Everything that we have studied so far in Genesis plays heavily in this passage that we are looking at today.  Let us recap.  In the first chapter of Genesis, God created the world and made man.  In Genesis 3, man rebels against God and sins.  In the midst of that sin and rebellion God makes a promise.  Read it with me in Genesis 3:15. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”  In this we learn that there will be conflict between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.  More importantly, we learn that the seed of the woman will one day crush the head of the serpent, thus ending his power over us.  In our passage for today, that has not yet been accomplished.  We thought maybe Noah would be that seed, but we found out last week when we studied 8:20-9:17 that he was not.  We saw by looking at Gen 8: 21 which says: “And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.  Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.”  The phrase “for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth” tells us that we are still at war with the seed of the serpent.  Sin has not yet been defeated because it has been passed down from Adam to every man.  So, we find ourselves still waiting for the seed of the woman to come and crush the head of the seed of the serpent. 

     Last week as we studied 8:20-9:17 we were given more specifics about how God was going to accomplish his plan.  First we saw that God was going to display his patience by not destroying the world again by a flood, even in the face of man’s sinfulness.  He also promised that the seasons, days, and seedtime and harvest would not stop while the earth remains.  This tells us that God is going to bear with man’s sin until the plan comes to fruition.  However, God did not set aside his justice in this promise of forbearance.  We know that the means of our salvation will come at a price.  We know that there has to be a payment.  So, our salvation (the seed that will crush Satan’s head) will be mingled with sacrifice.  

            That brings us to this week.  We are looking at Genesis Chapter 9:18-10:32.  Turn there with me in your Bibles.  There are three things that I want you to see: the re-emergence of the seed of the serpent, The prophecy of Noah, and the further unfolding of God’s plan. 

The re-emergence of the seed of the serpent.

Read with me Genesis 9:18-24.

 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)  19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.  20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.   21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent.  22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside.  23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.  24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him,

            The author does much to connect the scene described here with the fall in Genesis 3.  He mentions that Noah was a man of the soil.  This would be unnecessary for us to know except for the fact that it connects him with Adam who was taken from the soil and was a worker of the ground.  The mention of Noah being naked or uncovered in his tent is to connect the results of his sin with the sin of Adam and Eve, namely that they realized that they were naked.  Another example of the author connecting this event with the fall is in Ham’s sin.  When Moses writes that Ham “saw the nakedness of his father” he uses the same Hebrew word that he used when he wrote, “Eve saw that the tree was good for food and was a delight to the eyes.” This is not a mere glace or an accidental seeing.  It is a gaze and considering.  I don’t know what Ham did but I do know that his seeing was a dishonor to his father.  It is also placed squarely in the realm of sin given the connections with the fall and the response of Noah when he sobered.  When Noah came to, his first word were “Cursed be Canaan”.  This links Canaan with the cursed line of Cain, which is the seed of the serpent. 

            This reinforces that fact that Noah is not the chosen seed of the woman that is to destroy the serpent.  If you will remember in Genesis 3:15 we were told of the seed that would crush the head of Satan, but we were also told that there would be enmity between the seed (plural) of the woman and the seed (plural) of the serpent.  That is to say that the godly line of people will struggle with ungodly line.  This is both physical and spiritual.  Both sides are in view in our passage: the physical side in that the Canaanites will be the constant enemy of the Sethites (Israelites).  We see this in the book of Joshua and the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land.  We see it in verses like Lev. 18:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them,  I am the LORD your God.  3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes.  4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them.  I am the LORD your God.  5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.

There is constant warning not to be like the Canaanites. 

The spiritual side is that man will struggle with sin.  They will turn away from God and go against his desires.  Noah did, so did Ham.  Shem and Japheth had the opportunity but won their battle at this time.  Man struggles with sin.  It is like a wrestling match in the soul.  There are some matches that man wins but our natural bent is towards sin.  The promise is that the seed of the woman will break sin’s power over us.  For now, we need to understand that through the sin of Noah and Ham, the line of Canaan will pick up where the line of Cain left off.  We have the re-emergence of the cursed seed of the serpent.  

