CHRIST IN GENESIS | Lesson 5 | Lesson Notes / Talking Points

Read Genesis 5.1 – 8.19

‘CHRIST IN GENESIS’: MAKING THE CONNECTIONS & SETTING THE CONTEXT

1/ This next study section in CHRIST IN GENESIS is a rather lengthy one, so, as we have been saying all along, we won’t treat it in any detail. Rather, we’ll stick with our purpose and theme in this survey / summary study in Genesis: point out some of the most prominent ‘CHRIST-markers’ that are written into the Genesis narrative. We’ll have to summarize a lot of the details in our commentary of the chapters’ sections.

2/ But this study section does contain a specifically-referenced ‘CHRIST-marker’ that is pointed out for us in the New Testament. We’ll get to that here shortly… This study passage begins in chapter 5.1 and reads through chapter 8.19. As you survey the section, you’ll note that it relates the story of the world-wide flood that destroyed the world and its inhabitants as it was then – with the exception of Noah and his family. Thus, it is illustrative both of the judgment of God against sin and the salvation of His elect.

I / 1 Peter 3.18-22 | The Flood and the Ark: a Type of CHRIST

1/ But the New Testament passage that most specifically and fully ties this epochal event with Christ will be found in 1 Peter 3.18-22. In that NT Scripture, we’ll see in pointed and stark relief an example of the Scripture interpretation principle I told you about in our last lesson: Historical-Redemptive Progression. In other words, the real historical events actually happened as they are recorded; but in those same real historical events, we’ll see how God is progressively revealing His redemption of His people that He will bring to pass in the fullness of His time in Christ. THAT is what 1 Peter 3.18-22 is telling us.

2/ You will find this ‘CHRIST-marker’ in the chart/graphic I have given you CHRIST: in Creation to New Creation. When you look in the left-hand block ‘CHRIST-markers in the Old Testament,’ you will note that one of the CHRIST-markers is called PICTURES/Types of Christ [‘Pre-enactments’]. That simply means that what God did in the OT in their history is a PICTURE/type or ‘pre-enactment’ of what He will in His redemptive work in CHRIST when He comes … or, in other words, ‘type (pre-enactment) / antitype (fulfillment enactment).’

3/ So let’s take just a brief survey of 1 Peter 3.18-22 even here before we come back to Genesis. And we’ll need to follow Peter’s subject, theme, and logic to see his message concerning CHRIST … and the connections he’s making back with the Noahic flood.

• [1] The THEME of Peter’s message is how the suffering and death of CHRIST saves us from our sins.
• [2] The suffering and death of CHRIST saves us from our sins just like the flood waters saved Noah and his family, v 21.
• [3] ‘But wait,’ you say, ‘the flood didn’t save Noah and his family – the ark did!’
• [4] And that is precisely Peter’s message, v 20: ‘…while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.’ THAT is how they were saved: the ark brought them safely through the flood waters. [see Genesis 7.7]
• [5] And then Peter draws his analogy: Baptism, which corresponds to this [the specific word Peter uses is ‘antitype’ — or the fulfillment of the OT type], now saves us. And lest anyone should think that it is the baptism in water itself that saves us, Peter quickly adds this explanatory commentary: …not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• [6] And so, our baptism in water is a type of CHRIST and His death and resurrection from death. The act of baptism itself is not what saves us, but rather what the baptism typifies: that is, our confession of faith in Who and what does save us – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• [7] And so, just as the flood waters were the judgment act of God against the sins of that world, so the death of Jesus Christ was God’s holy and just judgment of wrath against our sins IN CHRIST. And just as the flood waters safely floated the ark through the deadly waters of God’s judgment against their sins [see Genesis 7.18], so the resurrection of CHRIST safely delivers us from our sins – because the resurrection of CHRIST evidences and demonstrates that God’s wrath against our sins was fully and satisfactorily expended and exhausted … our sins were washed and put away! [see Acts 22.16]
• [8] And THAT is how our baptism ‘saves us’ … NOT by ‘washing away our sins,’ BUT as our ‘good-conscience appeal’ and confession of our faith in CHRIST’s death and resurrection which DOES save us from our sins! Our faith is NOT in the act or the element of baptism in water, but rather in WHO and what the baptism typifies: the death of Jesus Christ to suffer God’s wrath and judgment against our sins and then His resurrection – being saved from His death and being raised to new life!

