Scripture
Genesis 8:3 ~ 14
[2] Also the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained;
[3] and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased.
[4] In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.
[5] The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.
[6] Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made;
[7] and he sent out a raven, and it flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth.
[8] Then he sent out a dove from him, to see if the water was abated from the face of the land;
[9] but the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, so she returned to him into the ark, for the water was on the surface of all the earth. Then he put out his hand and took her, and brought her into the ark to himself.
[10] So he waited yet another seven days; and again he sent out the dove from the ark.
[11] The dove came to him toward evening, and behold, in her beak was a freshly picked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was abated from the earth.
[12] Then he waited yet another seven days, and sent out the dove; but she did not return to him again.
[13] Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is 115th Lecture on Genesis.
Genesis 8:3~14 explains how the water decreased and the surface of the earth dried up.The Great Flood began in the 600th year of Noah’s life, in the 2nd month, on the 17th day of the month.’Noah entered the ark a week before, which was the 10th day of the 2nd month. The rain fell upon the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and the water prevailed upon the earth for 150 days.
At the end of these 150 days, from the 17th day of the 7th month, the water began to decrease.The next year, on the 1st day of the 1st month, all the water receded and the land was dried up.And yet, Noah didn’t come out of the ark until the 27th day of the 2nd month.
Now, how long did Noah stay inside the ark?The day Noah entered the ark was on the 10th of the 2nd month in the 600th year of his life, which was a week before the Flood began.And he came out of the ark on the 27th day of the 2nd month in the 601st year.Therefore, Noah and others stayed inside the ark exactly for 1 year and 17 days.
Haven’t you noticed any interesting number which is related with Noah’s Flood?The number ’17’ appears on the important days. The flood began on the 17th of the 2nd month, and the water decreased on the 17th day of the 7th month. And Noah and others stayed inside the ark for a year and 17 days.
Why did God the Father do important works on those days that had something to do with this ’17’?It is because the number ’17’ has very special spiritual meaning. Spiritually, ’17’ has the meaning of ‘God the Father Himself personally does His work according to His will and providence.’
The Flood of Noah took place precisely when it was the time in the providence of God the Father. And so, God made the flood begin and the water decrease on the days which had number 17 in them.
As God the Father explained this, I could see that the number ’17’ has so much to do with me and this church as well. The day when I knelt down before God by the lead of my sister was April 17, 1974. The president of Manmin Prayer Center and I were married on the 17th day of January.
After I started this church in 1982, God showed us the vision of the Grand Sanctuary, and there were 17 members whose spiritual eyes opened by God. In June 17, 1995, ‘the Sound of Light Chorus’ of this church won the grand prize in the 14th Gospel Song Competition. Back then, the chorus had 3 members, and Pastor Soojin Lee was one of them.
From 1999, which was the 17th year of this church, we faced a turning point. We could understand the providence of God all the more clearly who leads this church and works for this church. That is, as the 3 trials that began from 1998 ended, we could proclaim the Five-Fold Gospel to the whole world. Through the mega-size overseas crusades which started from 2000, a whole new level of God’s power, which was different from the previous, began to be manifested. In September 1, 2005, GCN started to broadcast its first signal in the Empire State building in NY. And its broadcasting channel number was 17.
As you can see, the works of this church and the number 17 are very closely related.It is the another evidence that this church is in the middle of God the Father’s providence, and that God Himself personally governs and leads this church.
Dear brothers and sisters.
Genesis 8:3 says, “and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased.”God can make the water recede or decrease all at once. But He made the water receded gradually for 150 days.
What is the reason God did like this?It is to keep and follow the orders and rules that He Himself established. As the flood began, the original light of God was withdrawn, and the fleshly attributes of the earth were revealed. When the earth was surrounded with the original light, the spiritual flow and law was applied to the earth in part, but after the flood, the fleshly orders and rules were applied according to the flow of flesh. And so, God began to work following the orders and rules of the flesh from then on.
But then, what does keeping the orders and rules of the flesh have to do to with making the water recede gradually?The moment Noah and his family came out of the ark, the new human cultivation began on the earth. And proper environment should be prepared for men to live on the earth.
Even if the water recedes from the earth which was once entirely covered with the water, it doesn’t make a good living environment. Think about the flooded houses because of the heavy rainfall, typhoons, or tsunamis. Even if the water is gone from the flooded houses, men cannot live in those houses immediately afterward.
Likewise, it was not all ready when the water receded from the earth after the flood; preparations were necessary to make it so people could live there. If God had made the water disappear all at once, Noah and his family would have come out to the world which was not ready. This was not what God did; He renewed this earth according to the time when Noah and his family were to come out of the ark.
Until the living environment of the earth was naturally ready for the people and animals and birds and cattle to survive, God made the water recede gradually. When God the Father created the heavens and the earth, He didn’t create them all at once, did He?He did it gradually step by step for 6 days.
You must understand that you cannot completely ignore the order and law of the flesh as long as you live in the body of flesh in the fleshly space.When God heals diseases, He works following the order of a body.
For example, a member’s appendix burst and she was in great pain of peritonitis, but she was healed by faith. God showed the process of her healing in a vision.The dirty things which came out as her appendix burst didn’t disappear instantly. God arranged for them to be absorbed into the intestine first, and then to be discharged out of her body.
It was the same with Senior Deaconess Eun-Deuk Kim who was healed of third degree burns almost all over her body. God the Father has the power to make it whole and normal in an instant. But I saw God heal her gradually step by step at regular hourly intervals. He began making blood vessels and muscle tissues in her body, and generated new skin. As I was watching those processes, I thought to myself, “A fetus would grow up like this.”New flesh was generated from her skin, and I could see clearly the blood vessel in it.This process of healing took place much quicker than the normal healing in the fleshly world.
Of course, it is impossible for degree 3 burn skin to recover normally. However, even this impossible thing is possible by the power of God and the healing takes place much faster even though it is following the laws of the flesh. And yet, God the Father doesn’t skip but take all the steps according to the law and order of this fleshly space.
It is the same when God gives financial blessing to His beloved children. According to the basic law of ‘You reap as you sow,’ God blesses men according to their faith. God blesses some people to reap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over, and others to reap 30, 60, and 100 times more. Therefore, to reap without sowing is like mocking God.
No one is an exception from this law, ‘You reap as you sow.’ You must plant the seed of blessing and prepare your vessel to receive God-given blessing. Only when you receive blessing through this process, can you feel fleshly satisfaction as well as true spiritual happiness.
Therefore, if it is an unmerited blessing, you should know it can be a source of calamity as well. You may enjoy fleshly satisfaction, but your soul can be devastated.As you don’t become poor in spirit, you will lose your panting for grace.
But those who are prosperous in everything as their spirit and soul prosper; they are safe. No matter how abundant the blessing they receive, their hearts will not be toward the world, but their hearts for God’s kingdom will grow strong.
Dear brothers and sisters, I said God the Father Himself keeps the creation order that He established. He works according to the justice without ignoring the law and order of the flesh. But, when it is in accordance with the spiritual justice, He can work much faster than the speed allowed in the fleshly space.He doesn’t skip any processes, though. He takes all the steps but the speed is faster.
The works of faith on this earth must be always in accordance with the justice both in a spiritual way and in a fleshly way. The deeper you come into spirit, the things you can comprehend becomes more refined and detailed. I pray in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, that you may truly receive God-given blessings by bearing this fact in your mind and applying it to your lives.
