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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Lecture on Genesis Ver.2(113) - Lecture on Genesis Ver.2 (113) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Genesis 7:16 ~ 24 |
Date |
2014-06-27 |
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Scripture
Genesis 7:16 ~ 24
[16] 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] The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.
[19] 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] 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] The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is 113th Lecture on Genesis.In the previous lecture, I explained how the crust of the earth changed during the great flood.Due to the pressure of the water that covered the earth, phenomena of uplift and subsidence occurred.In addition, due to the gravity and the current of the water that swept the earth, sedimentary layers appeared on the crust.As a result, the topography of the earth changed greatly and became much different from the days before the flood.
What happened to the corpses of the countless dead people and dead animals?From now on, I will tell you about them.The place where Adam settled down after he came down the earth was the land of Israel of today. With this place as the center, human beings flourished, and expanded their territory. The Middle East area was the main home grounds for the early human beings.
And some of them soon moved to the areas of Northern Africa where Egypt is located. In other words, Middle East area and Northern Africa area were heavily populated areas.
As you think of the climate of those areas, you may wonder "How could so many people live in a place like that?" The climate over the entire earth then was a lot different from today. Even the polar regions were not as cold as today, and equator are was not as hot as today. Therefore, Middle East and Northern African areas had much better climate conditions for people to live than today. In addition, these areas were full of trees and plants.
Simply put, they were proper places for a heavy population to thrive. If you consider the countless cattle that belonged to people, these areas must have had a tremendous number of corpses and carcasses due to the judgment of flood.These countless corpses and carcasses were buried under the crust as changes were made to the topography.During the process of uplift or subsidence of the crust, the corpses were buried between the crust layers.
In a fleshly sense, they were simply buried under the ground, but it actually means the 'judgment of God' in a spiritual sense. Numbers 16:31~33 explains how those Israelites who stood against Moses after Exodus were cursed and destroyed by God.It says, "As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly."
Likewise, when God executed the judgment of flood, He first caused the people and animals to be buried in the water, and then had the ground split open and swallow their corpses. It was not simple burial due to crustal change; spiritually speaking, He split open the ground which spiritually means 'hades,' and threw them in there.
Because of the vast number of corpses of buried people and carcasses of animals, the Middle East now possesses a great amount of petroleum. In fact, 75% of world's oil deposits can be found in the Middle East area. There are many hypotheses about how petroleum was made, but the most generally accepted thought is that it was made from sedimentation of living things.Along with the dead bodies of animals, a great amount of plants were deposited as well.
This is in accordance with the word of God and the Word He interpreted in the Bible. Since a lot of petroleum is deposited in the Middle East, can we call this area 'a blessed land?'They might seem blessed right now, but you should know that it never was a blessing. This area has become the main stage for countless battles and the terrors of today, hasn't it?Because of the petroleum deposits, they are suffering from various invasions of foreign forces. Except for the benefit of the moment, this area has become the land of curses, not the land of blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Genesis 7:16 says, "(And those that entered...) entered as God had commanded him; and the LORD closed it behind him."
As it says, "the LORD closed it behind him," it may somewhat contain a feeling of urging. It doesn't mean that God the Father forced Noah to enter the ark.It has rather a meaning of "God Himself governed all things; He held and protected Noah, Noah's family, and animals that entered the ark. Thanks to this compelling guidance and protection of God the Father, Noah and his family who entered the ark could survive without any difficulties.
If God persistently holds us and protects us, we can feel ourselves at home in any given situation. Even when we face a refinement, God refines us in the midst of blessings. During the course of refinements, blessings always came upon Abraham. Although he faced the test of losing his wife, as God the Father Himself governed it, he rather received blessing.
Joseph also received blessings during his refinements; all things were prosperous.Even when Joseph was sold salve, Genesis 39:3 says, "Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand."Even when he was wrongfully accused and imprisoned, Genesis 39:23 says, "The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper."
