God of Noah II
– God remembers Noah –
Genesis 7 and 8
Key verse: Genesis 8:1a

Good morning. Last week, God commanded Noah to build the ark because he was going to wipe out all humans by flooding. Noah did not see rain or flooding yet but in holy fear, he began to build the ark. At the end of chapter 6, the ark was finally ready.
In today’s passage, chapter 7 and 8, God told Noah to enter the ark, then began to send rain on the earth. When everyone died in the flood, God remembered him. There is a flower named “Forget me not”. It is a perennial. It blooms from summer through fall, but withers in winter season. But next spring, its life comes back. The flower says, “please, do not forget me, remember me, I will come back next year”. Like the flower, we are afraid of being forgotten. Forgotten by people and God. But today’s passage says God remembered Noah. He remembers us too. Through this passage, may God bless us to learn his judgement and his mercy that we can put our hope in him.
1. Go into the ark
Let’s read verse 1 together. The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.” Now the ark was ready. God commanded Noah to enter the ark. Going into the ark means God’s flood judgment has come to the people of Noah’s time. It was also his grace for Noah and his family to be saved from the flood.
Likewise, God commands us to enter our true ark Jesus. Noah built the ark himself, but we do not need to build our ark. He provided us the true ark Jesus. All we need to do is to fear him and obey his command: go into Jesus (accept him as our Savior by faith), stay in him, and remain in him. Then, we will be saved, our life will be preserved.
In verses 2 – 3, God told Noah to take seven pairs of every kind of clean animal and one pair of every kind of unclean animal. Why 7 pairs of every clean animal? Later in chapter 8:20, Noah took some of all the clean animals and offered burnt offerings. It was for worshipping God.
Look at verse 4. “Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” God told Noah that 7 days from now, he will send rain. Noah, his family, and all creatures must enter the ark before the deadline. The one week was given to Noah to make everything done. But at the same time, it was the last chance for the people of Noah’s time to enter the ark. Though Noah had preached God’s coming flooding judgment, no one believed and not even one accepted his invitation. Yet, God did not give up the people yet. He still gave them another second chance to go into the ark during the 7 days. When they would come to the ark even at the last minutes, God would be happily to allow them to enter the ark. Also, the people of Noah’s time could not blame God that he did not give them enough chance. He did give them more than enough time.
In a sense, we are living in the last 7 days now. God’s final judgement is coming. When Jesus comes again, everything will perish. Yet, there is still a chance. The ark of salvation is still open to anyone. If we know God’s heart, we should go out and preach the gospel in season and out of season.
Now everything was ready. Look at verse 11 and 12. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
On the seventeenth day of the second month, simply saying, Feb 17, at Noah’s age 600 years old, suddenly, all the springs of the great deep burst forth. There were natural disasters like the earthquakes and Tsunami everywhere. The floodgates of the heavens were also opened. Accordig to Genesis 1:6,7 there were waters above the sky. The waters poured out from heaven 40 days and 40 nights.
Then, what did God do? Let’s look at verse 16. Then the LORD shut him in. The Bible does not say Noah closed the door. But it says God shut him in. God is a subject. In other words, God shut the door of the ark. The door had been open, but now closed. No one can come in and out. As God shut the door, no one can open the door. It is firm. Revelation 3:7 says What God opens, no one can shut, and what he shuts, no one can open. God’s judgement was final. He was merciful and kind to the people of Noah’s time. He gave them enough time. Yet, they did not want to repent. In his time, God shut the door completely. From that moment, it was too late. No matter how people would bang the door to open, no matter they would regret, it was too late.
It is sad that in Noah’s time, how could not even a person come to Noah’s ark? No one believed his preaching. They did not believe God’s flooding judgment. In the same way, today people do not believe Noah’s flooding as a fact. They consider it a myth. They think it is a made-up story. However, thank God. By his mercy, we believe that the words of God are true. We believe Noah’s flood as a fact. Actually, this is a miracle. You did not see it, but you believed it. It is only by God’s grace. Last Wednesday, Franco and I went out to preach the good news on campus. No one said “yes, I want to study the Bible”. But you do 1:1 bible study, come to Sunday worship service, and do daily bread. Praise God! The door of salvation is still open for everyone. As God called Noah to preach his flood judgement, so does he call us to share the good news to people around us. 2 Corinthians 6:2. It says “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
Now look at verse 17 and 18. As the waters increased, the ark was high above the earth and floated on the surface of the water. The ark did not have a steering key or engine. It was just floating in the middle of the flooding. Yet, it did not sink in the waters. It was safe. How? Because the ark was in God’s hands. God protected the ark. If Noah ever tried to control the ark, the ark might be in big danger. But as he trusted in God’s hands, he and his family were safe. Similarly, in this world, if you try to manage your life, it is so weary and burdened. You may face lots of stress and difficulties. But if you surrender your life to God’s hands, if you trust in his leading, he will securely lead our life step by step for his glory. Proverb 3:6 says in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Look at verse 21-23. It is repeated in the three verses: Every living thing on the earth was wiped out. God promised and then fulfilled his judgement.
Verse 23b says Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. Anything, anyone outside the ark, all died. Only those who were inside the ark: Noah and those with him were saved. It does not matter whether Noah was righteous or unrighteous, whether Noah’s wife was godly or not, whether Noah’s three sons were obedient or not. They were saved because of only one reason: they were in the ark.
In the book of Exodus, God told Moses he would destroy every first-born son in Egypt. God also said to him that whoever would paint the blood of a lamb on the doorpost of their house, they will be saved. When the angel of the death came to a house, he checked only one thing: the blood on the doorpost. He did not care who were inside the house: either Isarel or Egyptian, either bad or good. Only one condition: the blood. At that night, those who painted the blood on the door frame by faith were saved, otherwise all first-born sons died.
In the same way, whoever in Jesus will be saved. It does not matter whether they are evil or bad. As long as they believe that Jesus died on the cross for their sins, they will be forgiven and saved. This is God’s promise. This is God’s mercy. Praise God who gave us faith to be in Jesus.

