Sermons from the Book of Genesis

Sermons from Genesis by Ken TrivetteGen #8

Sermons from the Book of Genesis CAPTAIN NOAH AND HIS UNSINKABLE SHIP Genesis 6-7

Without a doubt, one of the most famous ships that ever sailed was the H.M.S. Titanic. In her day, she was a state of the art Ocean liner, 882.5 ft long; her beam 92.5 ft, and 60.5 ft from water line to boat deck. She consisted of 9 decks. She was designed to remain afloat with any 2 compartments flooded, possibly three. She could carry 329 passengers in first class, 285 passengers in 2nd class, and 710 passengers in 3rd class. On her maiden voyage across the Atlantic, she carried 2,227 on board. When she sank on April 15, 1912, of her 2,227 passengers and crew, only 705 survived. It was widely regarded that the "Olympic Class" liners were largely unsinkable and were themselves lifeboats. In fact, the boast was made that the Titanic was the unsinkable ship. The only ship that is better known is the H.M.S. Deliverance and its Captain, a man by the name of Noah. It p was indeed an unsinkable ship. Its construction, its cargo, crew, its maiden and final voyage are of such i h S

importance, and nearly three chapters are taken up to tell its story. e Let's consider the story of Captain Noah and his unsinkable ship. First, think with me of: l b a k n i

1. A SOCIETY DESTITUTE OF GOD s n

Two of the saddest verses in the Bible describe the conditions of Noah’s day. We read in Genesis 6:5-6, i H “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the d thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the n a

earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” Things were so bad in those days that it grieved God that he had h a ever made man. The wickedness of man broke the heart of God. It ripped His heart apart to see how His o N

creation was living. n i a

It was a time of: t p

A. Spiritual Departure ) 7 -

s Notice Genesis 6:1-3, “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and i s e

daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair: n and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall 'not always strive e G with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.’” We see two ( distinct classes that are referred to. There was the "Sons of God" and the “the daughters of men." I'll not get into a discussion of who the sons of men were, only to say that most believe the sons of God were angels and the daughters of men were of the human race. If so, it was a case of the spiritual condescending to the natural. There was a spiritual departure. God was forsaken and forgotten. Their back was turned to the spiritual and toward the physical and sensual. There was no place for God. There was no room for God. There was no time for God. There was no desire, for God. It was a time of spiritual apostasy. Furthermore, we see that it was a time of:

B) Shameless Depravity

We read in Genesis 6:4-5, “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 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.” One evil generation produced an even more evil generation. The word "wickedness" in verse 5 speaks of lewdness, moral depravity. It was a society without morals and standards. There is a statement in verse 5 which describes how immoral that day was. We read, "Every imagination of their hearts was only evil continually." The word "imagination" means "to fashion as a potter." Their

1 Sermons from Genesis by Ken TrivetteGen #8

minds fashioned and formed vile, filthy, perverted causes and lifestyles. You could say, the dirtier the better and the viler the better. They lived to sin and daily sought to discover more vile ways to sin. Notice Genesis 6:11-12, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” God said that "all flesh" was corrupt. The whole world was in the lap of wickedness. Can you imagine living in a society where nothing was wrong and everything was right? Can you imagine living in a society where everybody lived to sin and see how immoral he or she could become? It is no wonder God was grieved. It was a society devoid and destitute of God. Secondly, think with me of:

2. A SAINT DEVOTED TO GOD

Against this dark immoral backdrop there was a bright shining light. There was one exception to this degenerate society. We read in Genesis 6:8, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” John Phillips p i h

writes: "With the world crumbling around him, that giant figure towered above his times, hewn out of granite, S 1 e standing like a lonely monolith pointing to the sky." In a society that had exhausted the patience of God there l b was one man and his family that experienced the grace of God. a k n

Noah reminds us that no matter how wicked things get and are around us, one can live for God. Noah i s found grace in God's eyes. Why? Notice Genesis 6:9, “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just n U man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” We see that Noah was: s i H

A. Unaffected By the World n a

Noah was a "just man." He was a righteous man. He was a godly man in an ungodly world. He was a man o N right with God. It doesn't matter how your husband and wife lives, you ought to live for God. It doesn't matter n i

if you are the only person in your high school, workplace, or neighborhood that lives for God, you ought to a t draw the line and say "I'm going to live for God." p a C

Furthermore, Noah was: )

B. Uncontaminated By the World i s

The Bible also says that Noah was “perfect in his generations." The word "perfect” does not mean e G sinless but rather blameless. In a day when everybody was living a corrupt life, Noah was living a clean life. ( There was not one thing about the life of Noah that one could point to and say was wrong. The Bible says in James 1:27, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” Like Noah, we must keep ourselves unspotted from the world. We also see that Noah was:

C. Unmoved By the World

It also says of Noah that he "walked with God." The world was going in one direction but Noah was going in another direction. He was going in God's direction. I read about a parade in which a high school band was marching. Everyone was in step but the tuba player. When they got to the end of the parade the band director, upset with the tuba player, walked over to him to find out why he had been out of step. He found that the tuba player had been listening to a transistor radio while he marched. He had marched to the beat of a different drummer. Noah marched to the beat of a different drummer. He was unaffected by the world, uncontaminated by the world, and unmoved by the world. We that proclaim the name of Jesus are to be no different than Noah. We are to be unaffected by the world, uncontaminated by the world, and unmoved by the world. When a reporter asked George Brett of the Kansas City Royals what he wanted to do in his last at-bat, he said: "I want to hit a routine grounder to second, run all-out to first base, and then get thrown out by half a step. I want to leave an example to the young guys that that's how you play the game: all-out.”

