Sermon Introduction:
We live in an age where we are poor at waiting.
Instant answers, immediate results, swift delivery.
But Noah continued to build the Ark for 120 years.
And even after entering the Ark, he continued to wait for about one year in the darkness with no visible exit.
“God’s time” and “human time” often do not coincide.
We seek “right now,” but God acts when “the time is full.”
Genesis Chapter 7, which we open this morning, records the moment when God’s time finally came.
The time of warning ended, and the time of judgment began.
But at the same time, this chapter also speaks of the certainty of salvation.
The “door that God closed” no one can open.
Let us savor the greatest judgment in human history and the certainty of God’s salvation.
- God’s Command (Verses 1-4)
“1 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.
2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and a female, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and a female,
3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, a male and a female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.
4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.””
Looking back on Chapter 6, which we studied last time, the “cause” that necessitated the Great Flood was written. It was that sin also expanded as people multiplied on the earth.
As it says, “the Lord grieved,” we learned and deeply appreciated that God is not without emotion, but one who grieves because of love.
On the other hand, we saw that Noah was a righteous person and had found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
God declared judgment and commanded Noah, who chose to walk with God, to build the Ark.
God made a covenant of salvation with Noah, was it not?
And now, the Ark was complete, and it was seven days before the Flood. The Lord commanded Noah to enter the Ark.
The expression “you and all your family” suggests that salvation through faith extends to the family as well.
The distinction of seven pairs each from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, and one pair each from every kind of unclean animal, was an instruction that included things for sacrifice offerings after the Flood and as food for life.
- Noah’s Obedient Response (Verses 5-10)
“5 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.
7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground,
9 male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.” It is repeated that Noah “did all that the Lord commanded him”.
Genesis 6:22, 7:5, this complete obedience is the characteristic of the righteous man Noah.
The age notation of 600 years emphasizes that the record is a historical event.
The eight people who entered the Ark were Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, and their wives. And the animals.
Number of animals: Estimated value: We refer to the view of creation science.
According to Ken Ham, CEO of Answers in GENESIS, the “kinds” of terrestrial animals are estimated to be about 1,000 to 1,500 species. If there were two each of male and female, and seven pairs each of clean ones:
Trial Calculation Example (Creationist Approach)
| Category | Number of Species (Estimated) | Average Number of Individuals per Species | Total |
| Clean Animals (Approx. 100 species) | 100 | 14animals | Approx.1,400 animals |
| Unclean Animals (Approx. 1,000 species) | 1,000 | 2animals | Approx.2,000 animals |
| Birds (Approx. 300 species) | 300 | 14birds | Approx.4,200birds |
| Reptiles, etc. | Several hundred animals |
Total (Land animals + Birds) Estimated to be around 7,000 to 10,000 animals.
・Size and Capacity of the Ark
: Refer to the previous Chapter 6 (Genesis 6:15)
It had a capacity comparable to a modern large cargo ship (or car ferry).
It was spacious enough to accommodate about 50,000 to 60,000 sheep.
Therefore, it is thought that there was sufficient room to keep the estimated several thousand to tens of thousands of animals. Incidentally, the car ferries actually boarded were the size of the Sun-Flower (Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ferry) or the Shin Nihonkai Ferry.
·Life on the Ark
“You are to gather up all kinds of food that are to be eaten and store it away as food for yourself and for them.’ (Genesis 6:21)”
The Bible only mentions “all kinds of food” and does not record the specific amount, but the food loaded onto the Ark probably exceeded 200 tons.
Imagine. Noah spent many years:
・Harvesting grains, drying them, putting them in jars, bagging them, and preserving them
・Cutting hay for feed, compressing it, taking moisture countermeasures, and preserving it
・Water storage equipment for drinking water (probably collecting rainwater)
・Transporting it into the Ark
The people around must have laughed when they saw this.
“Noah, what are you doing? Who is going to eat such a large amount of food?”
But Noah collected it because God said, “Gather it.”
And indeed, when the Flood came, without that food, Neither Noah’s family nor any of the animals could have survived.
Obeying God’s commands may sometimes seem pointless.
However, when God’s time comes, the meaning becomes clear.
What is God commanding you today?
