The World Under Judgment, Pt. 2
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Have you experienced a season of life where you were waiting for something to change or for a situation to resolve? Pastor Nick Gatzke explores the 150 days Noah and his family floated in the floodwaters, waiting to find out what God would do. Noah’s experience reveals a profound lesson about the character of God.
There are many important features of this story, four chapters of the Bible, but this morning I want to focus on just three, just three key moments in this story of the flood. Because in these three key moments we see something about God. And it sees some key implications for us. And so here’s the first key moment we want to focus on. And that is the divine judgment of sin. The water’s rising, it says the rain came down and the flood came up. And people must have been terrified, running through the streets, looking for a place to find dry land. And before you know it, houses were swept away and other structures were completely covered. And the screams, and the screams, and the screams, and then all of the sudden it was silence — eerie silence.
This judgment was devastating. Listen to some of the ways and some of the force in which God describes it. In Genesis 6:7, “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’ve made them.” Genesis 6:13, “And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them on the earth.” Genesis 6:17, “I will bring the floodwaters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which the breath of life under heaven, everything that is on the earth shall die.”
Genesis 7:4, “For in seven days I will send rain on the earth, forty days and forty nights, and every living creature that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” In Genesis chapter 7, verses 20 to 24, we see that the pronouncement of judgment is now enacted. This is what it says. It says that “the waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep, that’s twenty two and a half feet, above the top of the mountains. And all flesh had died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarmed the earth and all of mankind.
“Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground. Man and animals and creeping things and the birds of heaven, they were blotted out on the earth. Only Noah was left and those who were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.” The first key moment that we see in this story is the divine judgment on sin.
The second key moment we see is found in chapter eight, verse one, and the mood of the story drastically changes. Look at it with me, chapter eight, verse one, the tone shifts, the trajectory changes, and it says, in the lowest of low moments, “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.” That’s a fascinating way to express it, isn’t it? God remembered Noah. I mean, it’s not like he would have forgotten him, is it? Why does he say it that way? God remembered Noah, I mean, how could he possibly forget? After all, Noah was the only unique one on earth. Noah was the one who was described unlike any other living person on the earth. Listen to just a few of the ways he was described. In chapter 6 verse 8, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” 6:9, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” So it’s not like this unique righteous person and his family who were saved basically because of his righteousness have now all of a sudden slipped out of view, is it? So why would the text say that God remembered Noah?
I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to say that it’s expressed this way because, despite the fact that God would never forget him, we would be very tempted to think that he would forget him. And Noah might even be very tempted to think that he had been forgotten. Think about it. We see the screams had stopped, the rain had now subsided, and all Noah could see out of the windows of the ark was sky and water, as far as the eye could see. That’s it. If you’ve ever been out in the middle of the ocean in a little boat or a big boat, and all you see is sky and water, that is an incredibly isolating feeling.
And now he is there for a long period of time, locked in this boat with his kids. I mean, can you imagine 24 hours a day, 150 days locked in the boat with your kids and the wives of your kids? I mean, I’m a firm believer in the old saying, what do fish, family, and friends all have in common? After three days, they all stink. Speaking of stink, we’re talking about 150 days. And what about the animals and the sounds that they’re making and the smells that are now coming in the midst of this ark? Do you think he might’ve been tempted to say, been a long time, God. Everything looks pretty clean to me. Maybe he has forgotten us, but God remembered Noah. He remembered his righteousness. He remembered the walk with him. He remembered the promise that he had made to make a covenant with Noah. And God never, never goes back on his promises. If judgment is the logical outcome of a holy God toward a sinful people, then grace is the illogical but wonderful response of a holy and loving God to those people who exercise faith in him.
The water subsided, the family and the animals emerged, and we move to the third key moment of this story. The third key moment is found in chapter eight, and that is God’s covenant of life. The first is a divine judgment on sin. The second is that God remembers Noah. The third is this covenant of life. Look with me at chapter eight, verse 20. As soon as they get off the ark, we see an important response by Noah. It says, “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. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground because of man.”
Noah’s first point of order upon leaving the ship was to express worship and praise and dependence upon this holy, majestic, righteous God. In many ways, Noah is the new Adam, in which God is saying, you’re the chosen man. Go forward from here and fill the earth. Death had reigned. The sin had taken over. But the cleansing wrath of God on creation took such an effect that he was starting again. And he made a promise.
And the promise was that he would never again flood the earth. Look with me at chapter 9, verse 12. This is how he expresses or summarizes the covenant. He said, “This is the sign that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. I’ve set a bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring the clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant.” Does God forget? No. But we are quite prone to forget.
He says, “I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature and the water shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 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.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I’ve established between me and all the flesh that is on the earth.” So even in the midst of death, God offers new life. And in this way, this account of the flood and the covenant that comes after is both pointing backwards and it’s pointing forwards.
