The Rest of the Story

It is an interesting concept to contemplate heaven, and we are given glimpses of it in Revelation by John. It is like an appetizer at a restaurant—just enough to whet your appetite, just enough to make you want to go there. We are in the book of Genesis, and we have been studying extensively on Adam and creation. Heaven is the new creation, a new heaven and a new earth. Christ, the second and last Adam, restores all that the first Adam lost. We can think of heaven and the eternal state as Eden restored. Everything that should have been, marred and corrupted by sin, and everything good in the first Eden will be glorified in the second and last Eden. There will be perfect peace, perfect fellowship, perfect harmony. We will not float around on clouds strumming harps all day. It will be life abundant with all the redeemed, with our Savior, with our loved ones. It will be a place of produce, culture, art, music, joy, celebration—and food as well, because there is a marriage supper of the Lamb. Everything we enjoy here will be enjoyed there, except at an infinite capacity. I am looking forward to that day. Praise God for that.

We are here in Genesis chapter 9. Last week we talked about the Noahic covenant—we talked about the sign of that covenant being the rainbow. Today we will talk about the lineage of the covenant. In many ways, we wish the story of Noah ended on a high note. We wish they could have exited the ark, seen the rainbow, and had the story closed there. But that is not how the story ends. We could title this passage *The Rest of the Story*. In this section, we go from rainbows to shadows. Noah takes on a new role as head of the human race; he stands as the new Adam. But the sin nature of the old Adam lives within him. He passes through the floodwaters of judgment, yet the sin nature of Adam still resides within Noah and within his son. We will have three headings in this sermon: number one, a family tragedy; number two, a family prophecy; and number three, a family legacy. We will start with a family tragedy, and there are three subpoints. Number one is disgrace—disgrace is where we will pick up in verse 20. But let us have an introduction here in verse 18: “Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Remember this line: Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.”

God had kept His promise to Noah. He had preserved them through the flood; they exited the ark, inherited a freshly cleansed earth, and Moses notes that it is from this family that all the peoples on the earth have descended. We will talk about that further next week, but suffice it to say for this week, God had proven Himself good, faithful, and trustworthy. He had done for Noah and his family exactly what He promised. Nevertheless, Noah has grown comfortable in his new life and is no longer a builder but a farmer. Look in verse 20: "And Noah began to be a farmer and planted a vineyard," and then he drank of the wine and was drunk, becoming uncovered in his tent. Oh, Noah, all these chapters talking about you walking with God, being blameless and righteous, righteous, righteous, righteous, righteous, moving with fear and building the ark and saving humanity—now you are a naked drunk. My, how the tables have turned. By the way, this is the first mention of winemaking in Scripture, but the process of winemaking had undoubtedly been developed before the flood.

Grapes were a staple and still are in the diet of eastern peoples. In fact, in the Old Testament, wine was considered a blessing from God. You can read about that in Psalm 104 and Deuteronomy 14:26. Furthermore, Leviticus 23:13 notes that wine was used in some of the sacrifices. However, Noah should have known how much wine would become intoxicating to him. So we cannot skip this. Let us talk about this for a moment. What is alcohol? Alcohol is a narcotic. It is not a stimulant, and it affects the cerebellum—that is the part of the brain that controls balance and cognitive function. Consumption of alcohol impairs this part of the brain, leading people to do foolish and reckless things. It causes them to speak angrily. It causes them to do things they regret. It busts up families. It destroys lives. It causes them to hit people. On the road, when they drive drunk, the Scripture warns in Proverbs 20:1: "Wine is a mocker. Strong drink is raging, and whoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Pretty clear there, is it not?

Noah became a farmer, but he ended up a failure. He plants the fruit of the vine, makes wine, but first he takes the fruit, and then the fruit takes him. Same thing with alcoholics. They take the drink, and then the drink eventually takes them. He begins to follow his desires rather than God's good and perfect design, and this sin leaves him drunk, and like Adam in the garden before him, it leaves him naked and ashamed.

