Lesson 3 – Through the Waters
Introduction
- The flood narrative shows the collapse of creation’s order. Chaotic waters return as judgment for human corruption.
- God preserves a remnant through Noah.
- The ark carries God’s people safely through judgment to renewed worship.
- Passing through waters becomes the pattern for approaching God. Noah’s journey culminates in sacrifice, communion, and worship on the mountain.
- In Christ, the greater Noah, the church passes through the waters of baptism and ascends the heavenly Mount Zion as a new temple.
Noah’s Favor
- Read: Genesis 6:5-8.
- Genesis 6:5–8 is a hinge: it closes Adam’s line and introduces Noah as the central figure of the flood story.
- Humanity’s condition is bleak: “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). Creation was meant to reflect God’s image, but now it is saturated with corruption.
- God declares his intent to “blot out” (maḥâ) humanity (Genesis 6:7). The word has another meaning in scripture besides annihilation.
- Read: Isaiah 43:25, Psalm 51:1.
- Reflection question: how is maḥâ used in these passages?
- The verb also means to cleanse or wash. The flood is both judgment and purification, undoing creation to prepare for renewal.
- Water functions biblically as a cleansing ordeal. Forty days marks a time for recreation.
- The hinge turns on one sentence: “But Noah found favor (ḥēn) in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). One person’s favor is the reason for humanity’s rescue.
- Noah is described as righteous (ṣaddîq, Genesis 6:9). God cleanses, preserves, and appoints a representative. This is fulfilled in Christ, who carries the church through baptism into renewal.
The Way
- Read: Genesis 6:9–12
- Noah’s threefold description—righteous, blameless, and walking with God—stands in deliberate contrast to the threefold repetition of “corruption” that depicts the ruined state of creation.
- Noah is described as “blameless” (tāmîm).
- Read: Leviticus 1:3, Psalm 15:1-2.
- Reflection question: how is tāmîm used in these passages?
- “Blameless” (tāmîm) conveys wholeness, often used of sacrificial animals without blemish (Leviticus 1:3, 10). Applied to Noah, it portrays him as a fitting worshiper, one who may ascend God’s holy hill (Psalm 15:1–2).
- Contrast of paths: Noah “walked” (hālak) with God, but “all flesh corrupted their way [derek].” His walk aligns with God, while humanity turns aside. This recalls Enoch, who also walked with God and was delivered from death. It also recalls “the way” to the tree of life that was guarded by the cherubim in Genesis 3:24.
- Read: Isaiah 35:8-10.
- Isaiah 35:8 describes a “Way of Holiness” through the wilderness. The faithful way ascends the mountain of life, the corrupted way to predators. Noah embodies the faithful path, preserved for new creation.
The Ark
- Read: Genesis 6:13–16.
- God announces judgment but immediately turns to the ark, the means of salvation. More space is given to its construction than to the flood itself, showing the focus is rescue.
- The ark is a mini creation. Its three decks mirror heaven, earth, and waters below, anticipating tabernacle and temple. The word tevah is likely of Egyptian origin and means both coffin and shrine, making the ark a vessel of death and rebirth.
- God told Noah to cover the ark with pitch. The Hebrew word here is spelled identically as words later used for atonement and the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies. This wordplay connects the ark’s covering with God’s covering of sin, showing that the ark is not only a refuge from the flood but also a sign of God’s mercy.
- Deep dive: though scholars distinguish the roots, the identical spelling (כפר) of kōpher (pitch, Genesis 6:14), kippēr (“to atone,” Leviticus 16:15–16), and kappōret (“mercy seat,” Exodus 25:17–22) invites theological reflection.
- Noah obeys exactly, anticipating the obedience required in building the tabernacle. He becomes God’s agent in constructing a sanctuary where life is preserved.
The Gate
- Read: Genesis 7:1-3, 8, 16.
- Adam was expelled through Eden’s gate, but Noah is summoned to enter because of righteousness. His blamelessness qualifies him for fellowship with God (recall Psalm 15:1–2).
- Noah’s priestly role is seen in discerning clean and unclean animals, anticipating tabernacle worship. The ark becomes sacred space, preserving life for worship.
