In our last study in Genesis, we saw how the Lord stated He would destroy the world with a flood because of the wickedness of man, and how Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The Lord told Noah to build an ark for him and his family and for the male and female of each kind of land animal. By faith Noah obeyed the voice of the Lord even though it had not rained, nor had a flood been seen on this magnitude. He did not conform to the culture of the day, but went against it by walking in obedience to the Lord. He was also a preacher of righteousness as he attempted to warn people of the judgment to come. In Genesis chapter 7, we will see the Lord fulfill His promise by bringing the flood.
The Lord told Noah to go into the ark along with his family, because Noah had been seen righteous before Him, and if we remember from Hebrews, that righteousness was because of his faith. It would also appear that God was sparing Noah’s family along with him because of Noah’s righteousness, “Because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.”
He was told to take seven pairs of clean animals and one pair of unclean animals. If we remember from chapter 6, Noah was only told to bring in one pair of each kind of animal. This is not a contradiction, but as Noah stepped out in obedience the Lord gave him more detailed instruction. Many of the clean animals were used for sacrifice, so one reason may have been that it was necessary to bring more of them aboard the ark to ensure each kind would survive after the flood. God told him to do so to “Keep the species alive on the face of all the earth.” He continued that in a week’s time He would cause it to rain 40 days and 40 nights, and that all living things that He had made would be destroyed from the face of the earth. This is a repeat of verse 17 of chapter six, and the Lord was making a point that all flesh that had the breath of life on the earth would die. Again, we see that Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.
The Lord then caused the animals to come to Noah into the ark, two by two, and once they were all in, along with Noah and his family, the Lord shut the door. Noah was 600 years old when the flood began, in the second month, in the 17th day of the month. This was probably referring to the calendar year in which Noah turned 600.
At this point, the Scriptures state that the fountains of the deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. In a previous study, we talked about underground reservoirs pressurized by the Earth’s heat that were likely the source of the mist that watered the ground prior to the flood, as well as the source of the four rivers that flowed out of one source at or near the garden of Eden. It is likely that these pressurized reservoirs produced geysers on a world-wide scale, possibly concentrated on the mid—oceanic ridge. This would have brought up enormous amounts of water and magma to the surface. It would have also sent scalding columns of super-heated waters, along with dust and gases, upward into the upper atmosphere, and once in contact with colder air, would have produced cloud-cover and relentless rain-fall on a global scale. To further support this model, the Scriptures state that the rain-fall did not begin until the fountains of the deep were broken up. This eruption of the fountains of the deep would have also affected marine life. The ICR states, “Great quantities of magma, metals and other materials were extruded from the earth’s mantle. The sediments from the lands were transported down to be deposited in the encroaching sea basins. Complex hydrodynamic phenomena–tsunamis, vortices, turbidity flows, cyclic erosion and deposition, and a variety of geomorphologic activity–took place throughout the year. Earth movements of great magnitude, and tremendous volcanic explosions shook the earth again and again, until finally, ‘the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished’ (II Peter 3:6).” But the ark, as well designed as it was as we discussed last week, would have been safely guided by the Lord’s hand on the surface of the waters.
So, the waters prevailed (were overwhelmingly mighty) 40 days and 40 nights on the earth, and the ark moved on the surface of the waters. The waters prevailed exceedingly, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The word “all” is a double superlative, so, all really means all. They rose 15 cubits (as high as 25 and ½ feet) above the mountains (the same Hebrew word for the high hills).
This was not a localized flood as some critics like to assert, but a world-wide flood that destroyed every living thing that breathed, both man and animal that lived on the dry land. If it were a local flood, the waters would have simply overflowed the mountain peaks and disbursed elsewhere. If it were a localized flood, Noah and the land animals could have just moved out of the area, a much simpler task than building a huge boat. A local flood also does not explain how the ark landed atop Mount Ararat, which is some 17 thousand feet tall. It also does not explain how there are marine fossils on mountain tops such as whales 500 feet above sea level on our East coast.
Only Noah and those that were with him in the ark survived. The flood waters were upon the earth 150 days (five months), which eliminates any chance that anyone or anything outside the ark would have survived.
The take-away from this chapter is that God keeps His promises, even those of His coming judgment. God always does what He says He will do, folks. He told Noah the flood was coming, yet no one but Noah and his family heeded the Lord’s warnings. They dismissed them as false, and continued on as they always had. This is no different from today. Peter writes, “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 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. 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: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 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.” (2 Peter 3:3-7) This is not a true ignorance, but a willful one. Man has been given all the evidence he needs to make a decision for Christ, but because he does not want to be accountable to the Lord, he conveniently denies His existence or dismisses the parts of the Bible that make him uncomfortable. This does not change the truth however. The Lord is still returning in judgment just like He has said repeatedly throughout the Bible, and those who are found outside of Christ will be the recipients of His wrath. Just because His judgment is delayed does not mean it is not coming. Peter goes on to say, “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. 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. 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.” (2 Peter 3:8-10) The Lord’s delay in bringing judgment should not be mistaken for His tolerance, but seen as His patience. He desires that all would come to repentance, and is giving mankind all the time He can. However, when His judgment does come, it will be unexpected and sudden as Peter said, “a thief in the night,” and it will be too late to get right with the Lord, just as it was in Noah’s day. Again, this is why it is important to be a preacher of righteousness as Noah was. Will you be ready? By faith choose Jesus, the ark of salvation, and you will be saved. Remember that once Noah and those that were with him were in the ark, it was the Lord who closed the door. when we are found in Christ, we will be safe from God’s final and eternal judgment that is to come.
In this chapter, we discussed how the Lord fulfilled His promise in bringing the flood, and in the following chapter we will see God fulfill His promise to save Noah and His family alive.
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