When we teach the story of Noah and the ark to our children,
most of the emphasis lies in the animals coming two-by-two and Noah and his
family’s safe trip to dry land. These stories all end with the beautiful
rainbow that indicates the reminder that “God will never flood the earth again.”
Though these retellings of the story highlight most of the important elements,
at least one detail tends to be overlooked—the total annihilation of mankind
and all of the world’s creatures.
While I cannot blame parents and Sunday school teachers for
glossing over this less attractive element of the account, we must not overlook
what it has to say to us about God. Therefore, today we are going to dive deep
into the darkest recesses of this powerful account in order to appreciate the
holiness of God, and afterward check to be sure that we have a seat on the ark
that He has provided us. To this end, we
will observe four actions God takes in Genesis 7.
1. ACTION #1: God Gives Final Instructions
-7:1-5
After the ark was complete, “the Lord said to Noah ‘Enter
the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous
before Me in this time,…” (7:1). This command matches what will eventually come
in 8:16 when God will command Noah out of the ark. Noah’s family enjoyed
exclusive entrance into the ark, safe passage while on the ark, and was
permitted to exit the ark on dry land because of Noah’s response to God’s
grace, rendering him “righteous” before God in his time—a time described
elsewhere as desperately wicked and only evil continually.
However, Noah and his family are not the only ones on this
large vessel. As God continues he says, “You shall take with you of every clean
animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean
two, a male and his female, also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and
female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth,…” (7:2-3). Beyond
bringing two of every animal kind on the ark, Noah is commanded to bring with
him seven, or seven pairs, of “clean” and “unclean” animals. Both the verbiage
here-- “seven”-- and the designations provided --“male and female”-- seem to
suggest that God intended to bring “a full complement, adequately representing
the whole created order that was fit to reproduce on the earth following the
flood” (Matthews). In other words, the use of “seven” here may be more figurative
than literal, indicating, in conjunction with what has already been said
earlier, that God wanted to bring in all of the animals in pairs—male and
female.
Perhaps seven is used because of the timing that is
indicated in verse 4—“for after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth
forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every
living thing that I have made” (7:4). The flood was imminent and, for Noah and
his family, it was time for final preparations.
Seven (the number of days before the rain would start) and
forty (the number of rainy days) are important numbers in the Hebrews Bible.
For instance, it took seven days to create the universe. Now, in seven short
days, God would destroy the earth and everything in it with a cataclysmic
flood. “Forty” is how old Isaac and Esau were when they married, how long Moses
was on the mountain when he received the law from God, how long Israel’s spies
inspected the land of Canaan, and how many years God people spent in wilderness
captivity. At least in these examples, 7
represents order, life, etc. while 40 is associated with God’s message either
in word or action and this is not always an easy message to hear.
In this particular situation the message was judgment and
the medium through which this message would come was a flood. God takes
personal responsibility for dishing out this wrath saying, “I will blot out
from the face of the land every living thing that I have made,…” (7:4b). He had
created the world and now, after finding it unsatisfactory, He decides to
destroy it.
God chooses to send the rain as His method of judgment.
Often rain is associated with either life or death. In Gen. 19:24 God rained
down fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. In Exodus 9:18, 33-34, He rained down hail
fire after Pharaoh challenged God’s authority. However, later in the wilderness
manna rained down from heaven to sustain the people of God. It would seems as
though the effect the rain of God has on a person depends on whether or not
that person is a part of the family of God. For the children of God, rain
brings life and promise; for those outside the family, rain brings judgment and
destruction.
In the midst of these instructions, Noah, as already
iterated at the end of chapter 6, remained obedient—“Noah did according to all
that the Lord had commanded him,…” (7:5). With plans like these, I cannot blame
him!
2. ACTION #2: God Sends the Rain-7:6-12
Next, God sends the rain. The Bible says in verses 6 and
10-11a “Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon
the earth…It came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came
upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month,
on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day…” Noah’s age not only
serves to highlight how long he had graced the planet with his presence, it
also helps the reader understand how long his saga lasted. He is six hundred
years at the inception of the flood (when the rain started) and six hundred and
one at its completion (when the earth was dry) (see 7:6, 11; 8:14).
Following Noah’s example of obedience “…his sons and his
wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the
flood. Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and everything
that creeps on the ground, there went into the ark to Noah by twos, male and
female, as God had commanded Noah…” (7:7-8).
It is here that the rain begins to pour and the waters begin
to rise up out of the earth—“all the fountains of the great deep burst open,
and the floodgates of the sky were opened. The rain fell upon the earth for
forty days and forty nights…” (7:11b-12). Coming from the ground and falling
from the sky, the earth is held in tension in between and the floods prove
overwhelming.
According to Answers in Genesis, “Noah’s Flood was much more
destructive than any 40-day rainstorm ever could be. Scripture says that the
“fountains of the great deep” broke open. In other words, earthquakes,
volcanoes, and geysers of molten lava and scalding water were squeezed out of
the earth’s crust in a violent, explosive upheaval. These fountains were not
stopped until 150 days into the Flood—so the earth was literally churning
underneath the waters for about five months!”
Such an event had never before nor will ever again be
witnessed on the earth.