Work faithfully
Love your family
Study the Word
Be thankful
Pray
It might be modest.
The results may not be immediately visible.
It might be a daunting task, like gathering 200 tons of food.
But when God’s time comes, that preparation saves lives.
Noah prepared before the rain fell.
Faith in the unseen and long-term faithfulness are required. “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)
- The Arrival of the Flood (Verses 11-16)
“11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that very day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.
14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all the livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, every feathered creature.
15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.
16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.”
When was the “seventeenth day of the second month” in verse 11?
The Jewish calendar has two starting points:
Religious Calendar (Starting in Spring)
| First Month | Nisan (March-April) Month of Passover |
| Second Month | Iyar (April-May) |
Exodus 12:2 established: “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.”
Civil Calendar (Starting in Autumn)
| First Month | Tishrei (September-October) New Year Festival |
| Second Month | Heshvan (October-November) |
Jewish Tradition, Talmud (Traditional calendar from creation)
The Bible records the exact date as “the seventeenth day of the second month”.
This indicates that it was recorded as an actual historical event, not just a myth.
The calendar Noah used cannot be directly linked to the month names of the Jewish calendar established after the Babylonian exile.
Noah used simply the names “First Month” and “Second Month,” and modern proper nouns like “Iyar” or “Heshvan” were not used.
The specific date indicates that God is one who works in history.
We remember that there is a time appointed by God in our lives as well.
Next, in the latter half of verse 11, it says that on that day, “all the springs of the great deep” = the explosive eruption of groundwater, and “the floodgates of the heavens” = heavy rain falling from the sky, were opened.
In Genesis 1:6-7, we saw the order of creation where the “waters above” and the “waters below” were separated.
In the Flood, that order is destroyed; creation “reverses”. The Great Flood occurred with the subterranean water source of the “great waters” in Genesis 1:2 and the rain falling from above.
In other words, the water that was separated at the time of creation became one again, returning to a state of chaos (תהו ו : בהו – tōhū wā-ḇōhū).
This is the collapse of the world due to sin.
The way the rain fell was completely different from the present.
This is because there was an explosive eruption of groundwater and heavy rain falling from the sky.
By the way, there are also Flood stories in ancient Mesopotamian documents written in an older period than the Bible.
Multiple exist, such as the “Epic of Gilgamesh” (Utnapishtim story), the “Atra-Hasis Epic,” and the “Sumerian King List”. Also, as you know, there are Flood traditions in various parts of the world (India, China, Greece, Native Americans, etc.), so many researchers assume that a historical Flood event actually occurred.
The fact that Flood traditions are widespread in the ancient world strengthens the credibility of the Bible.
If the Genesis account were just a made-up story, why are there similar memories all over the world?
In the polytheistic worldview, it was “noise and anger,” but in the monotheistic Genesis, it was sublimated into an ethical and redemptive-historical interpretation of “sin and salvation”.
The ancients knew fragments of the truth, but we have the complete revelation in Christ.
It is highly likely that the Flood traditions recount the same event from different perspectives on God.
I will omit the details but have summarized it as follows:
| Polytheism | Monotheism | ||
| Capricious gods | vs | Moral one God | |
| Accidental salvation | vs | Salvation by faith | |
| Chaos | vs | Order and covenant | |
| Fear of the gods | vs | God’s sovereign love |
・The Christ-centered interpretation is that “Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the Flood story”.
・Noah’s Ark is salvation from judgment.
The First Letter of Peter records this: “
3:20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water.
3:21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”
Encountering Christ is the beginning of a new creation.
This is because God’s faithfulness to the covenant is present.
Now, let’s return to the main subject. Genesis 5:29 records that Noah had sons when he was five hundred years old.
Genesis 7:6 records that Noah entered the Ark when he was six hundred years old, so there was a blank period of 100 years between Chapter 6 and Chapter 7.
What were the people on earth doing during this time?
Noah and his family were building the huge Ark all year round. They must have seen that construction. Did they not think anything of it? I think Noah must have told everyone that the day of the Great Flood was coming. That is, he was evangelizing… “
Matthew’s Gospel 24:38 states: ‘For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.'”
In the age when human evil filled the earth, people were living normal lives, and nonchalantly at that.
