Sermon –The Flood And It’s Aftermath
TEXT: Genesis chapters 6 to 11
The fall Of man in Eden through disobedience resulted in total depravity and corruption which made entire human race liable to God s wrath and judgment. Despite the punishment He brought upon individuals for their wrongdoing, man continued his descent wickedness and corruption. The universal Wickedness Of man came to a point where God decided to destroy the earth because He 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 (Genesis 6:5). However, He found Noah, the only righteous person in his generation, with whom he entered into a covenant. And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I Seen righteous before me in this generation” (Genesis 7: 1).
Eventually, flood destroyed everything on earth, including all humans who did not respond to Noah’s invitation into the ark Of salvation and deliverance. After the flood, man had the opportunity for a new beginning as the family of Noah began to repopulate the earth. But sadly, man’s sinful nature resurfaced and humanity failed God again. This time, rather than destroy man, the Lord divided and dispersed them upon the face of the earth. That was the beginning of nations and different languages in the human race.
DECADENCE AND JUDGMENT OF THE UNGODLY (Genesis 6:1-22; 7;1-24; 18:20,21; 19:13,28,29; Numbers 16:1-5; 25-35; Job 11:20; 21:30; Psalm 9:17)
As humans began to reproduce and increase in the earth, the sin nature which Adam transmitted to all his descendants began to manifest through various degrees of wickedness till the Lord looked down and saw nothing but sheer corruption (Genesis 6:5). He was disappointed and He decided to destroy all the wicked from the earth. A particular aspect of man’s depravity that grieved God was his perversion of the marriage institution. Within a short time, there was population explosion with man crossing the divinely set boundaries in marriage. “…The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose” (Genesis 6:2). The sons of God mentioned in the passage referred to the godly line of Seth, while the daughters of men were the ungodly line of Cain. Their Intermarriage violated the principle Of separation between the carnal and the spiritual; between the godly and the ungodly; and between light and darkness.
The term -sons or God’ is used for godly men and angels in Scripture (Job 1:6 2:1; 38:7; Hosea 1:10; John 1:12; Romans 8:19; Philippians 2:15; 1 John 3:1,2). But in this context it describes men, not angels, because there is no gender difference mentioned of angels in the Scripture, and Jesus indicated that angels do not marry. He answered the Pharisees, “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels of God in heaven (Matthew 22:29.30). The Lord said His Spirit would not continue to strive with men. That means the wickedness of men had reached a point where the Holy Spirit was so grieved that He had to stop convicting the people, and judgment had become inevitable.
Sinners and backsliders not take the forbearance of God for granted. There is a point where a person crosses God’s redline and mercy gives way to judgement. “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” (Genesis 6:13). But in the midst of this perversion, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord Like Enoch, Noah was a righteous man who “walked with God” before the flood (Genesis 5:24; 6:9). The lifes of these two men prove that the wave of corruption blowing in these last days is not an excuse for ungodliness or backsliding. No matter the prevalence of corruption in the society, the believer can still be preserved and kept pure.
Noah heard from God and received instructions from Him, despite the noise and din of evil around him. Contemporary believers can enjoy such close communion with God if only they separate from the world and devote their lives to Him. As the wickedness of man increased on earth, God’s judgment became imminent. Before the destruction, Noah was instructed to make an ark for the salvation of his house and other animals. He moved with godly fear and obeyed by faith (Hebrews 11:7). Meanwhile he preached and called the people to righteousness, but they spurned the warning and refused to take heed (2 Peter 2:5). In due course, “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the Windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights” (Genesis 7: 1 1 , 12).
The flood came and the wicked were swept in its tidal waves to death. It is very dangerous to Ignore the warnings Of preachers sent by God. Without further delay, sinners should come to Christ for salvation. In the present dispensation, the ark signifies our Lord Jesus Christ. Like Noah, believers must preach the gospel to every creature with zeal and earnestness. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16: 16). It is worthy of note that Noah entered the ark with his wife, his sons and his sons’ wives. God’s promise of salvation is for us and our household (Acts 16:31). Believers should emulate the examples of Abraham, Joshua, Rahab. Cornelius, Lydia, Philip the evangelist and Crispus. who ensured their household came to know the Lord (Genesis 18:19; Joshua 2:12, 13; Acts 10:24; 16: 15; 18:8; 21:9). Joshua said “…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).
DELIVERANCE AND BLESSING OF THE GODLY [Genesis 8:1-22; 9:1-29; Proverbs 10:2; Isaiah 26:20; 2 Peter 2:7)
“And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged” (Genesis 8:1). God delivered Noah from perishing with the wicked. He knows how to deliver the righteous while the wicked are judged for their sins. Believers will not partake in the coming judgment upon the world of sinners. They will be taken away in the rapture before the wrath of God is poured on the earth. Noah and his family were preserved, so long as they remained in the ark.
