Remembering

waiting on God

Then God remembered Noah,
and every living thing,
and all the animals
that were with him in the ark.

Genesis 8:1

The distinguishing feature of this passage must surely be the level of detail regarding time. We are told how long the waters decreased, the day the ark rested on the ground, the number of days spent watching for birds, and the nearly three months of waiting after Noah saw the ground was dry.

All of this detail about time came after God remembered Noah. It seems odd to me that God remembered Noah and then did nothing for what must have seemed like forever to those who were on the ark. Personally, I don’t enjoy waiting and waiting for God to act. But waiting seems to be the point of this passage, as if it’s a key part of God’s administration over mankind.

Remember

The first time the Bible mentions God remembering is in Genesis 8. It says that after the floodwaters had raged for 40 days, God remembered Noah and all who were with him on the ark. Remembering is an interesting word to apply to God, since He knows all things and doesn’t forget, like we do. 

Later Bible passages referring to God’s remembering often used the term in connection with a promise or covenant that God had made. From these passages, we can see that His act of remembering is generally followed by some type of divine intervention for the purpose of fulfilling His promise or covenant. 

We could say God’s remembering is when He turns His attention to a given situation with the intent to act. Thus, God’s remembering of Noah indicated He was ready to take action regarding His promise of keeping Noah alive through the flood. In other words, remembering meant God was ready to deliver Noah from the flood.

Since God is all-powerful, we might have expected a spectacular removal of the floodwaters and a quick-dry of the earth. But instead, God made only a very slight move.

Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. Genesis 8:1-2

God merely started the winds and stopped the rains. The rest of the drying process was a natural progression of the waters receding and the earth drying. Other than stopping the rain, God’s intervention didn’t appear supernatural at all, but appeared to be a natural progression of events. 

To this day, God’s working among the affairs of men is usually quiet and unnoticed by most. Occasionally in history, He has intervened spectacularly, but His normal method of operation has been through natural processes. 

Sometimes, when we have observed no disruption to natural processes, we assume God has forgotten His promises and failed to act. But this is not true. Normal progression of natural processes does not mean God has forgotten or is inactive.

Waiting

On the ark, Noah was evidently watching for signs of the flood waters receding. After forty days, he heard the rain stop. Then, five months after the rain had started, he felt the ark land. Three months later, he began sending the birds on reconnaissance missions to see if the water had receded. Finally, one full year after the flood began, he opened the window on the ark and observed that the ground was dry. 

One year was a long time to be cooped up in the ark. But he had to wait another two months and 27 days before God finally spoke and told him to leave the ark. I suppose those last three months were the longest three months of his stay on the ark. It must have seemed long to wait five months on the ark after it landed, and long to wait another 21 days while sending out the birds. But then they waited an additional 87 long days after they had seen the ground was dry. I can’t imagine that Noah and his family didn’t question where God was during those long weeks.

Noah’s Response

Perhaps surprisingly, Noah showed no resentment or bitterness towards God for his extended stay on the ark. In fact, he showed gratitude. He had at his disposal every kind of created animal, but selected only the best, the clean animals, for sacrifice to God. 

The Scripture doesn’t tell us what produced Noah’s gratitude. It may have arisen from being delivered out of the judgment of the flood. Or perhaps it came from recognizing that God had not abandoned him. We are not told. All we see is that Noah spent a lot of time on the ark and somehow, over the course of the long wait, he arrived at a place of deep gratitude towards God.

Noah isn’t the only one of God’s people who has needed to wait for long periods of time. Over the course of history, God has sent many of His people through long periods of waiting, often with no explanation for the delay. But time and time again, those who have waited on Him come through their wait with the report that God is good. 

God’s Covenant

God’s response to Noah’s sacrifice is nothing short of remarkable. He promised to never destroy the earth with a flood again. God sent the flood because every imagination of men’s hearts was evil. But, because of Noah’s sacrifice, although men’s hearts remained continually wicked, God swore in His heart that He would never destroy the earth with a flood again. Noah’s one act of sacrifice brought an everlasting decree from God that would stand regardless of how wicked man became.

God highly valued Noah’s offering which came after a prolonged period of waiting. It means He is not indifferent to the long periods of time which His people endure, but is intimately aware of each passing moment. It means He does not gloss over their patient waiting on Him, but highly values their trust in Him even when they have seemed abandoned.

Conclusion

In God’s administration over mankind, He does not fulfill His promises with a snap of His fingers, although He could. He created both time and the natural processes, and uses them in His working among His people. His approach requires a good deal of faith from those who trust in Him. But He greatly delights in their enduring faith in His word. Especially when their faith stands firm in the face of contrary circumstances.

