A Promised Deliverer

and turn to Genesis chapter 5 as we continue our study of the first book of the Bible. I hope that you're finding this is a rich study, helping us to understand more and more why the world is the way it is. You know, every congregation has a collective memory, that is, the ability as a whole to recall significant events, significant people, even significant statements.

Elizabeth Seiberling has the honor of one of her statements making it into that memory. During VBS one year, her teacher asked the question, what happens if you disobey God? And she looked up and said, he destroys your world. Well, she was right. She was right because we know the story of Noah and the great flood. But how do we get to the place of a universal destructive flood?

How do we get to the place of universal judgment? Well, we've seen thus far that a perfect world was lost through sin. And we've seen how sin, up to this point, like an unstoppable tsunami, sweeps through the race, enlarging its scope and corrupting everything in its path. And now we come to chapter 5, verse 1. This is the second Toledot, as we've noted, the second one in the book of Genesis.

And it can be entitled, The Book of the Generations of Adam. And in this book of the generations of Adam, you find the opening chapter on the story of Noah. But here's the surprising part. In the face of universal death and titanic sin, God gives hope. Now let's begin reading in chapter 5, verse 1, through chapter 6, verse 8, because that encompasses the whole Toledot.

And as you look at that, you're saying, surely he's not going to read that whole genealogy. And certainly I am. But you listen carefully to this genealogy and see if you cannot see the curse and the hope And then, of course, sin and hope in chapter 6. So let's start reading. Chapter 5, verse 1. This is the book of the generations of Adam.

When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. Male and female He created them, and He blessed them and named them man. When they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters.

Thus, all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years and he died. When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years and he died. When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalal. Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 40 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years and he died. Then Mahalalel, when Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years and he died. When Jared had lived 160 years, he fathered Enoch. Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years and he died. 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, after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him When Methuselah had lived 187 years he fathered Lamech Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years and he died.

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah, saying, out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands. Lamech lived after he had fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth. When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive, and they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh. His days shall be 120 years.

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heaven, for I am sorry that I have made them. but Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Now as we read this book of the generations of Adam and you will note very quickly that verse 9 why do we stop at verse 8?

Because verse 9 begins another Toledot another book. So we're looking at the whole book and you will notice that this book has two acts in it. And surely you must notice that both acts and the same way, talking about whom? Noah. Noah is the key to understanding this In the face of sin and judgment and death God sends a deliverer The first thing we want to see is chapter 5.

We see God provide a deliverer through the promised seed. God provides a deliverer through the promised seed. All the way through Genesis, you're going to see the battle between the two seeds. that is the seed of Satan and the promised seed of the woman. Turn back to chapter 3 very quickly. Chapter 3, verse 15. You remember in this passage where God is bringing the curse down upon them for their sin.

In the middle of this curse, in verse 15, God says, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. between her seed and your seed. He shall bruise your head and he shall crush your head and you shall bruise his heel. Now remember, the seed is both collective, it refers to people.

That's why our translation says the offspring. But it's also singular, that's why it says he will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel. It's also singular. So it's collective, it's a people, it's singular, it's two, Satan and Jesus. And in this book, you see a process where God singles out his chosen people, where you see that seed continue through the book of Genesis.

Now, those who are not in the line of the chosen people are discussed first and then rarely talked about at all. And then the members of the chosen line or the promised seed are discussed second and discuss at length. So let me show that to you very quickly. As you look at the book of Genesis, here's what you see. You see Adam, and then you see two lines, Cain and Seth.

We talked about Cain last week, right? He's discussed first, but now we talk about Seth, and he's discussed at length. Takes us down to Noah. Noah has three sons, Shem, Ham, Japheth. Ham and Japheth are discussed first. We look at their descendants for a little while.

And then Shem, we look at his descendants all the way down to Terah. Terah has three sons. Abraham, Nahor, and Herod. Haran. Haran has a son named Lot that we see a little bit later in his relationship to Abram. But the point is that you see, we talk about the descendants of Nahor and the descendants of Haran first, and just a little bit, and then we don't see them anymore, and we follow the line of Abram.