I know different believers have differing opinions regarding the consumption of alcohol. Some people say, well, as long as it is just a glass of wine at dinner, and I do not get drunk, that is okay. I am going to let you have your personal convictions. Let me read to you what the Bible says. My opinion means nothing at all. Here is what the Bible says. The Bible condemns drunkenness. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul writes, "Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor drunkards, will inherit the kingdom of God." What does that mean? It means drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God. That is exactly what it means. Paul writes again, in Ephesians 5:18, "Do not get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit." And the Spirit is not distilled spirits—it is the Holy Spirit. Drunkenness in the Christian life does not go together. You cannot be controlled by a substance and be controlled by the Holy Spirit at the same time. It is absolutely impossible. No one but God should exercise such control over our behaviors, minds, and attitudes.

This part of the story reminds us that even seasoned saints can become comfortable and fall into sin, does it not? There is no more part to build. He did not really have an audience to preach to anymore, except his own family. But he still should have been leading this family. This happened not by accident, but by apathy. Many saints like Noah fall into sin because they become lax in their devotion, lazy in their endeavors. They fail to continue serving, worshiping, building, working, leading their families. When we leave the work of ministry to the younger generation, we are not able to do that. The older generations become absorbed in their own lives and are often overtaken by their own evil desires. So Noah is no longer prepared for the future. Instead, he enters a present state of spiritual stupor.

So, what does this teach us? It teaches us that we cannot triumph in the future by living off of past victories. Noah thought, "I am good. We are saved. I built the ark. Here we are." He had a new chance. "I am going to kick back and take it easy for a little while." He was trying to live on past victories. We must remain vigilant. We must keep watchful. We must take heed, lest we think we stand and we fall into sin. Noah is now 601 years old. He may have thought he had sin and temptation conquered, but he realized he was just as susceptible to sin in his old age as he was when he was a young man. What does that tell you? It tells you that he is as susceptible as ever. We must always be vigilant. Your enemy seeks to devour you. Keep your head on a swivel. Keep your eyes peeled. Keep your shields up. Keep swinging the sword of the word of God because you are not out of the fight until the Lord calls you home. You should remain vigilant in the word and fellowship and prayer and in the community of the church.

Now, I want us to notice some striking parallels between the first Adam and Noah, who functions as a new kind of Adam. First parallel is both emerged onto the earth that had been covered in water. Adam came from the primal waters of creation, and Noah from the flood that had washed the earth clean. To both, God delivered all things into their hands and gave them dominion over every creature. Each received a divine blessing—the creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Adam was placed in a garden and tasked with tending and keeping it. While Noah became a husbandman who planted a garden. But in both cases, the garden or its produce became the scene of their fall. Adam's sin involved the fruit of the tree, while Noah's downfall came through the fruit of the vine. And both stories result in nakedness and shame. You will never be proud of your sin. It will always leave you naked and ashamed. Adam ran and hid his nakedness. Noah lay uncovered in his tent. And both men's sins had consequences that extended beyond themselves. Adam, through the fall of mankind, and Noah's through the curse pronounced on Canaan, the son of Ham. Yet, even in the midst of judgment, in both instances, God gives a promise to Adam when he fails in the garden. He promises that he will send a seed who will crush the serpent's head. And to Noah, God reveals that blessing will come through his son named Shem. Adam had three sons: Cain, Abel, and Seth. Seth being the one through whom Noah descended. Likewise, Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And it will be through Shem that the promised Redeemer will come. So Noah is a mirror of Adam—of his role, his responsibility, his failure, and ultimately his hope. And both men ultimately point us to the ultimate Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will succeed where both Adam and Noah failed.