The Prophecy of Noah

            Let’s look at the prophecy that Noah gives after he awakens from his drunkenness.  This is the first example of prophecy that we have in the Bible.  Read it with me in Genesis 9:25-28

25 he said, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” 26 He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.” 28   After the flood Noah lived 350 years.  29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

            These verses are key to the rest of the Bible.  They are foundational to the rest of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, and they are the proclamation of God’s plan.  Let’s look at how this plays out. 

            When Noah awoke from his wine he pronounced a curse and Canaan.  Why on Canaan when Ham is the one that sinned?  There are many explanations offered by scholars, but the one that fits best is the fact that Noah cursed Canaan because of Ham’s children he displayed the same perverse character.  The curse is that Canaan and his line would be servants to Shem and his line and also by association to Japheth and his line.  We see this prophecy partly fulfilled when Joshua leads the Israelites in the conquest of the Promised Land where the Canaanites lived.  Let’s continue to the Table of Nations found in 10:1-32 and then we will come back to these verses.  Read Genesis 10:1-32 with me.

The Unfolding of God’s plan

1 These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood. 2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.  3 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.  4 The sons of Javan: Elishah,  Tarshish,  Kittim, and Dodanim.  5 From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations. 6 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.  7 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.  8 Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man.   9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.”  10 The beginning of his kingdom was  Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in  the land of Shinar.  11 From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.  13  Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,  14 Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom  the Philistines came), and  Caphtorim.

Gen. 10:15    Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth,  16 and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,  17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,  18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed.  19 And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.  20 These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations. 21 To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, children were born.  22 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.  23 The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.  24 Arpachshad fathered  Shelah; and Shelah fathered Eber.  25  To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg,  for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.  26 Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,  27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,  28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,  29  Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.  30 The territory in which they lived extended from Mesha in the direction of Sephar to the hill country of the east.  31 These are the sons of Shem, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations. 32 These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

            First, I want you to notice the order in which this section is written.  Most genealogies would start with the oldest son first and follow in order by age.  This one does not.  Therefore, this is not a regular genealogy.  This one is written to make a point.  Second, notice that these are not complete genealogies.  There is a mix of names, nations, and lands.  In some cases, it tells us who is the father of whom.  In some cases it shows that a particular group of people came from this family line.  And in some cases it shows that this particular line of people inhabited a particular land.  All of this is to make a theological point. 

            The author begins with Japheth because he is the most distant and least involved with the line of Shem, which we are told in the prophecy of Noah is the line that carries on the line of the woman from Genesis 3:15.  The author then moves to Ham to because he is the one most closely associated with the line of Shem.  We can see the closeness in the fact that Nimrod is said to be the founder of several cities.  These cities, namely Babylon and Assyria will be the cities to rise up and take over Judah and Israel.  In the line of Ham is also the Canaanites which are the people that inhabit the Promised Land and are most involved in the history of the line of Shem.  They fight and take over each others lands and eventually intermarry causing sin in the line of Shem.  Finally, Moses comes to the blessed line.  He reserves him for last because this is the line that the rest of the story will follow.  You can see in a since that Moses is narrowing the focus and saying that this is the line that carries on the promise of the seed of the woman. 

            I also want you to notice that the author pushes the fulfillment of the prophecies into the future.  Look at how this is done.  First Noah says that the Canaanites will be the slaves of the Shemites.  Here at the Table of Nations this does not happen right away.  In fact, the line of Canaan is give the good land that will one day be promised to the line of Shem (Israelites).  The Canaanites receive a blessing of a fertile land.  Also in the line of Ham is Nimrod.  There is an extended section about him and his might, and the building of cities.  There is none of that in the line of Shem.  The line of Canaan is the cursed line but they seem to be prospering more then the line of Shem.  I think that there are two great points for us to understand here.  Prosperity is not necessarily the sign of God’s favor and more importantly God’s favor is infinitely more valuable then material possessions. 

