Sermons – Grace Evangelical Free Church // Wyoming, MN

Genesis 9:18-29 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed.

20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, 25 he said,

    “Cursed be Canaan;        a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” 26 He also said,    “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem;        and let Canaan be his servant.     27 May God enlarge Japheth,        and let him dwell in the tents of Shem,        and let Canaan be his servant.”

28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

INTRODUCTION

If you’re just joining us, welcome. For the past while I’ve been preaching through Genesis. It is a book written/compiled by Moses (along with Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) and most likely given to the Israelites as they sat on the edge of the Promised Land waiting to enter it. That means that it was written long after the events described in these opening chapters of Genesis. Understanding that has a lot to do with understanding Genesis as we’re meant to—especially our passage for today.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Moses delivered this to the Israelites in order to answer a few simple questions for them: 1) Who are we?, 2) Who is our God?, 3) What does God require of us?, and 4) How did we get here? In other words, it’s meant to answer the question, “What is our place in God’s plan?”.

So far we’ve worked through the first eight and a half chapters. Insodoing we’ve seen God’s creation of the universe and all that is in it, God’s commissioning of mankind, the disobedience and Fall of mankind, the unceasing rebellion of mankind, God’s destruction of the world through a Flood as an act of His judgment, and God’s saving of one family (Noah’s) and a boatful of animal pairs in order “recreate” the earth through them in righteousness. How’s that for the first eight chapters of a book?!

All of that brings us up to our passage for this morning, the end of the story of Noah. In 6:5 “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.” But in 6:8-9 we see that in contrast to the wickedness of the earth “Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD” and “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation.” A little later we see that Noah “did all that God commanded him” (6:22). Immediately after exiting the ark of his salvation, Noah worshiped God (8:20).

With all of that as the backdrop, it ought to surprise us as this scene opens up with Noah passed out in a drunken stupor; and then he followed that up, not with repentance, but with a generational curse on one of his grandson. Obviously that leaves us with a few questions. Let’s pray that God would help us truly understand this passage and be duly transformed by it.

NOAH’S DRUNKENNESS (9:18-23)

This first section begins with a quick, simple introduction.

Introduction

[I am very much indebted to two books in particular for their help in this sermon. The first is called “God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants”. It is by Peter Gentry and Steven Wellum. The second is Wayne Grudem’s “Systematic Theology”. If you read either of those books you will hear many echoes of them in this sermon.]

8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. 11 “And I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; 13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 “And it shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, 15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 “When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

INTRODUCTION

Before getting to the sermon itself I want to take just a couple of minutes to name some of the elephants in the room. The coronavirus, the government-ordered quarantine, masks in stores, unemployment, unparalleled uncertainty, stock market nosedive, little and big differences in almost every aspect of our lives, George Floyd, riots affecting our jobs and friends’ homes, it’s Pentecost Sunday, we’re together for the first time in months, and of course, we’re meeting here at 25% capacity, spread out, and unsure of what all of this means.

I’d love to be able to speak prophetically about each and every one of those things. I wish I had really profound words that would make perfect sense of all of this and light up the good God is working in all of it. I’m glad God has raised some up who are able. I feel more incompetent than I ever have.

But there are a few things I do know, am fighting to build my life on, and want to remind you of: In all of this God is unmoved from His throne, recognizing our weakness is always our greatest strength, our prayers are more significant than almost anything else we can do, the power of the cross is sufficient to turn all of this around in a millisecond should God will, and right now the Holy Spirit of God can make you believe God’s promises in such a way as to produce peace that surpasses understanding. I also know that the truths revealed in the bible’s covenants are as relevant for us today as they have ever been.

Let me pray.

GOD’S COVENANT WITH NOAH (8-17)

Having stepped off of the ark into an entirely empty and unformed world, Noah and his family were commissioned by God to refill and recivilize it. For His part, God made something called a covenant with Noah that would help Noah accomplish what God required of him. We see that clearly in 9:9 which we began to look at last week.

Because covenants are an integral part of the bible and because we find the first explicit covenant in the bible in this passage, I’m going to briefly address God’s promise to Noah and then help you to see how it fits into the larger covenant context of the entire bible. In other words, in this sermon today,

Genesis 9:1-17 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 “And the fear of you and the terror of you shall be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. 3 “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. 4 “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 “And surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man.