At this point in the story, I want to bring attention to the fact that Moses and the other biblical writers are careful not to whitewash the stories of the people of God. Have you ever been reading your Bible and you are like, whoa, that is really in there? I cannot believe they would record something like that. A.W. Pink writes, "It is human to err, but it is also human to conceal the blemishes of those we admire." So think about this. If the Bible were merely a book written by men for men, they would no doubt highlight every act of greatness. They would brag on their heroes, but they would also try to conceal their sins and failures. But they do not. They show us the raw and rugged truth of every character. The Bible condemns all men as sinners and shows us that we have a universal need for a Savior. Therefore, this is not a book written by men, but a book written by God, as holy men were superintended by the Holy Spirit.

Why does the Bible record the failings of God's people? Paul writes, 1 Corinthians 10:6-13, that they are written to warn us not to follow their poor example. They warn us also to take heed. If we think that we have got sin conquered, if we think we are standing, take heed, lest we fall into sin. The book of Genesis has vividly portrayed the progression of sin, has it not? Adam fails in the garden. Cain kills Abel. Humanity becomes so corrupt, God sends a flood. And now Noah, a man who finds grace in the eyes of the Lord, ends up drunk and exposed in shame. So sin is not going away. And it is not just a product of the environment. Here is a book that will perfect the earth once again, but sin is in the heart of Noah. Sin is not a product of environment. It is a product of an evil heart that needs to be transformed. But also, as sin increases, we see this hope of redemption increase as well. So when we read the book of Genesis, we are on the edge of our seat. Who is the promised redeemer?

Think especially of Moses' original audience. Who is this seed of the woman? Could it have been Cain? Oh, wait—Cain killed Abel. It could not have been him. Could it have been Seth? No, Seth fathered humans like himself. Could it have been Noah? He obeys God. He brings peace and rest to a cursed earth. Oh, but here Noah fails too. Who could it be? Character after character fails to be the promised one. The pattern continues. Could it be Abraham? No, Abraham is a liar. Could it be Jacob? No, he is a thief, a cheat, a swindler. Could it be Solomon? No, Solomon turns to idols. Every hero in the Bible is flawed. They are flawed. They are not the promised seed, but they point us to the one who is. Their imperfections point us to the need for a perfect Savior. So Moses and the other writers show us that there are no perfect people. Only forgiven people. There are no perfect people. Only forgiven people. And these biblical writers take care to note that all the heroes of faith are but sinners saved by grace. Adam listened to the serpent. Noah was a drunk. Moses was a murderer. David was an adulterer. What do these people have in common? They are saved by grace. And look at the family tree! It includes by grace—and they are received quite a number. One right there is Jesus’s family tree. How about that? And then Luke 3—Luke traces Jesus’s genealogy all the way back to Adam. This is powerful because the Bible reveals that the people Jesus came from are sinners in order to save sinners. Are you not glad? That is the mission of the Son of God: to seek and save the lost. He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The people Jesus came from are the ones he came for. I tested this out on the Wednesday night crowd. I will try it out on you too. But we like to say that heaven is for good people—right? If you are good enough, you make it there. And hell is where all the bad people go. This just is not true. It is not biblical. Heaven is not made for good people. Furthermore, hell is not occupied by people who are worse than those in heaven. Heaven is not full of good people. Heaven is full of forgiven people. Heaven is full of sinners who came to God for mercy and found it. Hell is full of people who rejected God’s mercy and grace. He came to seek and save sinners—like Noah and like you and me. That is the message.

Now let us look at the disrespect in verse 22—Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside! This is the first example in the Bible of a child failing to honor their parent! Children are commanded in the Law of Moses: *“Honor your father and your mother!”* That means we are to obey, respect, revere, and care for our parents—no matter how old we get! Some of you can say *“Amen!”* to that, but Ham provides an example of someone doing the exact opposite! Several problems led up to this event: First, Ham should not have entered his father’s tent uninvited! We are not told if he was concerned for his life or his well-being—maybe he was checking on him, maybe he was just curious: *“What has Dad been doing all this time? Where is he?”* Maybe he went in totally unaware—if that were the case, he would not have been at fault! But regardless, once he saw his father, he should have covered him up and closed the tent door! Instead, what he does next reveals his heart and his diabolical intentions—he runs and tells his brothers so that they might come and *gaze* on their disgraced father! This is not just a family drama—it is a mirror held up to every one of us! It shows the depth of human sinfulness, the hardness of the heart, and the desperate need for a perfect Savior who can redeem what we cannot fix ourselves!

