I Will Establish My Covenant With You: Genesis 6:9-22

Genesis 6:9-22: "9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark--you , your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.' 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did."

This evening's reading tells us that Noah was a just and perfect man; that he walked with God. Noah is a picture of another just and perfect man, our dear Lord Jesus. That Noah walked with God, doesn't just simply mean that he went for walks with Him. It means that Noah did as God desired. He was in complete fellowship with Him, walking in all His ways. Noah is contrasted by the rest of the world. "Indeed it was corrupt." Noah is the only one who is righteous, and so God plans to destroy that which is corrupt, through a flood.

One can see two images in this narrative. The Cross of our dear Lord Jesus, and our baptism. In the Cross, God destroys all that is corrupt in mankind. Our Lord Jesus stands as both the Victim and the High Priest, offering Himself to the Father, as a sacrifice for all of mankind. He dies, we live. He suffers, we go free. We who are corrupt, suffer no punishment. He who is just and perfect, suffers our punishment. Like Noah, our Lord Jesus is also place in a type of Ark, but He is only in this Ark for three days; it is His tomb. Noah is carried through the death of the world, to life again after the flood. Our dear Lord Jesus is carried through the Tomb and death and, even hell, to life eternal.

The Cross and the Tomb, as well as the Flood, are all pictures of our Baptism. We are buried, through the waters of baptism, into Christ's death. For us Christians, this is our death. It is the death of all that is corrupt in us, that which we inherited from Adam. But just as we are brought out of the waters of baptism, so are we brought out of sin and death, so that now we have forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation in Christ Jesus alone. Noah too was buried in the waters, carried safe and sound through those waters, to life again on the other side.

This is the covenant that God makes with Noah. That he will live with Him. And it is the covenant that God has made with us. He fulfilled this covenant through His Son's death on the Cross. And He makes us a part of that covenant through our baptism. When we receive the Flood of baptism, God places us into an Ark. He places us into the Church. Perhaps you have wondered why the main seating area in a church building is called the Nave? Nave, is the Latin word for ship. And in most historic looking church buildings, if you look up at the ceiling, the ribs of the  arches look like the underbelly of a ship. The Church is the ship, or to say it another way, the Ark, that carries those who have been called out of corruption, and put on the perfection of our dear Lord Jesus, to our heavenly home. We are carried through this sea, this life of death and trouble, to our eternal home.

This is God's covenant with mankind, this is His covenant with you. Rejoice at your baptism, and rejoice that when you come to the house of God, you are being carried through this flood of life, and nourished by the preaching of the Gospel, and by the very Body and Blood of Jesus given in bread and wine. And these gifts of God to you will sustain you, and strengthen you through this vale of tears, until you reach your heavenly home.

God's peace be with you!

Deacon Dulas

This One Will Comfort Us: Genesis 5:1-32

Genesis 5:1-32: "1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. 3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. 6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. 7 After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. 8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. 9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. 10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. 11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. 12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. 13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. 15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. 16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died. 18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. 19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. 25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. 26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. 28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed." 30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth."

The geneology from Adam which leads to Noah, contains one striking detail, and that is the ages of these offspring of Adam. I get asked the question all the time of why these men lived so long compared to our life spans. Many theories have been put forth, but the reality is that the reason why we don't live as long as these men is the affect of sin upon both mankind and nature. Sin, death, and the devil, have completely enveloped the world, and they have left it in darkness and despair. Death surrounds us all the time, we are always hearing of someone who has died. For Christians, we can take comfort in the Resurrection from the dead, just as our dear Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. But for those outside of Church; those who do not believe that our dear Lord Jesus fulfilled the Law of God, which they cannot, nor are able to fulfill, or are not that bad to merit condemnationon their behalf, and suffered and died in their place, and now gives us forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation, through the preaching of the Word, and the adminstering of the Sacraments, have no hope for a Resurrection from the dead.

 

Such was the case of the men of the world before and at the time of Noah. But the one True God shows His mercy, by giving to this lost generation the gift of a baby boy, named Noah. Noah means "rest." Noah was meant to be the rest for this lost generation. And Noah fulfilled that task, by preaching to the people of that generation, the warning of God of a flood which would destroy the whole Earth. But as we learn, they did not heed that warning.

 

The One True God, has sent His Son, to dwell in our flesh, so that we might have "rest." Rest from the terrors of sin, death, and the devil. And He sends out to this fallen generation His ministers, those who embody the message Noah, proclaiming all to come into the Ark of the Church, to be rescued from the flood of sin, death, and the devil. This Ark of Christendom, carries us through this life, we enter through waters, the waters of Baptism, and are carried through the means of grace, to our eternal home, where live not just for several hundred years, but for all of eternity. And unlike this life which is fill with dread and trouble and strife, our eternal life is filled with joy and peace, and indeed, rest.

 

So this evening we take our rest in the comfort of Noah, the comfort of the Ark, the Ark of our salvation.

 

God's peace be with you!

 

Deacon Dulas