3. ACTION #3: God Closes the Door-7:13-16
On this fateful day, as everyone looked to the sky and
around them in horror as the water began to pool, “Noah and Shem and Ham and
Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with
them entered [safely onto] the ark” (7:13). God’s grace in the Noah’s family’s
life secured their salvation from the storm.
Not only was Noah’s family’s salvation secured on this
vessel, but “They and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after
their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind,
and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds” (7:14) was saved.
These were there because of God’s provision—“so they went
into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life.
Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded
him;…” (7:15). The command of God called down judgment upon the world, had
called Noah and his family, and summoned two of all the animals unto salvation.
His Word had spoken the world into existence, and this same word would destroy
it. His Word had created mankind and all of the animals; now it would save
mankind and the animal kingdom from extinction. God is the grand mover and
shaker of His story.
Not only does God’s word call Noah to his work and the
animals his way, it closes the door of the ark—sealing the fate of all those in
the world and those on this exclusive vessel—“and the Lord closed it behind
him” (7:16).
I cannot help but marvel at the concrete metaphor this door
is for salvation. For those outside of the ark, what follows is destruction.
For those inside the ark, what follows is salvation. What made the difference?
Passage through this lone door in the side of this big boat. Though God would
have been totally justified to destroy everything and everyone, His perfect
will decides to remake the world using some of what was there. However, all
that would be used would have to pass through this fateful wooden entrance.
4. ACTION #4: God Floods the Earth-7:17-24
The final act that God is said to have taken in this passage
involves flooding the earth. The totality of the flood is described by means of
several phrases that begin with either “the flood came” (7:17) or “the water
prevailed” (18-19, 24). First, the water was so immense that it lifted the
450ft long ark—“then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the
water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth” (7:17).
This must have been some spectacle to see the ark budge and hear the creaking of
its rafters as it shifted on its foundation.
The account continues by saying “The water prevailed and increased
greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water” (7:18).
After creaking and shifting, eventually the water became so great that the ark
scooted away from its resting place and began to float away –guided by the
prevailing waters that were taking over the earth.
However, the rain continued to come down and the floods
continued to go up—so far up that even the mountains were hidden beneath the
watery depths—“The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all
the high mountains everywhere under the heaves were covered. The water
prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered” (7:19). In
other words, the water rose to a level 22.5 feet above the tallest mountain! God
did not just cover the earth, He completely flooded the earth—so much so that
no land could even be perceived beneath the surface.
This flooding continued for one hundred and fifty days—“The
water prevailed upon the earth one
hundred and fifty days” (7:24). The magnitude
of the waters poured out and raised up is met with a long duration. Most floods
last hours or days; this lasted for the better part of a year!
The way that this flood is described by Moses in this
account convinces the reader that the flood was total/complete. The planet, at
least for a time, was a watery sphere floating in the solar system with a lone
ark and single family bobbing on the surface of the waters. The earth had come
full circle in a short amount of time. It began as watery chaos in Genesis 1
and was now a watery chaos in Genesis 7.
Running parallel to the phrases describing the completeness
of the flood are phrases indicating the completeness of God’s judgment. These
are identified by the repetition of words like “all,” “perished,” and “death.”
The first of these is found in 7:21—“All flesh that moved on the earth
perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon
the earth, and all mankind…” (7:21). As
if “all flesh” was not enough to indicate the extent of God’s judgment, Moses
lists all of the different kinds of animals he can think of to accentuate the
point being made.
If this did not suffice, he continues in verse 22 by saying,
“of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the
spirit of life, died…” (7:22). Just into what had God breathed life? Every
living thing (Gen. 1:30), and, in a special way, mankind (Gen. 2:7).
Gen. 1:30-“and to every beast of the earth and to every
bird of the sky and to everything that moves
on the earth which has life, I
have given every green plant for food"; and it was so.”
Gen. 2:7-“Then the LORD God formed man of dust from
the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living being.”
In a word, all life perished on the earth.
Making good on his promise in Genesis 6:7 (“I will blot out
man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to
creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have
made them.”) God “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” (7:23). However, making good on his promise to Noah
6:18 (“But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter
the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.”), “only
Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark” (7:23).
So What?
What are we to glean from this passage? God floods the
earth? Perhaps the message of this is no
more complicated than this—God is a holy
God and this makes His wrath against wickedness necessary. God not only deals
with wickedness, He does so completely. The biggest illustration of God’s
matchless holiness and corresponding power to deal with sin is witnessed in
this global flood that totally blotted out the earth and every living thing and
person in it.
Such a message is important in our world today that tries to
dilute morality and relativize absolutes. God’s holiness is a radical concept
in a world in which anything goes and everyone’s truth is considered equal. Though
an all-powerful holy God may seem queer to a postmodern world, the very God people
deny today is the One who will one day deal soundly with our present world of
sin and death. When He does, He will do
so completely.
This makes one’s relationship to the ark of the utmost
importance. Those on it will be saved from the coming judgment. Those not on
the ark—who deny God’s existence and scoff at His holiness---will perish. Who
is the ark? His name is Jesus. He is both the salvation God has provided from
God’s justified wrath and the door through which salvation is accessed.
The door of salvation works the same way today as it did for
Noah and his family. Jesus calls Himself the “door” in John 10:9.
John 10:9-"I am the door; if anyone enters
through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Have you passed through its frame?
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