Secondly, Noah never should have placed himself in such a vulnerable position, allowing himself to become intoxicated and therefore losing his dignity, his testimony, and ultimately his reputation. We need to be careful not to say or do things that would ruin our testimony as believers to those who are watching us. Our children—our children see everything, hear everything, and know everything. Believe me, they will follow in your footsteps. We should be careful to put the gospel on display in our lives. We should practice what we preach. We should confront sin in our own lives, and if we sin in front of our children, we should confess and repent in front of them. Amen. If we fight in front of our children, we should reconcile in front of them. We should put the gospel on display. It starts at home. However, Ham exposes his father’s sin. He dishonors his dignity and spreads the gossip to others.

Think about this. Perhaps Ham is so quick to point out his righteous father's shortcomings. Perhaps Ham disliked his father. Perhaps he resented his upright walk with the Lord. Maybe he too was tired of hearing about this righteous man. I am tired of his preaching. And so when he falls, he is filled with inexpressible joy. I have to let everyone know, Dad is not perfect. I have to let everyone know he has fallen. Maybe his father's sin made him feel better about his own. We all know people like that, do we not? They like to point out the failures of God's people. And say things like, well, if they are a Christian, I am better than they are. It makes them feel justified in their own sin. But the truth remains steadfast. Sinners will not be judged based on another's righteousness. They will be judged according to the righteous law of God. Not by our standards, but by His.

Ham's actions betrayed an evil heart full of bitterness and sin. He delighted in the sin of others. He felt great elation when someone missed the mark. This comes from a heart full of hatred. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:6, "Love does not delight in evil." It does not rejoice when someone sins. It does not take pleasure in their punishment. Proverbs 24:17-18 says, "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls. Do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles." But the Lord saw it and it displeased him. And he turned his wrath away. So when we rejoice when other people sin. When we compare ourselves to others and say, "Well, my sin is not as bad as his." When we seek justification by other people's failures. It betrays a heart of hatred. This is a strong warning against the gloating spirit of Ham, too often displayed in our own lives. We even find it popping its ugly head up in the church. We delight in another's fault. Instead, we are to grieve. We are to grieve over sin. And we are to pursue righteousness with humility and compassion. Remember, this is why we need a perfect Savior. Because none of us are without sin. And none of us can stand before God on our own merits.

So what happens when a believer sins? We confront them in love and in grace, and we seek their repentance and reconciliation. We do not go and expose it to everyone. Let us look at our third point: decency. In verse 23, "but Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nape of their necks. And they did not see the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness." So Noah’s two other sons, Shem and Japheth, respond with hushed dignity. They walk into the tent backward, so as not to see their father’s nakedness. And they lay a sheet over him, covering his shame with a blanket. This would prevent further disgrace.