     6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood,

         by man his blood shall be shed,

     for in the image of God He made man.

7 “And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”

8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 “Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. 11 “And I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; 13 I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 “And it shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, 15 and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 “When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

INTRODUCTION

Like last week, this is a sweet passage. For all who love God, long for His presence and blessing, and delight in the fact that He is King of kings, this part of Noah’s story truly is worship fuel. I find myself so thankful to God every time I encounter passages like this—passages describing God sovereignly working for His glory and the good of His people; passages with straight lines to Jesus. I hope you do too; especially this morning.

There are two key features to this section of scripture. The first is that everything in it is the result of God’s initiative. God is the only actor Genesis 9:1-17. Every sentence is a declaration of what God did, what God promised to do, what God commanded, and what God determined. God is always the initiator. Though we cannot always see that clearly (in the bible or in the world around us), in this passage we cannot miss it.

The second key feature is that this is a passage of remarkable blessing. God initiates to bless Noah, his family, and even the entire world in staggering ways. Just as we were in the Garden immediately after Adam and Eve were created, we’re presented here with a scene that is teeming with sweet, divine love and hope and promise.

There are also two clear sections to this passage. The first, 1-9, describes five specific blessings of God. And the second, 8-17 (there’s a little overlap between the sections), expands on the last of those divine blessings—God’...

Genesis 8 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, 3 and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, 4 and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made 7 and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. 9 But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. 10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11 And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12 Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore. 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. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh- birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth- that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.

20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. 22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

INTRODUCTION

Good morning, Grace. This morning’s sermon has four parts. All of them are important because all flow directly from this passage, but it is in the first and last that we find the heart of the text and sermon. The first part, and the peak of the Flood story, is that God remembered Noah. This is a remarkable expression that has a particular meaning in the OT and one that finds fullness in Jesus. The last part, and the main application for us, is Noah’s response to all that God had done. Perhaps unexpectedly, Noah’s first act on dry land was whole-hearted, sacrificial worship.

The deep cry of my heart all week has been for God to use this sermon to help us live increasingly in the knowledge and conviction that God always remembers us. And with all of that, let’s pray and ask God to help us remember that He remembers us in Christ and then to help us turn that back to God in worshipful obedience.

GOD REMEMBERED NOAH (1A)

Our text for today has three main scenes,

Genesis 7 1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household; for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time. 2 “You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female; 3 also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 “For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made.” 5 And Noah did according to all that the LORD had commanded him.

6 Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth. 7 Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the flood. 8 Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and everything that creeps on the ground, 9 there went into the ark to Noah by twos, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. 12 And the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark, 14 they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds. 15 So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the LORD closed it behind him.

17 Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days; and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. 18 And the water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 And the water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered. 20 The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. 21 And all flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; 22 of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. 23 Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. 24 And the water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.

MOTHER’S DAY

In the narrowest terms, to be a mother is to carry, bear, and raise children (natural motherhood). In fuller terms it refers to any woman who is responsible to raise a child (adoptive motherhood). But in its fullest sense, to be a mother is to be a woman who gives life to and nurtures it in others (spiritual motherhood). While we tend to think of motherhood primarily in the first two senses, the bible most highly exalts the third. And in that third sense every Christian woman is a mother, for every Christian woman is charged to care for the spiritual lives of others. Ladies, whatever form(s) your mothering takes, do it well—that is, do it according to the Word of God, in the power of God, with the people of God, and for the glory of God. We’re thankful that by the grace of God you do in so many ways. And we’re thankful that by the same grace of God,

Genesis 6:9-22 9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 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. 20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. 21 Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

INTRODUCTION

In our passage for this morning we come to one of the more familiar stories in the entire bible. I’d guess that virtually everyone in the US has heard this story at some point in their lives. How many children’s books alone have been written about Noah and the flood (which, if you think about it, makes for a really strange children’s book—I guess everyone imagines themselves and their kids being among those on the arc)? And yet, the real story of Noah and the flood is a decent amount different than the popular retelling and children’s stories.

In the actual text we get a close look at Noah’s righteousness, the rest of humanity’s violence and corruption, the judgment and justice of God, Noah’s role in God’s just judgment and undeserved grace, and then the first explicit glimpses of the exclusive way in which God interacts with His people—through covenant. The main point of all of this is that although God would justly judge the earth on account of mankind’s complete corruption, he would also provide a means of preservation through Noah. The world, and everything in it would be destroyed by God through a catastrophic flood—everything except that which was brought safely through on a boat by the mercy of God.

