2.
Noah was given the command to start over – he was to be fruitful, multiply
and replenish the earth
3.
God, in His mercy and grace, gave mankind another chance to rebuild this world and to
glorify God
4.
New conditions existed on the earth, but man’s old sinful nature still existed as we will
observe
I.THE
ORDERS FOR NOAH – vs 1-7
·This chapter begins with three post-flood orders
for Noah.
A.The
Reproduction Order – vs 1-2, 7
1
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth. 7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply;
bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
·The 1st order had to do with the
reproduction of humanity
1.The
character of the reproduction – “multiply, be fruitful”
a)"Multiply." – vs 1 and "Bring
forth abundantly" – vs 7
b)God
wanted man to increase greatly in numbers.
c)"Be
fruitful" – vs 1
d)“fruitful"
means "to flourish... [and] indicates... successful production of fruit,
offspring"
e)The
word speaks of quality in this matter of reproduction, not just quantity.
f)He
is not only interested in how many but also in what kind.
2.The
cause for the reproduction – “replenish the earth”
a)The
human race had been wiped out and needed to be replenished
b)The
word "replenish" means simply to fill or refill
3.The
caring for the reproduction – vs 2
a)God
not only exhorts man to reproduce but He also provides protection for the
reproduction.
b)The
protection here is from animals.
(1)The
fear of the animals - "Fear of you."
(2)God
puts in animals a natural fear of humans.
(3)The
fear of man in animals does not eliminate exceptions
(4)God
ordained that man is to have the rule and priority over animals.
(5)This
fundamental doctrine is usually ignored by animal rights groups whose radical
agenda is in rebellion to God's Word.
B.The
Rations Order – vs 3-4
·The second order God gave Noah and his
descendants is the order regarding man's food.
1.The
flesh in the rations – vs 3
3
Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
a)Here
meat is introduced into man's diet.
b)Vegetarians
do not have a leg to stand on in insisting that we should not eat meat.
c)Nor
do animal rights groups have any right to stop the eating of animals.
d)All
of that is rebellion against the Word of God.
2.The
forbidden in the rations – vs 4
4
But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
a)An
important restriction about eating animals is the restriction against eating
the blood of the animals.
b)The
restriction shows respect for the blood.
c)"It
is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" -Lev17:11
d)"The
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin
e)"Being
now justified by his blood" (Romans 5:9).
C.The
Retribution Order – vs 5-6
·The retribution subject here is capital
punishment.
·This order also includes the killing of people
by animals
1.The
requirement for capital punishment – vs 5
a)Three
times in this verse the word "require" shows up.
b)Capital
punishment is a requirement from God.
c)All
the opposition to capital punishment is simply opposition to that which God
requires.
2.The
responsibility for capital punishment – vs 6
a)The
responsibility for capital punishment rests on man's shoulders
b)God
did not say He would strike the murderer dead but that man has the
responsibility to execute the murderer.
c)Mob
lynchings are not sanctioned by this cap punishment order
3.The
reason for capital punishment – “image of God”
a)Many
good reasons for CP but here is the main reason for it
b)And
that reason is sufficient reason to practice capital punishment even if there
were no other reasons.
c)Capital
punishment is justified because murder dishonors God and capital punishment
helps to retrieve that honor.
d)The
main reason is to honor God.
e)Many
are against CP, for they do not want to honor God.
II.THE
ORDINANCE FOR NOAH – vs 8-17
·God gave Noah a Divine ordinance regarding the
rainbow.
·Before the flood there were no rainbows—there
had been no rain
·While rainbows can be very beautiful and
awesome, it is the message they send that is the important thing about
rainbows.
A.The
Promise of the Rainbow – vs 9-16
1.The
style of the promise – “my covenant” – vs 9-10 ß
a)The
ordinance about the rainbow comes under the heading of "covenant"
which some call the Noahic covenant.
b)"covenant"
appears 7x in this ordinance about the rainbow
c)Covenant
is initiated by God ("I, behold I") and is un-conditional
2.The
scope of the promise – “perpetual generations” – vs 12 ß
a)The
promise was for all
b)Noah
and every one with him for "perpetual generations,"
c)Not
only in Noah's day but in our day, too.
