The Story of Noah's Ark

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Genesis 7.1-end to 8.1-end
June 19th 2022

“I am the vine and you are the branches”

Genesis and the Flood

The shadow
Alright so God has commanded Noah on what to do in chapter 6. Let’s embark on chapter 7 and then onto 8 – covering ground! (pun intended, noah, flood, we are covering ground)

Genesis 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.
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.
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.
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.
5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
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.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
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.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
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;
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.
15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
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.

Alright, back to verse 1 chapter 7

Clean and Unclean Animals

Genesis 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.
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.

What do you see? That’s right. We find that a distinction between clean and unclean animals existed long before the Mosaic law. The Jewish scholar I consulted maintains that these extra clean animals would be used for sacrifice – something we have seen Cain and Abel doing many years before.

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. To me this gives insight into the scope of the flood. I mean, if world-wide, it seems that seven of the genus called fowls would be barely enough to reseed a basin flood let alone the world.

4 For yet seven days, (or in another seven days, God says to Noah at this time) 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. Some suggest that it was during these seven days that the animals boarded the ark.

Time of Humiliation

And where we read, “and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights” it is believed that this period is sacred, and therefore repeated in scripture as it was considered by the Jews to be the right span of time for sufficient humiliation of a person or people. In Deuteronomy we read

The Significance of Forty in Biblical Context

Moses fasted forty days (9:9,11), Elijah too (in 1st Kings 19:8), and, of course, Jesus also fasted the same (Matthew 4:2). There were forty days given to the Ninevites that they might humble themselves and repent (Jonah 3:4). From the time Jesus told His disciples all the signs that would come before the end of that age and His return, it would be a generation, or forty years. Relative to the flood, we have three times forty (one hundred and twenty) years given to the life of Man and perhaps to the world at large to repent before the flood. Whatever that means.

Noah and the Ark

5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him. (Which apparently speaks to Noah then entering the ark too at this time).

6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

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. Interestingly, and extra-biblically, some Jewish rabbins teach that Noah and his sons and then the women entered into the ark separately because they were prohibited from engaging in marital relations since the world was steeped in pain. Additionally, some Jewish Rabbins suggest that Noah too lacked faith and did not enter into the ark until he could see that the waters were rising and was forced to do it. For whatever that’s worth, it’s an interesting concept when we think about it because every drop of rain probably caused poor Noah to wonder, right? Can you imagine the stress? The ark is only halfway done and a rainstorm comes through? (Oh, crap!)

Verse 8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of everything that creepeth upon the earth,

9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. Now, let’s remember that it appears that the earth was different pre-flood – some call it Pangea, meaning the dry land was all in one piece.

The World Pre- and Post-Flood

Then it is believed that the flood caused everything to be broken up, tossed and turned, that mountains were established and valleys created, and when the flood waters receded it was, as the Disney song says, “a whole new world.” Could be – and this speaks of a worldwide flood, of course. For me, the idea of a worldwide flood over Pangea solves one issue, and that is with Noah getting all the animals on the boat. If all the dry land was one unit, it seems to me that it would make traveling to Noah easy. If the continents were all parted before the flood, we have to wonder how the endemic species of certain places were able to get to Noah, and if Pangea was disrupted by the flood and all the continents were then parted and established, we have to wonder how the animals got off the ark and BACK to their native lands.

Then there are those animals which are endemic to their geography today, like:

• A freshwater crocodile lives only in the Philippines.
• Galápagos Tortoise – only found on the seven Galapagos archipelago.
• There are animals found only in New Zealand, and in Hawaii, Taiwan, Madagascar.
• Then there are Kangaroos, Wallabies and Koalas – Australia (with Kangas also in Papua New Guinea).

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. Relative to the year – this must have been in the beginning of the six hundredth year of his life as Genesis 8:13 tells us he was a year in the ark, and Genesis 9:29 says he lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood, and died at nine hundred and fifty years old, so it is evident that, when the flood commenced, he had just entered on his six hundredth year.

Relative to the month – part of October and part of November. “Were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” About 71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water and the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of that.

The Genesis Flood: A Biblical Analysis

71 percent. Water also exists in the air as water vapor, in rivers and lakes, in icecaps and glaciers, in the ground as soil moisture and in aquifers. I’m not going to go into all the conjecture as to where the water came from – whether it be a geographical flood or a worldwide. But the fountains of the deep broke open and then waters from above. In Genesis 1:7 Moses writes about waters being suspended above the firmament and we might suppose that these (which were separated on the second day of Creation) reunited with the waters on the earth – so that was the opening of the windows of heaven. But we don’t know.

