WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:23.980 Good morning. 00:00:23.980 --> 00:00:53.960 Good morning. 00:00:53.979 --> 00:00:54.959 You know, it's just fascinating. 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:57.159 It's just fascinating to read about all that stuff. 00:00:58.279 --> 00:01:06.519 And as many of you know, our world seems to be having an increasing number of such disasters. 00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:06.539 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:45.439 a building standing in some places, some of the video of the floods where the entire island 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:49.599 was simply underwater, engulfed by the sea. 00:01:51.519 --> 00:02:01.920 And seeing the video footage of the survivors afterwards coming out from their refuges and 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:11.479 looking at the wreckage, the complete destruction, the creation that they had lived in and the 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:15.620 forms that had given them life were wiped out. 00:02:17.379 --> 00:02:23.520 Many of you are old enough to remember Hurricane Katrina, pictures of people sitting on their 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:32.200 roofs, hoping that someone might rescue them from the floodwaters days after the hurricane 00:02:32.200 --> 00:02:40.060 was gone, hoping against hope that they might be rescued. 00:02:42.980 --> 00:02:47.240 The aftermath of these storms is devastating. 00:02:48.580 --> 00:02:53.120 And of course, in our lives, there are other types of storms as well, aren't there? 00:02:53.920 --> 00:03:03.660 The end of a marriage, a tragic diagnosis, losing your job, an untimely death, and many 00:03:03.660 --> 00:03:04.160 others. 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:11.340 When we think about these things, it's easy for us to be consumed by fears. 00:03:12.740 --> 00:03:14.560 Some of us may struggle with big fears. 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:19.060 I have this chronic fear that when I go away and I come back to my house, I'm going to come 00:03:19.060 --> 00:03:20.600 back and the whole thing will be burned down. 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:24.479 And all there is is a concrete slab and ashes. 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:26.819 And this is recurring. 00:03:27.079 --> 00:03:28.159 It happens all the time. 00:03:28.219 --> 00:03:29.900 When I go away, this is what I think about. 00:03:31.500 --> 00:03:34.400 Maybe you have other kinds of fears. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:41.400 And it's not just the fears when we think about these things. 00:03:41.500 --> 00:03:44.939 It's not just the fears about what will happen to us. 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:51.819 But when we think about a God who rules over the universe and sovereignly cares over all 00:03:51.819 --> 00:03:55.840 things, it raises questions and fears in our hearts about God as well. 00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:00.400 In the aftermath of such things, what will God do? 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:03.740 Who will God be to us? 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:06.060 Is he safe? 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:07.879 Will he do it again? 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:16.540 The fears that arise in the aftermath are what bring us to our passage this morning in the 00:04:16.540 --> 00:04:17.219 book of Genesis. 00:04:17.980 --> 00:04:20.199 What will happen after the flood? 00:04:20.719 --> 00:04:23.620 If you want to turn with me in your pew Bibles, you can turn to page 6. 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:27.500 We're looking at Genesis starting in chapter 8, verse 20. 00:04:28.500 --> 00:04:32.219 And as you turn there, let me just remind you where we are in the story. 00:04:32.220 --> 00:04:38.660 Anyway, going back a couple of chapters, God looked at the world and he saw the evil that 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:43.880 every intention of the hearts of humankind was only evil always. 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:50.300 And he determined to make an end to that evil by flooding the world and destroying all the living 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:50.800 creatures. 00:04:51.820 --> 00:04:59.400 And yet in his mercy, he remembered Noah and he saw Noah in his righteousness and he called 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:04.199 Noah to be the one that he would rescue in the ark. 00:05:04.659 --> 00:05:07.539 And Noah and his family were rescued through the flood. 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:14.639 And in chapter 8, verse 19, they literally have just stepped out of the boat. 00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:20.919 They are walking into the aftermath of the flood. 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:25.879 And they're asking the questions that we ask often in our own lives. 00:05:27.359 --> 00:05:28.899 What will God do now? 00:05:29.399 --> 00:05:31.659 What will happen to us? 00:05:32.279 --> 00:05:34.259 Where do we go from here? 00:05:35.599 --> 00:05:37.500 So that's what we're going to look at this morning. 00:05:38.799 --> 00:05:42.699 As we look at this, I'm going to read the passage and then we'll pray together. 00:05:43.339 --> 00:05:44.459 And then we'll dive in. 00:05:46.379 --> 00:05:48.919 So Genesis chapter 8, verse 20. 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:56.280 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every 00:05:56.280 --> 00:05:59.500 clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:04.520 And when the Lord smelt the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, 00:06:04.519 --> 00:06:08.659 I will never again curse the ground because of man. 00:06:08.659 --> 00:06:12.680 For the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. 00:06:13.039 --> 00:06:17.599 Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 00:06:18.299 --> 00:06:25.579 While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, 00:06:25.579 --> 00:06:27.819 shall not cease. 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:32.279 And God blessed Noah and his sons. 00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:33.259 And he said to them, 00:06:33.259 --> 00:06:36.500 Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:44.779 The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, 00:06:44.919 --> 00:06:46.819 upon everything that creeps on the ground, 00:06:47.339 --> 00:06:48.639 and all the fish of the sea. 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:50.819 Into your hands they are delivered. 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:55.560 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. 00:06:55.899 --> 00:07:00.180 And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:05.379 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 00:07:06.599 --> 00:07:09.839 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning. 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:13.379 From every beast I will require it and from man. 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:17.240 From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:22.900 Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:25.780 For God made man in his own image. 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:30.120 And you be fruitful and multiply. 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:34.060 Team on the earth and multiply in it. 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:37.900 And then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:43.819 Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you 00:07:43.819 --> 00:07:46.840 and with every living creature that is with you. 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:50.799 The birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you. 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:55.879 As many as came out of the ark, it is for every beast of the earth. 00:07:56.099 --> 00:08:02.639 I establish my covenant with you that never again shall all flesh be cut off 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:04.139 by the waters of the flood. 00:08:04.599 --> 00:08:08.659 And never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. 00:08:08.660 --> 00:08:10.760 And God said, 00:08:10.760 --> 00:08:16.000 This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:19.380 and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:22.240 I have set my bow in the cloud, 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:27.200 and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 00:08:27.700 --> 00:08:31.960 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:35.720 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:38.439 and every living creature of all flesh. 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:44.360 And the water shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:46.720 When the bow is in the clouds, 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:49.899 I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant 00:08:49.899 --> 00:08:53.439 between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:54.920 And God said to Noah, 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:58.820 This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me 00:08:58.820 --> 00:09:00.880 and all flesh that is on the earth. 00:09:02.900 --> 00:09:08.640 Now the sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:10.500 Ham was the father of Canaan. 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:12.860 These three were the sons of Noah, 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:16.360 and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:21.080 Noah began to be a man of the soil, 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:22.460 and he planted a vineyard. 00:09:22.460 --> 00:09:27.259 He drank the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 00:09:28.040 --> 00:09:29.620 And Ham, the father of Canaan, 00:09:30.019 --> 00:09:33.940 saw the nakedness of his father and told his brothers outside. 00:09:34.800 --> 00:09:38.240 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:40.480 laid it on both of their shoulders, 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:44.060 and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father. 00:09:44.860 --> 00:09:46.440 Their faces were turned backwards. 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:48.840 They did not see their father's nakedness. 