            What is the point of all of this?  The author hints to us that in all that we have looked at today in 9:18-10:21 there is one point that he is trying to get across.  He does this by a literary device called an inclusio.  An Inclusio is a repetition of a phrase that surrounds a set of text indicating that all the text that is surrounded by that phrase is making a point.  It all connects.  We see the inclusio begun in 9:19 and ended in 10:32.  The point is this: All the peoples of the earth come from the sons of Noah.  That has two major implications for us.  First, this shows us that all groups of people are under God care.  If we go back to 8:20-9:17 we see that the covenant was made for Noah and his sons.  From them have come all the nations. There are none that are left out.  God is sovereign over all nations. It shows a commonality among all people not a division.  Many people have used this passage to promote slavery, but the clear teaching of this passage is that there are no second-class citizens.  Race as we know it is incorrect.  We are not biologically different we have a common ancestry.  There is a great sermon that I will link to on my blog for those that are interested in learning more on this topic and its implications. It was a talk given at the Together for the Gospel conference that took place last week.  Thabiti Anabweli gave the talk and you can listen to it from a link off of my blog.  Just go to asahhudgins.wordpress.com. 

            The Second implication is that all people will be blessed through the line of Seth.  Look with me again at the prophecy of Noah.  Shem is blessed. Japheth will increase and will dwell in the tents of Shem.  Canaan will be a servant to both.  But all who are connected with Shem will be blessed because they will be connected to the God of Shem.  How do we know this?  We see it in the rest of the Old and New Testament.  Look at Chapter 11 and 12 of Genesis.  We have a repeated and expanded line of Shem that leads to Abram.  Read Genesis 12:1-3.

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The promise to Abram in the line of Shem is that through him God will bless all the families of the earth.  There is no exclusion there.  There is other prophecy that names these people specifically. Look at Isaiah 66:18-19

 “For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming   to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish,  Pul, and  Lud, who draw the bow, to  Tubal and  Javan,  to the coastlands afar off,  that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations.

These people are the line of Japheth.  Now go to Isaiah 19:23-25

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24   In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

These are the line of Ham.  Now you may ask what about the line of Canaan.  Well, if you will remember Rahab, she was a Canaanite prostitute who became a part of the covenant community of Israel and is in fact in the direct line of Jesus. 

            Every group of people, every nation, is included in the promise of the seed that will crush Satan’s head.  There is not a single person that is excluded from the Gospel due to nationality.  They are only excluded if they reject it.  That means, students who are going to foreign places this summer for missions, that no one that you come in contact with is excluded from the Gospel.  So go tell them that Jesus came to this earth and lived a perfect life.  That he died to pay the penalty for our sins – that he rose from the dead and now sits at the right had of the father.  Tell them that if they repent from rejecting Jesus and come under his lordship and believe that his sacrifice counts on their behalf that they can be saved from the wrath of God and enter into a relationship with Him, by which they will be heirs to the kingdom of God.  It is important that we do this because no one is excluded by nationality.  They are only excluded by continuing to reject God means of our cleansing and the sacrifice that redeemed us from our slavery to sin.  Pray with me. 

Text: Genesis 8:10-9:17

As historians have studied, they have come up with ways to divide time so that we can associate events with significant leaders or changes in language and other such life changing events.  These periods of time are called eras.  We are familiar with eras.  In the music scene you have the disco era, the big band era and others.  Right now in baseball we are in the “steroid era”. 

There has been one moment in time, however, that has been so world-altering that we mark it by changing the way that we refer to history. That event, of course, is the coming of Christ.  Anything that happened before Christ is known as B.C. meaning just that, before Christ.  Anything happening in history after the coming of Christ is called A.D., “anno domini”.  This is a Latin phrase meaning “the year of our Lord”.  There is this distinction because Jesus did indeed change the world.

