The Ark and Jesus: Judgment For Sin

Genesis 6:5-7

Our world tries to paint God as monochromatic. They take the verse that says, "God is love" (I John 4:16), and that is the only attribute He is allowed to have. God is so much more than love. The Bible actually talks about a lot of things He hates. He is righteous and just. He is merciful and gracious. He is infinite in wisdom, power, and presence. All of this is true for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Today's text is about God's righteousness and justice.

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Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

Genesis 6:5–7

And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.

Genesis 7:21-23

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Noah was a preacher of righteousness according to Peter (II Peter 2:5). While he was building the ark, he was also warning the people. The writer of Hebrews adds, "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Hebrews 11:7). Not only were the words of Noah a warning, but so was the actual ark itself. The people's rejection of God and continuation of their unconcern with God is what condemned them.

Many people view the judgment and wrath as being characteristic of God the Father, and Jesus is love and kindness. Revelation paints a very different picture of Jesus. Yes, He is still love and kindness, but He is also judgment and wrath. Consider what John wrote, "And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves 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 who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" (Revelation 6:15-16).

The destruction of the whole earth in Genesis was a prequel to what will ultimately happen at the end of time. Revelation makes it very clear that this is not the "wrath of the Father" but it is the "wrath of the Lamb".

Many people feel that such judgment is not fair. When we think this way we ignore the 120 years of preaching that Noah did. We ignore the fact that Enoch was also a prophet and preached God to the people (Genesis 5, Jude 14). God's judgment is not arbitrary or unjust. God always gives people a chance to repent. However, there does come a time when His mercy is exhausted. At the end of 120 years, time was up. The ark was loaded, the door was shut, and with that the fate of those outside the ark was sealed. There would be death, judgment, and hell.

The same is true for our world today. For 2,000 years, the church has been proclaiming both the salvation and judgment of Jesus. Some listen, and some do not. Some are ushered by God into safety and others will face His judgment. Whether people listen or not, we preach. Whether they join us or not, we witness. Noah's message was not fruitless; his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law got on the ark. That is a win for Noah. Still, it is so exciting when someone comes to faith in Jesus. Jesus said, "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7).

Father, I pray that Heaven would have a reason to rejoice because we are faithfully preaching salvation, and you call drawing people to Yourself. We pray that people would be saved and that the baptismal waters would not grow stagnate. Even now, I am thinking of people that the Gospel has been shared with, and I pray that they would come to saving faith in Jesus so that they do not face judgment.