00:09:49.700 --> 00:09:51.639 When Noah awoke from his wine, 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:54.840 he knew what his youngest son had done to him. 00:09:55.699 --> 00:09:56.559 He said, 00:09:57.220 --> 00:09:58.679 Cursed be Canaan, 00:09:59.199 --> 00:10:01.519 a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers. 00:10:02.539 --> 00:10:03.659 He also said, 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:05.740 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:07.159 Let Canaan be his servant. 00:10:07.659 --> 00:10:09.220 May God enlarge Japheth, 00:10:09.299 --> 00:10:11.139 and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, 00:10:11.199 --> 00:10:12.960 and let Canaan be his servant. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:16.200 After the flood, 00:10:16.300 --> 00:10:18.620 Noah lived for 350 years. 00:10:19.420 --> 00:10:22.820 All the days of Noah were 950 years, 00:10:23.060 --> 00:10:24.660 and he died. 00:10:25.660 --> 00:10:27.000 Let's pray together. 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:36.460 Lord, we thank you for your word this morning. 00:10:36.779 --> 00:10:39.940 We thank you that you have not left us to grope in the dark, 00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:41.919 or to wonder what kind of God you are, 00:10:41.980 --> 00:10:44.679 but that you have made yourself known. 00:10:45.019 --> 00:10:47.039 You have revealed yourself to us, 00:10:47.539 --> 00:10:49.899 Lord, through your son, Jesus Christ, 00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:53.220 and through your written word here that we read this morning. 00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:57.920 Lord, we pray now that you would help us by your spirit 00:10:57.920 --> 00:10:59.240 to understand your word, 00:10:59.700 --> 00:11:01.200 and to apply it to our hearts. 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:04.279 Lord, that we might know you, 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:06.899 and that we as your creatures 00:11:06.899 --> 00:11:09.620 might respond to you, our creator, 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:11.460 as we ought. 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:15.220 Be with us this morning, we pray. 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:17.080 I pray, Lord, that you would help me. 00:11:17.860 --> 00:11:19.320 Lord, that I might speak clearly, 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:21.879 and that my words would be true, 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:24.340 and that, Lord, you would help me this morning. 00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:27.340 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:28.360 Amen. 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:38.539 What kind of God will God be after the flood? 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:40.960 And what will happen to humankind? 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:43.840 These are the two questions that this text 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:46.279 answer for us this morning, 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:49.039 and we're going to look at those in order. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:53.079 So first, what kind of God will God be? 00:11:54.139 --> 00:11:57.959 As we start in verse 20 of chapter 8, 00:11:58.459 --> 00:12:01.319 we will see that in the first section of this, 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:03.219 going all the way through 917, 00:12:03.439 --> 00:12:05.759 we will see that God is a God 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:10.339 who will graciously restore his creation, 00:12:11.219 --> 00:12:12.539 that he will make a covenant 00:12:12.539 --> 00:12:15.399 to preserve life in God's creation 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:17.319 in a post-flood world. 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:19.840 This is his purpose, 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:21.079 and this is his plan, 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:24.299 and this is the God that we see in it. 00:12:24.340 --> 00:12:25.039 Let's look at it. 00:12:25.079 --> 00:12:26.699 We'll break it down into three sections 00:12:26.699 --> 00:12:29.720 as we look at this chunk together. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:31.439 Three things that God restores. 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:35.439 First, in chapter 8, 20 through 22, 00:12:35.439 --> 00:12:39.279 we see that God is restoring the form of creation. 00:12:40.939 --> 00:12:42.059 What do I mean by that? 00:12:42.059 --> 00:12:44.879 Well, in response to Noah's response, 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:46.500 Noah walks out of the ark. 00:12:47.119 --> 00:12:49.699 He puts his feet back on solid ground 00:12:49.699 --> 00:12:52.879 after days and weeks and months 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:54.479 and maybe even years. 00:12:54.599 --> 00:12:55.959 It's not quite clear how long, 00:12:56.059 --> 00:12:57.879 but a long time he was on the boat, 00:12:58.379 --> 00:13:00.779 and he's finally on solid ground. 00:13:00.839 --> 00:13:02.199 If you've ever been on a boat for a while, 00:13:02.299 --> 00:13:03.359 it feels good, doesn't it? 00:13:03.639 --> 00:13:04.799 Whew, solid ground. 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:06.679 But he recognizes that he's there 00:13:06.679 --> 00:13:08.839 because God has graciously preserved him 00:13:08.840 --> 00:13:09.600 and his family, 00:13:09.860 --> 00:13:12.220 and so he responds as he knows. 00:13:12.220 --> 00:13:13.660 He builds an altar, 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:15.259 and he worships God, 00:13:15.540 --> 00:13:18.280 and he offers up a burnt offering, 00:13:18.460 --> 00:13:20.680 which is a thanksgiving and praise offering 00:13:20.680 --> 00:13:22.500 to God for his deliverance. 00:13:23.180 --> 00:13:26.379 It is also, I believe, a recognition 00:13:26.379 --> 00:13:29.500 because a burnt offering, 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:30.840 as you see it played out 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:32.019 in the rest of the Old Testament, 00:13:32.139 --> 00:13:34.519 is often an atoning sacrifice, 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:37.840 something where something is being offered 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:40.159 and burned up as a recognition 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:43.439 that sin requires death, 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:48.559 that sin causes judgment to fall, 00:13:49.299 --> 00:13:51.100 and something must die for sin. 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:53.559 And so he offers up this sacrifice to God, 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:54.840 and God responds. 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:57.860 And interesting, when you look at it 00:13:57.860 --> 00:13:59.720 in verses 21 and 22, 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:02.319 he doesn't actually talk about humanity at all. 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:04.240 What he talks about here 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:06.720 is that what God is doing is saying, 00:14:06.940 --> 00:14:09.340 I will never again curse the ground 00:14:09.340 --> 00:14:12.100 the way that I've just done with the flood. 00:14:12.920 --> 00:14:13.200 Right? 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:17.260 He says, I will not destroy the creation again. 00:14:17.420 --> 00:14:19.780 I will not strike down every living creature 00:14:19.780 --> 00:14:21.160 as I have done. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:24.520 Now, if you think back 00:14:24.520 --> 00:14:26.360 to what we've talked about 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:28.380 and what God was doing in the flood 00:14:28.380 --> 00:14:29.760 and the way that he was, 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:32.759 the flood was in some ways an uncreation, 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.259 mirroring in a negative way 00:14:36.259 --> 00:14:38.059 what had happened in Genesis 1 00:14:38.059 --> 00:14:39.340 where God had taken a world 00:14:39.340 --> 00:14:40.679 from watery chaos 00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:41.980 to form, 00:14:42.419 --> 00:14:44.600 and those forms of day and night 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:45.740 and land and sea 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:46.759 and dry land 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:49.919 and created the place 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:50.759 where life would flourish, 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:55.559 where animals and plants 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:57.740 and then human beings would flourish. 00:14:57.740 --> 00:14:59.399 And what the flood was 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:01.460 was a deconstructing of all of that, 00:15:01.539 --> 00:15:03.259 an uncreating of all of that. 00:15:03.580 --> 00:15:04.560 And now that God, 00:15:04.659 --> 00:15:06.320 now that the waters have receded 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:09.399 and there is still life there, 00:15:09.899 --> 00:15:10.560 God is saying, 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:12.460 I will never again destroy it 00:15:12.460 --> 00:15:14.320 the way that I have. 00:15:15.980 --> 00:15:17.620 It's fascinating when you look at verse 22, 00:15:17.740 --> 00:15:19.340 you think about some of these structures 00:15:19.340 --> 00:15:20.700 that would have been very familiar 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:22.659 in an agricultural society, 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:24.200 maybe less so to us today, 00:15:24.200 --> 00:15:26.120 seed time and harvest, 00:15:26.280 --> 00:15:27.080 cold and heat, 00:15:27.259 --> 00:15:27.920 summer and winter, 00:15:28.060 --> 00:15:30.379 day and night shall not cease. 00:15:30.460 --> 00:15:32.080 These are the normal rhythms. 00:15:32.280 --> 00:15:33.300 And what God is saying is, 00:15:33.640 --> 00:15:35.759 I will no longer uproot 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:37.980 and overthrow the normal rhythms 00:15:37.980 --> 00:15:39.100 the way that I did 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:42.500 in this judgment and in this flood. 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:44.000 Now we need to recognize 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:45.180 this is not a removal 00:15:45.180 --> 00:15:46.420 of the curse on the ground 00:15:46.420 --> 00:15:49.020 that we see in Genesis 3, 17. 