Sermon Tone Analysis

Genesis 7:17-24

Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations (Myth—given substance)

An English doctor once found writing short stories more to his liking than writing prescriptions.

After numerous rejections, Beeton’s Christmas Annual decided to publish the doctor’s murder tale in 1887.

Although Dr. Conan Doyle was paid a miserly amount for his story (A Study in Scarlet), that single mystery launched one of the most successful literary careers in history: You know him as the arrogant, impatient, and brilliant Sherlock Holmes.

It is read by devotees around the world, and today, Holmes continues to be studied, analyzed, appreciated, and imitated.

As one said, he’s the greatest detective who never was.

People quiz each other’s knowledge about him.

They accumulate Sherlock memorabilia—and he never existed.

A total fabrication continues to be the object of intense devotion.

So it is with “myths.”

A myth is a story.

Sometimes it expresses a worldview thru the story-telling of an historical event which explains a practice, belief or phenomenon…other times a myth surrounds a person or thing having only an imaginary existence.

Paul told Timothy to not pay attention to myths.

Paul also referenced a time when people

The existence of LJC is not like that of Sherlock Holmes since He is a true historical person.

This is not a myth, the Bible is not mythical—filled with fictional accounts as many seem to believe today.

I was reading a brief article by a man named Robert Cargill (Forget about Noah's Ark; There Was No Worldwide Flood): in it he was explaining why he rejects a global flood.

For starters, he believes the flood narrative was written by at least 2 individuals.

“Most scholars will point out that the biblical flood story is actually two flood epics intertwined into one.”

You remember last week I briefly discussed the “Documentary Hypothesis”—this is the fruit of higher criticism which leads to a denial of biblical authority.

Cargill also appeals to his understanding of science to reject the flood: not enough water on the earth to have covered the earth (and only 1.7% of water is underground).

He concludes by saying:

Simply put: there is no evidence whatsoever for a worldwide flood.

In other words, it's impossible.

There is not enough water in the earth's atmospheric system to even come close to covering all of the earth's landmasses.

It is time for Christians to admit that some of the stories in Israel's primordial history are not historical.

It is ok to concede that these stories were crafted in a pre-scientific period and were designed to offer ethical answers to questions of why and not questions of how.

Christians and Jews must concede that the Bible can still be "inspired" without being historically or scientifically "inerrant."

His offering of “science” is dubious but his presupposition about the Scriptures not being inerrant is what keeps him from submitting to God’s revealed truth.

One of the strongest assertions of the inerrancy of God’s Word (without error in original documents) comes from the teaching if LJC.

Jesus built the doctrine of His 2nd coming upon the historical reliability of Noah, the Ark and the flood.

Matt 24:37-39—majority discount flood narrative as mythological

(Notice how Christ introduced His affirmation of Noah and Flood Vs 35) So do we join the critics who cannot accept the reliability of the story or do we believe Christ?

Some suggest Jesus was only using the prevailing belief in a flood to make a point.

It has been suggested that He Himself did not believe in a flood but took advantage of contemporary beliefs.

John Wenham Christ and the Bible, shows how that view is impossible.

“The future Judge is speaking words of solemn warning to those who shall hereafter stand convicted at his bar…And yet we are to suppose him to say that imaginary persons who at the imaginary preaching of an imaginary prophet repented in imagination, shall rise up in that day and condemn the actual impenitence of those his actual hearers.”

If there was no flood, then everything Jesus taught goes out the window.

The Gk word “flood” is kataklusmos (cataclysm).

The root means “to inundate with water” and today a cataclysm is a momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition.

This is a very apt description of the event described in Gen 7—and probably more so than what we have thought about before.

I doubt that I’ll have all your questions answered today but my prayer is that you’ll be built up in the Word of Christ as we walk thru our vv together.

I want to look at 4 descriptions about the flood that help us to embrace the authority of God’s Word and to live it out with greater faithfulness.

1.

The Date of the Flood

vs 11

There are specific details pertaining to the date the flood takes place and we can with have confidence in the reliability of God’s Word on this matter.

Following the genealogies of ch 5—we know that Lamech became the father of Noah 1056 years after creation—with the view that genealogies were “closed” and that there aren’t any gaps (confirmed in Luke 3).

So 500 years later Noah began having children—S, H, J. (actually J,S,H birth order) since Shem has a child at 100 and his son Arphaxhad is born 2 years after the flood (11:10) making Shem 97 when the flood begins.

