Leaving the Ark

Leaving the Ark (Genesis 8:13-22) A. A little over a year from the start of the Flood, Noah and all left the ark. GEN 7:11 c/w GEN 8:13-19. 1. All that went alive into the ark came off the ark alive according to the commandment. GEN 6:18-20. 2. All that were given to the righteous man were preserved unto a new world. c/w 1TH 5:23-24. 3. There is no better nor safer place than the place where Christ is. B. Noah did not leave until God gave him leave. So Christ remained in the tomb until God’s order of three days and three nights was completed. MAT 12:40. 1. It was not for lack of power that Christ did not rise earlier. JOH 10:17-18. 2. It was for conformity to the Divine order, for His power itself was regulated by the will of God. c/w MAT 26:53-54; JOH 17:1-2. 3. Even though the new world was tantalizingly close for the latter portion of that year, yet they remained in the ark until God called them out. a. Patience is a virtue for all saints, even those in glory. REV 6:9-11; HEB 6:11-12. b. If our hearts are truly in love with Christ, the time we spend waiting for Him will seem insignificant. GEN 29:20 c/w 2CO 4:17-18. C. During that tumultuous year, though the conditions in the ark were less than ideal, yet the occupants had sufficient and were secure. 1. If all we have in Christ in this world is sufficiency and security, we have much to be thankful for. 2. Paul learned contentedness in all states. PHIL 4:10-13. 3. (PHIL 4:19) But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. D. Christ, as the ark was, is God’s appointed vessel of salvation for His covenant people. One may be IN Christ in this world: 1. by sovereign election. EPH 1:4. 2. legally, being represented by Christ before God’s law. 2CO 5:21 c/w 1CO 1:30. 3. vitally, being made alive inwardly. ROM 7:22; 2CO 5:17. 4. practically, being baptized into Christ. GAL 3:27. a. The regenerated elect by faith takes his place with Christ in His body, the local church. ACT 2:41; 1CO 12:27. b. The church is IN Christ. Being joined into it is being joined into Christ. 1TH 1:1. c. The church of Jesus Christ is a sanctuary which provides for the needs of the saints until He returns. d. Sometimes the diet will be bland. e. Sometimes the conditions will be tumultuous. f. Sometimes the anticipation of the new world will be tantalizingly strong. g. Sometimes the saints will agonize over the wait for their release. h. But in the church they should remain until God calls them out by obedience (2TH 3:6) or calls them to heaven at Christ’s return. HEB 10:35-39. i. The ark served its purpose and was abandoned in that new world but the church of Jesus Christ continues its purpose in perpetuity in the world to come. EPH 3:21. E. Before the Flood, God had said to Noah, “...COME thou...into the ark” (GEN 7:1). Leaving the Ark 8-12-18 Page 1 of 2 1. By contrast, God now tells Noah, “GO forth of the ark...” (GEN 8:16). 2. This intimates that, though the number was small and their going tumultuous, yet God was in the ark with them through it all. 3. Christ shall ever be amidst a faithful church right up until it comes to rest. MAT 18:20; 28:20. F. When Noah disembarked, the first thing he did in the new world was to offer a sacrifice to God. GEN 8:20 c/w HEB 9:12. 1. There is no better thing to do upon the heels of divine judgment than to tend to matters religious. c/w 2SAM 12:20. 2. The man of the flesh would think first of building his house, but this man of the spirit instead built an altar. c/w HAG 1:2-4. 3. For Noah, religion was his chief concern. MAT 6:31-34. 4. Noah could have rationalized his way out of this action: “Surely, such precious commodities as would be sacrificed are critical to the rebuilding of the new world and to the necessary provisions for men.” a. But Noah was a man of faith. Faith teaches us that nothing is too precious to be given up for God. MAT 10:37-39; PHIL 3:8. b. Faith teaches us that God expects offerings even when the pantry is low. MAR 12:41-44. c. Faith convinces us that God honors those who honor Him. PRO 3:9-10; LUK 18:29-30. d. Noah could have rounded up a dead carcass but faith teaches us that something that costs us nothing is no real sacrifice. 2SAM 24:24; MAL 1:6-8. e. Noah could have offered up some unclean thing to God instead of devoting one of the precious clean animals. (1) He could have justified his actions on the basis that he would have been doing a good service to the new world by ridding it of an undesirable creature. This is religious pragmatism. (2) But God will be worshipped by His elements, the practical benefits of substitutions notwithstanding. GEN 4:3-5; JOH 4:24. f. God was pleased with Noah's offering (v. 21), which tells us that Noah gave willingly, not grudgingly. 2CO 9:6-7. 5. A a. Yet there still remained the need for bloodshedding sacrifice. b. This underscores the insufficiency of ALL blood offerings short of Jesus Christ. HEB 10:4-6, 18. c. Noah's offering was a sweet savour in God's nostrils. So was Christ's. EPH 5:2. G. GEN 8:22. The Flood likely represented the biggest climate-change event ever, yet the earth remained and remains. Our chief concern must be with SIN, not SUV or CO2. H. Be cautious about stories of the ark being preserved and found. 1. Both liars and well-intended folk have been sources of spurious information about the ark. 2. Artifacts of Bible history are interesting but faith needs not sight (2CO 5:7) and testimony can actually be damaged by them when their authenticity is unproven or disproven. 3. Sensational things will not make a genuine convert out of someone who refuses to believe the Scripture. LUK 16:31. living world had just been sacrificed to the justice of God. Leaving the Ark 8-12-18 Page 2 of 2