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. 6:8; 2 Pet. 2:5
Noah was a righteous man who lived according the word of God. Because of this God showed Favor towards him, and will spare him, and his immediate family from this soon coming destruction of the whole earth, and all that is in it. Let us not forget Lot; God promised Abraham that He would not destroy the righteous with the wicked if he found five righteous among the cities. God found only one, Lot, in his righteousness the Lord allowed Lot to bring his family with him if the so desired to follow. Through Noah’s righteousness, his immediate family was also spared God’s wrath. God is a very loving, merciful and soft hearted God. He knows how much Noah loves his wife and sons, just as Lot to loved his wife and daughters as well. He would not destroy the whole earth and Noah’s most cherished loved ones and the same can be said of Lot. God knows that both of these men would be devastated to see their families die in such a way, besides all that; would Noah even think to obey God if he knew that He was going to kill his whole family as well? Or Lot? I look at these two events with great hope and expectation, that in the end times, If I am found worthy and righteous enough to escape from the great tribulation that our loving Father above would give me and all those found righteous enough the same consideration. albeit, Noah, Lot, and my family will still have a choice to choose if they want to come with us. Remember the story of Lot and His two son in laws, they Mocked Lot and chose not to go with him (Gen. 19:14).
2. “You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 6:19, Lev. 11
3. “also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of the earth.
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.”
For more info on clean and unclean meats you can go to the United Church of God website and either order, read, or download the pamphlet titled: What Does the Bible Teach About Clean and Unclean meats. That I have highlighted here. We notice here that the number seven is used again to describe the number of clean animals to be brought aboard the ark, as well as how many more days there will be when God begins causing the rains to flood the earth. The reason there were more clean animals than unclean is because of their importance to God when it comes to sacrifices and burnt offerings, and the fact that after the flood, in part of the covenant God makes with Noah is that He will now give man the right to eat the clean animals, fish and birds of the earth (Gen. 9: 1-3), it wasn’t until this very moment that man now had permission to eat animals for meat. Before the flood all man could eat was the plants, and herbs of the field. Even still they were still not permitted to eat all the unclean animals, fish and birds. Noah didn’t have to be told this, for the laws of clean and unclean had already been established in his time, How else would Noah know what animals were clean and unclean to bring the correct number of each kind into the ark? in chapter eight we will read that after the flood Noah will,offer up every type of clean animal and bird as a burnt offering unto the Lord. Since the clean animals will be used as offerings to the Lord, and for meat to men, it stands to reason why more clean animals came aboard the Ark. Only clean animals are accepted by God for these ceremonies. I have started my own file on the purpose of the use of the number seven and how it is always a sign of perfection in the Bible. As I go through the scriptures I will be adding to this file every time this number is mentioned in the Bible, and its significance.
5. And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanding him.
6. Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. 5:32; 9:28, 29
As we saw earlier Noah did everything that God had commanded. He never questioned God in regards to how he was supposed to get all the animals of the earth to go into the ark. Noah knew the power of God and His authority over all his creation. Therefore he had faith that God would guide the animals to him and into the ark.
7. So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his son’s wives went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.
8. Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth,
9. two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 6:19
What a sight! that must Have been, All the animals of the world converging onto the ark. I also wonder what the people all around must have thought? when they saw all the wild beast of the field, willfully going into the ark. The animals on the ark were one male and one female, each of every kind. The purpose of this distinction is obvious: the world must be populated again, and the only way to do this is thru the opposite genders of every kind, as This was God’s purpose from the beginning of creation (Gen 1:28).
10. And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth.
Noah and his family were on the ark for seven days before the flood waters and the fountains of the deep began to cover the whole earth. Seven, the number of perfection in God’s word; What is the significance of having Noah, his family, and all the animals locked up in the ark for seven days until the flood-waters started? Maybe God waited seven days in order to test Noah’s faith. One can only imaging that after a few days his family would start to question whether or not Noah was just a mad man making this whole thing up all these years. Maybe by the seventh day his family might have been ready to leave the ark. Noah though never wavered from his faith in God. As I had noted in the previous chapter, Methuselah died in the same year as the flood, and according to Rabbi Rashi and Jewish tradition the extra seven days were for the mourning of Methuselah.
Rabbi Rashi: For in another seven days: (Sanh. 108b) These are the seven days of mourning for the righteous Methuselah, for the Holy One, blessed be He, had consideration for his honor, and delayed the retribution. Go and calculate the years of Methuselah and you will find that they ended in the six-hundredth year of Noah’s life.