Okay? Uh-oh. Then we see Abram has two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. We hear about Ishmael first. And then we don't hear about Ishmael anymore, and we hear all about the line of Isaac. Isaac has two sons, Jacob and Esau.

And as you read through the book of Genesis, we see that Esau has talked about some, and then we follow the line of Jacob. And so all the way through this book, you see that God is singling out a people. This is what's happening. All the way through the book, you see the two seeds, but you see that most of the promised seed, The promised seed gets the lion's share of the ink, if you will.

Now also notice this, that Seth's line is the line of the seed or the chosen people because Moses shows us a couple contrasts here. Look at the seventh person from Adam in each line. The seventh person from Adam in Cain's line is Lamech. We saw that last week. He boasts of killing a young warrior. He inflicts death.

The seventh from Adam in Seth's line is Enoch. Instead of boasting, he walks with God. Instead of inflicting death, what? He escapes death. Okay? So there's a contrast here that Moses, the author, is trying to get you.

Listen, the genealogies speak. Here's another way. If you look at the two lines, last week we looked at Cain, and this week we look at Cess line. Last week you notice that there is one speaker, there was one in the whole line of Cain who talks. Right? Who was it?

It's Lamech. now look at Seth line there only one in the whole line that talks that says anything Who is it It the other Lamech Both of them talk, right? The first Lamech in Cain's line sought to redress wrong through revenge. But notice that the second Lamech of the line of Seth looks to redress the wrong of the curse through a deliverer. The first Lamech is going to redress wrongs through revenge.

The second Lamech, who is Noah's father, what does he say? It tells us in his speech that he names his son Noah, which sounds like the word for comfort or relief. Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands. But what really stands out in the genealogy? What really stands out?

Everybody dies. I don't know if you got that. But he does that on purpose. even the seed, even the promised seed struggles against the curse. Everyone dies. Don't miss that. I don't see how you can.

But you see, you know what we often do? We say, and he died, and he died. Okay, they all die, and you just kind of skim through it. But listening to it out loud, you got the impression, didn't you? And he died, and he died, and he died. Here is the curse.

It's still here. everyone dies. Although the last person mentioned in this doesn't say anything about his death. Doesn't talk about Noah's death. Hmm. Noah's going to do something. Now look.

God speaks hope in this genealogy. God speaks hope in this genealogy. Once more, first of all, you find the words concerning the creation of man in the image of God Did you see that Did that strike you as we began to read It like a repeat of the creation narrative This is the third time that we heard the words of the creation narrative And what do we see here You discover that by the reproductive process, we replicate God's work of making man in his image.

That is, God created man out of the dust and created him in his image, and all of those that follow are created in his image. It's created in his image. Why does Moses say this about Cezline but not about Cain? Why does he say that about Cezline and doesn't he say about Cain? Now, does Cain's line also bear the image of God? Certainly it does.

To be human, the very definition of human is image bearer. So they do, but Moses emphasizes this with Cezline. Why? Those who live by faith are closer to what God intends to the image than anyone else. For example, look at Colossians chapter 3 verse 10. We see that in Colossians 3 verse 10.

There the apostle Paul says, you've put off the old man, right? You've put off the old self. And he says, we have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. It's being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Those who are in Christ and those who live by faith in Christ are those who more come closer to what God always intended.

What's the point? There's hope in faith. Those who live by faith are going to be what God always intended. How else do we see hope in this genealogy? Well, there's Enoch, the one who escapes death. We know very little about this man other than he walked with God.

He had an intimate communion with God that was so rare that it caused mention in the genealogy. But it says God took him. And that word, that phrase, that Hebrew phrase for took him does not mean he died. It means he actually took him. Alright? Enoch did not die.

Like everyone else in this genealogy, Enoch's the only one who doesn't die. Alright? Enoch did not die, but went directly to glory. Giving hope. Saying to us, there is in some way there hope There is escape from the curse of death Now it interesting that there only one other person and we see this next week there's only one other person in which it is said he walked with God.