Now, how could Abraham or Joseph received blessings even under the refinement?Some people receive no blessing at all but face only difficulties while under the refinement.The difference is made when you have a heart that can obey or not.
To possess faith like pure gold and become the Father's true child who is worthy to enter heaven and New Jerusalem, you need refinement.In the course of refinement if you can discover yourself, obey the word of God, and change, then you will receive blessings under the refinement.God allows it, because it is necessary.
If you take the refinement with thanks, God cannot but give you blessing.Instead of discovering and changing themselves, however, some people rather grumble and complain during the course of refinement.They grumble against their surroundings and others, complain about their situations, and they even bear grudges against the church and God.
Moreover, when they face trials or tests due to their sin, instead of repenting and turning back from their sin, they try to make excuses. If they keep such a heart and attitude, they can never receive blessing during the course of refinement.Of course, when God refines you through money, chances are that you may receive no financial blessing at all.
Even in this case, if you rejoice and give thanks always, God will feed you, clothe you, and guide you in all means.Even if you don't enjoy sufficient financial blessing, God will fill your needs by this and by that; therefore God will eventually lead you to prosperity.
Therefore, if you ever find difficulties in the course of refinement, please check yourself whether you are truly ready to obey or not.Those who are ready with an attitude of obedience can find the cause of refinement and resolve it.On the contrary, those who are not ready find it hard to discover its cause. Even if they do discover it, they don't try to change. Please, become a completely obedient man just like Abraham, Joseph, and Noah.May you always find yourself under the strong protection of God the Father and receive blessings, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, the rain fell upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.And thus, the sea level gradually rose. At first, the water lifted the ark of Noah from the surface of the earth.As the sea level rose, the ark began to float over the water.Eventually, the level rose up enough to cover the highest mountains.
But then, Genesis 7:20 says that even after the mountains were covered, the water increased by 15 cubits higher.15 cubits is equivalent to approximately 7.5 meters.And it is precisely half of 30 cubits, which was the height of Noah's ark.Therefore, the fact that the high mountains were covered and the water increased by 15 cubits more means that the ark could freely float without being caught by anything.
When a ship floats, the bottom side of the ship is under the water. The more it is loaded with people or cargo, the lower its bottom sinks. The ark of Noah was fully loaded with animals and food. Therefore, if the water level increased by half the height of the ark, the ark could float freely.
Without such bottom clearance, the bottom of the ark could have hit the summit of a high mountain.Then, the ark could have been in a dangerous situation as a ship striking a reef.Now, during the judgment of great flood, the water rose up 15 cubits higher than the highest mountains.
As a result, just as said in Genesis 7:21-23, all flesh that moved on the earth, all birds, all flocks and herds and every beast and swarming thing that moved upon the earth, and all mankind died.Although birds could fly, they couldn't find a place to land since the high mountains were covered by the water, and they fell into the water and died. "All that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died."It was the complete judgment that not a single man or animal that didn't enter the ark could escape.
It is the same with the Great White Throne Judgment which will soon take place. On that day, all mankind that has existed from the beginning will stand before the judgment of God. (Elijah, Enoch, Abraham, and Moses; these four are the exceptions.They are the highest by the spiritual rank, and they will support God the Trinity during the Judgment.)
Without any exception, those whose name is not written in the Book of Life will receive the sentence of eternal death, and fall down to either the lake of fire or of brimstone in hell. It is just as 2 Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Genesis 7:24 says, "The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days."In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the 17th day of the 2nd month, the rain fell upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.And so, until the 17th day of the 7th month, the water prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.
When the high mountains of the earth were covered by the water, the earth looked similar to the initial stage of the earth.Genesis 1:2 says, "...the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters."Before the actual work of 6 Day creation, the entire earth was under the water.
The situation of the initial stage of the earth was reproduced during the great flood. The record that the entire earth was under the water for 150 days is true and it is a fact. The flood of Noah is not a myth or legend. It was a huge event that actually took place. There are many evidences to prove it. |
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