Verse 1. “Then 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.’”
It’s important to really look at the words we often use, but
many times don’t fully
understand. We have already touched upon the concept of what it means to be
“righteous” in Chapter Six, but it’s so important that we'll look
at the word, the concept
again. In Jeremiah 33:16, we find that “The Lord (IS)
our righteousness.” We
compare ourselves to each other and can think that seemingly "good" people are somehow “righteous,” but
our lives must be based in the Lord, or we really have no ground for righteousness at
all.
We cannot duplicate in our own lives precisely what Noah did that caused him
to be “righteous,” because God will not flood the whole earth again (Genesis
9:11), and therefore no need exists for us to build something like an “ark.” But
in a way we can be like Noah because what he really did was TRUST in the Word of
the Lord. The Apostle Peter mentioned Noah in 1 Peter 3:20-22, comparing
“baptism,” immersion in water as a public declaration of faith, to Noah’s entry
into the ark. Peter defined “baptism” as “the answer of a good conscience toward
God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” To be “righteous” is to believe
in and respond to the risen Lord. Noah did respond, and at the moment of
this verse he would "enter the ark" and take his "household" with him, just as God said.
Verses 2-3. “also of the birds of the sky, by sevens,
male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 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;”
It has been customary to view the entry of the “law” of God into this world
as an event that occurred through Moses, leader of Israel; something that
happened millennia in the future from the time of these verses in Genesis. In the
Book of Leviticus, Chapter 11, the concept of a “clean animal” was introduced –
but was it for the first time? In Leviticus 11, certain animals were forbidden
to the people of Israel. However, Genesis 7:2 suggests that dietary and/or
sacrificial laws were
known and practiced much earlier.
The words recorded in these verses were uttered by the Lord to Noah in
relation to the number of animals he was to allow into the ark. Notice that Noah
did NOT ask, “What is a 'clean' animal?” or "What
do You mean by "not clean?" for when the concept was presented to him,
he
knew what it was all about, suggesting that religious sacrifices of animals were offered by people in
the pre-Flood world. He was to take of certain animals – “by sevens,”
as commanded by God.
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."
Can you imagine what "FORTY DAYS" of intense rain would be like? It was in no
way to be a light, intermittent rain – it was to be a DELUGE of such intensity
that each tree, every building on earth was to be knocked down. Monster tsunami waves
swept the earth with an intensity that has thankfully not been seen since that
time. Not only would the great waters that were above the atmosphere crash down
on the earth for "forty days...
and nights," but also the “fountains of the deep,” the
extensive waters that existed in
aquifers within the earth’s crust would burst forth onto the land (Genesis
7:11-12).
These were huge aquifers of water that would collapse suddenly. Monstrous
earthquakes would come from such great shifts in the earth’s crust. This was to be a
“killer storm,” that would, as God put it, “blot out from the face of the land
every living thing” that God had made. This was not a local flood.
Essentially, all creation was to be destroyed. And note
that Noah and his family had just “seven more days” before all this would occur.
God is the Weather Forecaster who always makes the right prediction, and He was
telling them that something like the force of a million hurricanes was about to
strike and there was only one place of safety – the ark!
Verse 5. “Noah did according to all that the Lord had
commanded him.”
Once again, as we saw in Genesis 6:22, we find Noah, son of Lamech, grandson
of Methuselah, doing
“ALL that the Lord commanded him.” Yes, what he did WAS a necessity, and yes, to
be obedient was a life-or-death matter for him and his family. But there was
more in Noah's response. The world at that time was FULL of people who did NOT do what the Lord
commanded them because they had no heart for the Lord. And this was even though God had told humanity in many ways that
sin leads to death.
It’s also true for us today. Scripture clearly teaches us that “the wages of
sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The author of that Scripture in Romans continues, “but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Noah continued to prepare the ark, even
though his contemporaries likely made fun of him, and he would be safe because
he faithfully did what God “had commanded him.” We
can be safe, too. God has commanded us to
receive Jesus Christ through faith. When we do, we become safe in the Lord and remain
secure in Him – forever.
Verse 6. “Now Noah was six hundred years old when the
flood of water came upon the earth.”
Notice that Noah was “six hundred years old” at the time of this verse. He
was what you might call a “late bloomer.” At a time when his contemporaries
typically began to have children at 65-years old or so, Noah started producing
sons when he was around 500 (Genesis 5:32). And now, here he was at 600,
feverishly stocking the ark with food and making other last minute preparations,
doing “all that the Lord commanded him” (Verse 5).