In Scripture we find another such world-changing event.  This particular event is the flood, which we have looked at over the past two weeks in Genesis chapters 7 and 8. This world-changing event is discussed less than the coming of Christ. Two reasons come to mind.  First it is further back in time.  Second, and most importantly, it is part of – and foundational to the story of the coming of Jesus, as such the coming of Christ overshadows it (Hebrews chapters 8,9,10). Today, I want to look at two important aspects of Genesis 8:22-9:17.  The first is the initiation of the new world order, immediately following the flood, which we still live in today.  Second, I want to look at how these events laid the foundation for redemptive history and point to the person of Jesus Christ.  Read with me in Genesis chapter 8:20-9:17

Gen. 8:20   Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.  21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again  curse  the ground because of man, for  the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.  Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.  22  While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter,  day and night, shall not cease.”

Gen. 9:1   And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them,  “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.  2  The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.  3  Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And  as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.  4 But you shall not eat flesh with its  life, that is, its blood.  5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning:  from every beast I will require it and  from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.  6  “Whoever sheds the blood of man,   by man shall his blood be shed,    for God made man in his own image.

Gen. 9:7   And you,  be fruitful and multiply, teem on the earth and multiply in it.”

Gen. 9:8   Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,  9 “Behold,  I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you,  10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.  11  I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”  12 And God said,  “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:  13 I have set  my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,  15  I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.  16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember  the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”  17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

The initiation of a new world order (8:20-22)

            In 8:20-22 we have a summary of the new way in which God is going to relate to His people. All of the things that we have learned about God over the past seven chapters are still the same, but He reveals something else about Himself.  He shows us that he has great patience and forbearance. It was necessary for us to understand those things that we learned about Him in first seven chapters so that we could grasp the significance of his patience with us.  If we had not learned that He was the creator who gave us everything that we needed for life and breath, the judge who was righteous, or the Holy one who could not tolerate sin, then we could not understand how incredibly gracious his forbearance is.  Look at what God says as he is initiating this new covenant with Noah in verse 21.  “ And when the LORD smelled  the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again  curse  the ground because of man, for  the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.  Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.”  As God, the judge, assesses man after the flood he finds in him the same attitude that was present before the flood.  In fact, he finds the very same inclination of the heart that brought on the wrath of God.  Look at Genesis 6:5-7.  “5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.  7 So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

            Now, however, God sees man as exactly the same as he was before the flood but He chooses to deal with man in a different way.  He chooses not only to be patient with them, but also to continue to provide for them through the continuing of the change of seasons, seedtime and harvest, and night and day (vs. 8:22).  It is astonishing that God would make a promise like this in the face the same sin that resulted in the pouring out of his wrath in the flood.  But God did not set aside his justice in order to accomplish this new expression of forbearance.  He did not do this blindly; he had a end in mind – one that had been decided before the foundations of the world (1 Peter 1:19-20).  With that in mind let us look at how God sets up this new covenant, then we will talk about the end that he had in mind.

            The first thing that I want you to see is the provision made for the preservation of man (9:1-3).  This blessing and command to be fruitful and multiply is the same as he gave Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28.  This command is restated in order to continue the original purpose of man.  That is to fill the earth with the glory of God as we reflect him. If you continue to compare the blessings and commands given to Adam and Eve in chapter 1:28-29 and those given to Noah in chapter 9:1-3 you will notice two slight differences.  The relationship between man and animals is different.  There is now a fear and a dread on the part of the animals towards man and man is given all the animals for food along with the plants.  Both of these differences contribute to the preservation of man.  God gave them food but he also created a dread and a fear, which worked towards the preservation of man.  You see, man and animals once enjoyed a closer relationship, but due to man’s sin the whole earth was filled with violence (Gen 6:11-13).  Animals were known to kill men.  That is alluded to in 9:5.  So God put the fear of man in the animals so that the animals would not rise up against man and kill them.  In doing these things God is setting the world up so that man can survive and all the while God is laying the foundation for the redemption of man. 