The Floodwaters

God sent floodwaters as universal destruction because the wickedness of mankind filled the earth. However, whether a creature escaped from that destruction was not based on their level of wickedness.

Day 2 of History

Posts on the second day of the history of mankind.

Title of Page

Text to describe what they will be looking at.

Judgment and Deliverance

the ark was key to escaping destruction

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 7:23

God rejoiced over mankind at the time of creation, giving them dominion over all other living creatures and blessing them with fruitfulness (see Creation). As time passed, people embraced wickedness and God’s rejoicing turned to sorrow, even to where He repented from blessing mankind and purposed to destroy all of them (see God’s Repentance), including all living creatures. But some living creatures escaped the destruction of the floodwaters, and it wasn’t because they were more righteous than others.

Universal Destruction

The waters of the flood would not be discriminatory in their destruction. They would destroy every creature exposed to them, regardless of that creature’s lifestyle. So it was the imminent coming of floodwaters that motivated Noah to board the ark, for not even he would have been spared.

So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. Genesis 7:7

There simply was no escaping the floodwaters. They would eliminate every living creature upon the earth, whether clean or unclean, wicked or righteous, because the flood was universal in its destruction.

This was, in fact, God’s purpose with the floodwaters – to destroy all living creatures. Knowing this, Noah and his family sought to escape the impending destruction by boarding the ark. Yet, in doing so, they were not thwarting God’s purposes for God Himself ensured the ark was secure by shutting the door.

So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in. Genesis 7:16

Clearly, it was God’s intent to deliver those on the ark from destruction, whether clean or unclean, wicked or righteous. We could say that although it was God’s purpose to destroy all living creatures, it was His will that every living creature on the ark would be saved alive.

The Key for Escape

So when the floodwaters came, the ark became the key to whether a living creature was destroyed or preserved. The waters buried everything on the earth except the ark.

Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. Genesis 7:17-19

Although the flood impacted everything on earth, it affected the ark differently than everything else. The flood did not bury the ark, as it did the rest of the earth; it lifted the ark, and everything in it, off the face of the earth.

Thus, God used the ark to make a distinction among all the living creatures. There were those creatures who were on the face of the earth, and there were those who were on the ark. All living creatures that were on the face of the earth were destroyed. But all living creatures that were on the ark were delivered from destruction.

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 7:23

So a living creature’s destiny was not dependent upon its wickedness or righteousness, but upon its position regarding the ark. Its deliverance from destruction depended entirely upon being with Noah in the ark. This was God’s will.

God’s purpose was to destroy all living creatures because of the acute wickedness in the earth. But it was not His desire to eradicate life, so He kept some of every species alive. He didn’t preserve the lives of certain living creatures based on their decreased level of wickedness or violences. He preserved their lives based on whether they were with Noah on the ark.

Coda

God’s approach in judgment and deliverance in the flood set a precedence in His approach with the judgment and deliverance of mankind for all time. The second death (Revelation 20:12-15) is a universal judgment established because of rebellion and wickedness. But He will not condemn people to this judgment based on their level of rebellion and wickedness. They will be condemned based on whether they are with Christ in the salvation He established through His righteous obedience in fulfilling the will of God.

Covenant Dilemma

How can an unchanging God make a covenant with people who do change?

Day 2 of History

Posts related to the second day of the history of mankind.

Remembering

God’s remembering of Noah didn’t result in spectacular intervention, but in a fulfillment of God’s promise through time and natural processes.

Covenant Conundrum

How can the unchanging God commit Himself?

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.

Genesis 6:18

In the last post, we looked at God’s repentance as described in the first part of Genesis 6. We noted that, although it may seem impossible that the unchanging God can repent, His unchanging nature actually means He must repent towards a person who changes their lifestyle. God will cease showing grace and favor to people who leave righteousness for wickedness. 

In the second half of Genesis 6, we find the first recorded covenant tucked within God’s instructions to Noah for building the ark. It is more of a promise to establish a covenant than actually establishing it.

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. 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. 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. Genesis 6:17-19

Interestingly, God didn’t define the terms of the covenant. That is, He didn’t specify what He would do or what Noah should do to accomplish the desired result. However, He did indicate the result of the covenant, which was that He would keep them alive. So this first covenant was basically a commitment from God to Noah to keep alive all those who were on the ark through the duration of the flood.

The context of this covenant sets up a stark contrast. The first half of Genesis 6 spoke of God’s repentance, that is, His change of attitude towards mankind. The second half of the same chapter spoke of God’s covenant to keep certain ones alive, which effectively was a promise that He would not repent towards Noah and those with him. Essentially, the context shows that the covenant was the opposite of repentance.