In verse 16, “All the creatures entered, male and female, as God had commanded Noah”.
Then it says, “Then the Lord (יהוה – Adonai) shut him in”.
It was not Noah who closed the door of the Ark before the day of the Flood.
The initiative for salvation rests with God, and salvation by God was made certain.
People must have realized that the heavy rain would cause the Great Flood only after it started falling.
Everyone might have swum to the boat, don, don, don “Noah, Noah, let us into the boat too!!” and knocked on the door and shouted.
However, since the Lord closed the door, no one could enter or leave.
·3. The Completion of Judgment (Verses 17-24)
“17 For forty days the floodwaters increased on the earth, and the water lifted the ark high above the earth.
18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.
19 The waters rose so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.
20 The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. 21 Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.
22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.”
The gradual description of 40 days of rain and 150 days of rising water shows the thoroughness of the judgment.
The Hebrew is repeated: “The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth” (מאד m’ōd מאד m’ōd).
It is expressed as a global flood, where “all the high mountains” were covered.
The water rose “fifteen cubits” (about 6.8 meters) above the mountains.
There is a reason for that. One is to raise the bottom of the boat high enough so that it would not hit the mountains. The other is that by “all the high mountains being covered,” “every living thing on land” perished.
The destruction of “Every living thing on the face of the earth” emphasizes the seriousness of the consequences of sin.
“2 Peter 2:5 And he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others.” It is written. The family of the righteous man Noah was saved from the Great Flood.
·4. Concerns about the Great Flood
I have a concern about this Great Flood.
That is, I wonder what actual life was like inside the Ark, don’t you?
There is no detailed description of the specific daily life of Noah, his family, and the animals in the Bible.
However, based on biblical descriptions and common-sense inferences, I considered the following three points about what they were likely doing for about a year.
- Animal care and maintenance: Feeding, watering, handling feces, cleaning, and caring for sick or injured animals. Just this alone would have kept the 8 people busy without rest. And the most important role of the Ark was to protect diverse animals and birds from extinction and to allow them to restart after the Flood.
- Maintenance of family daily life: Preparing meals, hygiene management, and coordinating communal living in a limited space.
- Maintaining faith and hope in God: Prayer, worship, confirming God’s promises and encouraging each other, and passing on the creation story and faith (education for Shem, Ham, and Japheth).
The Ark was a place to escape God’s judgment and also a place where faith was tested.
Thus, the reason the Bible does not talk in detail may be that “who they believed in” is more important than “what they were doing”.
Luke’s Gospel 17:27 says:
“People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.”
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·【Invitation】
Beloved brothers and sisters, and those who joined the church’s YouTube for the first time today.
The door of the Ark was shut at a certain moment.
The door was open until the day before that.
Anyone could enter.
But the moment God shut it, it was too late.
The Bible says:
“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27)
We do not know how long our lives will last.
We do not know when the door of grace will be closed.
That is why the Bible says:
“As has just been said: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’” (Hebrews 3:15)
Today is the day.
Not tomorrow.
Not someday.
If you feel the Holy Spirit speaking to you,
If you feel in your heart that “I must make a decision,
Today is that day.
Do not put it off.
The Lord Jesus is inviting you today.
God’s invitation is not compulsory.
However, it should not be ignored either.
To those who have decided today and those who still want to think about it,
Please keep what was spoken in this worship service in your heart.
The Holy Spirit will continue to work in your heart.
May God bless you.
Let us pray.
Those who have decided today, please pray silently where you are.
I will lead, so let us pray together in our hearts.
“Heavenly Father God,
I acknowledge that I am a sinner.
I cannot be saved by my own strength.
I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, and was resurrected on the third day.
Today, I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord.
Please come into my life.
Please make me a new creation.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen”
If you wish to confess today, “I believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior,” Please write to the HP of Kurobe Caris Agape Church or call them. Age does not matter. For young people and those in the later half of life, there is no age limit to God’s invitation. To those who think, “But I am too sinful,” Christ came precisely for you. To those who think, “But I am not ready yet,” You do not need to come after becoming perfect. Please come just as you are. Today may be the turning point of your life. God is inviting you now. Please make your confession.
Kurobe Caris Agape Church Church HP https://king-lord.org/contact/
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