Our continued security as Christians is for as long as we abide in the Lord Jesus Christ. When the water assuaged, Noah checked up to know if it was safe to come out, but he waited until the Lord told him to “Go forth of the ark” (Genesis 8:16). In all situations, a believer must wait on God for guidance (Proverbs 3:6). After the deliverance from the flood, Noah built an altar and sacrificed unto the Lord out of the clean beasts (Genesis 8:20). Furthermore, God made a fresh covenant with Noah and repeated the blessing which was pronounced upon Adam at the beginning. And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish in the earth (Genesis 9:1).
He promise never to destroy the earth again with a universal flood and that the regular seasons of life would never fail. The rainbow Was set as a sign of the Noahaic covenant and obedience to God remained the condition to enjoying these benefits. As God has pronounce fruitfulness, abundance and multiplication physically, so He expects every believer to be fruitful spiritually, Fruitlessness and stagnation are never His will. We are to multiply disciples and churches as we spread light of the gospel. The statement, “These are the three sons of Noah and of them was the whole earth overspread” (Genesis 9: 19) is very instructive.
The survivors of the flood were only eight and they repopulated the earth because of them continued to reproduce. This is an indication that the law of multiplication does not require large numbers. If believers adopt this model of reproducing themselves, as a strategy for evangelism and church planting, there would be unprecedented growth in our churches. Invariably, it is not the small number of workers or members in our churches that keep us from growing, it is the failure of each member to reproduce. After the flood, Noah engaged in profitable labour as a farmer.
Though he enjoyed God’s favour, he needed to work. “And Noah to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard (Genesis 9:20). Everyone should learn to work instead of depending on charity from the church or other believers (2 Thessalonians 3: I O). There are people who have great physical challenges and Still overcame all odds to make a living for themselves rather than being burdensome to others. It is therefore inexcusable for people who are healthy and strong to beg for daily needs or engage in theft of other people’s properties. However, the privilege of a new beginning that Noah and his descendants enjoyed after the flood was soon marred by sin. Noah became intoxicated with wine and exposed his nakedness. Then, his immodest behaviour became a cause for one of his sons to be disrespectful to him. “And Ham, the father Of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without” (Genesis 9:22). When Noah became sober and learnt of what had happened, he placed a curse upon Canaan, the son of Ham. The fall of Noah serves as warning to believers who consider themselves ‘veterans’ in the faith. Noah had walked with God for centuries, resisting and overcoming the temptation of a corrupt world. God Himself bore testimony that he was the only righteous man in his generation. But sadly, he fell into drunkenness in his own tent. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10; 12).
Ham did not do well by gazing at his father s nakedness and did worse by talking about the indecency before Others. God forbids nudity and pornography. We must also avoid any style of dressing that reveals delicate parts of the body. Care must be taken lest we make Others stumble. It is also important that believers stay away from locations and programmes where nudity is on display. Honour to parents is also enjoined in the Bible (Exodus 20: 12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Ephesians 6:2). The other two sons Of Noah — Shem and Japheth — were blessed because they covered the nakedness of their father. If any believer is overtaken in a fault, others should join hands to ensure restoration instead of spreading the sad Story.
DESCENDANTS OF NOAH AND DISPERSAL OF MAN (Genesis 10: 1-32; 11:1-32; Deuteronomy 32:8; Job 5:12,13; Psalm 33:10; Luke 1:51)
God fulfilled his promise to Noah and his sons and they became Fruitful…of them was the whole earth Overspread”. Through Shem, Ham and Japheth, “are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood” (Genesis 10:32). “And the whole earth was of One language, and of One speech” (Genesis 11:1). But the people chose to unite against the will of God. Instead of replenishing the whole earth as God had commanded, they decided to build a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven and make themselves a name, “lest they be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth (Genesis 11:4).
The people embarked on a selfish project contrary to the purpose of God, but He confounded their language and they were unable to carry out their enterprise. Although man’s rebellion at Babel was condemnable God commented on the power of unity among people. He said “nothing be restrained from them which they have imagined to do”. There are great lessons from this. One, believers have an awesome power at their disposal if they unite in prayer.
Two, unity and cooperative effort in evangelism will produce more fruits. Three, if we are united in building our churches, they will be completed quickly. Four, we must be united in defending the truth and standing against error, insisting that scriptural standards be followed always. Five, the battle against the devil will be won in favour of the Church of God if believers unite in prayer and holy living. The confusion of language and scattering of the people at Babel resulted in the formation of nations. As the sons of Noah multiplied and developed into different races of people on earth, so the wickedness of man intensified and multiplied. God then decided to reveal His pIan of raising a particular nation through which the Messiah would come. Again, God needed a man who would be the fountain head of that prospective nation. The closing verses of our text are devoted to tracing the family tree of Abraham, the man whom God chose.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