Given that it was necessary for God to repent in response to peoples’ choices, it seems impossible that God could make a long-term promise to not repent, since people are given to change. It seems like it would have made more sense if He promised Noah that He would keep them alive if they remained righteous. That way, if they didn’t continue in righteousness, He wouldn’t be obligated to keep the promise. But by making a covenant that was not based on their lifestyle, God removed His option of repenting if they embraced wickedness.

This creates a conundrum in justice. There was the possibility that one of those on board the ark would turn to wickedness. In that situation, because of His covenant, God would be obligated to extend grace to that wicked individual. The only way this could be just is if God had a good reason for making a commitment to show grace and favor on people regardless of their lifestyle.

The Basis of the Covenant

By emphasizing selective parts of the history, the text showed that God had a good reason to show grace to wicked men. Often, when we tell the story of the ark, we talk about the long process of building it. But the text entirely omitted the building process and instead focused on how Noah responded to God’s command, even telling us twice that Noah obeyed God.

Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did. Genesis 6:22
And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him. Genesis 7:5

So the text presented God’s covenant to Noah in a context that emphasized Noah’s obedience.

From this emphasis, we can see that Noah’s obedience was critical to the establishment of the covenant. In the text, God clearly linked the covenant to the ark: “I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark…”. This covenant wouldn’t be established until there was an ark to board. Noah would need to obey God’s command of building the ark in order for the covenant to be established.

Thus, the basis of the covenant was not Noah’s lifestyle, but his act of obedience. God established the covenant based on Noah’s one-time act of obedience. It is common knowledge that an action committed cannot be retracted. Once Noah built the ark, his action became a fact of history and no one could undo the fact that he had built the ark.

If God had established the covenant based on Noah’s righteous lifestyle, then it would have been possible to lose the basis of the covenant because it was possible for Noah to commit wickedness. But when God based the covenant on Noah’s act of obedience, an unchangeable fact of history, then He established the covenant on the basis of something that could not be changed.

Because Noah fully obeyed His command, God established His covenant that He would grant the grace and favor of preserving life. If Noah chose wickedness while on the ark, God could look back on the time Noah obeyed and continue to show favor and grace based on that earlier expression of obedience. That is, God could say, ‘Even though you have done wickedly today, I will continue to show you grace because of your act of obedience in the past.’

The Covenant Scope

The text shows us that God did not limit His promise of grace and favor to only Noah. While it is true God made the covenant specifically with Noah, He expanded its benefits to Noah’s full family, including his sons and daughter-in-laws.

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. Genesis 6:18

Their inclusion into the covenant was not based on their obedience, for the text is conspicuously silent on their role in building the ark, or even whether they had a role. It clearly told us that Noah obeyed, but said nothing about whether his sons obeyed. Yet, God included them in the covenant.

Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation Genesis 7:1

Noah’s family enjoyed the benefits of the covenant only because they were of his household. So if one of those sons became wicked, God would still show them favor because they were with Noah, the man who performed that act of obedience to God.

The unchanging God established covenant based on obedience as an unchanging fact of history so that He could show grace regardless of peoples’ lifestyle. The scope of the covenant included all who were with the man who obeyed.

Coda

There are a number of parallels worth noting between Noah and the Lord Jesus.

God established a covenant based on the obedience of Christ. When Christ died on the cross, He fulfilled the will of God to provide a means of salvation for all mankind. Because of His righteous obedience, God can now extend the grace of life to each person who entrusts themselves in the salvation Christ provided. So God gives life to each person who is in Christ.

An earlier version of this page is available here.

God’s Repentance

Our concept of God’s sovereignty must include His repentance, for this concept is in scripture.

Day 2 of History

Posts related to the second day of the history of mankind.

The Floodwaters

The floodwaters came because of wickedness, but living creatures were not destroyed based on their level of wickedness.

God’s Repentance

How can a sovereign God repent?

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.

Genesis 6:5

The next section in Genesis begins more than a thousand years after the first section. It opens with a view of mankind from God’s perspective. The following verses describe His attitude. As you read them, notice how the text applied ‘repented’ to God.

And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. Genesis 6:6-7 (KJV)

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated above as ‘repented’ occurred 108 times. The KJV translators translated it as ‘repent’ forty-one times, and a majority of those referred to God’s repentance. It may be a surprise to see ‘repent’ applied to God in the passage above, but we understand it is not saying that God turned from sin, for He does not sin. But it is referring to God’s change of heart towards mankind. Originally, God had created man with the intent that he would multiply and fill the earth. But here, God speaks of destroying man (and the animals) from off the earth. So God’s repentance refers to the fact that His attitude towards mankind changed from blessing to judgment.

Why did God’s attitude change? Thankfully, this is a simple question to answer since the passage plainly tells us the reason.