2. God remembered Noah
The waters flooded the earth for 150 days. Look at chapter 8:1. Let’s read it together. But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. God remembered Noah. God did not forget him. It looks like, after Noah entered the ark, about last 6 months, God did not say anything to Noah. He did not appear to him either. In the ark, what could be Noah’s life? Noah and his family might be very scared. What if our ark is sinking? Where is God? How long should we stay in the ark? When will this be over? Also, the ark itself was totally a mess. The ark was not a cruise ship: relax and have fun. Noah had to take care of all animals; distributing food and might clean up their poop too. But verse 1 says God remembered him. Here, ‘remember’ is not something God totally forgot him, then all of sudden, he began to recall him. Instead, the word ‘remember’ in Hebrews is always, constantly on his mind. Before the flood, in the middle of the flood, after the flood, God did not forget Noah. Noah was in his mind all the time. God was just waiting for his best time.
In the same way, God does not forget us. He remembers you. He knows what you are going through. Actually, if someone remembers me, that is very comforting and encouraging. ‘ah, I am not forgotten. Someone remembers me’. Then, how much more we are comforted and encouraged when my creator God remembers me! He knows what I have been going through. He never forgets his people. Isaiah 49:15 says “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
After moving to DE, sometimes I feel I am a forgotten person by church members in Maryland. I used to live there for 19 years. I thought I had many Christian friends there. But here, living as a single family, often I was wondering why am I here? What am I doing here? I have been going through ups and downs. One day is so up, the other day is so down. But verse 1 is very comforting that God remembers me! I hope the church members in Maryland continue to remember my family and pray for us.
Now what did God do for Noah? Verse 1b, he started removing the waters from the earth. How? He sent a wind over the earth and the waters receded. I do not know how a wind can reduce the water in science. But in the book of Exodus, when Israel stood before the Red Sea, God caused a strong wind to blow the sea all night. Then, the sea was divided as dry land. (Exodus 14). Th wind has power to recede the waters.
So, the waters from the earth slowly receded. Then, the tops of the mountains became visible. Noah wanted to check if the earth was dry. He sent a raven and later a dove. The dove flew back and forth. Then, later it did not come back.
Now look at verse 13 and 14. By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry. At Noah’s age 601 years old, on Feb 27th, the earth was completely dry. The rain began on Noah’s age 600 years old, on Feb 17th. So, Noah’s flooding took one year and 10 days in total.

3. Come out of the ark
Look at verse 15 and 16. Let’s read them. Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. God told Noah to come out of the ark. Noah had known the earth was dry. Yet, he did not come out of the ark. He stayed in the ark until God told him to get out of the ark. As an ordinary man, he might want to come out of the ark quickly. When we were stuck in the Pandemic, how much we were willing to go out quickly. Yet, Noah was patient. He was waiting for God’s direction. Chapter 6:9 says Noah was a righteous, blameless, and walked faithfully with God. We can see here that he did not behave whatever he liked. Instead, he followed God’s timing. He built the ark when God told him to do. He entered the ark when God said to him to go into the ark. Now, he came out of the ark when God said to come out of the ark.
I did not want to come out of Maryland. Everything was there. But when God convicted me and “come out of Maryland, go to DE”, I followed his direction. I want to continue to follow God’s words. I pray for you to have the same faith in God; if God says, stay, then stay. If God says come out, then come out.
Now, let’s look at verse 20. What did Noah do right after he came out of the ark? Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The first thing Noah did was to build an altar and to sacrifice burnt offerings. He gave thanks to God. He thanked God that he found favor in God’s eyes. He thanked God that God protected him in the flood. So out of thankful heart, he worshipped God through animal sacrifice.
In the early American history, when the Puritans came to America, they were so thankful that God led them safely to the new country. So, as soon as they arrived in America, the first thing they did was to build the church to worship God, then their house, and the schools. They put God in their first place. God has blessed this nation because of their worship.
Likewise, today, we gather together to worship God. Why? Give our thanks to God. He gave us Jesus to be saved from our sins. He has blessed us to grow in the knowledge of God and in the image of Jesus Christ.
ALSO As you know, our salvation is momentary. When we believe Jesus, at that moment, we are saved. But after being saved, we have to live a long life on this earth. How? Like Noah, live a life of giving thanks to God by worshipping him.
Look at verse 21. When Noah offered animal sacrifice, God was very pleased. He said even if every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood, never again he will destroy all living creatures. Hold on. God just destroyed all humans from the flood. Yet, he said even if every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. Sin is still there. Even the flood could not take away sin from people. What can wash away sin? Only the blood of Jesus. No flooding, no push, no threat, no punishment. Only his blood is able to get rid of sin problem. 1 John 1:7 says the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Thank God for providing us the blood of Jesus.
In conclusion, in today’s passage, we have learned about the God of Noah. God commanded Noah to enter the ark. That is the only way to survive from the flood. He also remembered Noah. He did not forget him. He knew what he was going through in the ark. In his best time, he told Noah to come out of the ark. Noah was so grateful that he sacrificed burnt offerings. The same God commands us to enter our true ark Jesus to be saved. He also remembers us. He does not forget us. He knows what we have been going through in this world. What should we do? Let’s remember our God, put our trust in him, and live a life of worshipping HIM.