NOAH.

Noah,
the Ark Builder.

Genesis 6

The nations of the world have many records and memories of a great flood at sometime in the past, with the details handed down through their many languages. These various records have many features in common, a large vessel, animals collected and the vessel ending up on top of a mountain after the flood. The Babylonian nation has a record which is very close to those in Genesis, even a Babylonian by the name of Noah, though the reason for the flood is very different. This records that Mankind was so noisy that the "god’s" could not sleep so decided to destroy Mankind in a flood, but one god warned a man named Noah in a dream and he built the vessel to save his family and the animals.
The Babylonian’s flood story records is also found in Sumerian records, though there are not so detailed of the event as the Babylonian version.

If we accept the record, as given in Genesis 7:19ff, the flood must have been universal, this creates a major question, where did all the water come from? The Bible records that the "fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights, verse 11. " We are not told what is meant by "the Deep", possibly water coming up out of the ground is suggested by the text. There is one point to note, if the rainbow was not visible before the flood then as the rainbow needs full sunlight to appear during a period of rain and the sun, then it suggests that the sky was full of very dense clouds prior to the flood, not as clear of clouds as today,
Genesis 2:5,6
This also ties up with how the land was being watered each day. In addition, the people before the flood had very remarkable long lives, Methuselah was listed as living 969 years, Noah was 500 years old when instructed by God to create the Ark. Today, scientists say that the radiations from the sun and space today causes damage to our DNA, our cell information, and as a result a life of less than 100 to 120 years is the normal, this possibly indicates that these damaging rays were not able to reach the earth surface due to very thick clouds acting as a shield.
Note: In Genesis 6:3, God puts a limit on the life of the men and women as 120 years, the time to go before the flood, but this could also be referring to the maximum life of any future members of Mankind, we are very close to that limit today.

Strange Relationships.

We find a reference to marriages between "sons of God" and the daughters of men. A literal translation seems to say that members of the heavenly company selected women from mankind on earth and set up marriage relationships, yet Jesus, in response to the Sadducees in Matthew 22:30, seems to indicate this was not possible, "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." However, we must note that the resulting children of this relationship gave "became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." An alternative idea is that the descendants of Cain’s godless family were seeking the godly families of Seth. There may be other ideas of the meaning of this record but compare and consider,
2 Peter 2:4,5
Jude verse 6.

Note: The New Testament instruction, 2 Corinthians 6:14-16.

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

Verse 7 indicates that God was about to totally destroy His creation, but the love for His creation showed with the facts that "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD," and so God provided a way of salvation for His creation.

No dates of the event are available from the text but it must have been very early in time because of the list of nations as descendent’s of the sons of Noah,
Genesis 10:1ff.

The Biblical Account of Noah’s Life.

Noah was born into a sinful world. The Bible describes a world filled with sin, violence, wickedness and corruption. Noah’s mother and father guided him in this challenging situation. The young Noah, as he grew up he was exposed to all the temptations of this world, he therefore had every chance to choose a life of sin, violence, selfishness and turn against God. Yet, Noah choose a life which was in obedience to God.

What do we know about Noah.

The Bible does not record any real details of the early life of Noah. He first appears in the records when he was five hundred years old. The name of Noah’s father was Lamech, He was the son of Lamech, who was about 182 years old when Noah was born,
Genesis 5:28,29;
Luke 3:36. Lamech was apparently a religious man, and gave his child a name that is thought to mean, "rest," Genesis 5:29.

Enoch, who was his great grandfather, was a man of divine favour because he did not die but was translated to heaven,
Genesis 5:22-24;
Hebrews 11:5.
His grandfather, Methuselah, was recorded as the longest lived man, according to Genesis 5:25-27.

The world situation during the life of Noah.

He lived in a desperately corrupt period, when men had become so universally evil that the Lord decided that He had to destroy the human race,
Genesis 6:1-7.
In the midst of this evil we find that Noah’s life was full of "grace in the eyes of the LORD,"
Genesis 6:8,9,

"and Noah walked with God."

As a result God puts his plan of punishment into operation but first He sends a warning to Noah and told him how to prepare a way of salvation for Noah and his family.
See also 2 Peter 3:3-10.

What caused the world to fall into such a terrible situation?

