January 18 - Noah and the Ark

Today we are going to talk about one of the most overly used nursery themes. . . Noah’s ark. But he end of it, I hope you ask yourself. . . “Why on earth do we plaster this on the walls of baby rooms and nurseries everywhere?” 

 

So let’s start reading in Genesis 6:5. I am actually going to give commentary throughout this time. So hopefully this doesn’t mess you up. But I want to talk this through as we go. 

 

Vs. 5 - The Lord saw how great he wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 

 

Let’s make sure we are clear about what is happening here. Now that chaos has entered back into the world, it is consuming the human race. In fact, the structure of this sentence implies that there was an instantaneous manifestation of evil from the moment something was in the heart of a human. The human heart thought and felt something, and then acted on it. The problem with acting on thoughts that aren’t fully processed, is that we become impulsive and irrational. We do whatever our heart wants without processing the ramifications of what we are facing. 

 

See, the heart wants what the heart wants. . . It leads and guides us in places we don’t actually want to go. But before we can realize what we are doing, it is too late. It’s why people will spend their money on a new car, get home, and a month later when the first payment is due , a reality sets in that makes them regret making such a purchase. . . It’s called buyers remorse. Or, it’s why a person hooks up with another person and the next morning when their brain processes what they just did, they feel guilt and shame. . . We can’t allow our hearts to lead us because, as Jeremiah 17:9 says, the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? If we allow our heart to lead us. . . we will make decisions that cause trouble and chaos. 

 

It’s why Lamech murdered a man for hurting him. His heart lead him and he responded in a way that allowed chaos to take over. 

 

So listen to vs. 6

 

The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created - and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground -for I regret that I have made them.” 

 

What? Hold the phone. . . the Lord REGRETS that he made mankind? ? ? 

 

NO, not exactly. . . don’t take this out of context. 

 

Now that mankind is only responding to their own evil thoughts all the time. . .he regrets what is happening. But please understand that this word that we have translated to mean regret (nāḥam - naw-kham’) actually means to feel deep sorrow and pity - to have compassion. . . 

 

He isn’t disappointed in his decision to make mankind. He feels compassion that mankind is allowing their own hearts to dictate the state of life around them. For a group of people who were tasked with being fruitful, they have found a way to do things their own way so much, that they are allowing evil and darkness to rule the earth once again. God literally saw the dark, formless, nothingness entering back into creation once again. Disorder was ruling instead of order. 

 

Ok, this is a big point. I want you to remember this. God’s plan - this created order that was meant to cause the thriving and multiplication of life, was now showing signs of reversal and mankind was eating away at creation. . . All they did was evil all the time. . . You know. . . it’s almost like they need some sort of rules, or maybe law that will keep them from allowing this evil to take back over. . . . hmmm. . . maybe we will get that in the next book of the Bible. . . 

 

So God orders Noah to build an ark. 

 

Noah follows God’s instructions to the very last detail.

 

And God gave him details. Because he is a God of order. . . 

 

In fact, vs. 22 says that Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

 

And after the animals are on the ark, 

 

God causes the earth to flood and destroy everything that was living. 

 

Now here is the interesting part. God is about to reverse creation. . . 

 

Genesis 7:6 - 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 has commanded Noah. And after seven days the floodwaters came on the earth. 

 

11 - 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.  - quick interlude here - remember the second day of creation.

 

Genesis 1:6 - And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the value “sky”. And there was evening, and there was morning - the second day. 

 

So remember that important word - he separated. There was water that went all the way up to the exosphere. And on the second day he separated it so that there was a clear distinction between the water vapor in the sky and the water on the earth. . . But listen to how high the waters went. 

 

Vs. 17 - 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. . . 

 

Hold the phone. 

 

Now when workmen construct a ship, they must take into consideration how much of it will be under water and how much will rise above. The amount underwater is called the draught. This is determined by the size of the ship and the amount of cargo it is able to hold. In building a water vessel that is used for carrying cargo, the average draught is 1/2 of the ships height. Well, when we look at the height of the ark in 6:15 we see this specific instruction - 

 

This is how you are to build it: the ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. . . 30 high. . . So half of that would be under water, which would need 15 cubits of clearance. . . 

 

Huh. How coincidental. 

 

The waters rose to over 15 cubits above the peak of the highest mountain. 

 

See, an instruction for Noah that could have seemed pointless, was actually an important piece for making sure the ark could float above anything below. Noah following instructions kept him safe from dangers below. 

 

But here is another thing to think about. 

 

15 cubits above the highest mountain on the earth. . . . 

 

15 cubits is around 23 feet. 

 

Everest is the highest mountain above sea level in the world and it’s peak is at 29,029 feet. So think about this. . .The ark was floating at least 29, 054 feet above sea level. That’s really high! IN fact, just over 26,000 feet is something called the death zone. A person can’t survive over this altitude for very long . . . . so when you read vs 21 - it makes the picture even more gruesome. . . 

 

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. 

 

Ok, do you have this picture. . . 

 

The waters are rising. 

 

If you are like me, you say, “I would have found something to float on. Maybe even held on to the ark. . . somehow I would have survived.” 

 

But then as the waters rise, the altitude would have caused me to get sick and eventually suffocate. When you enter that dead zone, your blood thickens, your heart rate increases, you can’t think straight, and you lose the ability to reason properly. So even as I held onto the ark, I would have lost my ability to function within hours. 

 

Ok, here is another interesting fact. . . 

 

When a person is going to climb Everest, they have to acclimate to the altitude. Guess how many days this takes. . This takes at minimum. . . 40 days. . . 

 

Which is interesting. 

 

The rains came down for how long?

 

Vs. 17 - For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. . . . 

 

It was like someone must have known what the body could handle and how to properly get someone to the point of survival. But not only that, the ark was a refuge. God made it special to sustain life while he reset creation. 

 

So here is the thing. . . 

 

When we read the flood account, God was resetting things back to the second day of creation. He maintained the separation between light and dark. This was never in question. But then he erased the boundaries for each of the other pieces, causing the waters to flood back in. 

 

But here is the best part of all. .  

 

Part 3 of our meta-narrative. . . God reconciled all things back to him through Jesus

 

The ark was a Type for Christ. 

 

The order of creation was restored through Jesus. . . 

 

And in this story, we see God’s careful attention to make sure that humanity can survive. He thought through every detail so as to sustain life. 

 

And then through one vessel, all of humanity was saved. 

 

This was a precursor to Jesus. 

 

God’s intent this entire time was not to punish or destroy, but to save and restore! 

 

And that is what the ark is about. 

 

So while I don’t think it was meant to be some cutesy pairing on a nursery wall, The ark surrounded by death and brutal destruction, allowed us the insight to see how specifically God was willing to save mankind. It’s beautiful to know that he would do whatever it takes to reset and give us the chance to thrive. As painful as this was, he did it so that humanity would have the chance at life. 

 

See, he cares for you enough, that he has thought through every detail that is needed to save you. He knows what you need and how to get you to a safe place of receiving his life. All you have to do is trust and obey. 

 

And when you do, he will save you. . .