00:15:49.980 --> 00:15:50.900 For Romans, 00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:52.980 in Romans 8, 19 and following 00:15:52.980 --> 00:15:54.579 will tell us that all of creation 00:15:54.579 --> 00:15:57.220 is subject to the curse 00:15:57.220 --> 00:15:59.840 as it's waiting for the redemption 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:01.019 of God's people 00:16:01.019 --> 00:16:02.259 and a final glory 00:16:02.259 --> 00:16:03.340 and a final renewal 00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:04.679 that we will see. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:06.939 So it's not that God is removing 00:16:06.939 --> 00:16:08.100 all of the curse, 00:16:08.199 --> 00:16:08.819 but God is saying, 00:16:08.939 --> 00:16:11.539 I will never again bring this form, 00:16:12.019 --> 00:16:12.959 this kind of judgment 00:16:12.959 --> 00:16:13.959 onto the world. 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:17.799 And interestingly enough, 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:21.000 he does it in the face of knowing 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:22.299 that humans will sin. 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:24.019 Isn't verse 21 interesting? 00:16:24.379 --> 00:16:25.819 I almost stumbled over it 00:16:25.819 --> 00:16:27.279 and maybe you stumble over it too. 00:16:27.579 --> 00:16:28.959 What is God saying here? 00:16:29.359 --> 00:16:31.439 I will never again curse the ground 00:16:31.439 --> 00:16:32.579 because of man 00:16:32.579 --> 00:16:34.019 for the intention of man's heart 00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:35.359 is evil from his youth. 00:16:36.979 --> 00:16:38.259 What is going on? 00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:40.699 It almost feels against the flow. 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:42.419 He's promising not to destroy it, 00:16:42.479 --> 00:16:43.199 but then he's saying, 00:16:43.659 --> 00:16:46.039 but this evil continues. 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:46.819 And in fact, 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:48.559 that's exactly what he is saying. 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:50.659 God is saying that despite 00:16:50.659 --> 00:16:54.179 the ongoing presence of human sin, 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:56.779 despite the ongoing offense 00:16:56.779 --> 00:16:59.039 where humanity will continue 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:01.059 to rebel against me, 00:17:01.179 --> 00:17:01.740 and therefore, 00:17:02.379 --> 00:17:03.980 because they were given dominion 00:17:03.980 --> 00:17:04.619 over the earth 00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:07.099 and a representative role 00:17:07.099 --> 00:17:07.960 over the earth, 00:17:08.299 --> 00:17:11.079 this judgment came upon all of creation 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:12.240 because of man's sin. 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:14.299 Now I'm going to say, 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:16.660 I will never again destroy the creation 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:17.680 in this way, 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:20.019 even though man's sin will persist. 00:17:21.579 --> 00:17:23.500 And so God is graciously saying, 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:26.740 I will continue to uphold 00:17:26.740 --> 00:17:29.220 and sustain the forms 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:31.839 that I created in Genesis 1 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:34.180 that will create life. 00:17:34.180 --> 00:17:38.279 So that's the first thing we see 00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:40.200 is that God restores 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:42.440 the form of creation. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:44.320 And then as he keeps going 00:17:44.320 --> 00:17:46.380 in the beginning of chapter 9, 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:49.500 God restores the flourishing of life 00:17:49.500 --> 00:17:50.400 in creation. 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:52.820 And the reason why I say this 00:17:52.820 --> 00:17:54.580 is because you see in verse 1 00:17:54.580 --> 00:17:55.340 and verse 7, 00:17:55.740 --> 00:17:58.039 this repetition of the creation mandate. 00:17:58.580 --> 00:18:00.900 Be fruitful and multiply. 00:18:00.900 --> 00:18:03.400 I've created this world 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:04.660 for you to live in. 00:18:04.860 --> 00:18:06.580 Now go and live in it 00:18:06.580 --> 00:18:08.320 and be a flourishing, 00:18:08.540 --> 00:18:09.600 abundant life 00:18:09.600 --> 00:18:10.940 that I've made you to be. 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:14.019 But interestingly, 00:18:14.340 --> 00:18:16.360 in contrast to what we see 00:18:16.360 --> 00:18:18.259 in Genesis 1, 00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:20.400 this flourishing is going to happen 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:22.600 not in a world apart from sin, 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:23.940 but in a world that is now 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:26.240 marred with sin. 00:18:26.620 --> 00:18:28.800 And so you see in verses 2 through 6 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:30.680 the ongoing way in which 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:32.200 he's having to qualify 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:34.139 or constrain 00:18:34.139 --> 00:18:36.079 how life is going to flourish 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:37.419 in a fallen world 00:18:37.419 --> 00:18:38.799 where sin and murder 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:40.059 have already happened. 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:42.440 So he talks about the relationship 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:44.819 between man and human beings 00:18:44.819 --> 00:18:46.539 and animals. 00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:47.799 And what had been 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:49.200 what was meant to be 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:50.159 a husbanding 00:18:50.159 --> 00:18:51.139 or a dominion 00:18:51.139 --> 00:18:52.399 that was life-giving, 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:54.419 there is now fear. 00:18:54.420 --> 00:18:57.160 that humans 00:18:57.160 --> 00:18:59.220 will be fearsome 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:00.259 to the animals. 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:04.820 But even more than that, 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:06.060 you see as you keep going 00:19:06.060 --> 00:19:07.259 in verses 1 through 7 00:19:07.259 --> 00:19:08.140 of chapter 9, 00:19:08.860 --> 00:19:12.460 we see verse 5, 00:19:12.920 --> 00:19:14.300 for your life blood 00:19:14.300 --> 00:19:16.080 I will require a reckoning 00:19:16.080 --> 00:19:17.000 from every beast 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:18.140 I will require it 00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:19.580 and from man, 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:20.680 from his fellow man 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:22.340 I will require a reckoning 00:19:22.340 --> 00:19:24.200 for the life of man. 00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:25.580 In Genesis 1, 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:27.120 God never had to say this 00:19:27.120 --> 00:19:28.940 because there had been 00:19:28.940 --> 00:19:29.480 no murder, 00:19:29.700 --> 00:19:30.759 there had been no death, 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:31.920 there had been no killing. 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:34.300 But now, 00:19:35.300 --> 00:19:36.940 after Cain and Abel, 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:38.320 after Lamech, 00:19:39.080 --> 00:19:40.340 after chapter 6, 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:42.460 after the evil 00:19:42.460 --> 00:19:43.480 of man's heart 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:45.460 spreading and infecting 00:19:45.460 --> 00:19:46.300 and corrupting 00:19:46.300 --> 00:19:47.259 all the world, 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:49.800 God says, 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:51.480 I want you to flourish 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:52.160 and multiply, 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:53.880 but I know that you're doing 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:55.140 that in a fallen world 00:19:55.140 --> 00:19:56.080 and that means 00:19:56.080 --> 00:19:57.200 that I have to 00:19:57.200 --> 00:19:58.620 teach you 00:19:58.620 --> 00:19:59.940 how to value 00:19:59.940 --> 00:20:01.360 the life 00:20:01.360 --> 00:20:02.400 that I've created 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:03.380 in a new way. 00:20:06.080 --> 00:20:07.380 You may not eat meat 00:20:07.380 --> 00:20:08.200 with blood in it 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:09.100 because the blood 00:20:09.100 --> 00:20:09.800 is the life 00:20:09.800 --> 00:20:10.560 of a creature 00:20:10.560 --> 00:20:11.940 and I want you 00:20:11.940 --> 00:20:12.720 to value 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:13.360 the life 00:20:13.360 --> 00:20:14.160 of that creature. 00:20:14.840 --> 00:20:15.040 So, 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:16.960 even though I'm giving it 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:17.700 to you to eat, 00:20:17.700 --> 00:20:20.420 you should drain it out 00:20:20.420 --> 00:20:21.720 so that you do not 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:23.920 take its life lightly. 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:26.980 And then he translates that 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:27.799 and he says, 00:20:28.120 --> 00:20:28.860 and if that's true 00:20:28.860 --> 00:20:30.000 with animals, 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:31.100 how much more 00:20:31.100 --> 00:20:31.740 is it true 00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:33.180 for human beings 00:20:33.180 --> 00:20:34.019 who are created 00:20:34.019 --> 00:20:35.019 in the image 00:20:35.019 --> 00:20:35.920 of God? 00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:37.860 So, 00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:39.240 you see in verse 6 00:20:39.240 --> 00:20:40.299 this incredibly 00:20:40.299 --> 00:20:41.819 powerful statement, 00:20:41.980 --> 00:20:42.620 whoever sheds 00:20:42.620 --> 00:20:43.700 the blood of man, 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:45.640 by man shall his blood 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:46.220 be shed 00:20:46.220 --> 00:20:47.860 for God made man 00:20:47.860 --> 00:20:48.880 his own image. 