Now notice what Shem and Japheth do not do. They do not condone their father's behavior. But neither do they run and tell others. Instead, they take immediate, respectful action to deal with sin, to rectify the situation, and to restore their father's honor and dignity. And to maintain unity in the family. They seek to restore their father. These two sons show us what love looks like in action. We do not rejoice in wrongdoing. We rejoice with the truth. So how do we deal with sin in others' lives? First, we deal with the sin in our own life—right? We take the speck out of our eye, or the beam out of our eye, so we can see to take the speck out of our brother's eye. Secondly, we respond in love. Remember, Coley read from 1 Peter 4:8. Love covers a multitude of sins. It does not expose the sins of others. It does not use other sins as an excuse for our own. But neither does it excuse it away or condone it, as if nothing happened. Rather, it confronts it in love and covers it in forgiveness. Confronts it in love. Covers it in forgiveness. Because only the blood of Jesus can do that. When we confess our sins and repent. He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all sin. Love does not condone sin. But love desires that sin be acknowledged, that it be repented. Sometimes we have to practice church discipline. Sometimes we have to confront other believers when they sin, because we love them. And following the pattern of Matthew 18, we go and we talk to them personally. If they do not listen to us, we take someone else. If they do not hear to people, then we take it before the church. Lest they become ashamed and disgraced through the reputation of the local body of Christ. But the goal of church discipline is always restoration. It is never shame and humiliation. It is forgiveness and reconciliation. It seeks to restore the sinning brother or sister in a spirit of meekness and gentleness.

Now let us look at this family prophecy—verses 24 through 27. Noah awoke from his wine, and he knew what his younger son had done to him. Let us pause right there. I have read textual commentaries from the best theologians that I know, and there is some disagreement about what happened. Some people say that Ham actually went in and committed an indecent act with his father. It does not say so in the text. However, what we do know is that he exposed his father's nakedness, putting him to an open shame. Regardless of what happened—maybe he just stood there and made fun of him, gawked at him, and said, "Hey, brothers, come look at this. Look how the preacher is now a drunk"—either way, he disrespected his family. Noah wakes up. Noah knows something has gone on. And now he begins to utter a prophecy. First, it is a curse. And then it is two blessings. If this is not case in point that God keeps and restores His people, I do not know what is. He goes from being a drunk to being a prophet. He wakes up, and he begins to prophesy. The Bible says a righteous man falls seven times but he gets up seven times. He did not remain a drunk. He sobered up. The Lord restores him. And let me tell you, believer—if you fall into sin, God will bring you to repentance one way or the other. You invite the chastening hand of God, and He will bring restoration. He will bring repentance. He loses none of His own. Even after Noah's failure.

This prophecy is threefold. Number one, the curse on Canaan. And we can note enslavement. In addition to this, he says, "Cursed be Canaan. A servant of servants shall he be to his brethren." So let us unpack this. The very first question that arises here is why this curse is placed on Canaan and not Ham. Was it not Ham who went into his father's tent to visit the curse upon his son? First, it is a biblical principle that the sins of the father are visited upon the children to the third and fourth generations. Exodus 20:5. We can call this the principle of generational consequence. I do not believe in generational curses. Everyone answers for their own sins. Everyone is responsible for their own life. And we will stand before God. But it is also true that children are often shaped by the influence of their parents, for good or for evil. No doubt Canaan learned a great deal of wickedness from his father Ham. And many times we see this still today. The sins of the parents are reflected in the lives of the children. So if a child grows up in a home of fighting and profanity and drunkenness and indecent behavior, guess what that child is going to grow up and do most likely. He thinks that is normal—that is the only life he has ever known. And he will create another broken home. The good news of the gospel is that God redeems broken families, broken hearts, and broken homes. And he can write a new story for you. He redeems.

