MESSAGES FROM GENESIS #8

AND IT BEGAN TO RAIN On February 17th, 2348 BC

DATE:

TEXT: Genesis 7:11

INTRODUCTION

There are some dates that have gone down in history

I think we would all agree that July 4, 1776, is a very significant date for all Americans

President Roosevelt speaking of the bombing of Pearl Harbor said that December 7, 1941 was a day that would live in infamy (shameful conduct)

There are some dates that seem to capture our attention and hold a sort of historical spell over us

There is November 22, 1963, the date of the assassination of John F. Kennedy

I'm sure that most of you can remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard that Kennedy had been shot

April 15, 1912, is a date that is well known

For some reason, that fateful night, when the Titanic struck and iceberg and sank is a date that has never been forgotten

And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

Of course there is September 11, 2001 the day the Twin Towers were hit by the terrorist in the airplanes

There is not a day on our calendar that could not tell the story of some historical significance

But there is one date that you never see marked on a calendar even though it marks one of the most significant events that ever occurred in history

Recently, when we reached the 4,346th anniversary of this event,

It wasn’t mentioned on the evening news or mentioned in any newspaper

Most people, if not all, never even realized the significance of this date

The date I refer to is February 17

The great significance of the date is not that on this date in the year 1776, the first volume of Gibbons “Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire” was published

It is not that in 1867 the first ship passed through the Suez Canal

It is not that in 1876 in Eastport, Maine, the first sardines were canned

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

It is not that in 1908 at the age of 79, the Apache Indian Chief, Geronimo died

It is not that in 1934 the first High School Driver’s Ed course was offered at State College, Pa.

It is not that in 1961 Michael Jordan was born

It is not even that in 1889 Billy Sunday made his first appearance as an evangelist in Chicago

The great significance of the date February 17 is that in the year 2348 BC , it began to rain

For the first time in history it rained

And it rained for 40 days and nights

We read in Genesis 7:11 –

“In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened”

On February 17, 2348 BC, God judged the world and His wrath was poured out on all mankind

And the 40 days and nights of rain that followed remind us of a side of God that you don't hear much about anymore

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

We are a generation that only wants to talk about God in positive terms

We only want to think of Him as a God of love and a God of forgiveness

He certainly is a God of love and forgiveness

But He is also a Just God, One Who must punishes sin!

Ill. George Barna found that nine out of ten adults (93%) say they believe God exists. Yet when it comes to defining what "God" means to people, nearly three out of ten, describe a deity other than the God portrayed in the Bible

The God that is portrayed in the Bible is a God of love, grace, mercy, patience,

But He is also portrayed as a God of wrath, anger, and judgment

We read in Jeremiah 10:10 –

“But the LORD is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting King: at His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation”

We also read in Nahum 1:2 –

“God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies”

Genesis chapter seven and the story of the flood reveal this side of the nature of God

Let’s pray and look at this chapter of the Bible and see what God has to say about when –