We see this in the rules that God set up for the new world (9:4-7). The first rule that we see is “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”  This rule seems strange.  As God is setting up a new world and telling Noah what would be important to know to honor him with his life, He tells him not to eat blood.  It just seems out of place here.  I think it is a good rule…just weird timing for the rule.  But, it is important to God, so it would probably be wise to try to understand why he established this rule at this time.  It is obvious that God is placing a high priority on blood. This will come to light more when we talk about the foundations for redemptive history.  It is important to note that God is working towards an end here.  This is not just some out of place rule just because he can.  Lets just say for now that blood/life will play an important role in redemptive history. 

God then gives another rule.  This rule elevates the importance of the one we just discussed.  God institutes capital punishment.  We see this in 9:5-6.  In this God is showing the sanctity of life.  In his demand for a reckoning, He is teaching us that life is of extreme value.  In turn, this reemphasizes the seriousness of sin.  Through all of this, God is lovingly guiding us to the paths of a life that will please him.  He sees that we are sinful and decides to begin a period in which he will be gracious to us with patience and through these rules he laying the ground work for our redemption.  God then restates the command to multiply and fill the earth. 

Now I want you to see that God creates a sign to mark his covenant with man.  You can find this in 9:8-17.  God states his covenant in detail here.  He promises that he will never destroy all living creatures again.  He also promises never to destroy the earth by a flood again.  As a sign of his covenant with man he placed a rainbow in the clouds.  It is interesting to note however, that the rainbow is not to remind man or bring him the peace of knowing that God has made this promise to them, but that the sign was a reminder for God.  Now when I say reminder, I do not mean that God forgets and needs a reminder.  He is not like us.  I know that if I don’t put dates and events in my calendar that I will forget them.  I will set them up on an alarm so I can’t forget them.  God needs no such reminders.  This “reminder” then is something different. 

We were introduced to God “remembering” in Genesis 8:1.  “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.”  God had promised Noah that if he built the ark and entered into it he would be saved.  God’s wrath is then poured out and at the apex of his wrath scripture tells us that God “remembered”.  This usage of the word is the same concept of the “reminder” of the rainbow.  It simply means that God is acting according to his covenant.  The rainbow is there to display that God is acting in accordance with his promise to man.  It reflects God’s faithfulness and goodness to us even in our sinful state.  This speaks clearly about the heart of God and his love for his people.  The rainbow should also be a reminder to us.  It reminds us of the wrath of God and that it only by his choice to make this covenant with us that we are spared.  We are still sinful.  Our sin brought on the flood.  Now, when we see the rainbow, we should be reminded that because of God’s grace we are not overcome by his wrath in the form of a worldwide flood.  It leads us to repentance because we know that if God did not “remember” his promise, we would be overtaken by his wrath because we deserve it. 

As I have said earlier, God set up the new world with an end in sight.  He knew what he was going to accomplish.  Now let us consider the foundations for redemptive history and ultimately Jesus are laid through God’s wise actions in setting up the new world.

The foundation for redemption and ultimately Jesus.

            Go back to verses 8:20-22.  The way that God states the beginning of the new world order tells us about his purpose.  First, we see that God will be patient with sinful man.  However, it is obvious that he will not be patient forever.  In verse 22, it says, “While the earth remains”.  This lets us know that there will be an end to God’s patience. There will be a day when the earth is destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:3-7). “3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.  4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”  5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.  7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”  Now it does not make sense for God to delay his judgment if he did not have a means for salvation.  God delayed his judgment earlier with a period of 120 years before the flood, but that was for the purpose of bringing about the necessary means of salvation for his people, i.e. the ark.  So we see that God is allowing man to be preserved in order to bring about he means of redemption and salvation. 

