05.17.2026. Sunday Sermon by Pastor Jeungbok Lee
Text: Genesis 7:17–8:5
Title: God Remembers His Covenant People
Genesis 7:17–8:5
The flood continued for forty days on the earth. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. The waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits (about 20 feet / 6 meters) deep. And all flesh died that moved on the earth—birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.
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. And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.
8:1 — (But) God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of the 150 days the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
Introduction.
We often think this way: “Has God forgotten me?” Even though we pray, it seems as though there is no answer. Circumstances become more difficult, our health worsens, and it feels as if God is silent. Especially when the season of suffering becomes long, we feel as though God does not remember us.
Today’s passage shows us a man who was in exactly such a situation. That man was Noah. After the flood began, rain poured down for forty days, and the waters covered the earth for 150 days. The whole world was submerged. All life disappeared.
Noah was inside the narrow and confined ark. Outside the ark was a world of death, and inside the ark was a place of isolation. After God commanded Noah to enter the ark and shut its door, God spoke no word for a long time.
But in Genesis 8:1, a remarkable turning point occurs: “But God remembered Noah.” God always remembers His covenant people.
1. The flood is God’s judgment. (Genesis 7:17–24)
First, we must make this clear. The flood was not merely a natural disaster. It was “God’s judgment.” There are repeated expressions that show the flood was indeed God’s judgment.
1.1) The expressions “the waters increased,” “prevailed,” and “increased greatly” are connected to Genesis 6:5: “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” In other words, the connected expressions “sin filled the earth” and “waters filled the earth” show that the flood judgment came because human sin had filled the world.
1.2) The expression “blotted out” in Genesis 7:23 is connected to Genesis 6:7: “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens.” This shows that the flood was not a natural phenomenon, but that God intentionally sent the flood to cleanse the earth of its filthy wickedness.
1.3) Genesis 7:22 says, “Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.” This connects with Genesis 2:7: “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” This reveals that God is the One who gives life and also takes it away. He is the sovereign Lord over life.
Therefore, the Bible does not merely say that people drowned in the flood. Instead, it uses the passive expression “they died,” meaning that they were put to death.
2. However, Genesis 8 shows us not a God of wrath, but a gracious God who remembers His covenant.
Genesis 8:1
“But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.”
2.1) When we now move into chapter 8, the word “But” changes the entire flow of the story. Even though some Korean translations may not include it explicitly, many translations clearly do.
First, this “But” changes the flow from the judgment of the flood to the grace of salvation that brings life again. Second, it changes the flood of death by causing the wind to blow, turning the earth once again into a place where living creatures may dwell. Finally, the greatest change is that despair is transformed into hope.
2.2) The word “remember” when used of God does not simply mean “to think of someone.” “Remember” is a covenantal word. It means that God acts according to His covenant.
In Genesis 6:18, God had already said to Noah, “I will establish my covenant with you.” Now God remembers Noah according to that covenant.
To summarize again, when the Bible says that God remembered Noah, it means that God began to act in order to fulfill His covenant and save Noah.
3. The principle by which God accomplishes salvation is the covenant. Throughout the entire Bible, we see that this principle always operates in the same way.
3.1) In the Exodus event, when the people of Israel were suffering, God remembered His covenant and saved them.
Exodus 2:24–25
“And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.”
After this passage, the LORD God called Moses at Mount Horeb and gave him the mission of delivering Israel. The important point is that the direct reason God saved Israel was not merely because of their suffering, but because He remembered the covenant He had established with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
3.2) Before Israel went out to battle against their enemies, they blew trumpets as an appeal that God would remember His covenant and grant them salvation from their enemies.
Numbers 10:9
“And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.”
3.3) God also remembered Rachel, who could not bear children, and gave her Joseph. God gave joy to Jacob’s beloved wife by giving her a child according to His covenant.
4. God remembered Noah and caused a wind to blow over the earth. The word for “wind” here in Hebrew is “Ruach.” Ruach can be translated as “wind” or “Spirit.” Whenever Ruach appears in Scripture, important events are taking place.
4.1) Let us look at the work of God’s Spirit by comparing Genesis 1 and Genesis 8.
Genesis 1:2
“And the Spirit (Ruach) of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
When God first created the world, the earth was filled with water. It must have looked much like the world during Noah’s flood.