You know who it is? It's Noah. And in a sense, Noah escapes death. Not the same way as Enoch. But Noah escapes death, doesn't he? He escapes the judgment.

The last thing in this genealogy that gives us hope, is Lamech names his son Noah. The word Noah means rest. He yearns that his son will bring comfort from the toil and labor of the curse. that there may be some escape. There may be some comfort from the labor and toil caused by the curse. He names His Son this. He's looking back at the promises of Genesis 3.15.

They knew that promise. Somehow, maybe it was passed down orally or something, but they knew that promise. And He looks back for that promise and He's looking for the promised One who might deliver them from the curse as God had promised. And he looks at his son and his hope that he is that one. And here you find hope for divine comfort. But Noah's mission will be more radical than his father ever could have imagined.

We'll see that next week. The genealogy, of course, ends with Noah then. He's the apex of this line. What is Moses trying to tell us? In this onslaught of death, God preserves the seed of the woman and through it brings one who will be an instrument of comfort and rest. This is what the genealogy is about.

There is this curse, but there's one who comes as a deliverer. He ends that genealogy at this point. now Moses changes the scene for you at this point up till now we've seen Noah in the context of promise alright we've seen Noah in the context of promise It changes the scene, and that scene also ends with, verse 8, ends with whom? You can look at it if you don't, none of you, you're not even mouthing the words, okay?

Noah, okay? It ends with Noah, again. So Moses is changing the scene, first we see Noah in the context of promise, Now we see Noah in the context of sin and judgment. So that we see that God provides a deliverer, not only according to promise, but God provides a deliverer from sin and judgment. God provides a deliverer from sin and judgment. Verses 1-8 When man began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive, and they took as their wives any they chose.

Then the Lord said, My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh, his days shall be one hundred twenty years. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. All right? Verses 1 through 5. here we see the seriousness of sin among the rulers.

I say rulers because of the identity of the sons of God. Now, the sons of God in Genesis chapter 6 is notoriously difficult. The only thing you have to do is pick up any commentary. Pick up three commentaries in the book of Genesis and you will see that a lot of ink is expended on this identity of the sons of God. Who in the world are the sons of God? It's not easy to figure that out.

Evidently, the people of Moses' day knew it right away. But we've got to do some digging. We got to try to figure this out I used to be very confident in what I believed Now I pretty confident after thinking about this for a couple of weeks Now the term sons of God is used three times in the Old Testament for angels. The first is Job chapter 1 verse 6.

If we don't count this one, the first would be Job chapter 1 verse 6. One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. Obviously, that's a reference to angels. All right? Then Job chapter 2, verse 1. On another day, the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

That's the second one. Then the third one is found in Job 38, verse 7. The earth was laid on its foundations, while the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. It's a reference to angels. That seems to make the best sense in those passages. Who was there with God to sing for joy?

Well, the angels were. Now, the New Testament seems to indicate that this refers to angels if they're referring to this. Two places. Jude 6. Jude 6. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home were chained.

In the context of speaking about Noah, Peter, in 2 Peter 2, verse 4 says, for if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, and then goes through a whole list, so he talks about God not sparing the angels when they sinned. So are these angels? Well, the problem with that is this tells us that God's judgment is leveled not against angels, but against what?

Against men. Why? Because verse 3 talks about mortal men are going to be judged. Those who have the breath in them are going to be judged. Doesn't say anything about angels. And besides that, note this.

This is what shook me the most. And they took as their wives any they chose. Well, Jesus makes it absolutely clear in Matthew 22 that angels don't marry. Isn't this fun? I didn have to go through all this with you but I did it because I want to prove the point I trying to make and you believe me There an ancient Jewish interpretation of this passage that says these are tyrants that continue the brutal ways of Lamech the violent, brutal ways of Lamech from Cain's line, who, remember, who took two wives, so they choose all these women that they want, they build their harems, they're brutal and they're violent like he is.