We are never too old or too young to trust in and serve the Lord. And it’s
important to do so because He is preparing us in relation to the troubles that
surely will come upon this world.
Father, we trust in You and we enter the safety of Your Son. Lord,
forgive us our sins and let us be secure in You forever. Show us Your will
for our lives and help us to walk in the way that we should go. And help
us to know that we are never too old, too young or too anything to respond to
You. Thank You, Father. We praise Your Holy Name. In Jesus
Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 7:7-12
Verse 7. “Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his
sons' wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the flood.”
Sometimes life offers very few alternatives. In this case, Noah and his
family had only two – they could stay out of the ark and die, or they could
enter it and live. Actually, everyone on earth at the time had a similar choice,
for God is always speaking to us all. It simply happened that Noah “listened” through a
heart of faith, whereas his contemporaries had chosen to close their hearts to God and not
believe in His Word. Unbelief is a choice.
It’s true right now that we are offered a very similar
option. Scripture teaches us
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Some
are willing to “confess… and believe” in the Lord, but
sadly, most
refuse Him. Do you
believe in the Lord Jesus and trust in His Word? Do you "believe...
that God has raised Him from the dead?" If you are not sure
about what you believe, ask God;
ask Him fervently. Look to Him just like Noah did, and God Himself will enable
you to enter the safety of His love.
Verses 8-9. “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.”
It’s important to note the implication of these verses that it wasn’t Noah
who went all over the world and obtained every animal – It was GOD who brought
all of the creatures "to" him, to the ark. Notice that “God had commanded Noah,”
but they actually “went into” the ark "TO Noah." And that is the way it is with
God when we are called to His service. He gives us the work and directs us to do
it, but then the miracles start, for God is right there, doing it with us.
We learn that "many are called, but few chosen"
because the "many" fear that they cannot do what
God wants. Actually it's true that we can't fully do what He wants, but
the wonder of it all is that it is God Himself who will make it happen.
Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30) because
He is yoked together with us, making the call of God possible in our ordinary human lives.
In this verse, by the way, we see the Godly force in operation that we call
“instinct” being used to bring the animals to Noah through what is called
"migration." Throughout history, comparatively few
of the species in the animal kingdom actually have migrated from one place to
another, but at the command of God, they all can do it, and it was precisely at
such a command that the animals went to the ark at the precise moment of this verse.
They did not attack or eat one another; they just "went
into the ark."
Verse 10. “It came about after the seven days, that the
water of the flood came upon the earth.”
In Genesis 7:4, God gave Noah a “weather report.” He said, “After seven more
days, I will send rain upon the earth…” Here it now was, precisely "seven days"
later, and “the water of the flood came upon the earth,” just as God said. How
did God speak to Noah, as recorded in places like Genesis 7:4, you might ask? It is
unclear just how God would speak to him or any human being. Does He speak
audibly? Through His Word? In the circumstances of life? Through illness or
injury? Through healing and restoration? In dreams? The answer is – ALL of those ways and
more. And whatever He “speaks” to you – it will happen, just as He says.
Verse 11. “In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in
the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the
fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were
opened.”
This verse and the ones that follow are not merely repeats of the verses that
preceded this one. For instance, Verse 6 says, “Noah was six hundred years old
when the flood of water came upon the earth,” much like this one. And this does
not suggest a “second Flood” as some have speculated. This historical event is
so important that God is presenting some aspects of it a second time – for
emphasis. And some of what we now read brings us more detail than the first mention of it.
For example, we were previously told in Verse 6 that “the flood of water came
upon the earth.” Here we are told more - there were two devastating
causations that brought about the
Great Flood: 1) The massive aquifers in the earth’s crust, called "the fountains of the deep" broke open and flooded
the land, and 2) the “floodgates of the sky,” which were the “waters… above the
firmament” (the atmosphere – Genesis 1:7), now plummeted down upon God’s earthly
creation.
Verse 12. “The rain fell upon the earth for forty days
and forty nights.”
In this verse, we are being told the duration of this great rainstorm. There was so much water that had been placed above the atmosphere, as we saw
in Genesis 1:7, that even though it was unceremoniously DUMPED on this planet,
it took “forty days and forty nights” for it all to come down. And note that the
waters which "fell" took differing forms. At the equator, it simply entailed great
drops of water that drowned the land and the creatures on it. In the polar
regions the loss of the protective canopy of water over the earth caused the
waters to fall in the form of ice, instantly freezing great and small animals
who died with undigested food still in their mouths. The “rain fell” like
nothing before or since that time.
