At the end of chapter 6 we saw , God gave specific instructions to Noah on how to build an ARK. In this study we are going to cover chapters 7 and because of the content I will cover this as well as chapter 8 chapter as whole rather than verse by verse as we have been doing so far.
As I mentioned at the end of last study, over the years Noah’s Ark has become a boat or ship but in reality it was shaped like a “COFFIN”. You might even see in some translations referred to as a boat but nothing could be further from the truth. As you see, the purpose of the ARK was to float not to sail the waters. I do not believe any ship would have survived the flood. More importantly the ARK is symbol of salvation. Here is another reason why you should make sure the bible you reading has accurate “Translation ” of the original word. Chapter 7:1 is perfect example . Many bibles including NIV version has wrong translation of this verse. Here is what it should read
Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.
Many Bible translations say “GO” instead of “COME” . You might say what is the big deal? You see God was in THE ARK and he was inviting Noah in the ARK and in turn salvation. Jesus is our ARK and he is inviting you to salvation. Come all who are tired & weary I will give you rest. Is your world falling apart? Do you see no way out? Is there no hope? Has all forsaken you? Come to Jesus and he will give you salvation. It is in his grace we have salvation & peace. God wants every one to be saved. He is calling out to each and everyone to come and be saved , Are you ready to come to him as Noah did? it is a step of faith. For hundred years people watched Noah built an ARK and many probably laughed or mocked him but Noah had faith in the word of God. Although he had never seen a drop of rain or probably did not even know what rain is, he believed. Are you ready to believe? Noah entered the ark with his family and even after that God gave 7 more days for people to repent. How merciful is our God. How great is his grace but my dear brothers & sister do not take his patience as sign of permission to sin or continue to live for worldly pleasure because as it was in time of Noah the end is coming and only those who are in the ARK ( Jesus, Born Again) will be saved. ARK had only one door on the side which you have to enter through. In same way there is only one way JESUS to enter into salvation. ARK was a symbol of what was to come. It is through the blood of Christ we are cleansed which flowed from his side. You want peace? Do you want Salvation? Do you want to be saved? You must be ” BORN AGAIN” there is no other way. Jesus said No one can come to the father except through me. As it was for Noah so is for you. You can only enter the kingdom of God through JESUS, not by keeping the law nor by your charitable donations nor by attending church regularly or bible study. There is only one way which is to accept Christ as your savior.
THE FLOOD is one of the most scrutinized part of the scripture. There are lots of attempts to discredit the FLOOD as a myth or folktale. Many will tell you it is found in other religion and in almost every civilization there is reference to some kind of flood. To me, there is no surprise that such story exists in every religion & civilization; since all of us are ancestors of Noah as we will see in chapter 10, every one knew the story and it was repeated. Again, there are scientific proof to support the FLOOD as well as geological evidence but ultimately it comes down to FAITH. It comes down to DO YOU BELIEVE GEN 1:1? Do you believe Jesus? if you do then Flood is a true story. JESUS referred to the times of NOAH so if I say flood is anything but how it is described, I am calling JESUS a liar.
Verse 4: For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made. Revelation talk about 7 years of tribulation after the rapture of church. Just as it was in times of Noah, before the world faces final judgement , people will have 7 years to repent and still have chance be saved. It is during this time that 144000 saints will be unleashed on earth preaching the Gospel. The story of Noah is such a wonderful lesson unfortunately now it is mostly taught in sundays school classes instead of being preached from pulpit . It is delivers a strong message of repentance and consequences of sinful life. Our only hope is JESUS . Have you accepted Christ? Are you BORN AGAIN? if your answer is NO , let this part of scripture be warning to you. No one knows the day or the time but END is coming and if you are not in the ARK , you will be washed away.
Few Facts from the chapter
- As mentioned above GOD said COME not GO
- Noah took 2 pairs of unclean & 7 Pairs of clean animal . This was for purpose of sacrifice and these were domesticated animals.
- It did not start to rain as soon as Noah went into ARK but after 7 days. This was probably to give ungodly people time to repent and for Noah to get everything in order inside the ARK
- Animals CAME to the ARK, Noah did not have to go gather them .
- God Shut the door ( verse 16) . Once you are in the ARK of salvation no one can snatch you away.
- It rained for forty days & night. This is impossible, only God can make it rain for this long. Go back to Genesis 1: 3, the canopy of water that was above came down. Also water came from Under ground ( verse 11)and flooded the Earth.
- It rained for 40 days & night but Noah & his family were in the ark for almost 1 year.
- Verse 21-24: All living things died ( flesh & breath) . This means fallen angels were not destroyed.
- Flood was world wide not Local as many who want to discredit the story and thus word of God might want you to believe.
- Ark is shape of coffin symbolizing the death of Jesus. He died for us so we may have life.
May God bless his word and sustain us all who are sealed in his blood till he comes again. Amen
only savior jesus 