They claim even to be gods. In ancient Near Eastern literature of that day, many of the rulers claimed to be gods. they pervert God's order to rule the earth they pervert God's order of marriage and you know what's interesting they sin after the pattern of Eve notice what it says verse 2 the sons of God saw that the daughter of men were attractive and they took as their wives any they chose actually it sounds just like the temptation for Eve and it goes like this in Hebrew it goes like this they saw that the daughters of men were good they saw that the daughters of men were good and they took. They're driven by lust.

They're driven by desire. That's the thing that motivates them. And yet, I can't get past what the New Testament says about angels. And I think the best answer is this. These are demon-possessed tyrants filling the earth with violence and tyranny and immorality. The New Testament talks about demons inhabiting people's body.

Right? It talks about that. It talks about all those things. And so I think that's the best answer. It's more than just angels coming to earth. It's fallen angels possessing these people and driving them.

All right? Now, that's not the only people that are on site. Those are the rulers. And they have descendants that are called the Nephilim. Now, some reason, and I don't know why, I think it was the King James Version, if I remember right, because that's what I grew up with, translates Nephilim as giants. And so in our consciousness we have this idea that these angels possessing people had relations or took wives from men and they produced this hybrid being that were these monstrous things There's no anywhere in the Bible where that's ever seen.

Nephilim, Nephilim, that's just all, that's a Hebrew term. It comes from the Hebrew root nephal, to mean to fall. And it may be a commentary that says, and I think this makes the most sense, that these people will fall. God will not let them tyrannize and oppress and be violent forever. They're the ones who are going to fall, the fallen ones, if you will.

And notice, what are they like? They're mighty men and men of renown. Or men of renown, men of name is what it means from the Hebrew. Men of reputation. In light of the wickedness that follows from verse 9, you see a lot of violence. These men are best described as warriors known for their violence.

These are men who seek to develop their name, their reputation by their wicked exploits. That's what they are. If you want to think of anything like it, think mafia. Think, I can never, I always get the Korean leaders' names mixed up. Jung Il-Soon or Soon Jung Kim or whatever. But think of the guy who's ruling in North Korea right now, right?

He's like these. They're powerful, tyrannic people who revel in their wickedness, who seek to build their reputation by their wicked exploits. Think mafia. These are mighty, mighty people with great power. And so the earth is filled with tyrannical oppressors and men who gain their reputations by wicked exploits of violence. This is a horrible world in which to live.

How does God respond? Verse 4. Verse 3. My spirit will not abide in man forever, for he is flesh. His day shall be 120 years. Here's what God's saying.

I will give you 125, 120 years. Here's to repent before I take your lives. Before judgment comes, I'm going to give you 120 years. So he's given them 120 years of grace. God's response is gracious here. He's given them a chance to repent.

One of the reasons why you can see that is in chapter 5, verse 32, how old is Noah when the boys come along? he's 500 years old. And in chapter 7, verse 6, Noah was 600 years old when the flood of the waters came upon the earth. So right around 100 years. Alright, God's given him here. So I'll give you about 120 years. I'll let you repent.

God's response is seasoned with grace. You know what? We often look at these passages in the Old Testament and say, my man, God was an angry God. But do you not see, like in the genealogies, He's giving hope. Here, there is grace. There is grace here.

120 years. 120 years. Now, verses 5 through 8, you see the seriousness of sin in all of humanity. It's an extensive wickedness. Verse 5, it's great in the earth. Okay?

It's an inward wickedness. every intention of the thoughts of his heart are evil. Now, I grew up, again with the King James Version, which says every imagination. And so you tend to think, well, he was fantasizing dirty things. No, what this is saying is all of his designs, all of his purposes were evil. It's an absolute wickedness because in verse 5 it says, was only evil.

It's so bad that the evil excludes anything that's good. Every thought is evil. And it's continuous or habitual. Verse 5. It was this way continually. Alright?

