Morning Light: Genesis 7 – Noah and the Deluge

 
Today: Genesis 7 – Noah and the Deluge: In Gen. 7, the Ark is completed, and the rains commence. In Matt. 24:37-39, Jesus declares, “as it was in the days of Noah.” In light of this statement, the story of Noah could not be more relevant for the current day. In what way is the day we live in to be compared in this way? What can we learn and apply in our own lives from this chapter?
[Gen 7:1-24 KJV] 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 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. 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. 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; and the Ark went upon the face of the waters. 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. 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. 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.
In the first verse, we observe that God didn’t tell Noah to GO into the Ark but to COME into the Ark. God was already there waiting upon him and his family. When God gives you an assignment as He gave Noah the command to build the Ark – He will be waiting on you there to reward your faithfulness and to bless and protect you and all those that pertain to your life. The heart of God from the very beginning is that we come to Him and find rest for our souls and solutions to the challenges we are facing.
In Genesis 3:9 after man’s disobedience, the Father walked in the cool of the day seeking out Adam and Eve:
[Gen 3:9 KJV] 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou?
In Matthew 11:28 Jesus cried out to those who would hear:
[Mat 11:28 KJV] 28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Through the prophet Isaiah, the Father hails all who are thirsting and desperate to come and find refreshing in Him:
[Isa 55:1 KJV] 1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
When God called Noah into the Ark, the stakes couldn’t be higher. To remain outside was to be destroyed. To go in unto Him was salvation and deliverance not only for Noah but for all his family and by extension, the whole of humanity. In John 6:37, Jesus states that our response to His invitation is the line of demarcation determining who is His and who is rejected:
[John 6:37 KJV] 37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
In verses 2-3, Noah is instructed regarding clean and unclean animals. The question is, how did he know the difference since the law was not written yet? Messianic theologians claim this is an example of dietary laws pre-dating Moses’ law, and therefore, all people are required to have a kosher diet. However, God’s did not permit eating of meat at all until after the flood. Thus, the relationship with animals was connected not with food but likely with dairy and sacrificial purposes. A clean animal was acceptable for use as a sacrifice, and an unclean animal was not – this was the distinction. Noah would have known this since sacrificing of animals went back to Abel and Cain. He was to take clean beasts by sevens and unclean beasts by two, so there would be ample supply for sacrificial use.
In verse 4, we find reference once again to the significance of seven days. Why did God require Noah to wait seven days in the Ark before the rains came? For the same reason, He took seven days to create the heavens and the earth. He is saying something to us about His divine process of acting in our lives. When you want to know WHEN God is going to move in your life, the answer is all the same – in seven days, i.e., in seven days which is a metaphor denoting our cooperating with process and outcome in God.
Seven is a number representing completion. The etymology of the word for seven speaks of cutting and covenant; to swear. It is said to represent spiritual perfection. The word also means to be full; satisfied; to have enough of. The glyph or symbol for seven is a pictogram of a crowned man and is a reference to the many times Jesus called Himself the “son of man.”
The significance of seven is also seen in other aspects of nature and biblical history. There are seven seas; seven colors in the rainbow; seven continents; seven bodies in the solar system visible to the naked eye; Seven days of creation; seven years of plenty and seven years of famine in Pharaoh’s dream; seven feasts in Israel; seven branches in the lamp of God in the tabernacle; seven churches in Revelation; Jericho’s walls fell on the seventh day; seven loaves turned to seven baskets of food in the gospels; the seven last sayings of Jesus on the cross; Revelation is full of sevens (stars; angels; seals; lampstands; horns; eyes); and lastly seven Spirits of God in Isaiah 11:1.
In all of these preparations and instructions (v. 5), we find that Noah did ALL that God commanded him (as referenced in v. 22 of the previous chapter). Luke 17:20,21 says that the kingdom doesn’t come by observation. If you want the attributes of the kingdom to be visited in your life, you must DO something. If the days of Noah will be as the days we are in then the Father will find in the earth, in our day men and women who are not living after their own whim but rather committing their lives to do all that the Father commands them no matter what.