12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

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; 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. 15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

An Act of Faith and Obedience

Think about this scene. All sorts of animals start showing up around this massive ark. Then it starts to rain. We don’t know if anyone tried to get on the ark after – it doesn’t say – but they appear to have had seven days of rain to repent and try. And so here we have God enter the picture – even if the flood was only geographical because it would be physically impossible for Noah to have collected such a vast number of tame and ferocious animals and kept them in control, fed, and watered while he waited for the flood. I submit that Noah built the ark and they came to Him lead by God. But why God commanded him how many to take on the ark is a question if He gathered and sent them.

But remember, this isn’t the first time God has brought animals to a man, is it? We read of this happening with Adam when He named them too. Apparently, these animals were all docile in their treatment of man and beast too so perhaps the lion and wolf were able to lie down with the goat and sheep. 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.

The Principle of Protection and Exclusion

Do you see the principle – God is the one who shut Noah and friends in and in so doing He tacitly shut others out. Shut in and as a result, shut out. But note, they not only had seven days to repent, they had years and certainly had warnings – but this was their choice – to be excluded! I suggest that this is the case all through biblical history and all the way out through till today. He calls, He warns, He describes – we know through conscience, the spirit, the law, the witnesses of others, the signs around us – there is a place of His protection and presence and there is a place outside of that – and I am personally convinced that this continues in the heavenly realm.

By faith Noah acted, and when the time was right, God shut Him in, leaving the door impossible to reopen by the outside world. Some of the Jewish commentaries share the following on these passages. First, that the rain gently fell but did not stop as an indicator that God mercifully was still calling to all to receive and repent – but none would. There is also the belief among some Jewish scholars that the people said among themselves:

“When we see Noah begin to enter into the ark we will step in and kill him, but God protected Noah by shutting him and his family in before they could carry out their plan.” Additionally, some writings include the teaching that God protected Noah and family by surrounding the ark with bears and lions and apparently these animals killed some people who sought to put a stop to his efforts.

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. 18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth.

Understanding the Flood Narrative

19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. 20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

So, there was at least 15 cubits of water, almost 30 feet of it, above the highest mountain on the earth. Some criticize a world-wide flood by using Mount Everest as the standard height and there is some validity to this because even if Everest didn’t exist on pre-flood Pangea, it certainly was created by the shifting plates beneath the water and therefore Everest was created by the flood and must have been under at least 30 feet of water too once it rose – that is what the book says.

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: 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

And Moses repeats, saying

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. 24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

The Experience of Noah's Ark

So with the breaking up of the fountains of the great deep, and the raining forty days and nights, the waters raised fifteen cubits above the highest mountains after the forty days and it appears to have continued at this height for one hundred and fifty days more. Therefore, when the one hundred and fifty days were ended, there were six months and ten days of the flood past if we add in the days it rained.

Let’s go on to chapter 8 where our story continues – let’s read the first five verses

Genesis 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 asswaged; 2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; 3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. 4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. 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.

God's Intervention

Alright, back to verse 1

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 asswaged; It is believed that these winds, which actually have a name in the Mesopotamian basis, are capable of drying the skin and swimsuit of a person within seconds they are so arid and powerful so perhaps these winds greatly assisted in the evaporation of all of this water.

It is interesting that the Hebrew translation says that God made a spirit to pass over the earth, but because ruach, spirit and wind are so closely related in the language we probably shouldn’t take that literally. Or perhaps this is a nod to the first Creation where the spirit brooded over the deep. Another point the Jews make about life on the ark is that there was no copulation therein. This is in response to the over-copulating world that was destroyed and drown and it seems important to some Jewish scholars to reiterate this non-biblical point several times in their writings.

2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; 3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. 4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

Mount Ararat is in the mountains of Armenia and most agree that this is the final resting spot for the ark. There are reasons I disagree with this which we will get to.

Noah and the End of the Flood

Next Sunday as we wrap our study of the flood up. However, what is commonly thought to be the Ararat of the Scriptures, has for centuries been visited by interested travelers and a myth that part of the Ark is still visible has remained. Not so.

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.

We could talk for three hours about what month this was relative to the calendaring of the Jews, and their different names and relation to our months today but no. Looking for principles. So, onward beginning at verse 6 – 22.

Opening the Ark's Window

Genesis 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: 7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 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. 10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 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. 12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

Noah Exits the Ark

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. 14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. 15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. 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. 18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

Establishing a New Covenant

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. 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. 22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Alright, back to verse 6 as we are going to plough through this to the end of the chapter.

6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

It is generally believed that the raven flew off, and was seen no more, but this view is not supported by the Hebrew text which says that the bird went going forth and returning. The Hebrews suggest the bird was not allowed back in the ark but remained perched outside upon it and continued to engage in missions to discover dry land.