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:51.040 How will life flourishing 00:20:51.040 --> 00:20:51.759 go forward 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:52.759 in a fallen world 00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:53.740 where human beings 00:20:53.740 --> 00:20:54.880 are going to kill each other? 00:20:55.640 --> 00:20:56.820 There will be justice 00:20:56.820 --> 00:20:58.000 but that justice 00:20:58.000 --> 00:20:58.620 won't come 00:20:58.620 --> 00:21:00.220 in this cataclysmic 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:01.720 global form 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:02.920 of a flood anymore. 00:21:04.020 --> 00:21:04.740 God is now 00:21:04.740 --> 00:21:06.380 delegating that justice 00:21:06.380 --> 00:21:07.980 to human society 00:21:07.980 --> 00:21:09.420 to say 00:21:09.420 --> 00:21:11.040 life is meant 00:21:11.040 --> 00:21:11.820 to be preserved 00:21:11.820 --> 00:21:12.840 and now you 00:21:12.840 --> 00:21:13.800 are entrusted 00:21:13.799 --> 00:21:16.259 with responding 00:21:16.259 --> 00:21:17.879 to murder 00:21:17.879 --> 00:21:20.000 with justice. 00:21:21.960 --> 00:21:23.200 When you kill 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:24.659 another unjustly, 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:26.839 your life 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:28.559 will be forfeit. 00:21:29.659 --> 00:21:30.159 Now look, 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:31.019 we need to understand 00:21:31.019 --> 00:21:32.779 this is a movement 00:21:32.779 --> 00:21:33.460 of God 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:35.000 away from what we saw 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:36.139 in chapter 4 00:21:36.139 --> 00:21:36.639 at the end. 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:37.759 Do you remember Lamech? 00:21:38.579 --> 00:21:39.899 The descendant of Cain. 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:40.879 Do you remember 00:21:40.879 --> 00:21:42.220 his vengeful spirit, 00:21:42.220 --> 00:21:43.839 his promise to kill 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:44.680 not just one 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:46.079 but seven times? 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:49.100 God is saying, 00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:50.299 no, that is vengeance 00:21:50.299 --> 00:21:51.960 and that is not right. 00:21:52.620 --> 00:21:53.640 That is cruelty 00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:54.900 and that is destructive 00:21:54.900 --> 00:21:55.880 and that is not 00:21:55.880 --> 00:21:56.920 valuing life. 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:58.420 But to value life 00:21:58.420 --> 00:21:59.420 in a fallen world, 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:01.660 there is this principle. 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:03.620 If you take life, 00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:05.180 your life will be forfeited. 00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:06.880 And it is just. 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:09.940 And it creates a principle 00:22:09.940 --> 00:22:11.120 that has been 00:22:11.120 --> 00:22:12.440 typically true 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:14.340 in many cultures 00:22:14.340 --> 00:22:16.840 throughout all of history. 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:18.640 Now, 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:19.860 I am not going to spend 00:22:19.860 --> 00:22:20.920 the next 15 minutes 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:22.700 talking about the details 00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:23.760 of capital punishment 00:22:23.760 --> 00:22:25.600 and what we think about that 00:22:25.600 --> 00:22:26.620 in our modern state 00:22:26.620 --> 00:22:27.720 and in our modern government. 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:29.420 It's a great conversation. 00:22:29.580 --> 00:22:30.740 If you really want to talk about it, 00:22:30.760 --> 00:22:32.160 you can come talk to me afterwards. 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:34.400 But what I do want you to see 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:36.040 is that there is a principle here 00:22:36.040 --> 00:22:37.040 that God has said, 00:22:37.460 --> 00:22:38.220 I will not judge 00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:39.060 the whole world. 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:40.160 I am entrusting 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:41.160 to humanity 00:22:41.700 --> 00:22:43.560 this role 00:22:43.560 --> 00:22:45.140 of enforcing justice 00:22:45.140 --> 00:22:47.160 as it comes to life. 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:49.259 And I believe that 00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:51.080 there is a principle there 00:22:51.080 --> 00:22:52.160 that we need to take seriously. 00:22:55.700 --> 00:22:57.320 Affirming the value 00:22:57.320 --> 00:22:58.160 of life, 00:22:58.800 --> 00:23:00.680 particularly human life, 00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:01.980 someone who is made 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:03.340 in God's image 00:23:03.340 --> 00:23:06.600 is one of the implications 00:23:06.600 --> 00:23:07.700 that we see here. 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:09.380 And we need to think about this, 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:11.400 that this is not just 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:12.660 in capital punishment 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:14.340 and thinking about murder cases, 00:23:14.460 --> 00:23:16.539 but there are broader implications 00:23:16.539 --> 00:23:17.840 for this as well. 00:23:19.320 --> 00:23:20.880 How do we think about 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:22.220 those who are vulnerable 00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:24.660 or potentially whose life 00:23:24.660 --> 00:23:25.960 is not valued 00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:27.380 in our culture today? 00:23:27.380 --> 00:23:30.300 What do we think 00:23:30.300 --> 00:23:31.200 about the unborn? 00:23:32.380 --> 00:23:33.220 What do we think 00:23:33.220 --> 00:23:34.560 about the aging? 00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:36.400 What do we think 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:37.060 about those 00:23:37.060 --> 00:23:39.260 with severe disabilities 00:23:39.260 --> 00:23:40.320 or handicaps? 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:44.280 How are we to honor 00:23:44.280 --> 00:23:45.340 their life 00:23:45.340 --> 00:23:46.980 that God has given them, 00:23:47.080 --> 00:23:48.480 made in the image of God? 00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:52.299 how do we respond 00:23:52.299 --> 00:23:53.839 when human beings 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:55.319 treat other human beings 00:23:55.319 --> 00:23:57.140 as if they are less than human 00:23:57.140 --> 00:24:00.180 in modern forms of slavery 00:24:00.180 --> 00:24:01.339 and sex trafficking? 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:05.900 Or how do we even confront 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:08.299 the very human 00:24:08.299 --> 00:24:09.720 and very fallen 00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:13.539 pattern that we have 00:24:13.539 --> 00:24:15.279 of being xenophobic, 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:17.019 that is afraid of people 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:18.359 who are different than us. 00:24:18.639 --> 00:24:19.539 We look at them 00:24:19.539 --> 00:24:22.079 and we think sometimes 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:23.660 how easy it is to think 00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:25.920 they're not as human as I am. 00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:28.619 And we don't see 00:24:28.619 --> 00:24:29.799 the image of God in them 00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:31.359 and we don't treat them 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:32.619 with the dignity 00:24:32.619 --> 00:24:35.680 that we ought to do so. 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:41.119 God values human life highly 00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:43.099 because He has made us 00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:43.940 in His image 00:24:43.940 --> 00:24:45.840 and because He created 00:24:45.840 --> 00:24:46.480 the world 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:47.539 to be a place 00:24:47.539 --> 00:24:49.299 where life would flourish. 00:24:51.259 --> 00:24:52.360 So He returns 00:24:52.360 --> 00:24:53.299 in verse 7. 00:24:54.039 --> 00:24:54.660 And you, 00:24:54.860 --> 00:24:55.740 you, Noah, 00:24:55.860 --> 00:24:56.759 and your sons, 00:24:56.940 --> 00:24:57.759 the footnote says 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.279 it's plural, 00:24:59.580 --> 00:25:00.880 you and your sons 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:02.259 and your daughter-in-laws 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:03.680 and their families, 00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:05.559 be fruitful 00:25:05.559 --> 00:25:06.480 and multiply, 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:07.779 team on the earth, 00:25:08.340 --> 00:25:09.620 multiply life. 00:25:09.619 --> 00:25:14.399 God is restoring 00:25:14.399 --> 00:25:15.299 this mandate 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:16.439 to humanity 00:25:16.439 --> 00:25:17.819 while giving it 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:19.039 constraints within 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:20.739 a fallen world. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:23.119 But this is what 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:23.939 God's plan is. 00:25:24.039 --> 00:25:25.759 His plan to fill 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:26.979 the world with life 00:25:26.979 --> 00:25:28.899 has not been derailed 00:25:28.899 --> 00:25:30.179 even by this 00:25:30.179 --> 00:25:31.259 cataclysmic flood. 