The Flood itself, though, lasted much longer than "forty days and forty nights." Just how much longer
we will see in the Scriptures that follow.
Father, help us open our "ears" that we may "hear"
the Word of God. We have previously chosen to not hear, but now we are open to the
call of God. Forgive us our sins. Save us. Fill us with Your
Holy Spirit and let us enter the safety of the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Thank You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 7:13-18
Verse 13. “On the very same day 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 the ark,”
A lot of people, especially those who have never read the Bible, may have
heard of Noah, but most do not know that his wife, his sons, and his
daughters-in-law’s lives were saved through entering the ark. They went with
him during the time that was to be a one-year journey on the waters that covered the
earth. Noah had great
faith in the Lord and God has a strong intention is to save not only the faithful
person, but also those they love. As Peter said about trusting in Jesus Christ:
“the promise is to you and to your children…” (Acts 2:39).
God loved Noah so much that His saving Hand also reached to Noah’s
family. He knows how important your loved ones may be to you. He will not violate the
right to free choice of those loved ones to choose Him or not, but He will move
heaven and earth to bring your loved ones to safety, to the ark of Christ. He
wants you to be reunited in love with them, if not here, then in eternity, where
our love for Him and for one another will never end.
Verses 14-15. “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. So they
went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of
life.”
Representatives of “every beast...
every bird" and “every
creeping thing that creeps on the
earth” now “went (voluntarily)
into the ark.” The creatures consisted “of all flesh in which
was the breath of life.” In other words, when it says that “EVERY beast” now
went into the “ark,” it was not just limited to just a few species of animals.
This was a MASSIVE exodus of God’s creatures. At God’s bidding, the natural
enmity between the various types of animals was suspended, and they walked,
crawled, or flew into this great ship that was ordained by God. Some have
thought that the ark contained thousands, possibly millions of cages, into which
all of them went willingly at the leading of the Lord.
Verse 16. “Those that entered, male and female of all
flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the Lord closed it behind him.”
Note that “male and female of all flesh” entered the ark, a work that God
had commanded the man Noah to accomplish. However, it was not the man Noah who
brought the entry of the animals to fruition, but instead it was God who brought
them. It’s true of every call, each ministry and all works ordained by God for
men and women – he asks us to do things which are far beyond our abilities and
then He does the work Himself. Anyone involved in God’s work ultimately will
praise His Holy Name, for He does wonders and then shares the credit with
ordinary people like you and me.
The “Lord (Himself)
closed” the great door to the ark. Up to that moment, the
door was open to all people who were willing to turn to the Lord and trust Him that He
would deliver them. There were no others who entered, however. Only Noah and his family
went into the ark of safety. All these verses reveal to us that NO one on earth at that
time had faith in God except Noah himself. That’s certainly indicated by Genesis
6:5, which reveals “that the wickedness of man(kind)
was great in the earth, and
every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually"
(Genesis 6:5). Faith in
the Lord was nearly gone from the earth, and those in humanity who have no faith
are going to die. And worse, they will spend eternity - alone.
Verses 17-18. “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. The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark
floated on the surface of the water.”
The ark was incredibly heavy, not only because of its own weight, which
measured many tons, but the weight was also immensely increased due to the
weight of the animals themselves and the cages it likely contained. Included
also was the food and other supplies needed for the next year. To lift such a
weight, a great deal of that weight had to be displaced. But not to worry, for an
immense amount of water was forming outside of and around the ark. And there
would be still more, for the water “rose above the earth”
for the next “forty days.” This was a massive
deluge that covered the whole earth. It "lifted up
the ark" and "the ark floated on the surface of the
water." They were safe.
Our troubles in this world can be compared to a great "flood" that overwhelms us. And just like God saved
Noah and his loved ones, simply because he had placed his trust in the Lord, He
will save you, too. Noah simply believed in the promise of God, and you
can, too. "For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Lord, forgive us our sins. We trust in You now.
Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for the salvation we are given in
Christ Jesus. In His Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study - Genesis 7:19-24
Verses 19-20. “The water prevailed more and more upon
the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were
covered. The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were
covered.”
The word “heavens” in these verses
speaks of the
atmosphere that covers the planet, including the oxygen, nitrogen, argon and
other gases we move in, live and breathe. Every place on earth, including the “high mountains” were covered with water during the Flood
that was sent to destroy faithless humanity. Did the “mountains”
that “were covered” include incredibly high places like Mount
Everest? The answer is emphatically YES – the “high
mountains everywhere… were covered.”