Before we pray and get to these things in the text, though, I want to highlight three things. First, I want to name the elephant in the room. Noah’s story (to say the least) is exceptional. It is miraculous. It is unimaginably violent. It’s devastating. It is unlike anything any of us have ever seen. But is it real? Did the events described in this passage really happen at some point in history? Or is this whole story merely a fictional tale intended to teach a spiritual lesson? Or a parable?

In response to these questions, many people have looked at the story of Noah from every conceivable angle. Some have considered whether or not the kind of boat commissioned by God would have even been able to float. Others have studied whether or not it was physically possible to fit all of the animals on a boat with the dimensions given in this passage.

Genesis 6:1-8 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

5 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. 6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 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.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

INTRODUCTION

The connection between Genesis 5 and 6 might not seem immediately obvious. Likewise, the connection between 6:1-4 and 6:5-8 isn’t necessarily apparent either. Is there a connection, and if so, what is it? What’s more, what in the world is 6:1-4 even talking about? Who are the sons of God and who are the Nephilim? And is it even possible for the world to be as bad as 6:5 claims; every inclination, only evil, constantly? If God is sovereign, how can he be sorry; wouldn’t he have known what to expect and wouldn’t He have chosen it? What does God’s grief look like? And what’s up with Noah; how did he find favor in God’s sight?

These are just some of the questions that jumped off of the page for me as I began working through the text this week. In the course of this sermon I’ll answer some of those questions (though likely not as thoroughly or conclusively as you might like). And yet the main point of this text, and therefore the main point of this sermon, as is the case for much of Genesis, is not found as much in the details as it is in the overall story. That is, while some of the specifics might be lost to us, the main point of them all isn’t: Sin and curse had totally infected the world, God would judge His creation’s rebellion, and yet mankind was not without hope. Man’s sin was total, but God’s grace was inextinguishable. Let’s pray that God would help us navigate our lives—the ups, the downs, and everything in between—with such a mindset.

SIN AND CURSE HAD TOTALLY INFECTED THE WHOLE WORLD

As a way of summarizing all of Genesis 5 (the genealogy…___ lived ___ years, had a son, lived ___ number of years after that, had other sons and daughters, and died)…as a way of summarizing all of that, Genesis 6:1 begins with the following opening line,

1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them…

What chapter 5 details, 6:1 captures in a few simple words. Mankind was indeed multiplying and spreading out rapidly. In light of God’s command to be fruitful and multiply (1:28) this might seem to be a good thing (and in some ways it was), but by 6:2 we begin to find out that looks can be deceiving. What a strange and confusing situation this presents us with.

2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.

You might have noticed the repeated phrase “had other sons and daughters” in chapter 5. The reason for that unusual and unexpected phrase becomes clear here. The daughters who were in the background in that chapter take center stage in this one, along with a new cast of characters. Another group called the “sons of God” are said to be marrying these daughters of men. But who are these sons of God and why is this story about them included in this passage?

As to who they were, the three main possibilities are (Wenham, WBC,

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. 3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. 5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. 7 Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan. 10 Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel. 13 Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared. 16 Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

18 When Jared had lived 162 years he fathered Enoch. 19 Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. 27 Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 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.” 30 Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

32 After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

INTRODUCTION

I have a riddle for you.

    Two who lived but were never born.    Two who lived but never lied.    Two who lived but never died.

How’d you do? I first heard this riddle as a very new Christian. I got half right (I think), but hadn’t even heard of the rest. You can ask me later if you can’t figure it out, but we find one of the answers in today’s passage. It’s buried at the end of v.24. One of the people who lived but never died was Enoch. That’s interesting for sure, but is that all we get out of this passage, a little trivia? Absolutely not! In fact, although this is the kind of passage we tend to skim over in our bible reading time, there are four particularly glorious truths, mostly revealed through three men (Adam, Enoch, and Noah), that I want to point out to you from this passage.

First, I want to help you to see a reminder of your nature as a divine image bearer. Second, I want to help you to see God’s faithfulness to His promises. Third, I want to help you to catch a glimpse of the miraculous power of God over his creation. And forth, I want to help you see the march of history and humanity toward Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray that God would help us see everything that’s in this passage for his glory and the good of the world.

