NOAH BUILD YOUR ARK
Introduction
Adam and Eve sinned. They were driven out from the Garden of Eden, to build up an existence that was defined by hard labor and pain. Eve had two sons and when they were grown up, the older son killed the younger one in a fight. Many sons and daughters were born and then grandsons and granddaughters. The number of people increased, but the amount of sin increased as well. So much so that God started to feel sorry he had made humans in the first place.
Judgment
Listen to what God says about man:
The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
How sad that God’s beautiful creation had become so corrupted. Then God decided to punish mankind.
So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them."
One Blameless Man
But what about the promise God made to Adam and Eve? If God was going to destroy all people, how could the Savior be born who would destroy the power of Satan? God is not forgetting about his promise. There is still one man who was blameless among the people of his time. His name was Noah. God told Noah about his plans to put an end to all people. Then God told Noah:
Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
God ordered Noah to build a huge ship and he gave precise instructions as to how he was to build the ship.
God told Noah:
For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 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. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.
Noah did just as God told him.
The Great Flood
Noah built the ark and warned the people of his time. Building the ark took a long time, so people had ample time to repent. But no one was interested. Eventually, Noah and his three sons, their wives and Noah’s wife all embarked on the ship. They took with them a pair of animals of every kind, and seven pairs of all ‘clean’ animals - that is, animals they were allowed to sacrifice to God or to eat. Then God sent rain and it rained for forty days and forty nights. All life on earth perished:
And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.
The earth remained flooded for 150 days, about 5 months.
Then God sent a wind and the waters started to recede. Finally the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat, which is in modern-day Turkey. It still took some time before the earth was dry enough for Noah to leave the ship.
God’s Covenant with Noah
The first thing Noah did when he got out of the ship, was build an altar to God. He sacrificed some animals and God was pleased with it. Then God promised that he would never again send a great flood on the earth. He set up a covenant with Noah and gave a wonderful sign of the promise he made:
And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”
What does it mean that God establishes a covenant with Noah and every living creature with him? It means God and Noah and all who are with Noah, are bound together in a relationship. This is wonderful because the relationship between God and Adam and all living beings was disturbed because of sin. Now God reaches out to his creation and promises that never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. And as a sign of this promise, God has set his rainbow in the clouds. Each time you see a rainbow, think of God’s promise to Noah.
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