8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him.

Noah's Journey and the Symbol of the Dove

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.

10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 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. 12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

The dove was sent forth three times – the first time it speedily returned, having, in all probability, gone but a little way from the ark but saw nothing but water. After seven days, it was sent out a second time and it returned with an olive leaf in its mouth. This is a symbol, of course, for a restoration of peace between God and the earth; between God and Man and from this singular event the olive branch has been the emblem of peace among all civilized nations ever since.

And after this, the dove was sent out a third time and did not return again, presumably it found a place on earth to rest. From this Noah determined that the earth was now sufficiently drained and perhaps first allowed all the birds to fly out to get the whole vegetation thing going again or perhaps he waited until what we read next in verse 13:

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. 14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

Noah's Time in the Ark

So, there was a covering of the ark that Noah removed and it would appear that certainly at this point the birds flew off. It appears that Noah was in the ark a complete solar year, or three hundred and sixty-five days; that he entered the ark the 17th day of the second month, in the six hundredth year of his life, (Genesis 7:11,13) and continued in it till the 27th day of the second month, in the six hundredth and first year of his life.

This year, according to the Hebrew computation, was the one thousand six hundred and fifty-seventh year from the creation account; but according to the reckoning of the Septuagint it was the two thousand two hundred and forty-second, and as usual, one of the most prominent experts on all of it, one Dr. Hales, it was the two thousand two hundred and fifty-sixth year.

1657 years Hebrew computation. 2242 years Septuagint computation. 2256 years Dr. Hale

Who the Hale knows. Verse 15

15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. 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.

The Reiteration of Creation

Of course, now we have the reiteration of the first creation account – but with some significant changes to the world economy – which is the same world economy that exists out until today. 18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

And then to verse 20:

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.

The Altar and Sacrifice

As we have already seen that Adam, Cain, and Abel, offered sacrifices, there can be no doubt that they had altars on which they offered them; but this, builded by Noah, is certainly the first creation of such on record. Note that just as the old world began with sacrifice, so also did the new and in that day the design of sacrificing an animal was two-fold:

First, the slaying of the animal points out that the life of the sinner is

The Meaning of Sacrifices and Promises in Scripture

Forfeited up to divine justice; and second, that the burning up of the animal killed body shows that they deserve to be destroyed by fire. We will get closer to the meaning of sacrifices in our study of Leviticus 7. Interestingly, but without any real basis, the Jews have a tradition that says that the place where Noah built his altar was the same in which the altar stood which was built by Adam, and the same location used by Cain and Abel, which was the same spot on which Abraham afterwards offered up his son Isaac, which was the same spot for the temple.

A Sweet Savor to the Lord

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. That is, he was well pleased with this offering, apparently it was performed in compliance to His desires from the hand and heart and very well could have been an offering that pointed to, and was in similitude of the promise of the Seed of Eve that would crush Satan’s head in the future.

Paul fittingly writes in Ephesians 5:2: “Christ hath loved us, and given himself for its an offering and a sacrifice to God for a SWEET-SMELLING SAVOR;” and the words in the Septuagint version of this passage are the same Paul uses in Ephesians. Then God promises that He will never again “curse the ground” in the same manner, meaning destroy it by water. Where Moses adds, “for the imagination of man's heart,” we should read it, “even though or although the imagination of man's heart should be evil,” and/or, “should man become as evil as they have been before, I will not destroy the earth again (with the caveat) by a Flood.”

The Promise of Destruction by Fire

From this many many many Christians believe that there is a trick here, and that God will stick to his promise and never destroy the world again by flood … but He will destroy the whole place by … fire. This is based primarily on 2nd Peter 3:1-12 where Peter writes to the believers in his day:

2nd Peter 3:1 Beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

The Flood: Localized or Worldwide?

Sisters – before we wrap up the whole flood issue next week with some really great insights from Christian geologists, I want to give the main reason – the main reason, I believe that the flood was localized in the Mesopotamian basin and not world wide – there are lots more to come but the Main reason I believe it was geographical is because the second destruction by fire that Peter just described was also and fittingly local and limited – and was not, and would not be, world-wide.

Comparing Floods and Fiery Destruction

If the first flood was world-wide due to evil it seems to me that the second fiery destruction would and should be the same – with those worthy being taken and protected within the ark of Jesus blood. But if or since the flood was limited to an area – which the evidence next week should lend to – then the fulfillment of this picture, in fire, would be the same – local and limited. And this comports with scripture which plainly teaches that this world will never end – just periods, and economies, and ages and localized centers of evil.

Final Thoughts

We will stop there.

Questions/Comments?