Noah was all-out. We should be all out for God. It doesn't matter what anybody else does when they come to the plate, we should say by the help and grace of God I am going to be all out for God. Lastly, think with me of:

3. A SHIP DESIGNED BY GOD

One day Noah received a heavenly commission as Captain of the H.M.S. Deliverance. Notice Genesis 6:13- 16, “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. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits its, 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.” p i h

God told Noah to build an ark. We read in Genesis 6:22 “Thus did Noah; according to all that God S

e commanded him, so did he.” Now you have to understand that God was asking Noah to do things he had l b never heard of before. God said, "Noah, I am going to destroy the world with a flood." Noah asked, "What's a a k n

flood?" God said, "A flood is what will take place when I make it rain." Noah asked, "What's rain?" Noah had no i s idea what God was talking about, and also, the nearest body of water was about 500 miles away. Can you n U imagine what people were saying about Noah? The Bible tells us that for the next 120 years, Noah and his s sons built the ark God had commanded them to build. The specs came from God. The design was of God. i H

Now there is something interesting about this ship Noah built. The Bible says 1 Peter 3:18-21, that the d n a ark was a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The ark is a picture of our Savior and h our salvation. Just as God saved Noah from the judgment that came through a ship God saves us from the a o

judgment to come through His Son. N

In Noah's ship Christ is seen in: i a t

A. The Sealing of the Ship ) 7

Notice Genesis 6:14, “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt s i s

pitch it within and without with pitch.” The ship was to be made out of gopher (cypress) wood. Cypress e n wood is a very endurable. It doesn't rot. Gopher wood in the bible is a type of the humanity of the Lord Jesus. e G

The ark symbolized Jesus becoming man. Just as the wood had to be cut down in order to provide an ark of ( safety, Jesus had to be cut down (crucified). But notice that Noah was to cover the ark with pitch (tar). He was to cover both the inside and the outside with pitch. This was to keep the waters of judgment out. The word "pitch" is very interesting. It comes from the Hebrew word “kaphar.” Only on this one occasion is the word translated "pitch." On every other occasion the word is translated "atonement." God was saying, "Noah, I want you to cover the outside of the ark with atonement. I want you to cover the inside with atonement.” That's why Jesus came to this earth as man. He came to make atonement for our sins. His atonement for sins is the only pitch that will keep the waters of Gods judgment from our lives. We also see Christ in:

B. The Size of the Ship

Notice Genesis 6:15, “And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of; the length of the ark shall be three hundred cub its, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits." The ship was to be 450 ft long, 75 ft wide and 45 ft high. It was 45 stories long, 8 stories wide and 5 stories high. In total, its size was about 3 million cubit feet. Modern shipbuilders tell us that these dimensions are the most ideal measurements to ensure the safest and most sea-worthy craft. What less would you expect of God. Its shape was like a big box or coffin. You could say that it was a huge floating coffin. When people saw it they thought of death.

Again, the ship was symbolic of the death of the Lord Jesus. It is in His death that we are delivered from the wrath to come. But the point I want you to see is that it was big enough to accommodate anybody that wanted to get on board. In this massive ship God was saying, "Whosoever will, let him come." Nobody had to perish. Anyone could have come if they had believed. God made a way of escape for whosoever would come. We furthermore see Christ in:

C. The Structure of the Ship

Notice Genesis 6:16, “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.” There was only one door into the ship. That door was at the bottom of the ship, so anybody could get in. You didn't have to be able to fly, jump, or climb to be able to get in. There is only one door into salvation. Jesus said that He was that door. He is a door that the blind can walk through, the lame, deaf, old, p young, and a door that anyone can go through for salvation. i h

There was only one window in the ship. It was at the very top. A person could not look out or around, but S

e they had to look up. When a man comes to Jesus he has to look up to God. l b

There were 3 floors to the ship. When a person is saved he is saved body, soul, and spirit by God the a k n

Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. i s

We see Christ in: n U

s i H D. The Security of the Ship d

Notice Genesis 6:17-20, “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy h a all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. o N But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and n i a

thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt t p thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after a C their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of ) 7 every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.” God told Noah that every living creature outside the - 6

ship would perish, but not one living creature in the ship would perish. s i s

The ark reminds us of the eternal security of the believer. This was an unsinkable ship. Why? Was it e n because Noah was a good carpenter? I'm sure he did a good job building the ship, but the security of those e G aboard the ship did not depend on Noah's ability as a ship builder. Notice Genesis 7:1, “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.” God didn't tell Noah to go in but come in. God was in the ship. God was with Noah the whole time he was in the ship. If the ark went down God was going down. A little boy was saying his nightly prayers and he prayed for his dog, his friends, his mom and dad, etc. The he said, "Oh, yes God, please take care of yourself, because if anything happens to you we are in a mess." The ship was unsinkable for God is indestructible. We are as secure as God is eternal. Lastly, we see Christ in:

E. The Supply of the Ship

Notice Genesis 6:21, “And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.” There were provisions in the ship to meet their every need. Salvation brings a sustenance and supply that this world knows nothing about. I am glad I can say that I am a passenger aboard the H.M.S. Deliverance. How about you? It is truly an unsinkable ship.

1 Exploring Genesis by John Phillips (Moody Press, 1980) p.82