The world had chosen to turn away from God, the people chose to live a life which lead away from what was natural and right, a life totally corrupt and widespread, every thought and action was totally against the will of God, desires of the flesh totally replaced any thoughts of God, He was openly defied. God had planned to produce a creation which was a precious fruit on which He could pour out His love but the sin of Mankind totally prevented this happening. This was heart piercing for the loving God, His handy work had been ruined, verse 7, this indicates a total blot out, to wipe clean every living creature that was preventing the completion of the original plans and desires of God.

What challenges did Noah and his wife find as they tried to raise their family?

Against this total rejection of God we find one person, Noah who loved and sought to worship God, so God was prepared to provide a way of salvation for this one family, yet we must note that the sinful nature of mankind still existed in this family and must one day reveal the evil of mankind’s nature, yet God was prepared to give His creation another chance.

What was their relationship with God?

In verse 9 we are told that "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. " The life of Noah is described as a life which was pleasing to God, pure and holy and therefore found grace in the eyes of God. God takes notice of any who seek Him and is pleased to relate to any who behave righteously before him. In a world of wicked people God could see one single righteous Noah; that single grain of humanity could not be lost, the Lord knows and cares for those that are His.

Noah’s instructions from God.

It must be remembered that Noah and his family were surrounded by people who were unbelievers, they had no interest in the Lord or His worship and also ignored His powers. As Noah built this very large vessel the people would come to watch him at work, Noah would stop work and give the people the warnings sent from God, the people perhaps listen to the warnings but then laugh, mocked and scoff as he worked. He became a laughingstock.
See also Matthew 24:37,38;
Luke 17:26-27
Also Noah preached righteousness 2 Peter 2:5.
Noah must really be keeping his faith in God, as he worked on the vessel, which appeared to be a useless vessel, year after year, this behaviour would indicate to the rest of the people that he had gone mad, "where is this punishment from God?" Noah was still warning and telling the people to turn back to God while he was working on the ark,
2 Peter 2:5.
Considering his surroundings, the very large vessel he was building and the number of years that he was involved in the work of building the ark as instructed by God, Noah must stand out amongst the stories from the Bible, the story shows his very great trust and persistent faith in God.

The Ark.

Genesis 6:15.

The Hebrew word "ark" means "box" or "chest," it was obviously designed just to float, not sail or have any powered movement. The launching would obviously be no problem as it would just float off as the water rises. The description and information we are given is very brief and basic. We are told that it was made from "gopher wood" and covered in "pitch" inside and out,
Genesis 6:13-16,
We are not told what gopher wood was, but this arrangement would provide a perfect water seal. There appears to be a number of stories or levels, only one door and windows around the top, this has caused much discussion. The dimensions of the ark are uncertain, we are given measurements in the "cubit" which was the main measurement during this period, a cubit was the length of a person forearm, from finger tip to the elbow. It is thought that a cubit was about eighteen inches during that time, but later it became accepted to be about twenty-one inches as the standard length of a cubit. Using an 18-inch measurement for the cubit, we find that the size of the vessel was 300 cubits or 450 ft long, 50 cubits wide, 76 feet and 30 cubits high, 45 feet. The later cubit of 21.6-inches would indicate a larger vessel, but 18 inches was probably the cubit measurement of Noah’s day.

The building of the Ark.

Noah was 500 years old when he had Shem, Ham, and Japheth,
Genesis 5:32,
And Noah was 600 years old when God sent the flood,
Genesis 7:11.
Noah finally died at the age of 950, Genesis 9:28,29
Therefore the time Noah had in building the ark is as given in Genesis 5:32,
Genesis 7:6
Plus interpretation of Genesis 6:3
And 1 Peter 3:20.
Therefore Noah was 480 years old when God informed him of the coming destruction of Mankind, however God then allowed 120 years of grace for Mankind to change and for Noah to build the ark, because the flood came when Noah was 600 years old.

The events during the days before the flood.

Genesis 7:1-16.

God gives a final seven days warning to the world, "For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth." To show how slow He is to anger and that punishment is not an action He likes to do, God gives the world some further period for repentance.

Once the ark was constructed God instructed Noah to assemble the animals, "Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.- fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; " I am sure that God somehow instructed the various animals, birds and insects to go to Noah and enter the ark, it all had to happen in the seven days.
Once the family and the animals were in the ark, God shut and sealed the door, Genesis 7:16, the world had been warned and rejected it, now they would not be able to enter the ark, the place of salvation.

