The De-Creation of the World Text: Genesis 7:17-24
Introduction: Judgment is Good News
We live in a sentimental age, an age that has tried to domesticate God. We want a God who is a celestial grandfather, endlessly indulgent, who pats us on the head and assures us that everything will be fine, regardless of how we live. The modern mind is allergic to the concept of divine judgment. We want a God of love, but we want to define that love in our own treacly, insipid terms. We want a love without holiness, a grace without justice, and a savior without wrath. But such a God is an idol, a figment of our rebellious imagination. It is not the God of the Bible.
The story of the great Flood is a bucket of ice water thrown on this sleepy, self-satisfied view of God. Here, in the book of beginnings, God reveals Himself not only as the Creator, but as the Judge. And we must understand from the outset that the judgment of God is a good thing. The psalmist tells the heathen to rejoice because the Lord is coming to judge the earth (Ps. 96:13). Why is this good news? Because it means that sin will not have the last word. It means that evil, rebellion, and cosmic treason will not be allowed to fester forever. It means that God is a holy God who loves His creation enough to cleanse it of the cancer of sin.
The world before the flood was not a place of minor infractions. Genesis 6 tells us that "the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5). This was a world saturated with violence, corruption, and a profound, high-handed rebellion against the Creator. This was not just an outbreak of shoplifting; it was a cosmic revolt, a deliberate attempt to deface the image of God in man and overturn the created order. And God's response was not an overreaction. It was a holy, just, and necessary act of de-creation. He was unmaking the world that man had ruined, in order to remake it.
But in the midst of this terrible judgment, we see the bright, shining thread of God's grace. Judgment and salvation are two sides of the same coin. The very same waters that destroyed the world of the ungodly were the waters that lifted up the ark and saved Noah and his family. This is a pattern that repeats throughout Scripture. The Red Sea delivered Israel and drowned the Egyptians. The cross was the ultimate act of judgment on sin, and the ultimate act of salvation for sinners. And Peter tells us explicitly that the flood is a type, a picture, of Christian baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21). In baptism, we are identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. We are brought through the waters of judgment and into a new creation. The story of the flood is not just an ancient, terrifying event. It is our story. It is the story of the world, and it is the story of the gospel.
The Text
Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water multiplied and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. And the water prevailed and multiplied greatly upon the earth, and the ark went on the surface of the water. And the water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered. The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh that moved on the earth breathed its last, that is birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, as well as all mankind. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, of all that was on the dry land, died. 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 remained, and those that were with him in the ark. And the water prevailed upon the earth 150 days.
(Genesis 7:17-24 LSB)
The Rising Waters of Judgment (v. 17-18)
The narrative begins with the relentless rise of the floodwaters.
"Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water multiplied and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. And the water prevailed and multiplied greatly upon the earth, and the ark went on the surface of the water." (Genesis 7:17-18)
The number forty in Scripture is consistently associated with periods of testing, trial, and judgment. Moses was on the mountain for forty days. Israel wandered for forty years. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for forty days. This forty-day deluge is a period of cosmic trial for the entire created order. The language used is emphatic and repetitive: the water "multiplied," it "prevailed," it "multiplied greatly." This is not a local flood. This is a global cataclysm. The Hebrew word for "prevailed" (gabhar) means to be strong, to be mighty, to conquer. This is the language of warfare. The waters are God's army, executing His sentence upon a rebellious world.
But in the midst of this overwhelming judgment, we see the ark. Notice the beautiful paradox: the very instrument of God's wrath, the water, becomes the instrument of salvation for those in the ark. The waters "lifted up the ark." As the world drowned, the church was raised. As judgment fell, grace elevated. The ark did not save itself. It was entirely passive. It had no rudder, no sails, no means of propulsion. It simply "went on the surface of the water," carried along by the sovereign purposes of God. This is a picture of our salvation. We do not contribute to it. We do not steer our own way to heaven. We are carried by the pure, unmerited grace of God through the storms of life and the judgment we deserve. We are "in Christ" as Noah was "in the ark." Outside of Him is only the wrath of God; inside is perfect security.
The Uncreation Reaches its Apex (v. 19-20)
The text leaves no room for any interpretation other than a universal, world-covering flood.
"And the water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered. The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered." (Genesis 7:19-20 LSB)
The language is piled up to prevent any misunderstanding. The water prevailed "more and more." Not just some mountains, but "all the high mountains." Not just in one region, but "under all the heavens." To argue for a local flood in the face of this language is to abandon the plain meaning of the text in favor of appeasing modern, uniformitarian geology. But the Bible's account is not subject to the approval of secular science. Scripture is the standard by which all other claims to truth are to be judged.