Secondly, it is true that children often suffer for the misdeeds of their parents. We do not sin in a vacuum. Our behavior affects everyone, especially our children. If I sin, guess what. My sin affects my wife and my children. Because I am the leader of my home. If I sin, my sin affects this church, as the elder of this church. We do not sin in a vacuum. But that is the lesson about sin. The pages and pages of sin. We use Torah. We use faith. Our family. And religion, which is our creation. We use money. Then we use interest. We have been falling short of prosperity. No shame. No immorality. And no sin. Some theologians during that day, during the antebellum era, wrongly claimed that the curse on Canaan meant that Africans were cursed. And they said that is the reason why we can own slaves. Let me tell you, that is a lie straight out of the pit of hell. That is not what this means at all. The children of Canaan are not just Africans, but they are the people of the Near East, such as the Egyptians, such as the Palestinians, such as people who settled in Libya and Sudan. And many of Ham's descendants, like Nimrod, went on to build mighty empires, including Assyria and Babylon and Egypt. This is not talking about African slavery. This is talking about the major enemies of God's people throughout the pages of Scripture. And these nations that descend from the city of Canaan are the people of the Near East. And they are the people of the Middle East. The sons of Ham are eventually subjugated by the descendants of Noah's other son, Shem. For example, the Canaanite tribe of the Gibeonites. They are made to serve under Joshua. Later, King Solomon's reign, the Canaanite groups were subjected to forced labor and taxation. The Egyptians are judged by God. He lets his people go. And God ultimately uses the Persians to destroy the Canaanites. And they are known as the Canaanites. Where do we encounter the Canaanites in Scripture? The book of Joshua and the book of Judges, right? They are the ones who are living in the promised land. And the Israelites are to go and drive them out. So, picture yourself in their sandals. You are hearing Moses read this for the first time. You are about to go inherit the promised land. You need justification for driving these wicked Canaanites out. And this is it. They are going to be your slaves. This does not mean that you are going to be their slaves. You are going to be their household slaves. This means you are going to subjugate them. You are going to conquer them. You are going to rule over them. In fact, their mandate was to drive them out.

Before we think, God, this is unfair. No, God gave them over 400 years to repent while Israel was slaves in Egypt. They failed to. Instead, you know what they did? They practiced child sacrifice. They burned babies in the fire. They worshipped idols such as Molech. They were idolatrous. They were violent. They were wicked people. So, God calls Israel to drive the Canaanites out of their land. Do not marry their sons or daughters. Do not live with them. Do not have business deals with them. Totally drive them out. Why? Because if you let them live in your land, you will learn their practices and they will bring you into idolatry too. Guess what happens? They fail to drive them out. Guess what happens? They fall into idolatry and wickedness. And hundreds of years later, they go into captivity again, this time by the Babylonians. That is what happens when we fail to drive out sin in our lives. That is what happens when we only go halfway in obedience. That is what happens when we play around and flirt around with sin. Canaan is to be subjugated, made a servant of servants to his brethren. But this is also a prophecy about the spiritual war. God is declaring war on the seed of the serpent. God is not just cursing the serpent. He is not just cursing the people or a tribe. He is continuing his plan to crush the serpent's head through the seed of the woman, through the line of Shem, Noah's other son. Because Noah's son, Shem, will have Abraham a few generations later. And it is through Abraham that Israel will come. And it is through Israel that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, will come. We see the blessing upon Shem. And you can write enrichment upon this. And he says, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant." This next prophecy is for the Shemites, the Semitic people from whom come the Hebrews.

Notice he says, "Blessed be the Lord God of Shem." So the blessing is not just on Shem because of Shem, but Shem is blessed because of the Lord. Shem is blessed because of his relationship with God. His greatness does not come from within. It comes from God. And he will give birth to the messianic deliverer. We have seen this line of hope already take shape, have we not? Cain set aside. The promise comes through Seth. Ham and Canaan are set aside. The blessing comes through Shem, through Abraham, through David, through Mary, from whom comes the Lord Jesus Christ. And this blessing is a prophecy for Shem. And it is a prophecy filled in the New Testament by the true and better Son, who brings not just blessing to one nation, but to all the nations upon the earth. The blessings of Shem become a universal blessing upon all who worship God and place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our third and final point, this blessing upon Japheth, and you can write beside of it, enlargement. "May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant." And he will give birth to a son, and be his servant. We will talk more about this next week. The descendants of Japheth, they are the people who occupy Europe and northern Asia. Two things to note about Japheth here is that God will enlarge his territory. Now, his name literally means to enlarge, to make great. So God is going to give him extensive land and extensive wealth. Secondly, he is going to dwell in the tents of Shem. What does that mean? That means he is going to dwell in the tents of Shem. This has been fulfilled, has it not? Japheth is the father of many of the largest and strongest nations on the earth, ours included. The Europeans, the Russians, the Americans, they all descend from Japheth. They become great. They eventually conquer the empires of Ham. But God has also blessed this nation, has he not? How has God used this nation? Think of how many churches are built, have been built in this nation. Think of how many missionaries have been sent out from Japheth to the other most parts of the earth. But our greatness is not because of us. We are inheriting the spiritual benefits and blessings of Israel. And God continues his promise to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. And we, by faith, we are grafted into the land of Israel. And we are grafted into Israel. And we, by faith, we are grafted into the root of Israel. We are made spiritual Israel. We are made the true Israel of God. It is all those who place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So we see here in Japheth a universal plan of redemption. Through Shem, all the nations on the earth will be blessed. And I am glad that we are participants of that blessing. I am glad that the gospel did not just stop with the Jews. I am glad it comes to us as well.

