When Waters Prevail

Walter Henegar | Oct 15, 2023

Genesis 7:1-24 (ESV)

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3 and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” 5 And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.


6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the waters 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 that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14 they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.


17 The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.


Sermon Summary

Genesis 7 lingers in the devastating details of the flood in order to deepen our appreciation for the mercy of God. Noah is not the hero of this story; God is. God gathers the animals, God shuts the door, and God preserves every creature within from the rising waters. 1 Peter 3 says the ark is a picture of baptism, which saves us because of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus himself reminds us in Matthew 24 that his own return will come as unexpectedly as the flood—therefore we must not delay to hide ourselves by faith in the ark of his mercy.

Discussion Questions

  1. What stood out to you or stuck with you from the sermon?
  2. How did the passage make you feel? About God? About the world? About yourself?
  3. Do you think the flood really happened? If so, was it local or global? How confident are you in your answers, and how much do you think it matters?
  4. Christopher Watkin says, “It is God who saves Noah from God.” If God is both Savior and Judge, how does that affect the way you relate to him?
  5. In what particular ways is the Church today like the ark?

Resources Consulted

  • Africa Bible Commentary, ed. Tokunboh Adeyowo
  • Genesis for Everyone, John Goldingay
  • The Message of Genesis 1-11, David Atkinson
  • Genesis: A Commentary, Bruce Waltke
  • NIV Application Commentary on Genesis, John Walton
  • The Five Books of Moses, Robert Alter
  • How to Read Genesis, Tremper Longman
  • Lord of the Storm, Tim Keller (2000 sermon)


Walter's 2018 sermons on Genesis 1-3:

Genesis 1:1-2:3 Designed

Genesis 2:4-25 Defined

Genesis 2:21-3:24 Misaligned