4/ And THAT is what the events of the Genesis flood waters and the saving ark are ‘pre-enacting’ for us!    

II / ch 5.1-32 | ‘…the book of the generations of Adam’

1/ Let’s take just a quick summary/survey of chapter 5 before we get to the flood story. I have introduced the significance of this phrase ‘the generations of…’ in a previous lesson. Bible teachers commonly use the Hebrew word for this phrase ‘toledot / tohl-dah.’ This word and phrase simply means ‘the story of’ or ‘what became of’ or ‘who came from.’ There are ten of these ‘toledot’ stories in Genesis, all connected to each other in succession. That is how the Genesis narrative is constructed.

2/ Two of these ‘toledot’ are contained in our present study passage: ch 5.1, ‘This is the book of the generations of Adam’ and ch 6.9, ‘These are the generations of Noah.’ But this first one in ch 5.1 will give us the genealogies and chronicles from Adam to Noah – and thus bring us to the Noah narrative. There are ten patriarchs who are named here. You can mark and count their names as you read the text.

3/ But all we want to do here is to connect it with the Noah story.

• [1] If you count the numbers of years when they had their successive sons, you will read that from the creation of Adam to the time of the flood, there were 1556 years.
• [2] Not only that, but the lifetimes of Adam and Methuselah overlapped by 56 years before Adam died – these two men alone span the entire time between Creation and the Flood!
• [3] Which also means: if you ever wondered what kind of Gospel witness was present in that age before the flood, then consider that Adam, Methuselah, and Enoch all were ‘preachers of righteousness’ even before Noah was during his own generation [Jude, 14-15; Hebrews 11.5-7; 2 Peter 2.5]. There was no lack of Gospel witness and warnings of judgment to come during all these 1556 years and among the inhabitants of the pre-flood world.
• [4] More particularly, there was some revelation of the coming judgment against their sins that convicted Enoch to ‘walk with God.’ The record states in ch 5.21-23 that “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters … Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” Enoch’s ‘walking with God’ was a public witness to his faith in God [Hebrews 11.5]. God revealed to Enoch when Methuselah was born that this son was an announcement of the coming ‘end’ of judgment. Methuselah’s name means ‘a man of the dart,’ or that his very life was ‘thrown toward the target of the end,’ and ‘with his departure, the end will come.’ Enoch believed that revelation and preached it until his own living translation to Heaven [Jude, vv 14-15]. Methuselah also lived until the coming of the flood before he died.
• [5] I have said all this to demonstrate that in all the years of human history, from creation to the destructive flood, not only was the earth increasingly filled with rebellion against God and violence and corruption of His ‘good’ creation … but the earth was also filled with Gospel preaching and witness to ‘repent and believe in God … flee from the wrath to come and be saved.’ But Noah and his family were the only ones who believed and trusted in that Gospel that was preached through Noah by the Spirit of Christ Himself [1 Peter 3.18-22].  

III / Genesis 6.1-8 | ‘…the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly…’ [2 Peter 3.4-7]

1/ We are coming now to our study passage for this lesson. So all we can do with the time we have left is summarize the purposes and content for each passage as it relates to our current lesson theme and ‘CHRIST-marker’: CHRIST: the Ark that saves us.