            We also see this in the rules that God gave to govern the new world.  We saw earlier that God paced an emphasis on blood. We know that later – in Leviticus 17:10-11 – blood is set apart here for a specific purpose.  “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.  For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”  In both of these verses blood is equated with life.  God is setting up a way for a substitute to pay for the sins of his people.  You see, the penalty for sin is death, but God is making a way for people to pay for sins so that they will not be held against them any longer.  Look at the effect Noah’s previous sacrifice had on God in verses 8:20-21.  Out of this sacrifice, God initiates this gracious covenant in which he says that he will not destroy the world ever again by means of a flood.  He also promises to provide for the preservation of man.  This is pleasing and right with God.  It is a way for payment to be made that is as serious as the crime – death for sin.  God is maintaining his justice and, at the same time, reiterating the seriousness of sin.  God is setting up a respect for life and elevating the importance of blood because that is how sins are paid for – the substitutionary giving of a life for a life.  From this command we see the beginnings of the sacrificial system which points directly to Christ who was the perfect sacrifice to end all sacrifices (Hebrews 10:11-14). “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.  14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”  Verse 14 tells us the end for which God made these rules.  By the offering of Christ on our behalf he perfected us for all time- as we are being made perfect, thereby securing our relationship with God. 

            Noah also points directly to Jesus.  He was a type for Christ.  Through looking at Noah’s life we see what Jesus would be.  Noah was described as a man that walks with God (Genesis 6:9).  He is also described as perfectly obedient in the making of the ark and entering it (Genesis 6:22-7:1).  Coming out of the ark, Noah offered a sacrifice that pleased God and lead to the covenant (Genesis 8:20).  Noah was the man to God chose to save his people.  Their association with Noah saved these people.  They were his family his very own people.  All of these things must be true of the perfect savior.  Jesus, not only walked with God, but he was God made flesh.  Jesus was perfectly obedient to God (John 6:38).  Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice (Heb 10:11-14).  And Jesus saved those who were his own – his own family (Eph 1:5).  Noah imperfectly shows us what a savior is supposed to be, Jesus come and fulfills it perfectly. 

            This is important for us today, because we are living in the post-flood, A.D world.  Salvation for us has been founded by God and accomplished in Jesus.  We need only to accept Jesus perfect life, death, and resurrection on our behalf.  He was obedient, he offered himself as our sacrifice and he rose again to secure our salvation.  Repent from you own way and believe in God’s way and you too will be saved.  Pray with me.  

      As I was telling him of my fear of falling a disqualifying myself from the ministry that was given to me, he said “we just need to distance ourselves from whatever is tempting us.”  Most people reading this may think….yeah, and…but this struck me as being great advise.  Here is the reason, sin is described in the Bible as a villain lying in wait in order to attack and control its victim (Gen 4:3).  Sin is also attributed to a specific enemy, Satan (the devil).  1 Pet. 5:8 warns us Be sober-minded;  be watchful. Your  adversary the devil  prowls around  like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Scripture also tells us that we are equipped to fight against sin (Eph 6:10-20).  It is good to know how to fight sin when we are faced with it, but Scripture also suggests that we avoid sin.  1 Cor 6:18 instructs us to flee sexual immorality, 10:14 flee idolatry, 2 Tim 2:22 says flee youthful passions.  This was the simple advise of my friend.  It got me to thinking that I am often too passive about sin.  There are times when I am aware of things that could lead me down a path of sin, but I allow them to remain because they are not a problem right now.  I am thankful for our little talk yesterday.  It woke me up to the fact that I need to be active in fighting and avoiding sin. Genesis 4:7 warns us that “If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for  you, but you must rule over it.”  I thank God that he has given me everything that I need to fight, avoid, and even rule over sin by providing victory over it through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.