God sent the Ruach so that the waters receded and dry land appeared, allowing living creatures to dwell upon it.
Likewise, in the flood-covered world, God remembered Noah and “caused the Ruach to blow over the earth.” As a result, the waters receded, the land appeared, and the earth became dry so that living creatures could live there again.
These similarities make it clear that God’s purpose was not merely to spare Noah’s life by grace. Rather, God intended Noah to become the forefather through whom life would multiply again in the renewed world. God accomplished this important work through His Spirit.
However, in ancient flood myths, the drying of the earth was explained by the sun becoming intensely hot. In some cases, the sun itself was deified or described as a tool of the gods that dried the land. People likely understood the bright and hot weather following heavy rain in that way.
4.2) When Moses and the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the miracle of dividing the sea and drying the land was also accomplished through the Ruach.
Exodus 14:21
“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”
And the Egyptian soldiers who pursued Israel outside the covenant all drowned in the waters.
4.3) In the New Testament, another important work of the Ruach took place when “Jesus was baptized, and immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him” (Matthew 3:16).
Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, began His public ministry for the new covenant. Through the ministry of Jesus, the light of life shone into the world of death.
4.4) The Ruach also came upon the believers of the early church, and through this the proclamation of Jesus Christ began in power.
Acts 2:2
“And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”
The believers of the early church boldly proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ because they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Ruach).
In this way, the Holy Spirit has been directly at work both in God’s work of creation and in His work of salvation.
Especially today, the filling of the Holy Spirit is the very thing most needed for the renewal and revival of our church. In the name of the Lord, I pray that the mighty work of the Holy Spirit may come upon our church.
5. Then what covenant do we Christians possess, and what kind of life should we live?
5.1) The covenant Christians possess is the new covenant of salvation that God established with us in Christ.
“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20).
This covenant begins with the words: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to shed His blood and die on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for sinners. Then, three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead in order to declare righteous those who believe in Him.
Through this death on the cross and resurrection, whoever believes in Christ is justified and reconciled to God.
Even more amazing is that those who are in this covenant are given the right to become children of God. God also gives the Holy Spirit to always be with His children.
This is the covenant that we Christians possess.
5.2) These are the characteristics of a person who possesses the new covenant.
Such a person never forgets that he was a sinner but has been forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. He glorifies God through thanksgiving and devotion. In all things he depends only on God and does not cease praying to Him. Above all, he strives earnestly to live according to the Word of God.
God always remembers those of us who possess the covenant. Therefore, we do not have to despair despite all the hardships and sufferings we face in this world. Rather, even in tribulation, we can walk forward with hope and comfort.
Even when the whole world perished under the judgment of the flood, Noah and his family were saved. Israel was delivered from Egypt, the land of slavery and death. Why? Because God remembered His covenant people.
Hallelujah! We Christians today possess a covenant that is better and more complete than the covenant possessed by God’s people in the Old Testament.
5.3) Yet there are also Christians who live forgetting the covenant. Sadly, many believers attending modern churches live without remembering this new covenant.
The problem with those who forget the covenant is that they may become discouraged by the sufferings that come upon them. Since they do not know the comfort that the covenant gives, they may live in anxiety.
If any among us are feeling anxiety or despair because of the hardships of life you are currently facing, I encourage you once again to meditate upon the contents of the new covenant given through Jesus Christ and come before God.
6. Conclusion.
For 150 days, Noah lived through a time when it appeared that nothing was happening. But God had not forgotten Noah. God was silent, but He had not forgotten Noah, with whom He had made a covenant.
At the appointed time, God sent the wind (Ruach), caused the waters to recede, and revealed the dry land.
This is the truth that believers must hold onto today: “God surely remembers and saves His covenant people.” And even more importantly: “The reason God remembers me is not because of my own worthiness, but because of the covenant.”
Therefore, we must hold on not to our emotions, nor to our circumstances, but to the covenant.
We are those who have entered into the new covenant through the blood of Christ. Those who are in the new covenant are remembered by God. As people who belong to the covenant, we can boldly come before God in every situation we face. We can boldly ask for God’s protection, the restoration of our health, and victory over our enemies. Therefore, our hearts are filled with peace and joy because we are confident that God remembers us.
Through today’s message, I encourage all of you to examine how much you have meditated upon and remembered the new covenant established through Jesus Christ.
Let us pray. (End)