00:25:35.259 --> 00:25:36.679 God does this 00:25:36.679 --> 00:25:37.639 knowing that humans 00:25:37.639 --> 00:25:38.259 will sin, 00:25:38.259 --> 00:25:39.339 knowing that they 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:39.960 will fail. 00:25:41.299 --> 00:25:43.000 He sends His relief pitcher 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:43.720 back out 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:44.599 in the next game 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:45.819 even after they've 00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:46.579 blown the save. 00:25:51.660 --> 00:25:52.500 So not only 00:25:52.500 --> 00:25:53.359 does God restore 00:25:53.359 --> 00:25:54.400 the form of creation, 00:25:54.539 --> 00:25:55.200 not only does God 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:56.299 restore the flourishing 00:25:56.299 --> 00:25:57.339 of life and creation, 00:25:57.740 --> 00:25:58.680 but God restores 00:25:58.680 --> 00:25:59.559 confidence 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:02.960 in His character 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:05.339 and His faithful care 00:26:05.339 --> 00:26:07.119 for all of His creation. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:08.000 this is what we see 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:08.779 in verses 8 00:26:08.779 --> 00:26:09.399 and following 00:26:09.399 --> 00:26:10.559 because not only 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:11.439 does God then say 00:26:11.439 --> 00:26:12.579 I will not do this 00:26:12.579 --> 00:26:13.119 and then gives 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:14.479 instruction for humanity 00:26:14.479 --> 00:26:15.099 to be fruitful 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:15.500 and multiply, 00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:16.119 but then He says 00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:17.419 and I will make 00:26:17.419 --> 00:26:18.759 a covenant with you. 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:20.479 I will make a pact, 00:26:20.599 --> 00:26:22.379 an agreement with you. 00:26:22.619 --> 00:26:23.799 And it is not just 00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:24.379 with you, 00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:24.739 Noah, 00:26:24.819 --> 00:26:25.439 and your sons, 00:26:25.500 --> 00:26:26.379 but it is for all 00:26:26.379 --> 00:26:26.979 of creation. 00:26:27.119 --> 00:26:28.019 If you look at verses 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:29.539 10 through 17, 00:26:30.459 --> 00:26:31.119 the repetition 00:26:31.679 --> 00:26:32.839 over and over again 00:26:32.839 --> 00:26:34.139 of every living creature, 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:35.359 of all creatures, 00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:36.459 of all things, 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:37.799 God is doing this 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:38.759 with the whole world 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:39.339 and He's making 00:26:39.339 --> 00:26:39.879 a covenant 00:26:39.879 --> 00:26:41.059 with the whole world 00:26:41.059 --> 00:26:42.859 that He will not 00:26:42.859 --> 00:26:44.479 destroy them again 00:26:44.479 --> 00:26:46.219 in this kind of way, 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:50.039 but that He will put 00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:51.359 a bow in the clouds 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:56.079 so that He will remember them 00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:57.559 and so that they will know 00:26:57.559 --> 00:26:58.839 that He remembers them. 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:01.259 One of the most interesting things 00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:02.119 about the hurricane 00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:05.140 in the Bahamas 00:27:05.140 --> 00:27:06.500 was that two days 00:27:06.500 --> 00:27:07.339 after the hurricane, 00:27:07.579 --> 00:27:08.460 there was another front 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:09.200 that came through 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:10.220 and there was rain. 00:27:11.299 --> 00:27:12.059 And some of you 00:27:12.059 --> 00:27:12.779 may have experienced 00:27:12.779 --> 00:27:13.799 something like this. 00:27:14.059 --> 00:27:15.680 After a really traumatic event, 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:17.160 when you come close 00:27:17.160 --> 00:27:17.940 to that again, 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:21.819 it raises all of the fears 00:27:21.819 --> 00:27:24.460 that you experience 00:27:24.460 --> 00:27:25.879 going through the traumatic event 00:27:25.879 --> 00:27:26.640 the first time. 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:29.140 And it is interesting 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:30.240 that when God wants 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:31.560 to give a sign 00:27:31.560 --> 00:27:33.480 to His creation 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:33.960 to say, 00:27:34.120 --> 00:27:35.400 I will not do that again, 00:27:36.340 --> 00:27:38.000 He does it in the context 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:39.900 of when the clouds form 00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:41.660 and when the fear 00:27:41.660 --> 00:27:43.180 in your heart rises 00:27:43.180 --> 00:27:44.900 that this rainstorm 00:27:44.900 --> 00:27:45.700 is going to turn 00:27:45.700 --> 00:27:46.720 into that flood 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:47.960 that destroyed the world, 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:50.220 there will be a bow 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:51.240 to remind you 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:52.600 that I have made a promise 00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:54.840 that I will not do that, 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:56.580 that I will care, 00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:57.600 for you. 00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:01.680 The substance of the covenant 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:02.820 is in verse 11. 00:28:03.940 --> 00:28:05.660 Never again shall all flesh 00:28:05.660 --> 00:28:06.460 be cut off 00:28:06.460 --> 00:28:07.980 by the waters of the flood 00:28:07.980 --> 00:28:08.800 and never again 00:28:08.800 --> 00:28:09.840 shall there be a flood 00:28:09.840 --> 00:28:12.020 to destroy the earth. 00:28:14.320 --> 00:28:15.660 God will remember 00:28:15.660 --> 00:28:17.580 His people. 00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:19.100 Just as He remembered Noah 00:28:19.100 --> 00:28:21.320 in chapter 8, verse 1, 00:28:21.700 --> 00:28:23.080 when the floods were up 00:28:23.080 --> 00:28:25.160 and God saw Noah 00:28:25.160 --> 00:28:26.340 and He remembered him 00:28:26.339 --> 00:28:27.399 and He rescued him. 00:28:30.179 --> 00:28:31.099 So also, 00:28:31.259 --> 00:28:32.179 God will remember 00:28:32.179 --> 00:28:32.919 His promise 00:28:32.919 --> 00:28:34.220 and He will take this bow 00:28:34.220 --> 00:28:35.299 and it's fascinating, right? 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:36.939 The word for bow 00:28:36.939 --> 00:28:38.779 in Hebrew, 00:28:38.939 --> 00:28:40.319 in the ancient language, 00:28:40.439 --> 00:28:41.779 is the same bow 00:28:41.779 --> 00:28:43.459 for a weapon of war. 00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:46.460 God makes His bow 00:28:46.460 --> 00:28:47.880 to point not downward 00:28:47.880 --> 00:28:49.279 but upward. 00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:51.380 The image of judgment 00:28:51.380 --> 00:28:53.160 is no longer pointing down 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:54.420 at His creation 00:28:54.420 --> 00:28:56.400 but it is pointing upward 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:57.960 as if God is saying, 00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:00.559 where there is judgment, 00:29:00.759 --> 00:29:01.840 I will take it. 00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:05.120 I will promise 00:29:05.120 --> 00:29:05.940 that I will not 00:29:05.940 --> 00:29:09.759 make you face this judgment again 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:11.259 in this same way. 00:29:11.259 --> 00:29:13.559 So God has said, 00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:15.259 I will be faithful 00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:19.180 to care for my fallen creation. 00:29:19.180 --> 00:29:21.580 So, 00:29:21.779 --> 00:29:22.720 we see 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:24.080 what kind of God here. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:25.600 One of the most remarkable things 00:29:25.600 --> 00:29:26.779 is that when you look 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:27.720 through this section, 00:29:28.140 --> 00:29:29.380 after verse 20, 00:29:30.100 --> 00:29:31.960 God is the only subject 00:29:31.960 --> 00:29:32.799 of the verbs 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:34.900 in the entire section. 00:29:35.400 --> 00:29:36.380 God said this. 00:29:36.560 --> 00:29:37.440 God says this. 00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:38.779 God promises this. 00:29:39.259 --> 00:29:40.420 God blesses them. 00:29:40.620 --> 00:29:42.660 God does all of these things. 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:45.060 God is taking the initiative 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:46.159 to do this. 00:29:47.460 --> 00:29:49.200 When God makes this covenant 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:52.659 to not destroy the world again, 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:53.500 He's not saying, 00:29:53.799 --> 00:29:54.899 if you keep the law, 00:29:55.220 --> 00:29:56.980 if you obey me and follow me, 00:29:57.059 --> 00:29:58.559 if you do all of these things, 00:29:58.859 --> 00:30:00.679 God is graciously coming 00:30:00.679 --> 00:30:01.440 to His world 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:03.500 that He has just inflicted 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:05.119 a horrific judgment on 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:05.859 and He's saying, 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:07.319 I have not abandoned you, 00:30:07.399 --> 00:30:08.460 I have not lost you, 00:30:08.460 --> 00:30:10.400 and I am unilaterally 00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:11.539 coming to you 00:30:11.539 --> 00:30:15.319 to make this covenant, 00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:17.059 to promise to you 00:30:17.059 --> 00:30:18.660 that I am not a God 00:30:18.660 --> 00:30:19.860 who simply delights 00:30:19.860 --> 00:30:20.500 in destruction, 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:22.120 but I am a God 00:30:22.120 --> 00:30:23.920 who delights in giving life. 00:30:25.079 --> 00:30:26.039 I am the one 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:27.620 who has come to bless you 00:30:27.620 --> 00:30:31.819 so that you may flourish 00:30:31.819 --> 00:30:33.140 and have life. 00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:37.860 What a great relief it is 00:30:37.859 --> 00:30:39.439 to know that this is the God 00:30:39.439 --> 00:30:42.319 that Abraham knew 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:43.259 and experienced 00:30:43.259 --> 00:30:44.759 after the flood. 