Noah worked faithfully for many years to complete the ark. At the same time God watched and waited patiently for the day of completion. It's likely that during this time, the state of the rest of mankind continued to decline, bringing Him further heartbreak. I'm sure that on many occasions during the building of the ark, Noah and his family must have questioned if it was ever going to be finished and if it was, what would happen next! The day finally arrived when the building was complete and they would find out:
"The Lord then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made." And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in. For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits. Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days."
Genesis 7:1-24 NIV
Building the ark might have seemed a huge task but the next one sounds equally difficult! Collecting all the pairs of animals to come on board! But Noah didn't need to worry about this —it was all taken care of by God, as he said "Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive."
Genesis 6:20 NIV
Noah had obviously continued to live in righteousness, right up to the time of the flood and now he was to enter the ark with his family and of course all the livestock! Many people have doubts concerning the practicalities of this part of the account and in recent times, the ark's capacity has even been put to the test! It was found that an ark the size that Noah built could easily fit 16,000 animals along with their food supplies. Animal 'types' were taken in line with the family level of taxonomy rather than species. It certainly must have been a noisy, smelly place but Noah and his family had trusted God this far, their faith remained strong as they waited seven days before the flood waters finally began to rise. It's significant that God shut the door and kept them safe. The ark became the place of salvation for Noah and his family while the waters of the flood brought God's condemnation on the rest of the world.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
I come to You right now, to the One who is the same yesterday, today and forever. You looked upon mankind in the days of Noah and only found one righteous man among a wicked and corrupt generation. Looking at our world now, I know that Your heart would be breaking as You witness a repeat of this behaviour but I thank You and praise You that since the time of Noah, You have sent Jesus who is our salvation! Thank You that in believing that He died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can be sure You have forgiven all of my sins, past, present and future. Thank You that You loved me so much that You made a way for me to be saved from condemnation, being made completely righteous in Your eyes. I rejoice because I am part of Your forever family who will one day meet You face to face for all eternity!
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
"For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see."
Psalms 36:9 NLT
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
An interesting website called answersingenesis.org has details on the many studies that have taken place regarding these chapters of Genesis and is worth a look if you would like to know more. It is so good that we can trust in the Word of God as the authority on all areas of life on earth!
"All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal." Psalm 119:160 NIV
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV
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Light and Life for Today
EspiritualA daily devotional for your time alone with God. In an increasingly dark world, more than ever, we need to look beyond what we can see, past our present circumstances. In order to see the light and experience life as our Heavenly Father intended, I...