11. In the sixth hundred year of Noah’s life, 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.
12. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.
We must keep in mind that the date of the flood is listed in verse 11: the second month (which is not to be confused with the Gregorian calendar that we use today, which would make this occurrence in February.) We must go by the Jewish sacred calendar in order to know what time of the year the flood began, and also to be able to determine the exact time of year the floods ended. There is a great article at the United Church of God website (www.ucg.org) titled: Did God Give a Calendar? By Leon Walker. This is a two page article that goes into great detail about the Hebrew calendar, and the calendar created by man. For the purpose of my writings here, I feel it is not necessary to copy the whole article, but only to present his conclusion to the argument. The following excerpt is this conclusion:
We must then ask the question, what is the origin of the Hebrew calendar? The simple answer is, we do not know. Could God have given to Moses a calendar with all of its essential elements defined? Of course, He could. Could God have used a calendar that was already in existence at that time? Of course, He could. While we do not know the history of the Hebrew calendar, we do know that God used the Jewish people to preserve His Word. Isn’t it also logical to conclude that He used the same Jewish people to preserve a calendar that will enable us to keep His Holy Days at the correct time? If we do not accept the logic of that conclusion, then we have no other alternative than to accept one of the calendars created in recent times by men with no other authority than their own. These individuals do not have any biblical basis or history to prove that their calendar is the correct one.
You can go to the website that is highlighted above to read the article in its entirety. Obviously, according to verse eleven we know that a calendar had already been established at the time that Moses was recording the events of the flood, as God and or His Spirit was revealing this to him. It’s important that we go by the Hebrew calendar in order to know exactly what time of year it was (According to the sacred calendar), and use it in comparison with the Gregorian calendar we use today to help us determine when the flood began, and ended.
There is one other thing that was just told to me by my brethren (one of the elders of my church), that must be brought to light so as to give credence to the Bible, it’s authorship, and it’s truth, and that is in regards to the mention of the Fountains of the deep in verse 11 above. first let’s take a look at the Hebrew definition of fountains. When we see what the Hebrew meaning is for fountain, then we can get a better understanding of what is being described, and how it took only forty days and nights for the whole earth to be completely covered with water.
Fountains (H4599):מעינה / מעינו / מעין: ma‛yân / ma‛yenô / ma‛yânâh: BDB Definition:
1) spring
I am going to copy a page from an article in the Vertical thought magazine, written by Amanda Stiver (who is also a contributor to the United Church of God) which describes what the fountains of the deep are.
Vertical News: Vast reservoirs of water found in the
earth mantle.
Noah’s “fountains of the deep”? Unique mineral properties help scientists find evidence of water deep inside the earth.
Inside the earth’s mantle, the rocky layer between the core and the crust, are vast water reservoirs stored in a mineral called ringwoodite. Researchers from the University of New Mexico and Northwestern University in Illinois have used the properties of ringwoodite as it melts and combines with water molecules to set parameters for analyzing seismic waves as they pass through the earth’s layers.
The result of their efforts was the discovery of a transition zone in the mantle that appears to be a stable water storage area. They posit (to assume the existence of) that the amount of water stored in the mantle may well be as large as that which is in the world’s oceans. Other researchers welcome the discovery as adding one more piece to the puzzle of how the earth’s water cycle and internal heating and cooling functions (Joseph Castro, “Found! Hidden Ocean Locked Up Deep in Earth’s Mantle,” Live Science at LiveScience.com, June 12, 2014).
Fountains of the deep…
While a stunning scientific discovery, water deep inside the earth is not a new concept for those who read the Bible. During the days of the Great Flood that God allowed during the time of Noah, it rained torrentially, which caused catastrophic flooding, but the waters of the precipitation cycle alone would likely not have been enough to cover the mountain ranges of the earth. Additional water sources were necessary. An interesting description is made about how the flood waters ceased: “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,” (Gen 8:2-3, NKJV). Clearly a source of water deep in the earth played a role in the flood of Noah’s time. These “fountains of the deep” released and then re-absorbed vast quantities of water. A huge storage area of water deep in the earth’s mantle very plainly fits that description.