- God shuts Noah in, enclosing the remnant of creation. The righteous one carries them through the waters, a type of Christ who leads His people through death into life.
- Each worship gathering is an ark space, a refuge lifted above the flood of the world. In baptism we have entered the true ark, dying to the old creation and rising to the new
- Read: 1 Peter 3:18-22.
- Each assembly renews the passage through the waters, leaving behind the old self as we ascend together, sheltered in Christ’s righteousness.
Through the Waters by the Spirit
- Read: Genesis 7:11, 7:18–19, 7:24
- The Hebrew word for “flood,” mabbûl, appears only in Genesis 6–11 and once in Psalm 29:10. It does not describe ordinary rain but the primeval waters themselves: the ocean above the firmament (rāqîaʿ, Genesis 1:6–7) and the deep (tehōm, Genesis 1:2) below. When these break loose, the ordered world collapses, and creation sinks back into chaos.
- Check question: in our first lesson we studied tehōm. How does it connect the flood to creation’s undoing?
- As creation collapses, the ark rises above the mountains towards heaven. Noah, the righteous one, carries the remnant of creation through judgment back to God.
- Read: Genesis 8:1–14.
- “But God remembered Noah…” marks the turning point. In Scripture, remembrance signals covenant faithfulness (Exodus 2:24). So, God sends a rûaḥ (wind/Spirit).
- Reflection question: how has wind and God’s spirit been involved in our previous lessons?
- rûaḥ is used in Genesis 1:2, to subdue the waters, and in 3:1, where God was “walking in the wind [rûaḥ] of the day”.
- The ark rests on Ararat, where the curse begins to lift (the name Ararat sounds like the Hebrew word for “curse” (ʾarar).
- The dove’s search for a resting place (mānôaḥ) echoes Noah’s name, which means “rest.” True rest is found only with God’s righteous one. Hebrews 4:9–10 applies this: God’s people enter rest by clinging to the one who is righteous on their behalf. It eventually returns with an olive leaf (Genesis 8:11), foreshadowing the oil that fueled the lampstand and anointed the tabernacle and its furnishings (Exodus 7:20; 30:24–29; Leviticus 24:2–4).
- Noah removes the “covering” (mikseh) of the ark, the same word used for the tabernacle covering (Exodus 40:19). Even the timing of the waters drying on the first day of the first month matches the dedication of the tabernacle (Exodus 40:2). Creation is being made into sacred space again.
- When Noah steps onto dry ground, he does so as head of a new creation. The Spirit has carried God’s people through death into life.
- Every worship gathering is a passage through the waters, dying to the old and rising to the new, arriving on Mount Zion to find rest in Christ.
For Worship
- Read: Genesis 8:20–22; 9:1, 11–17.
- Noah’s first act on dry ground is worship. He builds an altar and offers a burnt offering (Genesis 8:20). This anticipates Sinai, where Moses built an altar after rescue (Exodus 24:4–8). In both, covenant is sealed by sacrifice and sealed with a sign: a rainbow on Ararat, God’s glory cloud on Sinai.
- The burnt offering (ʿōlāh, “ascension”) is the first in Scripture. The whole animal is consumed, smoke rises as a pleasing aroma (Genesis 8:21), symbolizing total dedication (Leviticus 1:9). It is only after this sacrifice that God is comforted.
- Read: 2 Corinthians 2:15–16.
- Reflection question: what does it mean for us to be the pleasing aroma of Christ?
- God blesses Noah: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 9:1). The bow in the clouds, a weapon of war, is aimed at God instead of humanity, signaling His intent to bear the consequences of human unfaithfulness (Genesis 9:11–17).
- The flood story climaxes in worship. Noah’s altar anticipates Sinai and points forward to Christ, whose sacrifice secures the new covenant and whose ascension brings blessing (Luke 24:50–53; Hebrews 10:19–22; 12:22–24). Rescue leads to worship.
Conclusion
- The flood unravels creation, but God preserves a remnant through Noah.
- Passing through the waters leads to worship: Noah builds an altar, God is comforted, and covenant blessing follows.
- In Christ, the greater Noah, the church passes through baptism, ascends the mountain, renews the covenant, and receives God’s blessing anew.