It's bad. It's bad. Evil all the time, everywhere, continually. And notice what verse 5 says. and you're supposed to see a contrast here. The Lord saw. Now you thinking of course He sees Why would Moses even write this He knows that God can see everything Why does he write it Because this is supposed to remind you of something else That in Genesis chapter 1, verse 31, it says, God saw all that he had made and it was good.

Now it says, the Lord saw all that he had made and it was corrupt. You see, it was corrupt. You see, new stages of weakness have been reached in the progress of evil. First, there's the fall of Adam and Eve. And then the murder of Abel with no provocation. And then you see the arrogance of Lamech actually boasting of his evil deed.

And then God's boundaries have been overstepped again. and evil continues to grow and grip mankind until every thought of his heart is evil all the time over all the earth. How does God respond to this wicked tyranny, violence and immorality corrupting the entire human race? He responds with emotion. Notice that it says here. Let's look at it. Verse 6, and the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth and it grieved Him to His heart.

He responds emotionally. Now, you're supposed to hear compare His heart with man's heart. Notice verse 5. The thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was grieved in His heart. See that?

Their heart is wicked. His heart is grieved. It says he's sorry. And by the way, that word sorry, again, is used again in verse 7. Now, how can he be sorry? You know, this last week I was in North Carolina.

Beck and I went down to North Carolina to the Master's Mission to teach the module on counseling. And we took with us, and boy, that was a trip. We took with us Emma and her cousin Andy and Jelena and Bethany Bennett. I'm telling you that was a trip. Man that was a trip But they asked the question They asked the question which everybody always asks If God knows everything how can God ever be sorry Are you asking that question Some of you are Some of you are just being dishonest and looking innocent like, oh, I'd never ask a question like that.

But everybody asks those questions. How can God be sorry? He knew this was coming. How can it say that God was sorry? Well, we've got to understand that God isn't like us. He's not sorry in the same way we are.

For example, look at 1 Samuel 15. 1 Samuel 15. Okay? It's interesting. When you read this, this is where God's finally done with Saul. And he says, I'm sorry I ever made you king.

Okay? 1 Samuel 15, verse 29. And also, the glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man that he should have regret. Okay? He's not like a man. He doesn't have regret.

And then you look at verse 35. And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul, and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. You say, wait a minute. The Bible just got saying he's not like a man and has regret. And then it says, and he regretted making Saul over Israel. Well, the first thing we have to understand is this.

Whoever wrote the book of Samuel was not an idiot. He's not going to contradict himself within a space of two paragraphs. Okay? He must mean something more than this. He's making the point God does not change his mind like we do. He's not like us.

And he goes on. the Bible goes on to say, for example, in Isaiah 14. Turn there, Isaiah 14. Isaiah 14, verse 24. The Lord of hosts has sworn, As I have planned, so shall it be. And as I have purposed, so shall it stand. Verse 27.

For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out and who will turn it back? So, the prophet Isaiah, the prophet Daniel says the same thing God purposes something it going to happen He purposes it going to happen There no way it not going to happen He sovereign He rules over everything so no one can frustrate His plans So how in the world can it say that God was sorry?

No one can frustrate His plans. Well, the word translated here can mean to be sorry, to repent, to regret, to be comforted or to comfort. And the origin of the term seems to be the sense of breathing deeply, like a sigh. A physical display of one's feelings. Usually sorrow, compassion, or comfort. This is the attempt by Moses to in some way, this is the attempt of Moses to picture in some way, in human terms, God's response.

Alright? to somehow show us that God is not an immovable, cold deity who just accomplishes what he wants with no emotion at all. Now, I can't answer the question how God who knows everything can have any emotion like this. I don't know how to answer that other than to say that Moses is seeking to tell us in words that we would understand that God is not this immovable, emotionless being.

In fact, he goes on to say, God is grieved to His heart. He feels pain. And I think at least one of the things he's trying to tell us here is God does not make the decision to destroy as a cold, indifferent, far removed deity. Can you think that thought? To think about God is to almost go beyond the limits of human ability. And so the Bible in some way seeks to communicate to us that that God does feel.