The point I am trying to make here is this: How could Moses have known about the Fountains of the Deep during his time, when they were just recently discovered? It had to Be God almighty (who created the earth), that revealed this knowledge to him. This is a great example of the Bible’s authenticity. We will see more examples of this as we read thru the scriptures.
13. On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with him, entered the ark- 8:1; 2 Pet. 2:5
14. They and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, every bird of its sort. 15. And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life.
16. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in. 6:19
From Gen 6:19- 7:16 (a total of only 20 verses), God has mentioned four times, the fact that the animals, and the birds, all went into the ark two of each, male and female. It’s pretty obvious that God wanted to re-populate the earth once more. It’s also very obvious that God made them male and female for this purpose. He did not make a second man from the rib of Adam, instead He created a female for the purpose of joining to each other together to become as one (Gen. 2:22-24). It appears also that as soon as everyone boarded the ark Immediately the Lord shut the door. And again we see the faith of Noah as he did all that God had commanded him without hesitation.
17. Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. vv. 4, 12; 8:6
18. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters.
19. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered.
20. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward and the mountains were covered. 8:15
Twice he says that it prevailed exceedingly, and greatly over the earth. The water was so immense that it covered even the highest mountains on the earth. It was so immense that the huge ark itself was lifted up off the ground and began to be tossed to and fro over the waters. I believe the reason for God being so specific on the details of the depth of the waters is a spiritual lesson. Just as we, as believers are baptized, by being completely submerged in water, as a sign of purification and cleansing, so to the earth had to be cleansed and purified from its iniquities (1 Pet 3:20,21).
To quote from the UCG website from one of their study guides: “ Noah believed God and committed himself to obey Him, and God saved Noah from the waters of death. Peter explained this as an anti-type of baptism that symbolizes cleaning us on the inside.”
I believe this quote from the study guide explains what I am trying to say here.
21. And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.
22. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the Spirit of life, and all that was on the dry land, died. 1:30; 2:7
23. So he destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. Heb. 11:7; 2 Pet. 3:5
Again God emphasizes the depth of the destruction on the earth. Twice he declares that every living thing that breaths, that wasn’t on the ark perished. Let there be no doubt as to what God just did. Notice also that God states in the KJV version that all that breath with the nostrils of the spirit of life. this tells me that The mammals of the sea, and rivers, and lakes, were spared from this destruction, and even the plant and tree kind. this would explain how after only one hundred and sixty four days from the end of the rains, that a dove could have brought back a leaf from a tree. Also I must note here that in the Septuagint (Greek) version of the old testament and the Latin Vulgate version omit the words “of the spirit” from verse 22.
24. And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.
The rains and the Fountains of the Deep continued, non stop for forty days and nights. However the flood-waters prevailed over the whole face of the earth for one hundred and fifty days, for a total of five months. According to the calendar I am using, I calculate that the one hundred and fifty day period in which the waters prevailed over the earth would have put this in the Jewish sacred calendar month of Nisan, which in the Gregorian calendar month of March 17th. The Spring Holy days are during this period. This makes so much sense when you think about The spring Holy days (Which consist of the Passover, and the Days of Unleavened Bread), Christ is our Passover Who died for the remission of sins. in a sense isn’t this what just happened in the flood, according to the law of God; the penalty for sin is death, and this is just what happened to all but those who were in the ark. The next Spring Holy day (Immediately after Passover), is followed by The Days of Unleavened bread. Unleavened bread does not rise because of the lack of leaven, the leaven in the bread is symbolic of the piling up of sin after sin throughout the course of the year. for seven days we are not to eat any leavened bread, or even have leaven (Sin), in our house (Our bodies), The flood took, for the most part, sin out of the world for a brief time, just as we take Leaven out of our houses for seven days. In verse four were are told that Noah and his family were shut up in the ark for seven days before the flood waters began. Could this also be symbolic with the seven days of Unleavened Bread? Seven days Noah and his family were taken out of the world (full of sin), and then they were washed clean by the waters that fell upon them, also symbolic of our baptism (One of the first steps in the transformation of our lives), as Noah and his family were transformed into a new life, leaving the old life behind (Representative of the old man). Romans 6:6. The days of Unleavened Bread are representative of the christians transformation from the life as slaves to sin, leading to the penalty of death for those sins (according to the law of God), leading to the new man, not conformed to the world of the evil one, but transformed to the renewing of our mind and living a new life that you know what is good, pleasing and perfect will of God. (Rom. 12:2).