Shem is listed first because he is the one thru whom the Messianic line will proceed.

Noah’s 600th year is 1656 after creation.

Now if you adhere to James Ussher’s dating system which puts creation at 4004 B.C. then you’re at 2348 B.C. (1656 after creation).

Moses is even more specific—in the 2nd month on the 17th day (important to help determine precisely how long Noah and his family will be on the ark).

The date of the flood, then, is 1656 from creation or 4370 years ago.

Now, I realize that doesn’t mesh with what is referred to as “science” today.

The scientific world relies on the principle of “uniformitarianism” which believes “the present is the key to the past.”

This is the mantra of mockers:

The flaw in their thinking is that they are “willingly ignorant” of the supernatural and special creation by the spoken word of God and the cataclysmic, global Flood.

What is claimed to be scientific evidence of an earth that is billions of years old is really the expression of ignorance of what Peter is declaring.

The present cannot be the key to the past b/c in divine providence God works to preserves His creation bringing all things to His intended goal.

This means that we can perceive “laws of nature” which are the normal principles and processes of the universe.

But God is not bound to these “laws” and that He is the sovereign Creator and sustainer—He has the authority and power to suspend these laws in order to work miracles—which is what the Flood represents.

2. The Duration of the Flood

As you will note, there is perfect precision in the details surrounding the length of time that the earth is flooded with water—and that Noah is on the ark.

There are debates as to whether Moses was using a Mosaic Calendar (according to when God delivered Israel from Egypt), or a civil/agricultural calendar and does the flood begin in Spring (May) or in the Fall (October).

The details that Moses describes are in relation to Noah’s life (when his child is born, when the flood begins—all with respect to Noah’s life).

God’s final reprieve—7 days (Gen 7:4)

The Flood begins: 600, 2 month, 17 day (Gen 7:11) the “very” same day Noah entered the ark (7:13)

Rains continue 40 days and 40 nights (Gen 7:12)—result is the ark “floated” on surface of water (tops the mountains by 15 cubits—at least 22.5’—7:20)

Water prevailed for 150 days (Gen 7:24) (110 plus 40 days of rain)

Water begins to “recede steadily” (8:3) at the end of the 150 days [7:24]

Ark rests on mtns of Ararat (8:4) 7th month 17th day (after 5 months on the ark).

Mtn tops become visible—10th month 1st day (8:5).

The ark would rest on the mtn before it would become visible—obviously it is taking more time for waters to recede—than to cover the earth.

Noah sends out raven—after 40 days (from mtns visible—(8:6-7) did not return b/c found food and place to nest.

Noah sends out dove—7 days (8:8) it returns

Dove sent dove again—7 days (8:10-11) returns with olive leaf

Dove sent again—7 more days (8:12) did not return

Noah’s birthday (601—1st month 1st day)—Noah removed covering and earth was dried up (8:13)

Noah disembarks—56 days later (2nd month 27th day) (8:14)

The total time on the ark was 1 year and 10 days.

Now if calculations are based on 360 day year it was 370 days total.

3. The Depth of the Flood

How much water actually flooded the earth?

This is a point the critic makes when he denies the flood was global—there isn’t possibly enough water in the earth’s atmosphere to flood the entire earth (that mtns would be covered).

Moses uses a Heb idiom for a violent downpour when he says “floodgates of the sky were opened” (7:11).

In our atmosphere at any one time, there is about about 3100 cubic miles of water.

The atmosphere moves tremendous amounts of water all over the earth’s surface.

But this represents only .001% of all the water in earth’s hydrological system.

If all that water poured down on earth it would amount to 4.14”.

If it were to rain that amount over 40 days it would equal 4/1000” per hour—hardly a violent downpour.

There have been significant rainfalls in history.

1862 Cherrapunji, India it rained for 31 days and brought 366”=1/2” in/hr

1911 Philippines, 79” in 63 hours—just over 1”/hr

2017 Hurricane Harvey proudced 25.6” over 14000 Sq Mi. over 24 hrs.

Monsoons have been known to produce 22”/hr.

Even at that rate for 40 days only adds up to 1760’—would barely wet mt Ararat (17K’)

Something else had to be going on to produce water that would cover mtns by 22.5’.

Sources For Water

Moses reveals that there were 2 sources for the water that would cover the earth.