00:30:45.559 --> 00:30:46.579 And this is the God 00:30:46.579 --> 00:30:48.399 who we still know today. 00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:49.419 He is active, 00:30:49.699 --> 00:30:50.719 not passive, 00:30:50.879 --> 00:30:51.799 but initiating 00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:53.359 to restore what is broken. 00:30:53.719 --> 00:30:54.459 He is working 00:30:54.459 --> 00:30:55.139 to accomplish 00:30:55.139 --> 00:30:56.139 His good purposes, 00:30:56.539 --> 00:30:57.559 and He is gracious 00:30:57.559 --> 00:30:59.299 to renew the context 00:30:59.299 --> 00:31:01.219 in which human beings 00:31:01.219 --> 00:31:02.139 would flourish. 00:31:04.979 --> 00:31:05.879 And the question 00:31:05.879 --> 00:31:06.599 that this text 00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:07.539 points us to 00:31:07.539 --> 00:31:07.779 is, 00:31:08.139 --> 00:31:09.440 will you trust Him? 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:11.119 Do you believe 00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:12.460 this God? 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:14.420 Have you seen 00:31:14.420 --> 00:31:14.940 the rainbow? 00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:17.399 It stands 00:31:17.399 --> 00:31:18.039 in the storms 00:31:18.039 --> 00:31:18.639 of the world 00:31:18.639 --> 00:31:19.379 and the storms 00:31:19.379 --> 00:31:20.279 of your life. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:24.779 The story 00:31:24.779 --> 00:31:25.460 doesn't end there. 00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:27.960 The section 00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:28.799 continues. 00:31:29.539 --> 00:31:30.639 Having looked at God, 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:31.319 it then goes on 00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:31.579 to say, 00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:33.119 what will humanity 00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:34.740 be like 00:31:34.740 --> 00:31:36.139 after the flood? 00:31:36.140 --> 00:31:37.460 What will happen? 00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:40.100 Particularly with Noah 00:31:40.100 --> 00:31:41.060 and his family. 00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:42.820 And so this is the 00:31:42.820 --> 00:31:43.680 second part 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:45.080 of this passage 00:31:45.080 --> 00:31:45.700 that we see. 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:47.380 Starting in verse 18, 00:31:48.020 --> 00:31:49.100 what we see 00:31:49.100 --> 00:31:49.960 is that we see 00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:50.920 humanity's 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:52.520 divided destiny. 00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:55.339 So in verses 00:31:55.339 --> 00:31:56.420 18 and 19 00:31:56.420 --> 00:31:57.259 we see a little, 00:31:57.400 --> 00:31:58.079 very brief, 00:31:58.200 --> 00:31:58.559 little 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:00.359 genealogy. 00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:01.180 The sons of 00:32:01.180 --> 00:32:02.639 Noah 00:32:02.639 --> 00:32:03.240 were Shem, 00:32:03.299 --> 00:32:03.480 Ham, 00:32:03.539 --> 00:32:04.019 and Japheth. 00:32:04.119 --> 00:32:04.700 And by the way, 00:32:05.019 --> 00:32:05.539 Ham was the 00:32:05.539 --> 00:32:06.220 father of Canaan. 00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:07.000 You might wonder, 00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:08.000 why did that get 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:08.660 stuck in there? 00:32:09.059 --> 00:32:09.240 Well, 00:32:09.299 --> 00:32:10.319 imagine that 00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:11.339 Moses is writing 00:32:11.339 --> 00:32:12.740 this to Israel 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:13.579 as they're 00:32:13.579 --> 00:32:14.460 moving through 00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:15.259 the promised land 00:32:15.259 --> 00:32:16.480 and heading towards, 00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:17.879 or moving through 00:32:17.879 --> 00:32:18.339 the desert 00:32:18.339 --> 00:32:19.500 and heading towards 00:32:19.500 --> 00:32:20.440 the promised land. 00:32:20.440 --> 00:32:21.240 Who lives in the 00:32:21.240 --> 00:32:22.000 promised land? 00:32:22.460 --> 00:32:23.279 The Canaanites. 00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:24.519 Who are the Canaanites? 00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:25.840 The descendants of Canaan. 00:32:26.980 --> 00:32:27.200 So, 00:32:27.580 --> 00:32:29.160 Moses is giving you 00:32:29.160 --> 00:32:29.900 a little marker. 00:32:30.340 --> 00:32:31.039 This is where 00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:32.180 those people came from. 00:32:32.660 --> 00:32:33.380 So he's just kind of 00:32:33.380 --> 00:32:33.580 saying, 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:33.740 hey, 00:32:33.799 --> 00:32:34.180 this is where 00:32:34.180 --> 00:32:34.680 they came from. 00:32:35.500 --> 00:32:36.039 And so, 00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:37.400 he gives this 00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:38.160 and he says, 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:39.039 from this, 00:32:39.120 --> 00:32:39.299 right, 00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:40.900 these three men 00:32:40.900 --> 00:32:41.920 and their wives, 00:32:42.059 --> 00:32:43.580 from these families, 00:32:43.720 --> 00:32:43.880 then, 00:32:43.940 --> 00:32:44.840 the world will be 00:32:44.840 --> 00:32:45.380 refilled. 00:32:45.380 --> 00:32:48.400 Pastor Greg 00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:49.540 dealt some last week 00:32:49.540 --> 00:32:50.120 with the question 00:32:50.120 --> 00:32:50.860 of how global 00:32:50.860 --> 00:32:51.440 or local 00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:52.360 the flood was. 00:32:52.660 --> 00:32:53.380 It's an ongoing 00:32:53.380 --> 00:32:54.140 conversation. 00:32:54.340 --> 00:32:55.060 It's not a hill 00:32:55.060 --> 00:32:56.440 for us to die on. 00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:57.340 But some of these, 00:32:57.340 --> 00:32:59.400 some of these passages 00:32:59.400 --> 00:33:00.340 make me think, 00:33:00.760 --> 00:33:02.480 maybe it was 00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:03.180 a global flood. 00:33:03.580 --> 00:33:04.400 I'll just leave it there 00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:04.980 and keep going. 00:33:07.020 --> 00:33:08.200 The story is going 00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:09.420 with a restoration 00:33:09.420 --> 00:33:11.140 of a new humanity 00:33:11.140 --> 00:33:13.180 and the spreading out, 00:33:13.300 --> 00:33:14.500 be fruitful and multiply, 00:33:14.500 --> 00:33:15.880 of humanity. 00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:16.279 And so, 00:33:16.359 --> 00:33:16.859 the question is, 00:33:16.900 --> 00:33:17.900 and what kind of humanity 00:33:17.900 --> 00:33:18.740 will this be? 00:33:19.259 --> 00:33:20.500 And starting verse 20, 00:33:20.579 --> 00:33:20.740 then, 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:21.779 we turn from this 00:33:21.779 --> 00:33:23.539 grand cosmic narrative 00:33:23.539 --> 00:33:25.480 to this very little scene, 00:33:26.119 --> 00:33:27.640 this very strange 00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:28.720 little story 00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:30.660 that tells us about 00:33:30.660 --> 00:33:31.819 the sons of Noah 00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:33.680 and what kind of men 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:34.119 they were. 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:36.279 Noah is a man of the earth, 00:33:36.380 --> 00:33:38.079 sort of like a second Adam, 00:33:38.500 --> 00:33:40.299 a man of the soil. 00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:40.900 And, 00:33:40.940 --> 00:33:41.740 you know, 00:33:41.799 --> 00:33:42.299 interestingly, 00:33:42.519 --> 00:33:42.660 though, 00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:43.900 Noah is not the focus 00:33:43.900 --> 00:33:44.640 of this story. 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:46.380 He grows vineyards, 00:33:46.480 --> 00:33:47.280 he makes wine, 00:33:47.340 --> 00:33:48.000 he gets drunk. 00:33:48.940 --> 00:33:50.100 It seems like it's 00:33:50.100 --> 00:33:51.000 kind of disgraceful. 00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:52.660 But it's not a very strong, 00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:53.620 there's not a lot 00:33:53.620 --> 00:33:54.920 of commentary about Noah. 00:33:55.519 --> 00:33:57.259 It's simply the context 00:33:57.259 --> 00:33:58.040 for what happens 00:33:58.040 --> 00:33:58.800 with his sons. 00:33:59.580 --> 00:33:59.740 So, 00:33:59.820 --> 00:34:00.820 Noah does this, 00:34:01.780 --> 00:34:02.500 and there he is, 00:34:02.540 --> 00:34:04.460 asleep in his tent, 00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:06.400 in disgrace, 00:34:06.560 --> 00:34:07.320 one would imagine. 00:34:07.319 --> 00:34:09.599 and Ham 00:34:09.599 --> 00:34:11.860 goes in and looks. 00:34:13.460 --> 00:34:14.819 And the word to see 00:34:14.819 --> 00:34:16.539 has a sense of searching, 00:34:16.799 --> 00:34:18.759 like he really wanted to see, 00:34:18.860 --> 00:34:19.960 like he was jumping up 00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:20.739 to see if he could look 00:34:20.739 --> 00:34:21.319 through the windows, 00:34:21.559 --> 00:34:22.519 except they don't have windows 00:34:22.519 --> 00:34:23.159 because it was tense, 00:34:23.239 --> 00:34:24.000 so he's peeking, 00:34:24.380 --> 00:34:25.299 see if he could get in. 00:34:25.860 --> 00:34:27.400 He really wanted to look 00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:28.119 on his father 00:34:28.119 --> 00:34:28.980 in his shame. 