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NOAH'S FLOOD: FLESH OR BEAST? PART TWO
by Pastor Jeromy John Visser
(Introduction:)
Last weekend, we only covered about half of the narrative concerning Noah and the flood as recorded in the book of Genesis so this morning I intend on finishing up that particular study. We read in Hebrews 11:7 that; "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." Just as commanded -- Noah feared Yahweh.
I feel that this Biblical account is important because by just reading it for for ourselves we're able to see that the 'modern thoughts' surrounding many of these verses are entirely erroneous. For example, I've already proven that 'two of all flesh' were both destroyed and spared by Yahweh and the flood itself was brought on because of unholy unions between the fallen angels and 'the daughters of Adam.' The Bible teaches that Nephalim or 'giants' were the result of this disobedience. When we left off last weekend Noah and his family had just been "shut in" the ark by Yahweh, "waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth" for forty days and then "the waters prevailed [exceeded] upon the earth an hundred and fifty days." Needless to say, we forsook our particular study while Noah and the ark sat 'high and dry' upon these waters, thank goodness that Yahweh didn't do the same thing. Let's continue reading at the beginning of chapter eight in Genesis.
"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 assuaged; The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen (Genesis 8:1-5)."
Again, we notice that Yahweh remembered "every living thing" in addition to Noah and his family tying right into the 'two of all flesh' that were aboard the ark. After raining for forty days the waters that destroyed the "earth" then began to "evaporate" for another hundred and fifty days because Yahweh had "made a wind to pass over the earth." The ark rested "upon the mountains of Ararat" and this can within itself be an interesting study into the scientific evidence into the ark's remains because nearly two hundred people have reported seeing a wooden vessel in a glacier high on Mt. Ararat in what is considered Eastern Turkey today. A very good book on the subject is Noah's Ark: Mystery of Ararat by Larry D. Ikenberry by Cascade Photographics (Olympia, Washington) although it's become rather hard to find since its first publishing in 1976.
The next few sets of passages have great symbology in addition to many deeper truths so we must pay close attention to what they say. The Bible begins to tell how Noah began to 'test' whether or not the 'earth' was inhabitable by releasing two different birds into the air -- the raven and the dove. These particular verses explain what happened inside the ark after the rain stopped.
"Then at the end of forty days, Noah opened the window which he had made in the Ark; and sent out a raven and it went, wandered and turned about until the waters dried away from off the earth. Afterwards, he sent out a dove from him, to see if the waters had lessened from the surface of the field; but the dove found not a resting place for the sole of her foot, so she returned to him in the Ark, for the waters were still on the whole surface of the earth; so he put out his hand and took her, and brought her to him into the Ark (Genesis 8:6-9 ffb)."
Interesting of note is that the raven is an unclean bird (Leviticus 11:15) meaning that it survives off the carcasses of other animals yet it did not return inside the ark. This can be seen as further proof that the flood was specific to a particular region and not worldwide because the raven still exists today meaning that it survived the ordeal after being released by Noah. Think about it -- where did the raven get its food? Sure, dead animals can float but I say this only to give you something to think about. Matthew Henry's Commentary says; "The dove is an emblem of a gracious soul, which finding no rest for its foot, no solid peace or satisfaction in this world, this deluged defiling world, returns to Christ as to its ark, as to its Noah. The carnal heart, like the raven, takes up with the world, and feeds on the carrions it finds there." The olive-branch, which is an emblem of peace, was brought by the humble dove and notice how the Bible clearly says that Noah brought [accepted] her to him?
"He then waited seven days longer, and again sent out the dove from the Ark. And the dove returning at dusk, carried in her mouth an olive-leaf which had been broken off. So Noah then knew that the waters were off the earth. Waiting yet another seven days, he sent the dove out again, and it did not return to him. At the end of his six hundred and first year, on the first day of the month, the waters dried from off the earth. Noah then loosened the hatches of the Ark, and looking out, perceived that the surface of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry (Genesis 8:10-14 ffb)."
It should also be noticed that Noah observed a type of Sabbath by releasing a dove every "seven days." Indeed, Jesus' fingerprints are all over these verses but I venture to say that only the serious Bible student will pick up on it. In order for us to be like 'faithful Noah' we will need to pay attention to what he does as soon as his feet touch dry ground so that we might be able to do the same when we're called. The next few passages of scripture deal with Noah's seed "replenishing" the earth, and we've already covered in Trees and Stars In The Garden of Yahweh that the word 'replenish' is to reestablish or rebuild something that had obviously previously existed. The following actions on the part of Noah and his family lead right up to the Noahic Covenant which is still very important to us as Christians.
Let's continue; "God spoke unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark (Genesis 8:15-19)."
