Gen. 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Gen. 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
Gen. 7:3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
Gen. 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
I keep thinking that our world is so awful, but there must have been no comparison for Noah to be the only “righteous” person living.
God tells Noah to “come” into the ark with his family and the animals—7 pairs of the clean beasts and birds and one pair each of the unclean. This is worded like an invitation to join Him. God would be with them.
Noah is told that in seven days the rain will start. He was told that it would rain for forty days and forty nights. Every living creature on the face of the earth would be destroyed—except those in the ark.
How did Noah know which animals were clean and unclean? Obviously, this has already been defined for him—long before the details are recorded in Leviticus.
Coke: “The distinction indeed seems founded, in a great measure, in nature itself; but it is most probable, that God gave Adam directions concerning it, when He instituted sacrifice….”
Note that Noah didn’t have to go out and round up the animals; they came to him.
Genesis 6:20 “Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.”
Henry Morris notes in The Genesis Record that most animals can enter a state of hibernation requiring little or no food intake and having little or no bodily excretions.
Gen. 7:5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
Again, God feels it is important to note that Noah did ALL that the Lord commanded him. Obedience is important to Him; it’s a sign of our trust in, love for and fear of Him.
Gen. 7:6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
It’s hard to imagine living for 600 years, let alone starting all over again at that age.
Gen. 7:7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
We know from Genesis 11:10 that Shem was 98 years old at the time of the flood. So his brothers were probably a few years older. Still they were obedient to their father.
Gen. 7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
Gen. 7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
Again, I think it is significant that God is making the point that they went in two by two, male and female. I think it is also interesting that God makes no record of the actions of the people around him. That is not important. What is important is that Noah and his family were obedient to God—no matter what others might have been thinking or saying. There had to be divine intervention for the animals to have cooperated and enter the ark.
Gen. 7:10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
Gen. 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Gen. 7:12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
Gen. 7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
Gen. 7:14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
Gen. 7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
Gen. 7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
Observations:
God allowed 7 days for Noah to load the ark.
Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood.
This was the first rain; it rained 40 days and 40 nights. (Again God is specific about days and nights. Cf chapter 1 regarding evening and morning.)
Not only did it rain, “the fountains of the great deep were broken up.” This would appear to reference great storehouses of water even below the seas that forced the seas up and over the land masses.
All human passengers on the ark entered on the same day. The passengers included Noah, his wife, his 3 sons (Shem, Ham, & Japheth), and the wives of each of his 3 sons—8 people.
2 and 2 (male and female) of all flesh that had the breath of life entered the ark (beasts, cattle, creeping things, fowl, birds). What is the difference between fowl and birds? In checking the Hebrew it seems to be making a difference between big and small birds.
Noah and his family acted in obedience to God.
The Lord shut the door; they were securely sealed inside.
Note that there was only one door, one way to enter the ark according to God’s provision. The application to Jesus as the ark of our salvation is obvious.
John 10:7–9 “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep….I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved….”
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Noah and his family are a type of Israel preserved through the tribulation.
Interesting note from Henry Morris: “The most natural interpretation of the chronological information in the early chapters of Genesis, in the absence of any other date, would be that the measurement of time began with the Creation. In this case, the date given would lead to the simple conclusion that the flood came on the earth 1,655 years, one month, and seventeen days, after creation.”
Gen. 7:17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
Gen. 7:18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
Gen. 7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
Gen. 7:20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
Observations:
The flood waters rose for 40 days and lifted the ark above the ground.
The waters prevailed exceedingly—it wasn’t a little flood. It was deep enough to cover all the high hills under the heaven. The mountains were covered. (The Hebrew for the word hills and mountains is the same.)
The cubit = 20-21 inches
The waters were about 20 feet higher than the mountains they covered.
Gen. 7:21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
Gen. 7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
Gen. 7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
God emphasizes that every living thing that moved on the earth died—literally, physically. This included birds, cattle, beasts, creeping things and mankind. Only those in the ark survived.
In a conversation with my hubby, we were discussing why God chose to destroy all the creatures as well as man. I thought Deuteronomy 7:22 gave a clue.