3.The
safety in the promise – vs 11, 15 ß
a)The
safety in the promise is that there will be no more worldwide floods that
destroy all flesh.
b)The
rainbow does not give a promise for all floods.
c)Furthermore,
the rainbow does not give a promise protecting mankind from other forms of
judgment.
d)The
world will in the future be destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:10).
B.The
Purpose of the Rainbow – vs 12-13, 17 ß
1.The
rainbow's purpose is said to be a token or sign of the promise.
2.It
is a beautiful reminder of God's gracious promise of protection from another
worldwide flood.
3.But
the Bible says the rainbow needs to be looked at as a token or sign that there
will be no more worldwide floods.
C.The
Place of the Rainbow – vs 13-14, 16ß
1.The
place of the rainbow is in the cloud.
2.This
gives the observer a most encouraging message.
3.The
rainbow message would shine over the sky when the darkness of the cloud would
cause men to wonder and worry about another Noahic flood.
4.The
place of the rainbow reminds us that a rainbow is a joint product of storm and
sunshine.
5.God's
people have a lot of storms and clouds in their lives, but God sends the
sunshine of His love and grace and produces a beautiful experience from the
storm and clouds of trials and troubles in our lives.
D.The
Perpetualness of the Rainbow – vs 12, 16
12
And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you
and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 16
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember
the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all
flesh that is upon the earth.
1.God
stresses the fact that the rainbow is not a temporary sign but a long-term "everlasting"
sign of safety from a world-wife flood.
2.We
hear talk today that the so-called "global warming" effect could
endanger the world with a flood if all the ice caps of the earth melted.
3.Every
time you see a rainbow, you can write off that prognostication as nothing but
foolishness.
4.The
"global warming" that we need to be concerned about is the
destruction of the earth by fire (2 Peter 3:10) in judgment upon sin.
III.
THE SIN OF NOAH – vs 20-27
·One would like to leave out this section about the
sin of Noah
·Noah had conducted himself with excellence.
·In spite of the wicked times, he walked a holy
life in obedience to the L
·Now the Scripture reports Noah's fall into
drunkenness.
·The sin of Noah is a warning to all to heed
Paul's exhortation, "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest
he fall" (1 Cor 10:12).
·If Noah could fall, then the rest of us lesser saints
need to be careful lest we also fall into temptation and make a mess of things.
A.The
Career for the Sin – vs 20
20
And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
·The occupation or new post-flood
"career" of Noah and his fall are very much related.
1.A
legitimate career
a)Farming
is not evil - There is nothing wrong with Noah’s work
b)It
was not the pursuing of this career but
the perverting of it
c)Many
good things and many good blessings can cause you to fall if you pervert the
use of them.
2.A
laborious career
a)Vineyards
do not grow and produce good crops by themselves.
b)They
must be planted and cultivated, and that requires labor
c)Noah
was not adverse to hard work.
d)He
did not choose a career on the basis of how little work it would require.
e)He
would not be one to help fill the rolls of a government welfare program.
f)Noah's
problem in our text was not laziness but lustfulness.
B.The
Conduct of Caused by the Sin – vs 21
21
And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his
tent.
·Noah's conduct was deplorable.
·Booze is one of the greatest instigators of
sinful conduct in the world.
1.The
peril of drinking
a)Here
is the first mention of wine in the Bible.
b)That
the first mention should carry with it such a shocking tragedy is a warning
about the peril of booze.
c)But
this peril is all but ignored by society today as is seen by such things as the
many advertisements about booze on radio and TV.
2.The
partaking in drinking – “drank… drunken”
a)Noah's
sin began with just one drink.
b)Sin
always starts with just one downward step.
c)Satan
insists that doing it just once will not
hurt
d)That
is a lie, for doing it once is what gets it started
3.The
product of his drinking – “uncovered”
a)Noah's
drinking led to Noah's disrobing.
b)Booze
does not inspire holy living.
c)'uncovered' (nakedness) actually means
'shameful nakedness' and is often used to describe immoral behavior.
d)A
different word... is used to describe simple nakedness /bareness
e)The
daughters of Lot got him drunk so he would commit incest
C.The
Cognizance of the Sin – vs 22
22
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his
two brethren without.
·Noah's sin was not concealed, but it was observed.
·Man observed it but so also did God.
1.The
cause of the cognizance
a)One
does not sin alone.
b)Noah's
sin resulted in the sin of one of his sons.
c)Ham,
one of the sons of Noah, saw the nakedness of Noah which was caused by Noah's
drunkenness.
