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Noah and the Boat he built A typology of - what was, and will be again The Bible says God instructed Noah when to build the ark, and how (Gen.6:14). He also told him when to enter the ark (Gen. 7:1). Genesis 5 tells us Enoch had already been taken, he was gone for 69 years by the time Noah was born! We read in Gen. 7:6 “Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.” This means he was near 480 years old when he started to build the ark. We are told God then gave man 120 years and then the flood would come. Methusaleh begot Lamech who begot Noah. Gen 5:26-27 Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. “ When he died the flood came. When Noah was born it was said of him Gen. 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed." They would have to wait hundreds of years for this comfort. In the meantime Noah had three sons. Gen. 5:32 “And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” It should be accepted that Noah did not build the ark all alone but those in his family helped as they were brought on board. However a few people for such a tremendous task would still be insufficient and that is why they needed time. If his sons were 20 years old, they would have helped approximately 40 years after he began the project, having 80 more years to complete it. A number of saints in his family like like Jared, Methusaleh, Lamech his father could have helped. Large animals, Prehistoric animals were probably used like elephants are used to carry large objects. Before his children were born we read in Gen. 6:8-10 “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth." We then read “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” “The wickedness of the human race had for a long time provoked the wrath of God. A cause of their unrighteousness was the intermarriage of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men." Jehovah resolved to destroy the human race, but He allowed a respite of 120 years, during which time Noah sought to bring the people to repentance Gen. 6:1-9; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5>. Thus Noah was "a preacher of righteousness," exercising faith in the testimony of God and condemning the world by the contrasted excellence of his conduct. (New Unger's Bible Dictionary) God wants his creation to live in peace not hate and kill each other. Noah was then informed on the situation mankind faced and was chosen to be the one to do something about it. He obeyed to the letter. Gen. 6:18 is the first place in the Bible where the word 'covenant' is found. Gen. 6:22 “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” The Ark was made of "gopher-wood" and had three decks, one above another. We read in Heb. 11:7 “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Similarly it is said of Abraham Just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. (Gal 3:6) Noah’s hands were doing God’s work until he completed the task. Finally the day came, He was instructed to bring the animals upon the ark. Gen 6:19-22 “And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. V.20 “two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them." Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” The Lord then invited Noah into the ark to begin the evacuation Gen 7:1 “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.” Gen 7:2-5 He took seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; of birds and all the species alive on the face of all the earth. It took seven days to bring them aboard. v. 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." And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him.” v.6-7 “Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.” Thus ended the 120 years of labor on the boat. Gen. 7:15-16 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.” We read next they spent 40 days afloat on the waters that covered the earth It rained for 40 days Gen. 7:12. The waters prevailed 150 days (Gen.7:24, 8:3). 1 Peter 3:20-22 “the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah , while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah , one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; The boat was a witness as Noah himself preached of a judgment coming and none repented because they were so wicked and in rebellion to God, just as we see in our day as it progresses to become worse. Other mentions of the flood in the old Testament are as early as Job.22:16 “Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood.” Ps.90:5 “Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.” Three men God considered righteous. Ezek. 14:13-14 "Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness," says the Lord GOD. Speaking to Israel the Lord reminds them of the past, Isa. 54:9 "For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.” V.10 my kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.”
The earth had the waters underneath, and at God's command broke through and flooded from beneath (fountains of the deep) as well as the windows of heaven. (Gen. 7:11-12) In the 600th year of Noah, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.” The Lord had complete control, Gen 8:2-3 “The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters receded continually from the earth.” As the Psalmist writes, Ps 29:10 The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever.” Gen. 8:1-5 “Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.” The ark floated on the waters for one hundred and fifty days, and then came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (which 17,000 ft. high). After 40 days (Gen. 8:6) Noah opened the window and sent forth a raven and, waited seven days and then sent a dove, V.8 He sent the dove a 2nd time. V.10-11, and it brought back a fresh olive leaf. He then sent the dove out a 3rd time (Gen.8:12) and it did not return then he knew it was safe, all the waters receded. On the first day of the first month of his 601st year, Noah removed the covering of the ark; Noah and his wife and his sons and wives entered and were saved, eight in all. They returned to new world cleansed of evil to begin again. Noah sacrifices after he leaves the ark. He built an altar and made sacrifices of only the clean animals and birds he brought. Gen. 8:20-21 “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.” Gen 9:11 “Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God then promises never to curse the ground or destroy everything again by a flood. And established a covenant with them and gave them a visible sign the "bow in the cloud" which we have to this day as a reminder. God renews the covenant he had with Adam “ So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth .” (Gen 9:1) And makes a new covenant (Gen. 9:9-13) never to destroy all flesh by a flood again. In this covenant God gave a sign or token; the rainbow which is with us today as a reminder of God ending the flood. Peter states in 1 Pt. 3:20-22: “ who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us-- baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him ” Noah and his family were NOT spiritually saved by the water, but were physically saved from the flood, which was a judgment. Their deliverance came by building the ark and going inside it, which they did because of their faith. Noah showed that he had possessed faith by being obedient and building the ark. The antitype: “figure” (baptism) speaks of our identification with Christ who has saved us - He was the type of “ark” of Noah's salvation. The ark is used for the believer's salvation from judgment by being in Christ. “The like figure which now saves us” in typology it depicts Christ as our Atonement for sin. Noah was safely enclosed in the ark by God closing the door (“clothed” with the ark); we are told to be “clothed” with Christ.” Scripture makes it clear it was God who “saved” Noah from the waters. From the beginning man was a recipient of God’s grace. The Bible mentions 5 specific people grace was given to in the Old Testament Noah (Gen. 6:8); Abraham (Gen. 18:3; 24:27); Lot (Gen. 19:19); Jacob (Gen. 32:10; 33:5); and Joseph (Gen. 39:21; 43:29). Noah was saved before he ever built the ark. He had “found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8). Noah had no actual evidence of an approaching flood since no one had ever seen it rain or flood, but he believed God, and built the ark by his instructions, lived through men mocking him and was saved from the deluge with his family (Gen. 6:13-22; 7:23). That is grace that God bestows on those who obey Him (faith) even though they may not understand what is taking place at the time. And we then read in Gen. 9:28-29 “And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.” Noah the tenth in line from Adam lived 20 more years than Adam and 19 years less than Methuselah (Gen. 5:27) From his three sons came the new world for man. Gen 10:1 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And sons were born to them after the flood. “ Gen 10:32 “These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.” It was the righteous who inherited the earth the first time in judgment .Matt. 24:37-40 “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” As men did not believe Noah, the only prophet in his day who built the boat of rescue in front of them and preached to them, so it will be in the end as the day approaches for the son of man’s coming. Rev 3:7 To the church in Philadelphia write, v.10-11 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly!” There is a period of trial coming upon the whole earth called the tribulation. And the Lords return will be quick. In the meantime The world is being told what the Scripture says and they have deaf ears, just as in Noah’s day. 2 Thess. 2:10 with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” And when that day come there will be no comparison in the past. Ps. 82:8 “Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.” Ps. 2:7-8 "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me,'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. Ps. 37:9-11 “For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Which is exactly what Jesus taught “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt 5:5) Ps. 37:28-29 “for the LORD loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever.” Jesus will establish his rule over the earth, those who have been glorified will serve under him as kings and priests to the nations.
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