as they intermarried and got involved with the world. As we pointed out before this is
not just a description of the antedeluvial world, but of our world as well; selfish - self-centered - self-sufficient. That
world ended in tragedy, judgment from God.
Read 2 Peter 3. In this chapter the apostle Peter tells us plainly that, like the world before the flood, our world is
headed for judgment. Though God is patient with us, one day his patience will run out. "Knowing this," Peter says, "What
kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives."
Peter refers (v. 15) to the writings of the apostle Paul. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes of the
blessings and the dangers coming on that day (1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11). In his second letter to Timothy
he describes conditions that will prevail in the last days, the days just prior to that terrible day for the world (2 Timothy
3:1-5). It's pretty obvious that Paul could be describing our day, isn't it?
You'll notice that both of these writers described the coming judgment as appearing very suddenly, like a thief in
the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 2 Peter 3:10) or as labor pains on a pregnant woman (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Jesus
speaks in a similar way. In his Olivet Discourse recorded in Matthew 24 - 25, in answer to the question, "What will be
the sign of your coming, and the end of the age?", Jesus likens those days just before this event to the days of Noah
(Read Matthew 24:36-44). In saying, ". . . people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,"
he does not condemn the activities, but only suggests that these people were taken unaware. Just before the flood they
were carrying on with their normal life activities without thought of God's will or his plan. His warning? "Keep
watch - be ready!"
Questions:
While considering the flood account there is one more teaching we must note. In 1 Peter 3:18 - 22 (though the
translations are difficult), Peter informs us that Noah, a preacher of righteousness, endowed with the Spirit of
Messiah, preached repentance and a warning to his contemporaries who were in bondage to sin and death. His
message fell on deaf ears, therefore only Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives, were saved in the ark. In the
latter half of verse 20 and in verse 21 Peter compares their experience to Christian baptism. Indeed, while floating on
the surface of the water and under a deluge of rain they were truly immersed (this is the literal meaning of the Greek word
transliterated baptism). Peter contends that this emersion saves you, not because it cleanses the body, but only
because it is your obedient response to the Lord's command. "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all
creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved . . ." (Mark 16:15,16). Don't misunderstand - baptism alone
cannot save. It must be preceded by belief and followed up with a new lifestyle, one of obedience to the Father, striving
to be like his son. Read Romans 6:1 - 14. Just as Noah and his family stepped out of the ark onto a fresh new earth to
begin life anew, so the Christian must come up out of the waters of baptism a new person, reborn, to start life anew.
Questions:
Bob Huddlestun
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