The water covered the highest peaks by fifteen cubits, which is about 22 feet. Why this specific detail? The ark's draft, the depth to which it sank in the water, was likely about fifteen cubits. This detail tells us that the ark, bearing the remnant of humanity, floated safely above the highest point of the old, condemned world. There was no danger of running aground. The separation between the old world and the new was absolute and complete. God's salvation is never a near thing. He does not cut corners. The church is not saved by the skin of its teeth; it is carried high above the wreckage of the world's rebellion.
The Execution of the Sentence (v. 21-23)
These verses are stark and sobering. They describe the total annihilation of terrestrial, air-breathing life outside the ark.
"And all flesh that moved on the earth breathed its last... All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, of all that was on the dry land, died. Thus He blotted out every living thing... and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah remained, and those that were with him in the ark." (Genesis 7:21-23 LSB)
The scope is comprehensive: birds, cattle, beasts, swarming things, and all mankind. The text emphasizes that everything with the "breath of the spirit of life" died. This is a direct reversal of the creation account in Genesis 2, where God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life. The God who gives life is the God who has the authority to take it away. Sin is a capital crime, and the wages of sin is death.
The phrase "He blotted out" is a judicial term. It means to wipe away, to erase. God is wiping the slate of creation clean. This is not a natural disaster. This is a personal, deliberate act of a holy God. The text says "He blotted out," and then, for emphasis, "they were blotted out." The active judgment of God and the passive result for the creature are both affirmed. The world did not just happen to perish; it was executed.
And then we have that stark, glorious contrast: "and only Noah remained, and those that were with him in the ark." Eight souls. The entire human race, the future of the world, was contained within that wooden vessel. This is a picture of the doctrine of the remnant. Throughout history, God has always preserved for Himself a people. In the days of Elijah, there were seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal. In the midst of apostate Israel, there was a faithful remnant. And in the midst of a drowning world, there was a family in a boat. This is a profound comfort. No matter how dark the times, no matter how overwhelming the forces of wickedness appear, God always preserves His church. The gates of hell cannot prevail against it, and the floodwaters of judgment cannot swamp it.
The Reign of Water (v. 24)
The section concludes by noting the duration of the flood's peak.
"And the water prevailed upon the earth 150 days." (Genesis 7:24 LSB)
The forty days were the period of the downpour, but the waters remained at their height for a total of 150 days. This was not a brief, passing storm. This was a long, sustained period of judgment, a complete dismantling of the pre-flood world. For five months, the ark floated over a silent, buried world. Imagine the scene. No land, no trees, no sign of life, only the endless expanse of water under a sky that had just poured out its fury. This was a world baptized in death.
This period of 150 days was a time when the world was held in watery stasis, a return to the formless deep of Genesis 1:2. The world was being held under the water, awaiting the moment when God would command the waters to recede and a new creation to emerge. It was a long wait. It was a test of faith for the occupants of the ark. But their hope was not in the seaworthiness of their vessel, but in the covenant-keeping character of the God who had shut them in.
Conclusion: Shut In with God
The most comforting verse in this whole chapter is one that precedes our text, where it says, "and the LORD shut him in" (Gen. 7:16). God Himself closed the door of the ark. Those outside could not get in, and those inside could not get out. They were sealed by God. This is the doctrine of eternal security in narrative form.
When God brings a sinner to Himself, when He speaks light into our darkness and places us in the ark of Christ, He is the one who seals us. The Apostle Paul tells us we are "sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance" (Ephesians 1:13-14). The security of the believer does not depend on our ability to hold the door shut against the floodwaters of sin and temptation. It depends entirely on the God who has shut us in with Christ.
The world around us is under a sentence of judgment. It is not a judgment of water this time, but a judgment of fire (2 Peter 3:7). And God, in His mercy, has provided an ark. That ark is the Lord Jesus Christ. The invitation of the gospel is the same that God gave to Noah: "Come into the ark" (Gen. 7:1). It is an invitation to leave the condemned world behind, to enter into Christ by faith, and to be saved from the wrath to come.
But we must heed the warning of this story. The door of the ark was open for 120 years while Noah preached righteousness. But there came a day when God shut the door. And when that door is shut, it is shut for good. The day of grace does not last forever. Today is the day of salvation. The invitation is open now. Come. Come into the ark. For the waters are rising, and only those who are in Christ will be lifted up.