2/ This section will state God’s holy observations, evaluations, and judgments against all the ways that mankind has corrupted, violated, perverted, and abused His original good purposes for His creation [see ch 6.5, 11-13]. As a result of their willful rebellion against His Holiness and their insistence on choosing their own ways and lifestyles, flaunting themselves against God to His Face, “Then The LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.’” We must remember also that when The LORD speaks of ‘My Spirit,’ He is referring to the Spirit of Christ Himself who was preaching to that generation through Noah [1 Peter 3.18-20]. God needs no justification of anything He does, but He does lay out a clear, detailed, and irrefutable case of evidence that will lay the grounds for His coming judgments. [see Romans 3.19]

3/ This is such an awesome passage because Moses reveals what The LORD ‘saw,’ ‘thought and felt,’ and ‘said’ to Himself … even before He revealed it to that world. Only God’s own revelation of Himself to His prophets could have revealed such Personal and private details [1 Corinthians 2.9-16].

4/ Noah’s faith in Yahweh is highlighted in the segue verses 7-8. After Yahweh declares He “will blot out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land…,” then He also declares “But Noah found favor [grace] in the eyes of The LORD.” This was God’s election of grace – His sovereign choice to save Noah by His Grace through Noah’s faith in Him [see ch 6.22-7.1 & Hebrews 11.6-7].

IV / Genesis 6.9 – 7.24 | ‘…while the ark was being prepared…’ [1 Peter 3.20]

1/ NOTE: ch 6.9-10 begins the third toledothere in Genesis with “These are the generations of Noah.” We will now learn who came from Noah and what became of him and his family. Of course, Noah was God’s sovereign and gracious choice to be saved from the deluge … and re-populate the earth to preserve the promised line of ‘the seed of the woman’ who would be our Savior and Redeemer [ch 3.15].

2/ 6.11-13: After Yahweh once again reiterates His Holy evaluations of that ungodly generation, He then begins to give Noah His instructions for building the ark, which is God’s picture/type/pre-enactment of Christ [see ch 6.17-18: “But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark”!]

3/ We can trace the historical-redemptive progression of God’s salvation plan through the instructions He gave Noah – ALL of which Noah fully obeyed [see 6.22; 7.5, 9, 16].

• [1] 6.14-18: “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood…” and then gave detailed construction blueprint plans for its dimensions and layout. And included these instructions is the covenant promise of salvation in vv 17-18. This is the Covenant of Grace that God promises to Noah – the basis and conditions upon which God will extend His gracious salvation as we shall see in ch 8.1. God always keeps His Word and all His gracious promises. AND all these promises will lead us to CHRIST and will be fully and finally fulfilled by Him in ‘the fullness of time.’
• [2] 6.19-22: “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring…into the ark to keep them alive with you…” – along with all the food Noah’s family and the animals would need for the duration of the flood. There will also be a further distinction and instructions for ‘clean and unclean’ animals in ch 7.2-3.
• [3] 7.1-16a: “Then The LORD said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.’” And with that, the final deadline for the destructive Flood-waters is sealed, v 4. After the predicted seven days of waiting after they entered the ark, the Flood-waters inundated the earth from above and below: “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights,” 7.11-12. NOTE a couple detailed repetitions here: (a) the repeated references to ‘entered/went into the ark’ to chronicle the obedience of faith Noah and his family had in the promises of Yahweh; and (b) the specific dates and timelines that will be reported throughout this account.
• [4] 7.16b-24: “And The LORD shut him in.” This is an expression of Yahweh’s salvation and security He performed toward Noah and his family. Remember our key New Testament connection passage to this event in 1 Peter 3.18-22 where we are told that “the ark” was the means by which Noah and his family “were brought safely through water” and “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you … through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” – our baptism in water being our confession of faith in the Gospel of the death and resurrection of CHRIST. When you compare that commentary on the type that is presented in the Flood-waters, you’ll see the dual purpose of the Flood: First, the waters drowned and destroyed that ungodly generation of humanity in the judgments of the Holy God against their sins; and second, the same waters ‘saved’ Noah and his family by ‘floating the ark’ safely through those same waters of death. See Genesis 6.17-18; 7.3, 7, 18, 23. Especially 7.7: “And Noah [and his family] with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood” and 7.18: “…and the ark floated on the face of the waters.” THAT is how the Flood-waters ‘saved’ them! And THAT is the true picture/type/pre-enactment of how CHRIST suffered the judgment wrath of God against our sins upon Himself … and how, by our faith and trust in Him and His Gospel of salvation, we are saved in Him, our Ark. We are saved from ‘the wrath of God to come’ [Romans 5.9; 1 Thessalonians 1.10]. Again, I repeat, baptism is our confession of faith in CHRIST’s salvation wrought for us by His own death and resurrection.     