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:31.559 And once he saw it, 00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:32.699 he went to his brothers, 00:34:32.779 --> 00:34:33.099 he's like, 00:34:33.099 --> 00:34:35.219 you see what dad did? 00:34:36.500 --> 00:34:37.839 It sure seems like 00:34:37.839 --> 00:34:38.819 whatever he was doing, 00:34:38.900 --> 00:34:39.900 he was either tattling 00:34:39.900 --> 00:34:41.960 or mocking his father 00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:44.860 in how he responded 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:46.019 to this context. 00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:52.219 Whatever it is, 00:34:52.299 --> 00:34:53.199 it's a violation 00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:54.699 of honoring his father. 00:34:55.799 --> 00:34:57.539 And you see that so clearly 00:34:57.539 --> 00:34:58.779 because you see the contrast 00:34:58.779 --> 00:34:59.900 between what he does 00:34:59.900 --> 00:35:01.539 and what his brothers do. 00:35:01.539 --> 00:35:03.119 when Shem and Japheth 00:35:03.119 --> 00:35:03.940 hear this, 00:35:05.679 --> 00:35:06.579 look with me at it 00:35:06.579 --> 00:35:07.779 because it's so striking. 00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:08.699 Verse 23, 00:35:09.340 --> 00:35:10.119 they took a garment, 00:35:10.279 --> 00:35:11.179 laid it both on their shoulders. 00:35:11.279 --> 00:35:12.099 They walked backwards 00:35:12.099 --> 00:35:13.159 and covered the nakedness. 00:35:13.219 --> 00:35:14.679 Their faces were turned backwards. 00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:16.500 This was repeated twice. 00:35:16.900 --> 00:35:17.920 They did not look. 00:35:21.500 --> 00:35:24.300 But they carefully covered him up 00:35:24.300 --> 00:35:26.519 in a way that honored him. 00:35:26.519 --> 00:35:33.539 in distinction to what Ham did. 00:35:35.539 --> 00:35:36.559 And so, 00:35:36.820 --> 00:35:38.880 when Noah awakes, 00:35:39.980 --> 00:35:41.039 he figures it out. 00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:41.599 It's interesting. 00:35:41.699 --> 00:35:42.759 The story doesn't care how. 00:35:43.579 --> 00:35:44.119 No one knows. 00:35:45.259 --> 00:35:47.059 But he knows what happened. 00:35:47.800 --> 00:35:48.320 Right? 00:35:48.480 --> 00:35:49.860 And he looks at his sons 00:35:49.860 --> 00:35:53.059 and he lays down 00:35:53.059 --> 00:35:54.599 cursing and blessing. 00:35:56.019 --> 00:35:56.440 Interestingly, 00:35:56.640 --> 00:35:57.980 the curse on Ham 00:35:57.980 --> 00:35:59.599 is not on Ham, 00:35:59.660 --> 00:36:00.000 is it? 00:36:01.059 --> 00:36:02.059 See verse 25? 00:36:02.160 --> 00:36:03.440 The curse is on his son, 00:36:03.640 --> 00:36:03.940 Canaan. 00:36:04.420 --> 00:36:05.660 One of his four sons, 00:36:05.740 --> 00:36:07.039 as we learn later on. 00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:08.539 You can look in chapter 10, 00:36:08.620 --> 00:36:09.099 verse 6. 00:36:09.220 --> 00:36:10.720 You see that Ham had four sons, 00:36:10.940 --> 00:36:12.559 Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. 00:36:13.019 --> 00:36:14.960 So this was the youngest son 00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:16.440 of the youngest son. 00:36:16.440 --> 00:36:22.539 And this curse then 00:36:22.539 --> 00:36:25.240 has an explanatory context 00:36:25.240 --> 00:36:26.960 that most of us 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:27.920 wouldn't recognize. 00:36:28.119 --> 00:36:29.139 Because when you look 00:36:29.139 --> 00:36:31.240 at the sons of Ham broadly, 00:36:31.579 --> 00:36:34.079 you recognize that from him, 00:36:34.240 --> 00:36:37.019 many of the greatest opponents 00:36:37.019 --> 00:36:38.200 of God's people 00:36:38.200 --> 00:36:40.000 in the Middle East came. 00:36:40.659 --> 00:36:41.920 The nation of Egypt, 00:36:42.420 --> 00:36:43.740 the nation of Assyria, 00:36:44.200 --> 00:36:45.240 the nation of Babylon, 00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:47.079 and specifically 00:36:47.079 --> 00:36:48.000 the Canaanites 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:50.019 who lived in the promised land. 00:36:51.459 --> 00:36:52.439 You can see that 00:36:52.439 --> 00:36:53.819 in verses 6 through 10 00:36:53.819 --> 00:36:55.959 of chapter 10. 00:36:58.539 --> 00:37:01.179 What God says is, 00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:03.619 Canaan, you will be a servant. 00:37:05.299 --> 00:37:05.899 And what I think 00:37:05.899 --> 00:37:07.719 this is specifically telling 00:37:07.719 --> 00:37:10.559 is predicting 00:37:10.559 --> 00:37:12.619 and speaking into the future 00:37:12.619 --> 00:37:13.899 about what will happen 00:37:13.900 --> 00:37:15.780 as God is bringing his people 00:37:15.780 --> 00:37:17.059 into the promised land. 00:37:17.579 --> 00:37:18.619 There is a focused 00:37:18.619 --> 00:37:21.280 salvation historical purpose 00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:22.800 for what this story 00:37:22.800 --> 00:37:23.579 is pointing to. 00:37:23.660 --> 00:37:24.960 Because it is pointing to 00:37:24.960 --> 00:37:27.119 the people that Moses is leading 00:37:27.119 --> 00:37:28.740 and then Joshua will lead 00:37:28.740 --> 00:37:30.539 into the promised land 00:37:30.539 --> 00:37:32.579 where these Canaanites live. 00:37:33.099 --> 00:37:33.800 And he is saying, 00:37:33.800 --> 00:37:35.519 from this stock, 00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:36.619 from this account, 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:41.500 from these historical curses, 00:37:41.500 --> 00:37:43.820 this is then the conflict 00:37:43.820 --> 00:37:44.679 that arises 00:37:44.679 --> 00:37:47.219 and the basis upon which 00:37:47.219 --> 00:37:49.639 we will see this conquest come. 00:37:50.840 --> 00:37:52.139 The curse is predictive 00:37:52.139 --> 00:37:53.420 and it is elective, 00:37:53.519 --> 00:37:54.760 not merely punitive. 00:37:55.559 --> 00:37:57.260 Noah isn't just in a tizzy 00:37:57.260 --> 00:37:59.559 and getting mad at Ham 00:37:59.559 --> 00:38:00.699 because he's ashamed. 00:38:02.619 --> 00:38:04.619 There's a larger history 00:38:04.619 --> 00:38:06.739 because what we see in this 00:38:06.739 --> 00:38:11.159 is that there are two lines 00:38:11.159 --> 00:38:12.960 that come out of Noah. 00:38:13.319 --> 00:38:14.199 And these are the lines 00:38:14.199 --> 00:38:15.420 that we've already seen 00:38:15.420 --> 00:38:16.500 in the history of humanity 00:38:16.500 --> 00:38:19.259 ever since Adam and Eve. 00:38:19.639 --> 00:38:22.599 As Adam and Eve fell into sin 00:38:22.599 --> 00:38:24.599 and then they had children, 00:38:25.039 --> 00:38:25.239 right, 00:38:25.380 --> 00:38:26.839 we had the line of Cain 00:38:26.839 --> 00:38:28.359 and we had the line of Seth. 00:38:28.539 --> 00:38:29.980 And we've seen this repeated 00:38:29.980 --> 00:38:30.880 over and over again. 00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:31.799 One is a line 00:38:31.799 --> 00:38:33.359 that is under the curse 00:38:33.360 --> 00:38:34.599 and is exemplifying 00:38:34.599 --> 00:38:36.240 the worst of sinful humanity. 00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:37.599 One is a line of promise, 00:38:37.760 --> 00:38:39.680 not because they are sinless, 00:38:40.039 --> 00:38:41.480 but because God is working 00:38:41.480 --> 00:38:43.599 through this line of promise 00:38:43.599 --> 00:38:46.420 to work his redemptive purposes. 00:38:49.740 --> 00:38:51.539 And so we see the line 00:38:51.539 --> 00:38:54.660 from Seth to Shem 00:38:54.660 --> 00:38:57.780 to Abraham in just a few weeks. 00:38:57.780 --> 00:39:00.120 And we see the line 00:39:00.120 --> 00:39:03.900 from Cain to Ham to Canaan. 00:39:05.860 --> 00:39:08.700 And we see these two lines of promise, 00:39:09.200 --> 00:39:10.120 the line of promise 00:39:10.120 --> 00:39:11.420 and the fear of judgment, 00:39:12.060 --> 00:39:13.840 both being realities 00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:16.380 in the future of humanity. 00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:19.620 Now I need to spend two minutes here 00:39:19.620 --> 00:39:21.000 because there has been 00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:22.840 a line of interpretation 00:39:22.840 --> 00:39:25.460 about this passage in particular 00:39:25.460 --> 00:39:27.659 that the curse on Ham 00:39:27.659 --> 00:39:30.559 has been used by some 00:39:30.559 --> 00:39:31.360 in the church 00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:32.559 and outside the church 00:39:32.559 --> 00:39:35.880 as an excuse for a defense 00:39:35.880 --> 00:39:38.320 of a biblical justification 00:39:38.320 --> 00:39:42.400 for slavery of Africans. 00:39:44.480 --> 00:39:45.699 How they got there 00:39:45.699 --> 00:39:46.639 had to do with the fact 00:39:46.639 --> 00:39:48.320 that many of Ham's children 00:39:48.320 --> 00:39:53.380 ended up living in seemingly North Africa 00:39:53.380 --> 00:39:55.579 and becoming the... 00:39:55.579 --> 00:39:57.599 And the way that this was played out 00:39:57.599 --> 00:39:58.640 in the thoughts of those 00:39:58.640 --> 00:39:59.740 who presented this 00:39:59.740 --> 00:40:01.260 was that these are the ones 00:40:01.260 --> 00:40:02.960 who are the sons of the curse 00:40:02.960 --> 00:40:04.380 and therefore because 00:40:04.380 --> 00:40:07.160 they're called to be servants, 00:40:07.340 --> 00:40:08.599 then we have the right 00:40:08.599 --> 00:40:11.860 as the church, 00:40:12.320 --> 00:40:13.720 as Westerners, 00:40:13.860 --> 00:40:16.860 as the seed of promise. 00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:17.760 This is the thinking. 00:40:17.960 --> 00:40:18.740 It's not right, 00:40:18.860 --> 00:40:19.640 but it's the thinking. 00:40:19.639 --> 00:40:21.960 This has been justified. 00:40:23.159 --> 00:40:24.559 This has been used 00:40:24.559 --> 00:40:26.659 to justify racism 00:40:26.659 --> 00:40:27.639 against Africans 00:40:28.279 --> 00:40:30.960 and black people, 00:40:31.279 --> 00:40:32.219 and it's been used 00:40:32.219 --> 00:40:34.079 to justify slavery. 00:40:35.400 --> 00:40:37.099 It is reprehensible, 00:40:37.559 --> 00:40:39.079 and it is incorrect. 00:40:41.039 --> 00:40:43.779 There is no excuse for it 00:40:43.779 --> 00:40:45.759 except for human sinfulness, 00:40:45.859 --> 00:40:47.079 which is not an excuse. 00:40:47.079 --> 00:40:51.420 Because we see a number of things. 00:40:51.559 --> 00:40:52.519 One is that not all 00:40:52.519 --> 00:40:54.059 of Ham's descendants were cursed. 00:40:54.980 --> 00:40:56.279 Only Canaan was cursed. 00:40:57.139 --> 00:40:58.880 So to see this as a global curse 00:40:58.880 --> 00:41:00.519 on Ham's descendants 00:41:00.519 --> 00:41:02.360 is a misreading of the text. 00:41:03.579 --> 00:41:04.059 Secondly, 00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:06.199 we see that 00:41:06.199 --> 00:41:08.719 what this story is doing 00:41:08.719 --> 00:41:10.599 is setting up the context 00:41:10.599 --> 00:41:12.139 in which Israel is going to enter 00:41:12.139 --> 00:41:15.139 into the land of Palestine, 00:41:15.460 --> 00:41:16.860 the promised land, 00:41:17.079 --> 00:41:17.679 later, 00:41:17.880 --> 00:41:19.179 and where the people 00:41:19.179 --> 00:41:20.940 came from 00:41:20.940 --> 00:41:22.059 whom they will 00:41:22.059 --> 00:41:23.759 be displacing. 