Genesis chapter 10 is a look into how the Earth was repopulated after the Flood. Through the sons of Noah, we see 70 different nations emerge spreading all across the Earth. From the East to the West, from the Amorites to the Philistines and all the nations in between, the Earth once again has been populated. With that, we also see that God is the God of all people.
From Noah’s descendants, we see that even the nations that later went on to battle and become enemies of the Israelites came from the same blood line. And to go back even further, before Noah, all of humanity originated from Adam and Eve. This genealogy account further shows that.
We also see that life went on even after Noah’s missteps and Ham’s poor judgement. God did not wipe out their family line, in fact He even allowed for great people to come from their family line like Nimrod the great hunter and eventually Abraham the father of many nations.
What I particularly like about this chapter is that we are all related. We all came from the same family line, under the same God, and although we have branched out and have our own languages and values, our origin story is the same. We have great people in our family line and some not so great people. Everyone is human, we all make mistakes, some people are amazing and some are amazingly horrible, but we all bleed the same blood.
Be encouraged, for you come from a great family tree that was designed by the Creator Himself! This is just the beginning. This is your origin story!
In Genesis chapter 8, we see an end to the flood. While the flood continued for 150 days, it took 261 days for the flood to calm. And when the waters calm, Noah is cautious and sends birds (first an unclean bird – a raven, then a clean bird – a dove) out of the ark to scout the region and see if there is dry land. The dove came back, after a second trip, with an olive branch in it’s beak signaling that the land had dried and the storm was over. In today’s society, we see a dove with an olive branch as a sing of peace and when fights happen, we say that we should “extend an olive branch” to signal peace. I’m sure that for Noah and his family, seeing the olive branch that the dove brought back was a sign of peace for them too.
But still, Noah and his family (and all of the animals, we can’t forget them) waited for 7 more days on the ark before sending the dove out again. When the dove didn’t return to the ark, Noah knew that the time of judgment was over.
I’m sure when Noah and his family came out of the ark, they kissed the land that they thought they may never see again. Noah made a burnt offering to God, being grateful to Him for his and his family’s safety. God was pleased and said that He would never again curse the ground like that again.
Have you every gone through a season of life where you thought the storm would never end, that the world around you would always be flooded and you would never see the safety of dry land again? I know I have, but when I start to feel like that, I remind myself that I am alive. If I am alive, that means I didn’t drown in the waters surrounding me. It means God gave me an ark, a shelter from the flood. The other thing I need to remind myself of is that it won’t rain forever. The storm will pass, the flood will subside and I will see dry land once more. Be encouraged, God loves you enough to provide you with a way to survive even the biggest of storms!
In Genesis chapter 7, Noah and his family are shut into the ark with all of the animals. God told Noah to take 7 pairs of clean animals, or animals that can be used for sacrifice, and 2 of every unclean animal and then He shut them all in the ark, sealing their safety.
And it rains for 40 days and 40 nights. And after it rains, they have to stay in the ark for another 150 days because the Earth was still flooded. That’s 190 days in tight quarters with only your immediate family and a whole bunch of animals.
Before the rain came, there was a seven day waiting period. 7 days where anyone could have come and knocked on the door of the ark and asked to be let in. 7 days where the people of the Earth could have seen impending doom and asked for a second chance. That’s not what happened though. The rains came, flooded the Earth and took out all of humanity except for those on the ark. Noah and his family were the only ones marked safe during the storm.
Now I don’t know about any of you, but if I was lucky enough to be one of the survivors, I would have gone crazy. They would have renamed Cabin Fever after me and called it Ark Fever. Being stuck in a boat with a bunch of animals (and animal poop) with only a limited amount of people to be around and an even more limited number of activities would have driven me up the wall. God did not make me to live in an ark, but sometimes it feels like it.
Although God hasn’t flooded the Earth to wipe out all that is bad, He has definitely flooded my life to get the same results. There have surely been seasons where God has said “pack up your things, get on this boat, you’re the only one I’m saving.” Sometimes there’s people in the boat with me. And just when I’m about to go mad, just when it feels like I will never see dry land again, the rain stops and the flood waters retreat and I get to try again. So be encouraged! Even when we are in the storms of life, there is hope because it won’t rain forever and you are not alone in the storm.
In Genesis chapter 6, we see that the Earth is becoming a popular place and the human race is quickly multiplying. While this is happening and God watches as the world grows and changes, He decides to limit human life to 125 years. While that is still a long life span for us, compared to the people of the previous chapter who lived for hundreds of years, 125 seems quite young. We are also told that during this time, there were giants and there were mighty men, or heroes.
During this time, God saw that the heart of man overall was wicked, evil, and it hurt His heart. Have you ever looked at someone you cared for greatly only to see them making poor choices and acting out of sorts? That hurts in a place so deep, it makes you want to turn away from them rather than to look and see that pain day in and day out. The same pain, I imagine, plagued God and He decided to destroy the Earth rather than to watch the wicked prevail.
But God looked at Noah and only saw love. He was moved to act in mercy for the one who found grace in His eyes. And so, God spoke to Noah and told him what His plan was. He was going to destroy the Earth with a flood, but He was going to give Noah and his family a way out by allowing them to build an ark for shelter from the flood.
God gave them a specific plan on how to build the ark and who should go in it. Noah and his family was to be saved along with 2 of every living creature on the Earth, except the Unicorns… just kidding! But you’ll have to read it for yourself to know for sure.
Now wouldn’t it be great if God just gave us specific plans for our lives? But here’s the thing, we have to be obedient in that. Noah knew God, walked with God, found favor with God, listened to God and when he was told to build an ark, he did so.
There is a funny joke that goes something like this… A man finds himself on the roof of his house staring at the water that is rising all around him during a storm. Another man in a boat comes by and say “Hey, this is a really bad storm, come with me on my boat and I will take you to safety.” The man on the roof says, “No, no. I’m okay, God will save me.” So the boat goes away and the water begins to rise. A while later a man on a jet ski comes by and says, “Hey, this is a really bad storm, come with me on my jet ski and I will take you to safety.” The man on the roof says, “No, no. I’m okay, God will save me.” So the jet ski goes away and the storm rages on. A long while later, a helicopter comes by and over a mega phone says, “Sir, you need to come with us, you won’t survive on the roof.” The man on the roof says, “No, no. I’m okay, God will save me.” And then, he dies.
The man goes up to Heaven and standing before God he says, “God, I was patient and waited for you to save me, but you never came. Why did you let me die?” and God says, “I sent you a boat, a jet ski and a helicopter. Why didn’t you let me save you?”
The moral of that story is that sometimes God sends you a boat and sometimes He tells you to build it. Either way, don’t allow yourself to drown in your inability to move.
Coffee House Word 