Deuteronomy 7:22 “And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.”
If he hadn’t, man would have been way outnumbered and his chances of survival threatened by the imbalance.
Gen. 7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
I listened to a message by Adrian Rogers from which I made quite a few notes. It was a wonderful comparison of the story of Noah with Jesus as our ark of salvation (cf 1Peter 3).
The ark was made of a type of wood that was known to be strong and lasting.
It was covered with pitch within and without. The word for pitch means “atonement” in the Hebrew.
The judgment came in the form of rain. Not one drop of judgment will touch the child of God.
There were 3million cubic feet in the ark. It had sufficient room.
It was not guided by human hands; it was guided by the hand of God.
God provided sustenance for those in the ark.
The Lord asked Noah to “come” into the ark; He didn’t command him to go.
Compare to Ephesians 2:8-10
Ephesians 2:8–10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Salvation comes by grace (cf Gen 6:8); through faith (Noah had to enter the ark, Gen 7:16); unto good works (Noah and his family were to replenish the earth, Gen 9:1).
God sealed the door shut (Gen 7:16); those inside were secure and safe. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
“If you are saved by works, you are kept by works; if you are saved by grace, you are kept by grace.”
Noah went into the ark a pauper. When he came out, he owned the whole world.”
Gen. 8:1 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;
Gen. 8:2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
Gen. 8:3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
Gen. 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
Remembered = kept in mind
Morris states that this is “a Hebraism for ‘began to act on their behalf.’”
God sent a wind to help the waters evaporate; the fountains of the deep were stopped; the rain was held back. It took 150 days (5 months) for the water to go down enough for the ark to touch ground on the mountains of Ararat (Armenia—Turkey and Iran).
Adrian Rogers noted that the 7th month on the 17th day = 3 days after Passover or Resurrection Day. (I just wanted to make note that as I type this note on 11/15/05, Adrian Rogers died today at the age of 74.)
Gen. 8:5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
It took another 2-1/2 months for the water to recede to the point that the tops of other mountains were visible.
Again, God is so specific in references to time throughout these first few chapters (regarding creation, again with the genealogy, and now in detailing the events of the flood). He is being consistent and specific in all instances. Why would one think otherwise?
Gen. 8:6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
Gen. 8:7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
Gen. 8:8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
Gen. 8:9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
Gen. 8:10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
Gen. 8:11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
Gen. 8:12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
Noah waited at least another 54 days before he knew that the water was gone.
Gen. 8:13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
Gen. 8:14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
From verse 7:11 to here has been over a year. Again, God is being very specific with the passage of time.
Gen. 8:15 And God spake unto Noah, saying,
Gen. 8:16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
Gen. 8:17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
Mankind now has a fresh start, albeit in a world impacted by sin and still possessing a sin nature. God’s command: “Be fruitful and multiply.”
Gen. 8:18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:
Gen. 8:19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
Gen. 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Noah’s first act when he leaves the ark is to offer a sacrifice to God of every clean beast and fowl. (Remember, the clean beasts had been taken into the ark by sevens.) I can’t imagine what it must have been like to step out of the ark into a world so changed and with no other human beings or living creatures around other than what you brought with you. The thankfulness and feeling of responsibility must have been tremendous. The most effective way for Noah to express his feelings was to sacrifice to the Lord.
Gen. 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
Gen. 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
The smell of Noah’s sacrifice was sweet to the Lord. God is so pleased that He says “in his heart” (He is sharing with us His private thoughts at the time.):
Never again will I curse the ground because of man.
Never again will I destroy all living creatures.
As long as there is an earth, there will be seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night.
He makes this commitment even though He knows that “every inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”
“While the earth remaineth” – This implies that there will be a time when the earth in its current condition is no more. (It doesn’t preclude a new earth.)
Listening to Jon Courson one day, he noted how God used the same reasoning for bringing the flood as He did in promising never again to “curse the ground.” (cf 6:5 & 8:21) The sweet smell of Noah’s sacrifice made the difference. It pointed toward the precious sacrifice of His Son Jesus to redeem His special creation.