He does feel. He's not this passionless person who destroys without any kind of emotion. Right? Is that the view of God that you have? You know, people in our circles can end up that way. God has His purposes and He creates vessels of wrath to show His glory, which is what the Bible says.

But the Bible does not end there. indicate that God does it without pain. Do you think God loves to crush people in judgment? No. That's what Moses is trying to portray here. God is not an unfeeling deity who says, oh, you've messed up. Right?

He's grieved. He doesn't take judgment lightly. Because the judgment is great. As we read the next verse, verse 7. When God doesn't just feel, He acts and He promises universal destruction. There are no half measures with God when it comes to sin.

We've got to understand that. There are no half measures with God. The sin that we commit means judgment of the most horrendous kind. All creatures, He says, with the breath of life in them will be destroyed. Man's fellow creatures are going to share his doomed. Again, what does this reveal about God's character?

Number one, he is a God of justice. Number two, he is not an unfeeling judge. Okay? Both of those things are revealed. Now we come to verse 8, and here you see God provide a deliverer because of his grace. again. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

He ends the second act talking about Noah again. In the face of horrendous sin and corruption and God's inevitable judgment, God still holds out hope. And it's hope in the man, the deliverer, Noah. In contrast, notice. Here's what I noticed as I was reading this. For I am sorry that I have made them But Noah found favor God isn sorry about Noah Noah finds favor in his eyes Here's a man who is different from the rest of mankind.

One whom the Lord sees in a different light. And the question that you end with as we stop right here is this question. I think this is what the writer wants us to ask. will Moses I'm sorry will Noah will Noah fulfill the prophecy that his father makes about him will he be the one who brings comfort will he be the one who brings rest from the toil and labor that the curse has brought that's the question that we're left with but I also want you to see that in Noah God points and prepares the way to another one who finds favor in God's eyes.

Who would that be? Of course, it would be Jesus. Do you remember Matthew chapter 4? Or Matthew chapter 3? Jesus comes to John the Baptist. And he goes into the Jordan River with John the Baptist to be baptized.

And the dove, the Holy Spirit, descends upon him. And then a voice from heaven comes and speaks and says, this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. This one finds favor in my eyes. You see? He was the very Son of God. A greater Noah.

He's a greater Noah. a greater deliverer. Because he found favor with God, he delivers us from judgment Because the Scripture says that whoever believes in him this is what fascinated me as I was thinking about this this is a picture of Jesus And what does it say Whoever believes in him what Should not perish It made me think people are going to perish here, aren't they? With the judgment of a universal flood, God's going to wipe them all out, he says.

But here is one like Noah, who finds favor in the eyes of God, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Fascinating. Here is the picture and the preparation for Jesus. There's a greater Noah coming. There's a greater one who will deliver us from this world of sin and judgment.

And just as Noah became the one who delivered people from the judgment, so Jesus also delivers people from the judgment. Through Jesus, you can be delivered from sin and judgment. Now look, I've had conversations this week with a number of people. And the theme was the same. Our world today is sinking. Is sinking into the depths of depravity and iniquity and wickedness and evil.

And we may lose hope. but this stands opposed to that God always speaks hope to us no matter what the situation God always speaks hope to his people The storm of evil may seem to be overwhelming but God never leaves his people without hope God is a God of justice and he will not let sin go unpunished. He will not. In fact, he will not let any of your sins go unpunished. and that brings up the whole question how can God remain just and not overlook any of your sin he's got to punish every sin every sin has to be punished what hope is there there is a deliverer who has taken the punishment for you and that's how God can be righteous and just and still forgive you you see Jesus is this greater deliverer Jesus is the one who comes God does not leave us without hope He has a deliverer, a savior who delivers you from the sin around you and brings you life and brings you life Father, thank you for your word thank you for its clarity thank you Father that you reveal yourself here in this narrative God we're a people who need hope we thank you that like Noah you have given us a great deliverer help us to put our confidence in him we pray thank you for the Lord Jesus thank you that with him we are delivered from both sin to which we were enslaved and the judgment which we deserve we thank you in Jesus name Amen