V / Genesis 8.1-19 | ‘…brought safely through water…’ [1 Peter 3.20]  

1/ Here is the turning point of the whole Flood narrative: “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God…” and then story proceeds to describe all the God-ordained acts He performed to make the flood waters recede. BUT all along, it has been a ‘God-thing’ [as we sometimes say], a true ‘act of God’! Going all the way back to the beginning of the story in ch 6.3, it has been God’s sovereign purpose, will, and initiative that has made everything happen.

2/ But, more specifically, here with this statement “And God remembered Noah…,” we see His redemptive covenant mercy, grace, and promises coming to pass. What God remembered was the covenant promise He had made to Noah in ch 6.17-18. “Noah found favor [grace] in the eyes of the LORD” [ch 6.8], and now The LORD will perform the salvation He has promised. Truly, Noah was saved ‘by grace through faith’ in the ark of safety God had provided – and that Ark was CHRIST!

3/ NOTE: again the precise, exact timelines:

• [1] Noah entered the ark at the command of Yahweh 7 days before the deluge of waters began, ch 7.4, 10.
• [2] Using the dates provided by the Scriptures according to Noah’s lifespan, the Flood waters came upon the earth 2/17/600, ch 7.11.
• [3] The waters from the fountains of the deep beneath the earth and the windows of heaven came upon the earth for 40 days, ch 7.12, 17.
• [4] After those 40 days, and after the Flood waters had reached their maximum depths [vv 17-20], they prevailed at those levels for another 150 days, ch 7.24; 8.3.
• [5] But they [and we] are still counting the days! It takes a long time for that much water to recede. And so, even after the deluge of waters had stopped, and the flood levels began to recede, only then did the ark come ‘to rest on the mountains of Ararat.’ This was 7/17/600 [8.3-4] – a full five months from ch 7.11.
• [6] But even though the ark is resting on the mountain peak, there is still all that water down in the lower levels. So after 40 more days, on 10/1/600 [ch 8.5], Noah was able to open the window of the ark to see where and how much land was flood-free. He sent out a raven [a scavenger], and it did not return. But a dove would provide a better test for habitation. The dove returned, ch 8.6-9.
• [7] Another 7 days, Noah sent out the dove again. This time, it came back with a freshly-plucked olive leaf in her mouth, ch 8.10-11. [8] Finally, after another 7 days, Noah dispatched the dove again – this time not to return. The dove had found a nesting place, ch 8.12.

4/ Finally, it was time to disembark and start with a new beginning [remember how our baptism typifies the resurrection of CHRIST after His death? 1 Peter 3.18-22] The earth – and Noah and his family – were now experiencing a resurrection after the deadly deluge of the Flood-waters of God’s judgment against humanity’s sins. Even the date is a resurrection, new beginning date (1/1/601)! Look at the dateline in ch 8.13: “In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth!”  

5/ The earth had been cleansed! Noah and his family had escaped death from the Flood-waters by the Ark God had provided! They were saved by God’s Grace! As they disembarked the ark, God re-commissioned them as He had Adam in the beginning, “…be fruitful and multiply on the earth…!” [Genesis 1.28]

This is another ‘pre-enactment’ of the New Creation yet to come … in CHRIST!