Noah and his family are finally freed from the huge Ark and may once again walk on the dry ground. Notice that again Yahweh says to 'bring forth' not only just furry animals but specifically "every living thing of all flesh?" Here we can see that the same 'two of all flesh' that were spared by God are now released into the 'new' world making it through the "the flood [sent] upon the world of the ungodly (2 Peter 2:5)." It's important to pay close attention to these next verses to see what Noah does first.
"Noah built an altar unto Yahweh; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And Yahweh smelled a sweet savor; and Yahweh said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:20-22)."
The eighth chapter of Genesis ends with God promising to continue the seasons and cycles on earth to benefit mankind. Notice how Yahweh says that man's heart is still evil? This is important to take notice of because many false churches out there claiming to have 'all truth' will usually say that the very reason for the flood was to wipe out 'wicked man' to replace him with 'a righteous seed' like it's even remotely possible for God Himself to make a mistake. Sadly, their ignorance of this account shows because not long after walking upon the earth again Noah's son Ham fathers cursed Canaan through forbidden incest. We would do well to pay attention to the fact that Noah promptly made an offering to Yahweh to which God promises "I will not again curse the ground for man's sake" and "neither will I again smite any more every thing living." This is leading up to many more promises made by Yahweh to Noah and his offspring Israel but like always -- this covenant is also conditional.
The last of the four chapters in this series is Genesis 9; "God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things (Genesis 9:1-3)."
Again, we find Yahweh puts emphasis on "the green herb" as he did in the creation account transcribed in Genesis 1:30. Look for a second sermon in the Herb For The Service Of Man series very soon even further expanding on the topic of marijuana and the scriptures. What's important to notice here is that Yahweh entrusts "the green herb" into the hands of man and not their antichrist government. Also, in these verses Yahweh gives Noah dominion over every living thing that remained on earth after the flood, including the controversial "beast of the earth." All things are given into Noah's care but there are always circumstances to the promise so let's continue reading.
"But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein (Genesis 9:4-7)."
Yahweh never changes and neither does His Law -- here we find a provision for man to eat meat but a diligent study will also prove that from this stage onward man's life span gradually reduces as well. Nonetheless, in keeping with the eternal Law Yahweh forbids Noah from eating blood or fat just as He tells Israel in Leviticus 7:26-27; "Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people." We also find another commandment -- "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." While many false prophets like to teach that murderers have salvation the Bible itself says "no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15)." Something to think about.
Here comes the important part; "God also spoke to Noah, and to his sons along with him, saying, "Now I Myself will fix a Covenant with you, and your descendants after you; and with every living animal that is with you; with bird, and cattle, and with every animal of the earth with you; of all coming out of the Ark; and with every wild beast of the earth. I have fixed my Covenant with you, that all flesh shall never again be destroyed by a downrush of water; and there shall never again be a downrush to desolate the earth (Genesis 9:8-11 ffb)."
Separate from Yahweh's Law with Israel is the Noahic Covenant that was made with the entire world, including the wild beast of the earth. This is rather important because He promises to never destroy the earth or mankind by water again. Notice that this unchanging covenant, or promise, is also made with Noah's descendants after him? This includes you and I so we should really pay close attention to what Yahweh says in the next few passages of scripture. Also worthy of mention is that Ferrar Fenton also uses the terminology "all flesh" as does the beloved Authorized Version.
"God also said "This is the attestation of the Covenant which I have made between Myself and you, and between all animal life which is with you for every generation. I place My rainbow in the clouds, and it shall be for an evidence of the Covenant between Myself and all the earth. When there is My cloud, covering the earth; and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I shall remember My Covenant that is between Myself and you, and between all animal life, and there shall never again be a downrush of water to sweep away all living. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and appear as an eternal record of the Covenant between God and all animal life existing upon the face of the earth." And God repeated to Noah, "This is the Covenant which I have settled between Myself and all existence which is upon the earth (Genesis 9:12-17 ffb)."
Indeed, the homosexuals have even managed to pervert and twist the meaning of the rainbow but the Bible clearly teaches that it's an "eternal record" of the Noahic Covenant made with the whole earth. That promise is very simple -- Yahweh won't send major waters to destroy the world. In a debate earlier this month about Noah's flood another person said to me "As if the natural laws that govern how water and light react to each other in the atmosphere were not in effect until after the flood." I ask you, is that not what these verses are saying? The next time you're driving down a country road after a fresh spring rain and see an awesome rainbow high up in the sky, take some time to reflect on what Yahweh is telling you. Sadly, few people ever do.
(Intention:)
My intention with both parts in this series is to hopefully convince you that it's God's Word that is most important, not what soccer-moms teach during Sunday school. Easy-believism has claimed many casualties with its false doctrines. Bogus teachings like "Eve ate an apple" or "Noah's Ark was multicultural" are much more destructive than they might seem and lead well-meaning Christians down the wrong path of thinking. Never trust any man, rather trust and fear Yahweh, the God of Israel.
[ Date:
Sunday, April 17th,
2005 ]
Last Page Update:
February 08, 2006
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