It points backwards toward creation, but it points forward toward recreation. It points backward toward life, but it points forward toward new life. It points backward in that it reminds us of sin and rebellion, but it points forward with hope that we would walk with God in righteousness. God gives a covenant of life. And so how do we respond? How do we respond to these four chapters with some of the most terrible, really when you think about it, some of the most terrible exercising of judgment in all of the Bible, at least to this side of eternity, and a wonderful promise for new life.
How do we respond? Well, I think we respond in at least four ways. Number one, God has positioned these chapters in Genesis in such a sequence and so early in the Bible so that we would take sin seriously. And so my exhortation to you is to take it seriously. It’s powerful. It’s powerful, more powerful than we can imagine and the consequences are certainly more severe than we are able or willing to bear. Number two, I think we respond to this in that we know that God does judge and will judge sin.
Where he promised judgment in the past, he delivered. We see it right here. Where he promises judgment in the future, he will deliver and he says that he will never judge the earth again by way of a flood, but there is another judgment that the Bible talks very clearly about and that it’s a judgment for every single person who has to stand before this holy and righteous God in eternity and give an account for their actions. And the unrighteous among us will be judged, and the righteous among us will receive grace. And so that begs the question, how do I get to that point, to the next judgment that’s coming and not be one of the ones who is on the outside of the boat saying, God, I was going to get right with you, but I had it in mind to turn and walk with you, but I got distracted or no, no, no, no, I wasn’t expecting to start raining this soon. I thought I still had another 10 or 15 years. How do we get to the point when we stand on the edge of judgment ourselves and we’re not on the outside looking in, but we’re on the inside looking out? And that’s where Jesus comes in.
That’s the good news of the gospel that tells us that this perfect Son of God can make you righteous in standing before Him. 1 Peter 3:18 tells us, “For Christ also suffered once for sins as all of our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous. That He might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit.” When we stand on the precipice of the next judgment, we can have sure confidence through faith in Jesus that my unrighteous standing was already paid for. It was already judged on the cross with Him and instead the righteous standing that He had was bestowed or imputed upon me. Therefore when the judgment comes, I can stand secure. Through faith in Christ for the forgiveness of my sins. Can you stand secure? If you have put your faith in Christ, you most certainly can.
And if you’re waiting for whatever reason, I want to do some more things first, I don’t want to commit to God yet, I’m angry at him for a variety of reasons, I have more time — know that judgment is coming. And the appropriate response for your salvation from that judgment comes only from one person, Jesus Christ.
How else do we respond? I think the third way we respond to this is that we come to know and see and understand and even trust that God in his infinite wisdom holds the balance between grace and judgment. I mean, we live in a time right now where nobody wants to talk about judgment and everybody wants to talk about cheap grace, but God has the balance in mind and the balance is perfect, because he is perfect. So trust him as we explore these things together and as you have conversations, spiritual conversations with your friends. Fourthly, how do we respond to this story of the flood and God’s judgment and covenant of new life? We respond accordingly by walking in faith. We walk with God expectantly, waiting for the return of Jesus. We are ready every day. We don’t let another day pass until we’re right with him. And when we screw up today, we don’t let another day pass until we get on our face before him and say, God, I need your grace, I need your forgiveness. Help me, save me, please. Because I know judgment is coming. We are ready every single day.
In closing, I’m reminded of the story of Robbie Robbins, who was an Air Force pilot during the first Iraq War. After his 300th mission, he was surprised to be given permission to immediately take his crew and fly his plane home. So they flew across the ocean to Massachusetts, and then they had a long drive to Western Pennsylvania. They drove all night long. And when his buddies dropped him off at the driveway, just after sun up the next day, there was a big banner across the garage that said, welcome home, dad. How did they know? He said, no one had called. The crew themselves hadn’t expected to leave that early. When I walked into the house, the kids were about half dressed for school and they saw me and they screamed daddy. Susan came running down the hall and she looked terrific. Hair fixed, makeup on, crisp yellow dress. How did you know? I asked.
“I didn’t,” she answered through tears of joy. “But when we heard the war had finished, we knew that you would be coming home one of these days. We knew you’d try to surprise us, so we were ready every day.” The Bible says that Jesus is going to come like a thief in the night, that no one will know the time of his coming except for the Father, and when he comes himself. How do you respond to stories about judgment and grace? You are ready every day. May it be so for you, may it be so for me as we trust in this wonderful, just and incredibly merciful God. Let’s pray together.
Father, for those here today that question or have questioned the nature of your wrath and judgment against sin, it is my most sincere prayer that today through your word you clarify that when you promise to judge you’re going to judge and that we would have the appropriate amount of fear about that judgment. For those of us Lord who wonder what to do but have done nothing to this point, may the call to put their faith in Christ be so real and loud and overwhelming that we can’t escape today without saying Lord, I need you. And for those Father who have put their faith in Christ, help us to live ready every day as we to cry out still with confidence in our salvation but with desperate understanding of our own sin, which is so destructive. Lord, I need you.
And we pray, Father, that you’d meet us in our place of needs, individually and corporately as a church, amen.
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** This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy, but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.