DIVINE IMAGE BEARERS

Clearly, this passage consists mainly of genealogy. It is, as the first words tell us,

Matthew 28:1-10 10 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

INTRODUCTION

What a strange mix of emotions this day and this service bring. We grieve that we are not able to gather together, that we’re not able to eat lots of Suanne and Kris’s egg bakes and ham, that we’re not able to greet and hug one another in person, and that we’re not able to hear one another’s voices praise our risen King. Never before in our lifetime has anyone at Grace experienced anything like this. There’s real tragedy and sadness in those things.

And yet, swallowing up that grief like a giant, unstoppable tidal wave is the good news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead! Oh disease or distance or death, where is your sting!? For Jesus Christ is alive! Lift up your hearts, Grace Church. Do not be dismayed. One day, whether in this life or the next, we will be together again to eat and drink and sing and pray and talk with one another because, as Easter Sunday reminds us, Jesus overcame every obstacle to everlasting fellowship with God and one another when he came out of the tomb.

With all of that in mind, I have one aim today in this sermon: to help all of us find unlimited quantities of worship fuel in the good news of the resurrection. Let’s pray that God would make it so.

JESUS’ RESURRECTION WAS PROMISED LONG IN ADVANCE

As I said in the introduction, I have one aim in this sermon: to help all of us find unlimited quantities of worship fuel in the good news of the resurrection. To that end, I mean to share with you five overwhelmingly glorious truths about the resurrection.

* Jesus’ resurrection was promised in advance.

* Jesus’ resurrection came to pass exactly as it was promised.

* Jesus’ resurrection brought about unimaginable glories.

* Those who trust in Jesus will join Him in His resurrection.

* Jesus’ resurrection is the great divide in heaven and earth today.

There’s a lot of worship fuel just in those five sentences. Let’s dive a little deeper into each for even more.

Jesus’ Resurrection Was Promised by the Prophets

Jesus resurrection was predicted long in advance by the OT prophets. We see this in Psalm 16.

Psalm 16:10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

Which is explained by Peter in Acts 2.

Acts 2:30-31 … the patriarch David… 31 foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

We see this as well in Psalm 110.

Psalm 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

In Psalm 110:1 King David wrote that the Father (LORD) called the Son (Lord) to be s...

Genesis 4:17-26 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives:

      “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

            you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:

      I have killed a man for wounding me,

            a young man for striking me.

      24 If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,

            then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”

25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” 26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.

INTRODUCTION

Experience tells me that some of you would have preferred this sermon to be called something like, “Where Did Cain’s Wife Come From?”. Or, perhaps, “Did God Condone Polygamy?”. Both of those are interesting questions, aren’t they? I’ll get to both a little bit in a little bit, but the simple fact is that the bible doesn’t answer those questions explicitly and so we can only offer educated, deductive guesses.

The biblical stories (especially in Genesis) raise lots of interesting questions; some of which are answered and some of which aren’t. In this passage alone, there are several more examples of that.

It is important, therefore, that we hold fast to the biblical teaching that in the bible God gives us everything we need to know to live lives pleasing to Him. As I’ve mentioned a number of times before, this means that the bible is our guide not only in the things it does say, but also in the things it doesn’t. It tells us what matters in both what it includes and in what it leaves out. In other words, while we might want to know where Cain’s wife came from, the fact that the bible doesn’t even tell us her name teaches us to redirect our questions. It teaches us that we don’t need to know that (or anything else it leaves out) to live our lives for the glory of God. And so we trust in God’s wisdom and focus on what is clear.

What is clear in this passage is that life outside of the garden continued to decline even as glimpses of God’s redemptive plan remained. And because that’s the focus of this passage, that is the focus of this sermon.

Let’s pray now—would you pray with me?—that God would help us once again to see how utterly foolish it is to try to improve upon or wander from his Creation-design. And let’s pray that God would help us to see all the ways we’re doing that right now in order that we might turn back to His path of life and joy and blessing. And let’s pray that God would help us rejoice in the amazing grace that makes that possible—especially as we begin Holy Week.

POINTS OF INTEREST

By my count, there are nine points of note in this passage. Individually, they seem fairly disconnected and several seem fairly insignificant. Collectively, however, they move the story along (toward Jesus) by helping us see that life outsi...