At the top of Mount Everest today, just like everywhere else on earth, there
is evidence that it was once covered by water. Underneath the Flood, great
earthquakes rocked the planet and volcanoes spewed out ton after ton of magma.
Up-thrusting and down-thrusting of solid matter was occurring rapidly under the
waters. A "cubit," by the way, was about 18
inches.
As to a time far in the future when God stopped up first the Red Sea, then
later the
Jordan River and let Israel cross on dry land, Scripture asks, “What ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan that you turned
back?” and then it continues, “O mountains, that
you skipped like rams? O little hills like lambs?” (Psalm 114:3-6). The mountains “skipped” under the Great Flood as
well; violently rising and falling as God willed. And not only did the mountains rise
higher than ever before, but portions of the land were rapidly sinking as well, for the
great ocean basins were coming into being.
Verses 21-22. “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; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose
nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.”
If you wonder about the Great Flood – Did it REALLY cover this whole planet?
Or was it some kind of a “local” flood, as some have insisted? This is a big
choice for you for it goes to your decision as to whether the Bible is indeed
the Word of God. We find places in Scripture like Hebrews 11:1, where it says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of
things not seen.” And Romans 10:17 says, “Faith
comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Reading the Book that
we call the Bible and accepting what it says will work in us through the power of the Holy Spirit,
enabling us to “see” life and God in ways we never before expected or thought.
It gives us faith.
In these verses in Genesis, it says that “ALL flesh…
on earth perished.” All land creatures died,
without exception. “All that was on dry land…
died.” A local flood would not bring death to such
an extent. By the time of this verse, as we can tell from the archeological
record, the earth was teeming with life. That was true at one point, but then in
a very short time, every land creature and all in mankind “died.”
You have the choice to believe these statements in the Word of God – or you can
choose not to. But if you decide to receive and believe, the reward is
very great - you will be given the "faith" that
comes from believing in God's Word.
Verse 23. “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 was
left, together with those that were with him in the ark.”
God is not shy about sharing who He is and what He has done. Many years
before the moment of this verse, God had announced to all who might listen that
He would essentially destroy humanity in “one hundred and
twenty years” (Genesis 6:3). He made this His intention because “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man(kind)
was great in the earth, and that every thought of his
heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). If you look at your
neighborhood, your country, and into your own heart, and find the "evil" of Genesis 6:5, it's time to go to the Lord.
Pray to Him, trust in Him, and receive Him, for God's judgment is on those who
continue to reject Him. But those who trust Him will live - forever.
And note two things about what was done by Almighty God. As in this verse, “He (indeed) blotted out every
living thing that was upon the face of the land,” but He also waited 120
years to do it. First, God WILL judge sin. We must change our ways, for He will
finally, reluctantly judge us. And second, God will give us plenty of time to
repent, to change our ways. He judges sin, but He is also full of patience and mercy.
Don't wait until it's too late, though, for you don't know how much time you've
got. It's important to place your faith in Him -
now.
Verse 24. “The water prevailed upon the earth one
hundred and fifty days.”
In this verse, we are given another glimpse of the extent of the Flood. It
did something that a merely local flood could never do. It “prevailed upon the earth (at its highest extent) one hundred and fifty days.”
That’s about half a year. Shells and corals have been found at the tops of just
about every mountain on earth, providing evidence of the truth of these verses. The water not
only covered the earth, but it also was upon this world for an extraordinary
length of time.
Verse 17 indicated that the flood waters came upon the earth for “forty days.” That time would include not only the
torrential rains that came from the reentry of tons of water into the
atmosphere, which previously had been taken up as revealed in Genesis 1:6-7; but
it also stemmed from the breakup of the “fountains of the
deep” in the crust of this planet, which “burst
open” and flooded the land (Genesis 7:11). Enormous amounts of water fell
from the sky and a further deluge came up from within the earth; so much that it would utterly
cover every point of land on earth for the next “one
hundred and fifty days.” Then it began to gradually subside;
finally, after a year, reaching a point where the waters on the earth were
much like they are today.
Dear Lord, Almighty God, we trust in You now.
We give our hearts and lives to You. We pray for a lessening of the
violence that fills this world. We ask for our leaders, that You will
guide them in directions of trusting in the Lord and in the peace that comes
from God. Help us, Lord. We need You now. Thank You that You
are with us and are helping us. In Jesus Name. Amen.