2.The
character of the cognizance – “saw the nakedness …”
a)On
the surface, this report looks like Ham seeing his father naked was harmless
and probably accidental. -- But it was neither.
b)The
meaning of the word "saw" here
is "to see by volition" (Baker and Carpenter) which is not an
accidental viewing.
c)"He
gazed with satisfaction" (Leupold).
d)The
fact that it was evil viewing is confirmed by Noah's cursing Ham's son because
of the viewing by Ham.
3.The
communication of the cognizance – “told his brethren”
a)This
action of Ham added to his sin.
b)"The
circumstances suggest that he told them with delight" Leupol
c)He
was eager to tell the dirty and the foul as evil men are.
d)"Without." This word means
"street."
e)He
did not tell his brother in private but in public—out in the street where
others might hear.
f)The
context implies that Ham told with the intent of getting his brothers to also
look upon Noah.
g)This
is typical of sin. It proselytes as we saw in Eve's case.
D.The
Covering of the Sin – vs 23 ß
·Shem and Japheth were of a different character
than Ham.
·Instead of broadcasting Noah's sin and going to
see Noah's shame, they corrected the problem by covering Noah.
1.The
compassion in the covering – “covered”
a)Ham
did not help here.
b)He
was not interested in covering Noah's nakedness but only in looking at Noah's
nakedness.
c)Shem
and Japheth had a compassion for honoring their father and for holiness.
2.The
carefulness in the covering
a)Correcting
evil requires caution.
b)You
do not have to go into bars and burlesque places to witness
c)You
to not have to sip a wine at your neighbor's house to witness
E.The
Condemnation After Overindulgence – vs 24-25
24
And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
·For those who think Noah got off free without a
penalty for his sin, think again.
·He had to curse (the curse was Divinely
inspired) his grandson which had to be very painful for him.
1.The
severity of the condemnation – “cursed” – vs 25ß
a)This
is strong language and that says Ham's sin was very evil.
b)We
seldom use such strong language against sin today
2.The
servitude in the condemnation – “servant of servants”
a)"Servant of servants" is a term like
"King of kings" which is a superlative for the "greatest
possible servitude"
b)The
curse in this condemnation was servitude not black skin.
c)We
have two lessons here
(1)Sin lowers.
Being a servant is certainly a lowly position.
(2)Sin limits.
Being a servant like this is not the language of freedom.
3.The
son for the condemnation – “Canaan”
a)Noah
did not name his son but rather his grandson.
b)However,
from the later patriarchal pronouncements by Noah, the fact that no blessing
came to Ham would indicate that more sons of Ham than Canaan came under the
curse.
F.The Compensation After Overindulgence – vs 26-27
ß
·Noah's patriarchal pronouncements also included
rewarding compensation for their noble deed of covering Noah.
1.The
blessings in their compensation
a)Ham's
patriarchal pronouncement was a "Cursed," but Shem and Japheth are
blessed.
b)Sin
curses but righteousness blesses. It pays to do right!
2.The
bondslaves in their compensation – “servant”
a)In
Noah's patriarchal pronouncement, Ham's descendants serve Shem and Japheth—thus
the good guys come out on top and the bad guys end up on the bottom.
b)The
world honors evil but God honors the honorable.
IV.
THE OBITUARY OF NOAH – vs 18-19, 28-29
A.The
Sum of his Life – vs 29
29 And all the days of Noah were
nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
1.Only
two men lived longer than Noah.
a)They
are Jared who lived to be 962
b)Methuselah
who lived to be 969
c)By
comparing the obituaries in Gen
5, 11 we learn that Noah lived 58 years after Abraham was born.
d)Noah's
death reminds us that "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after
this the judgment" (Hebrews (9:27).
e)Even
if you live to be almost a thousand you still have to face judgment.
f)Therefore,
"Prepare to meet thy God" (Amos 4:12).
B.The
Segments of his Life – vs 28
28
And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
1.Noah's
life is divided into two segments.
a)They
are his life before the flood and after the flood.
b)Living
350 years after the flood would mean that he saw a great deal of progress in
the reclaiming of the earth after the flood. He also saw the degradation of
mankind by sin take place.
c)Noah
being alive into the 58th year of Abraham indicates that he was alive when the
tower of Babel was built and men were scattered because of the introduction of
various languages