00:41:24.679 --> 00:41:25.119 Now, 00:41:25.239 --> 00:41:26.360 that's a whole other question 00:41:26.360 --> 00:41:26.860 to yourself. 00:41:27.099 --> 00:41:27.759 I'm going to refer you. 00:41:28.239 --> 00:41:28.940 Pastor Greg, 00:41:29.139 --> 00:41:30.639 about a year ago, 00:41:30.719 --> 00:41:31.900 did a great sermon 00:41:31.900 --> 00:41:34.380 on Exodus 21 and 22 00:41:34.380 --> 00:41:35.599 and dealt with this issue, 00:41:35.699 --> 00:41:37.239 so you can go there. 00:41:37.659 --> 00:41:39.579 And you work it out 00:41:39.579 --> 00:41:41.739 because there are other questions 00:41:41.739 --> 00:41:42.460 that this raises, 00:41:42.619 --> 00:41:44.079 but what I want to say 00:41:44.079 --> 00:41:45.059 very clearly 00:41:45.059 --> 00:41:45.619 is that 00:41:45.619 --> 00:41:47.659 the curses 00:41:47.659 --> 00:41:48.799 do not have 00:41:48.799 --> 00:41:49.799 any enduring 00:41:49.799 --> 00:41:51.219 racial or social, 00:41:51.340 --> 00:41:53.099 political application 00:41:53.099 --> 00:41:54.199 for us today. 00:41:54.539 --> 00:41:55.039 In fact, 00:41:55.079 --> 00:41:55.759 what we see 00:41:55.759 --> 00:41:57.179 in the sweep 00:41:57.179 --> 00:41:59.059 of the Bible storyline 00:41:59.059 --> 00:41:59.920 is that God 00:41:59.920 --> 00:42:01.380 is always inviting people 00:42:01.380 --> 00:42:02.360 from every tongue 00:42:02.360 --> 00:42:03.340 and tribe and nation. 00:42:03.779 --> 00:42:04.980 And even in the Old Testament 00:42:04.980 --> 00:42:05.940 when he's prefer, 00:42:06.259 --> 00:42:07.759 when he's making Israel 00:42:07.759 --> 00:42:08.679 the center of it, 00:42:08.840 --> 00:42:10.279 he's inviting people in. 00:42:10.280 --> 00:42:11.040 And when we see 00:42:11.040 --> 00:42:11.940 in Acts 2 00:42:11.940 --> 00:42:13.960 the spread of the outpouring 00:42:13.960 --> 00:42:14.680 of the Spirit 00:42:14.680 --> 00:42:15.680 and the bringing in 00:42:15.680 --> 00:42:16.200 of people, 00:42:16.280 --> 00:42:16.920 and when we look 00:42:16.920 --> 00:42:17.440 at the vision 00:42:17.440 --> 00:42:18.380 of what's going to happen 00:42:18.380 --> 00:42:19.280 in the throne room 00:42:19.280 --> 00:42:21.540 when people from every tongue 00:42:21.540 --> 00:42:22.640 and tribe and nation 00:42:22.640 --> 00:42:24.040 are gathered around 00:42:24.040 --> 00:42:25.420 the throne of Jesus 00:42:25.420 --> 00:42:27.200 worshiping him, 00:42:28.600 --> 00:42:29.800 we recognize 00:42:29.800 --> 00:42:31.080 that there is no place 00:42:31.080 --> 00:42:31.760 in the church 00:42:31.760 --> 00:42:34.760 for that justification 00:42:34.760 --> 00:42:36.860 or that discrimination. 00:42:38.460 --> 00:42:39.940 So I just need to say that 00:42:39.940 --> 00:42:41.520 because it's out there. 00:42:41.720 --> 00:42:42.540 It's out there 00:42:42.540 --> 00:42:43.120 in the history 00:42:43.120 --> 00:42:44.740 and we need to recognize it 00:42:44.740 --> 00:42:46.080 and we need to repudiate it 00:42:46.080 --> 00:42:47.240 and we need to be clear 00:42:47.240 --> 00:42:47.860 on what the Bible 00:42:47.860 --> 00:42:48.580 actually says 00:42:48.580 --> 00:42:49.460 about these things. 00:42:50.820 --> 00:42:51.960 That brings us back, 00:42:52.100 --> 00:42:52.280 however, 00:42:52.460 --> 00:42:53.840 to the fact that 00:42:53.840 --> 00:42:56.120 there are two lines. 00:42:56.320 --> 00:42:57.500 The history of humanity 00:42:57.500 --> 00:42:58.720 is divided. 00:43:01.040 --> 00:43:01.880 There are those 00:43:01.880 --> 00:43:03.240 who will face judgment 00:43:03.239 --> 00:43:05.079 and there are those 00:43:05.079 --> 00:43:05.739 through whom 00:43:05.739 --> 00:43:07.219 God will work redemption. 00:43:11.219 --> 00:43:12.719 We need to be clear 00:43:12.719 --> 00:43:13.559 on the fact 00:43:13.559 --> 00:43:14.639 that this is true 00:43:14.639 --> 00:43:16.000 still today. 00:43:18.000 --> 00:43:19.299 If the flood 00:43:19.299 --> 00:43:21.039 couldn't cleanse the world 00:43:21.039 --> 00:43:22.679 or redeem humanity, 00:43:23.479 --> 00:43:24.419 what will? 00:43:29.139 --> 00:43:31.399 The pattern of God's faithfulness 00:43:31.400 --> 00:43:33.000 is in the context 00:43:33.000 --> 00:43:35.180 of human fallenness. 00:43:38.539 --> 00:43:39.720 And His faithfulness 00:43:39.720 --> 00:43:40.960 is a redemptive one, 00:43:41.119 --> 00:43:42.360 but it comes 00:43:42.360 --> 00:43:43.139 in the context 00:43:43.139 --> 00:43:44.019 of recognizing 00:43:44.019 --> 00:43:45.280 the greatness 00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:46.039 of His judgment 00:43:46.039 --> 00:43:46.740 against sin. 00:43:46.800 --> 00:43:48.240 So how do we know 00:43:48.240 --> 00:43:50.420 who God will be for us 00:43:50.420 --> 00:43:51.220 as we face 00:43:51.220 --> 00:43:52.180 God's judgment 00:43:52.180 --> 00:43:53.579 against sin 00:43:53.579 --> 00:43:55.360 in our own lives? 00:43:56.400 --> 00:43:57.160 Well, friends, 00:43:57.240 --> 00:43:58.059 this is the beauty 00:43:58.059 --> 00:43:58.980 of the storyline 00:43:58.980 --> 00:43:59.680 of the gospel. 00:43:59.679 --> 00:44:00.779 This is why we read 00:44:00.779 --> 00:44:03.019 Jeremiah 31 earlier 00:44:03.019 --> 00:44:05.000 because this covenant 00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:05.819 said, 00:44:06.000 --> 00:44:07.099 I will not destroy. 00:44:07.399 --> 00:44:08.679 The new covenant 00:44:08.679 --> 00:44:10.019 that God promises 00:44:10.019 --> 00:44:11.399 through Jeremiah 00:44:11.399 --> 00:44:12.379 and Ezekiel 00:44:12.379 --> 00:44:14.239 and then establishes 00:44:14.239 --> 00:44:15.919 as Jesus comes 00:44:15.919 --> 00:44:16.799 is that God 00:44:16.799 --> 00:44:17.699 will not abandon 00:44:17.699 --> 00:44:18.500 His righteousness 00:44:18.500 --> 00:44:19.339 so the judgment 00:44:19.339 --> 00:44:20.419 will come on sin, 00:44:20.659 --> 00:44:21.559 but God will not 00:44:21.559 --> 00:44:22.579 abandon His purposes 00:44:22.579 --> 00:44:24.199 for His created beings 00:44:24.199 --> 00:44:25.119 to live. 00:44:25.460 --> 00:44:26.960 So how will He do this? 00:44:27.359 --> 00:44:28.940 Through the line of Shem, 00:44:28.940 --> 00:44:30.280 through the line 00:44:30.280 --> 00:44:31.159 of Seth, 00:44:31.880 --> 00:44:32.679 He will bring 00:44:32.679 --> 00:44:33.300 to Jesus. 00:44:33.420 --> 00:44:34.659 Look at the genealogy 00:44:34.659 --> 00:44:35.619 in Luke 3 00:44:35.619 --> 00:44:36.820 and you will see 00:44:36.820 --> 00:44:37.760 this line 00:44:37.760 --> 00:44:38.700 coming all the way 00:44:38.700 --> 00:44:39.340 from Adam 00:44:39.340 --> 00:44:41.000 to Jesus Christ, 00:44:41.440 --> 00:44:42.659 God become man 00:44:42.659 --> 00:44:43.559 in the flesh 00:44:43.559 --> 00:44:44.460 who has come 00:44:44.460 --> 00:44:45.780 to stand in the gap 00:44:45.780 --> 00:44:47.539 between the death 00:44:47.539 --> 00:44:48.420 that we deserve 00:44:48.420 --> 00:44:49.400 and the life 00:44:49.400 --> 00:44:50.480 that God has intended 00:44:50.480 --> 00:44:51.240 for us. 00:44:51.900 --> 00:44:52.880 He has come 00:44:52.880 --> 00:44:53.679 to take on flesh 00:44:53.679 --> 00:44:54.720 and to live as a man. 00:44:54.940 --> 00:44:55.539 He has come 00:44:55.539 --> 00:44:56.599 to take the judgment 00:44:56.599 --> 00:44:57.539 on our sin 00:44:57.539 --> 00:44:58.380 at the cross. 00:44:58.759 --> 00:44:59.360 He has come 00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:00.440 to gain victory 00:45:00.440 --> 00:45:01.820 over sin and death. 00:45:01.820 --> 00:45:03.400 By His resurrection 00:45:03.400 --> 00:45:04.519 from the dead, 00:45:04.719 --> 00:45:05.920 He has come 00:45:05.920 --> 00:45:07.500 to be our rescuer 00:45:07.500 --> 00:45:08.980 in whom many 00:45:08.980 --> 00:45:10.239 will be saved. 00:45:11.500 --> 00:45:12.739 He has made 00:45:12.739 --> 00:45:13.699 a better covenant 00:45:13.699 --> 00:45:15.599 with His blood 00:45:15.599 --> 00:45:17.420 that is sure. 00:45:17.420 --> 00:45:21.619 and that if we 00:45:21.619 --> 00:45:23.039 take hold of this 00:45:23.039 --> 00:45:24.559 by faith, 00:45:25.200 --> 00:45:29.980 we can rest 00:45:29.980 --> 00:45:31.280 in the refuge 00:45:31.280 --> 00:45:34.180 of Christ 00:45:34.180 --> 00:45:37.019 and know 00:45:37.019 --> 00:45:37.980 that when the storm 00:45:37.980 --> 00:45:38.519 of judgment 00:45:38.519 --> 00:45:40.039 that will finally come 00:45:40.039 --> 00:45:41.159 upon all earth 00:45:41.159 --> 00:45:42.480 and upon all flesh, 00:45:42.800 --> 00:45:44.740 that we will have 00:45:44.739 --> 00:45:46.299 a rescuer 00:45:46.299 --> 00:45:47.759 and we will stand 00:45:47.759 --> 00:45:48.939 through that storm 00:45:48.939 --> 00:45:50.439 that God will not 00:45:50.439 --> 00:45:51.479 abandon His plan 00:45:51.479 --> 00:45:52.419 or His people 00:45:52.419 --> 00:45:54.459 but that He has come 00:45:54.459 --> 00:45:55.179 in Jesus 00:45:55.179 --> 00:45:57.599 so that we might be His. 00:45:59.199 --> 00:46:00.179 Let's pray. 00:46:07.859 --> 00:46:09.239 Lord, we thank You 00:46:09.239 --> 00:46:10.559 for this hope 00:46:10.559 --> 00:46:12.919 even as we are sobered 00:46:12.920 --> 00:46:14.480 and recognize that, 00:46:15.139 --> 00:46:16.659 Lord, we are as much 00:46:16.659 --> 00:46:18.380 of the line of Ham 00:46:18.380 --> 00:46:19.860 as we are of the line 00:46:19.860 --> 00:46:20.820 of Shem. 00:46:21.800 --> 00:46:23.559 Lord, that we have 00:46:23.559 --> 00:46:25.680 sin in our hearts 00:46:25.680 --> 00:46:27.079 that we cannot uproot 00:46:27.079 --> 00:46:28.559 and we cannot overcome 00:46:28.559 --> 00:46:30.599 simply by good works 00:46:30.599 --> 00:46:32.200 or by good will. 00:46:34.480 --> 00:46:35.700 Lord, that apart 00:46:35.700 --> 00:46:37.200 from Your redeeming work 00:46:37.200 --> 00:46:38.019 we are lost. 00:46:39.320 --> 00:46:40.280 Lord, we praise You 00:46:40.280 --> 00:46:41.599 for Your redeeming work. 00:46:41.599 --> 00:46:43.480 in Christ 00:46:43.480 --> 00:46:44.860 and ask, Lord, 00:46:44.920 --> 00:46:45.799 I ask today 00:46:45.799 --> 00:46:46.920 that as we come 00:46:46.920 --> 00:46:47.920 to Your table, Lord, 00:46:47.980 --> 00:46:48.920 that You would help us 00:46:48.920 --> 00:46:51.079 to celebrate, Lord, 00:46:51.179 --> 00:46:51.679 the redemption 00:46:51.679 --> 00:46:52.960 that we have in Him. 00:46:53.779 --> 00:46:54.599 We pray this 00:46:54.599 --> 00:46:55.440 in Jesus' name. 00:46:56.239 --> 00:46:56.500 Amen. 00:46:59.900 --> 00:47:00.619 Well, friends, 00:47:00.699 --> 00:47:01.860 it is fitting for us 00:47:01.860 --> 00:47:02.599 to... 00:47:02.599 --> 00:47:16.539 raumu relationship 00:47:20.920 --> 00:47:21.619 that...