“It Began to Rain”

~~~Prayer~~~

First, notice with me: 

I. THE PATIENCE OF GOD THAT WAS EXHAUSTED We read in Exodus 34:6 – (the 2nd making of the tablets)

“And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth”

The Bible says in Numbers 14:18 –

“The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression”

Also, we read in Psalm 86:15 –

“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth”

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

When the Bible speaks of God as being long-suffering

It means that He is forbearing, patient, and slow to anger

When you consider God's patience we see that: A. God's Patience is ‘Long’ 

There is no story in the Bible that better reveals the patience and long-suffering of God than the flood

In a previous study we noticed a man by the name of Methuselah (Noah’s grandfather)

His name means – 'when he dies judgment' or 'in the year he dies it will be sent'

This would mean that at the time of his birth his Godly father Enoch was given a prophecy of the coming flood of Noah (We know he was a prophet, Jude 14)

The flood did indeed come just after Methuselah's death, according to the Bible record

He lived 969 years, longer than any man that every lived

We saw that the reason was because it was at his death that the rain began to fall

In Methuselah we see 969 years of God's long-suffering

We read in Hebrews 11:7 – 6

And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith”

God warned Noah that His judgment was coming

We also read in II Peter 2:5 that God -

“spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly”

Noah is called a preacher of righteousness

God warned Noah and Noah warned others

For 120 years, Noah warned men of the coming judgment (Genesis 6:3)

→ The long life (969 years) of Methuselah revealed the long-suffering of God

→ The 120 years of Noah's preaching revealed the long-suffering of God

God warned men for 969 years that He was going to judge the earth

The last 120 years, God intensely warned men of His judgment through the preaching of Noah

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

We read in I Peter 3:20 –

“Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water”

Peter says that God waited - Why?

II Peter 3:9 says –

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not wiling that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”

There is another example of how long-suffering God is in this story

Notice Genesis 7:4 –

“For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth”

Even after 969 years of Methuselah living and 120 years of Noah preaching,

God still waited one more week before He poured out His wrath on the earth

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

I’m glad that God is not as impatient as we are

Ill. The punctual man and the Ferry boat

We are not very patient at times

But blessed be the name of our LORD that He’s patient and long-suffering

God's Patience is ‘Long’

But we also see that: B. God’s Patience is ‘Limited’ 

Notice Genesis 6:3 –

“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years”

God is long-suffering and extremely patient but there is a limit to His patience and His long-suffering

There is a time when God says “No more!”

There comes a time when God says “I will wait no longer; I will be patient no more”

God will “strive” with man

The word “strive” means “contend, plead with” 9

And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

God will do all He can to spare men from His wrath,

But there is a point when His spirit will strive no longer

The account of the flood is a great example of God's patience being exhausted

THE PATIENCE OF GOD THAT WAS EXHAUSTED

Next, we see:

II. THE WRATH OF GOD THAT WAS EXHIBITED We read in Genesis 7:10-12 –

“And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were upon the earth” “In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” “And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights”

V.11 tells us that on February 17, 2348 BC, it began to rain

God would be patient and long-suffering no longer

It was now time for judgment

We see that this judgment came in the form of a flood

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7We see: A. The Opening of the Windows of Heaven 

V.11 tells us that the windows of heaven were opened and the rain was upon the earth 40 days and nights

In Genesis 1:6, 7 we learn how God divided the waters

There was water on the earth and water in the heavens

It is commonly believed that there was a canopy of water over the earth

Notice Genesis 2:6 –

“But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground”

This huge canopy of water suddenly collapsed and came crashing down

One can only imagine the devastation and destruction this would have caused

And this happened for 40 days and nights

Notice Genesis 7:17-20 –

“And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth”

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

“And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters” “And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered”  “Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered”

The waters rose higher and higher until the highest mountain peak was 22 feet under water

In you had been in space looking at the earth, all you would have seen was a huge ball of water

The Opening of the Windows of Heaven

We also see: B. The Occurring of the Wrath of Heaven 

We read in Genesis 7:21-24 –

“And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:” “All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died” “And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark” “And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days”

We read in II Peter 2:5, that God spared not the old world

All living things on the face of the earth were destroyed

The flood reminds us of the severity of God's wrath

Turn with me to Nahum 1:2-8

It is vital that we face the truth concerning God's wrath,

For one day every person that dies without God will face His wrath

Every person that rebels against God and ignores His warnings will experience God's wrath

One day this world will experience God's wrath again

I can only imagine the actions and reaction of men and women in Noah's day

I can see those who survived the initial rush of water pounding on the side of the ark

I can see them rushing to the mountains trying to get above the rising water

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

I can see them go under one by one

We read of a future day when men shall try to flee the wrath of God

We read in Revelation 6:14-17 –

“And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places” “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;” “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:” “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

There will come a day when it will be too late!

The Bible makes very clear that one day there will be a reward for the righteous and a retribution for the wicked

THE PATIENCE OF GOD THAT WAS EXHAUSTED

THE WRATH OF GOD THAT WAS EXHIBITED

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

Last, notice: 

III. THE GRACE OF GOD THAT WAS EXPERIENCED We read that all flesh died upon the earth, yet there was an exception

We read in Genesis 6:8 –

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD”

There was one thing that saved Noah and his family from the wrath of God and that was the grace of God

We see that Noah: A. Experienced the ‘Saving’ Grace of God 

We read in Genesis 7:1 –

“And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation” 

God saw that Noah was righteous

He was a man right with God and right before God

Why was he righteous?

He had experienced the saving grace of God in his life

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

We noticed that Genesis 6:9 says that he was a just man, perfect in his generations, and walked with God

He was not saved because he was just

He was just because he was saved

He was not saved because he was perfect in his generations

He was perfect in his generations because he was saved

He was not saved because he walked with God

He walked with God because he was saved

The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8, 9 -

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” “Not of works, lest any man should boast”

Have you found grace in the eyes of God?

Experienced the ‘Saving’ Grace of God

Furthermore, we see that Noah: B.  Experienced the ‘Sheltering’ Grace of God 

We read in Genesis 7:23 –

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

“And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark”

Notice carefully that Noah and his family remained alive

The grace of God had provided a shelter from God's wrath

They were spared the wrath of God and sheltered from the wrath of God

The Bible says in II Peter 2:5 that God

“spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly”

God saved Noah from the flood and there was only one reason why God saved Noah

He had found grace in the eyes of God

And he found grace simply because he believed God!

Ill. The Wise Wagon Master and the prairie fire

Jesus experienced the wrath of God when He was on the cross

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And It Began to Rain – Genesis 7

The fires of God's judgment burned at Calvary and those who have come to Jesus have come to a place where the judgment has already fallen

One day the wrath of God will come on every nation and every person

The only escape is Jesus Who is a symbol of our ark of safety

When it begins to rain God’s judgment will you be saved and safe?  

THE PATIENCE OF GOD THAT WAS EXHAUSTED

THE WRATH OF GOD THAT WAS EXHIBITED

THE GRACE OF GOD THAT WAS EXPERIENCED

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