Let us finish our last two verses. "And Noah lived after the flood 350 years. So all the days of Noah were 950 years and he died." So at last we come to the end of a great life. A life of a man who lived by faith in God. A man who walked with God as a righteous man. A man who preached righteousness. A man who was moved with godly fear. A man who built the ark. A man who saved humanity. A man who stands as the new head of the human race. And he lives to be 950 years old. But his story ends kind of strange, does it not? It ends on a bizarre note. And why on earth does God record these? Well, it is written for our instruction so that we, through the patience and encouragement of the scriptures, might have hope. The latter years of Noah's life are both an encouragement and a warning from God. And it is a warning. It encourages us to be faithful. It encourages us to keep striving, to keep being obedient, to keep leading our families. It also is a warning that even great men and women of God who have lived for him for years can fall into sin. But nevertheless, God restores Noah and he is found in the hall of fame of faith in Hebrews chapter 11. And like all of us, his life is filled with mountaintops of obedience and then valleys of failure. But one thing is constant: God never left Noah. And we have every reason to believe that Noah finished well. Like Moses and David, like Noah, we may have our times of ups and downs. We may have times where we are doing well and then we have times when we are overtaken by sin. What do we do? We get ourselves up. We dust ourselves off. We repent of our sin. We confess it before God. And we can finish our race well.

So the question for us is how will we finish our race? Noah had a long race, did he not? Nine hundred and fifty years. But when the Lord calls us home, when we leave this earth, will you have finished your race well? Have you fixed your eyes upon Jesus? Will you have striven for the prize set before you? Because only when we finish our race well will we truly finish it well. And when we are living well now, we will be ready to die well then. Only when we are living for Christ now will dying and leaving this life be gain for us. Only when our lives are lived for the glory of God and when our life and identity are found in Christ, only when we are living for God today, can we be sure that we will finish well in eternity. So I want to ask you, are you living for God now? Are you living for God now? And like Noah's life, our lives are marked by new beginnings. And as we study these great characters in scripture, our eyes remain fixed on the one who was to come. The one who died as Noah did, but did not remain dead. The one who rose again on the third day. We fix our eyes on the promised seed to come. We fix our eyes on the one who fulfills all of these types in scripture. Jesus, the greater than Noah, who saves us from the flood of God's wrath, who is the true Ark of safety, who never sinned or failed, and who alone brings us true rest and comfort and will make all things new. Praise God for Jesus, the greater Noah.

So I want to ask you this morning, as they come and give us a hymn of invitation, how will you finish your life on this earth? We do not know much about the rest of Noah's life—those 350 years are not really recorded for us. But we do know that he ends up in the hall of fame of faith. Question is, how will you end? Will you leave behind a legacy that loves Christ? Are you training your family to love the Lord and to cling to him? Is heaven going to be your home? Is heaven going to be your home? Is heaven going to be your home?