In v. 6, we find mention that Noah was 600 years old when he entered the Ark. Some suggest that Noah entered the Ark on his 600th birthday. The number 6 is the number of men and the number 100 connected with fullness. Man’s works are six days, and then he has rest. This speaks again of the part we play in the workings of God in our lives. It is a pagan concept to think we offer God tokens of worship or sacrifice in return for which he does something while we observe the result. The name COMFORTER (referring to the Holy Spirit) means “one who comes alongside.” We must do our part or nothing happens.
There are other references to 600 to consider. The number 600 is also connected with warfare through the bible. Furthermore, David gave to Ornan 600 shekels of gold to buy the threshing floor where the temple would eventually be built. (1 Ch 21,25) The head of the spear of Goliath weighed 600 shekels of iron. (1 Sam 17:7). King Solomon made 200 great shields of beaten gold for the temple, 600 shekels of gold going into each shield. (1 Kings 10:16) Samson challenged 600 Philistines with an ox-goad and saved Israel. (Judges 3:31).
In v. 7-12 we see that the ordeal of Noah’s family on the waters lasted forty days: Forty is a number denoting endurance. 4 represents the earth (or all flesh), and 10 represents testing. The pictogram for the Hebrew number 4 is a symbol for a door. Noah came into the door of the Ark, and the entire ordeal was a passage of salvation from destruction to a new beginning for humanity. The time on the Ark was an endurance test but also a salvation experience. We see then that in redemption, God works ON you while He works in you and through you. He changes our future, our past, and our present but He also changes us. To fail to cooperate with this truth is to exclude ourselves from the Father’s chosen plans for our lives.
In v. 13, Noah enters the Ark, and his family follows his example. As Jesus said regarding who was his mother and his brethren – you will know who your real family is by those who collaborate with you in obedience to God’s will. In v. 14, we then see the animals following Noah into the Ark as well, but only after Noah first entered with his kinfolk. When you obey God, everything around you will come into alignment with God’s plan. We wrongly wait for circumstances to change before we step out in faith and that only results in things never changing, hence we are left wondering what God didn’t do what He was actually waiting for us to do in terms of obeying His command.
In v. 16 the Lord shut Noah into the Ark. Again, He initially told Noah to “come in” to the Ark because He was already there. God then is the 9th person along with Noah and his family in the Ark accompanied Noah during the 40 days and nights. God beckoned him to enter and shut him. He then ENFOLDED Noah and his family and the animals unto Himself for the duration. Anything that Noah went through God went through during that time. God constrains Himself with us to the rigors of what obedience implies. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. There is no record that Noah or his family tried to exit the Ark during the 40 days. When The Lord shuts you in, it is pointless to seek escape. You can trust Him he is protecting you and providing for you.
In v. 18-19 the waters prevailed on the earth, and all life outside the Ark perished. Is God unfair? How could a good God allow devastation on such a scale? Remember that Noah was perfect in his generations (same word where we derive the English word “genetics.”) Noah was not perfect morally; we know this because he had a drinking problem. His perfection and that of his family was evidenced apparently in the fact that his family was not genetically contaminated by the “sons of God” who copulated with the daughters of men injecting humanity with the genetic material of beings who could not look into or be eligible for salvation as covered in our previous chapter.
In v. 20, we measure the waters as 15 cubits in depth over all the earth. Fifteen is 10 + 5 which speaks of testing and grace. When you allow the Father to give you the grace to endure the shut-in place with God – the word of God’s cleansing and deliverance then overflows the spiritual mountains and strongholds that are ranged against you. V. 24 indicates that the entirety of these things lasted 150 days. 150 is a number that denotes FULLNESS and JUBILEE or liberation. This is the full intent of those times in our life that are foreshadowed by Noah’s situation. Remember this that the overarching theme is reflected in the meaning of Noah’s name – we endure through rest, being shut in with God and allowing peace to reign in the midst of conflict to bring forth our lasting and ultimate liberation from ourselves; from a contaminated spiritual climate; into a place of authority and dominion and new beginning.