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. Genesis 6:5

Mankind’s continual wickedness and evil turned God against them. So there is no guesswork regarding the reason for the change. But there is still the difficulty of understanding how an unchanging, sovereign God could change.

How can an unchanging God change?

Passages such as Numbers 23:19 and 1 Samuel 15:29, which clearly state that God does not repent, challenge our understanding. They seem like a contradiction, but I think it may help to consider a scenario that has happened many times throughout history.

Suppose there was a man who was living a life of wickedness. What would God’s attitude towards him be? We know it would be one of judgment – the man would be under condemnation. But suppose the man repented and turned from his wickedness – would God’s attitude toward the man change? Ezekiel 33:14-16, John 3:18, and many other passages teach us that God’s attitude would change from judgment to grace. Many of us understand this because we have personally experienced God’s change of attitude toward us. Since it is valid to define repentance as a change of attitude, we can say that God would repent in His attitude towards the formerly wicked, but now contrite, man.

Expanding this example, we can also see that God is unchanging. Notice how we did not need to debate whether a wicked man is under condemnation. We know God is consistent in how He treats mankind – He always judges the wicked. Always. And, we know He always shows grace to the righteous. In addition, we can read in Ezekiel 33 how God explained to the Israelites that He will show mercy to all those who heed His word and repent. We know that this is the way God is and the way He always has been.

So at the level of His administration over mankind, God is unchanging. He always has had judgment for the wicked; He always has had blessing for the righteous; and He always has had mercy for the repentant. A person is under judgment, blessing, or mercy based on whether they are wicked, righteous, or repentant. But at the level of God’s attitude (wrathful, favorable, or merciful) towards a person, His attitude will change depending on where the person is at. His administration does not change; but His attitude can and does change.

How can a sovereign God change?

This is a key question in the topic of God’s sovereignty. It is crucial that our understanding of God’s sovereignty takes into account the repentance of God for the simple reason that it is there in scripture. So let’s take a closer look at the Genesis 6 context and use it to develop our understanding of the sovereignty of God. As our first step, let’s identify the key point(s) made by the passage.

The opening portion of the passage presents two factors that led to God’s sorrow over mankind. The first has to do with how the sons of God chose wives.

…the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive [or, abide] with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” Genesis 6:2-3

These two verses give us two details to help us see the first factor of God’s sorrow. The first detail is that the sons of God took wives based on their choice. The second detail is God’s comment that man is flesh. Together, these details indicate that the boys of that day were choosing wives based on what appealed to their flesh. The problem with this method of choosing a spouse is that it is essentially the same approach used by animals when they choose their mates. But God did not create man as an animal – He gave man the capability to appreciate non-physical characteristics, such as morality, intelligence, personality, etc. Men had descended to acting like the animals, choosing mates based on fleshly lusts. So the passage is telling us that this flesh-based choosing is one factor that contributed to God’s change of heart towards man.

The two verses following give us the second factor.

There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 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. Genesis 6:4-5

Verse 4 tells us that some ancient men became mighty and famous. But the second verse tells us they achieved their greatness through wickedness. They elevated themselves, not through fairness and justice, but by trampling down and destroying others. This wickedness is the other factor that led to God repenting.

The next verse is Genesis 6:6, which is the verse that speaks of God repenting. So the passage presents these two factors, man’s flesh-driven choices and his wickedness towards others, as what led to God’s decision to destroy mankind from the earth. What is it about these factors that made God regret making mankind? In comparing them, we can see that both behaviors are contrary to what God intended for mankind. God created man with a body of flesh, as He did with animals. But He also gave man the ability to appreciate abstract realities, such as justice, beauty, morality, love, and other such things. God did not intend that man’s physical desires would dictate his actions, but that man would use his understanding of the abstract realities to rule over his physical desires. Nor did God create mankind to destroy one another. Both these behaviors went against what God intended. Mankind’s embracing of that lifestyle made God regret creating them.

To make sense of God’s repentance, our understanding of God’s sovereignty must recognize that mankind did what God did not want them to do. This must mean that God established a creation which functioned without His direct control. The created beings He made had the capability of choosing to do the opposite of what He wanted. Of course, if they could choose that, then they could also choose to do what God wanted. That thought brings us to Noah.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:8-9

Noah chose not to live like an animal, and not to practice wickedness. Noah chose to walk with God.

God’s administration (sovereignty) over mankind is unchanging. But His attitude towards a person depends on the choices a person makes. Thus, God’s attitude towards a person will change depending on that person’s choices.

Day 2 of History

Posts on the second day of the history of mankind.

Covenant Conundrum

If God always repents when someone changes, how can He make an unchanging covenant with them? The first covenant recorded in scripture reveals an important feature of God’s administration and sovereignty over mankind.