We must note that the Lord did not tell Noah to "go into the ark" but "to come in," indicating that God was already present in the Ark and was waiting for Noah, his wife and his three sons and their wives to enter the ark, Noah knew it was designed as his place of refuge, yet he waited for the command from God, this acting would be indicating that God would go with him, and would lead him into the future, and eventually bring Noah and the family to safety. Noah’s ark, which was to be a refuge, was also to be a prison for the family, for God had shut the door and they had no idea what the future held, but because of the presence of God it became a palace. Note, though they had the invitation, they still had to make a choice to enter into His way of salvation. The world was now to suffer their punishment for their evil life and rejection of God and His worship.
We must all consider what we do in obedience and in faith to God and His Word, we should always seek His guidance and as a result He will give comfort. Those that keep themselves in obedience and pure in times of sin God will keep safe in times of trouble.
Note, that as a result of salvation for Noah, it also meant that the animal world creation would also be preserved.

Noah enters the ark first then his wife and family followed him, they obviously had great faith in what Noah had told them and his witness to the world of the anger of God, but the world rejected the warnings that Noah had brought from God.

The Flood.

"And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth."
It appears that any hostilities and desires between the animals and creatures ended for the present time, "the wolf and the lamb would be able to lay down together," see Isaiah 11:6-9.

God controls the rain and the water drains from off the earth. Eventually the ark comes to rest upon the mountains of Ararat, note the word "mountains" is in plural, not a single mountain. The water continues to drain and eventually Noah sends out a raven and a dove, the raven is a scavenger and would probably find plenty of food, the dove needs a different type of food and needed the water to be low enough for access to the trees, so Noah had to wait until the water was much lower.

God instructed Noah and his family to leave the ark, release the animals etc. "And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake;"

God’s covenant with Noah

We have two covenants recorded associated with the event, the covenant recorded in Genesis 6:18 "with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy son’s wives with thee." might be interpreted as an act of salvation for Noah as long as he built the ark and obeyed the instructions of God, which he fulfilled as recorded in verse 22.
The second covenant was after the flood and which was sealed by the appearance of the rainbow, Genesis 9:9-17; ( compare Isaiah 54:9.) The main features of this covenant were that it was entirely by the hand of God, Mankind, in any form, was not involved. It was universal, applying not just to Noah and his family and descendants but to every living creature, and it was totally without any conditions before it would be fulfilled or lost and there was no time involved, it was everlasting. This second covenant was made by God from His own free loving kindness, that He would never again destroy the world with a flood, but God will use fire the next time,
2 Peter 3:11,12,13;
Revelations 20:11.

Bible reference listing

Events during and after the Flood.

• The duration of the flood, Genesis 7:24.
• Recession of the waters, Genesis 8:3.
• The resting of the ark upon land, Genesis 8:4.
• The birds sent forth, Genesis 8:6-12.
• Leaving the ark, Genesis 8:15-18.
• Noah builds an altar, and offers a sacrifice, Genesis 8:20.
• Noah is honored by a divine covenant, Genesis 9:9-17.
• Noah plants a vineyard and "he drank of the wine, and was drunk," Genesis 9:20.
• Noah curses Ham son Canaan, Genesis 9: 20-27.
  One of Noah’s sons was Ham, who was later to be proved a bad man, yet he was saved in the ark, which shows the grace of God and that it is possible for evil children to be cared for because of their godly parents. and in Christ’s chosen family there was Judas.
• His death, Genesis 9:28,29.

What happened to the Ark afterwards?

Many Bible scholars believe that God has preserved the Ark on top of the mountain where it settled after the flood. The Ark could now be covered by snow and ice, hidden inside a glacier, but which mountain?
With the technology that is now available, photos taken from aircraft and satellite, we have the ability to see objects which may not have been normally visible. There have been a number of reports of people seeing a large structure just visible in a glacier on Mount Ararat near Turkey, this mountain is approximately 17,000 feet high and apparently very difficult to climb. Is this the mountain referred to in Genesis 8:4 as names can change over the years?

Note: Noah recorded that he could see the top’s of mountains as the water dropped, not a single mountain. Also the dove brought an olive tree leaf, this tree is only found between 30 and 40 degrees of longitude north or south. They die if the temperature drops to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and rarely grow above 2000 feet, so where did the dove get the leaf?
The Bible text refers to "mountains of Ararat," there is evidence of an area of mountain called the "mountains of Ararat" just south of the Caspian sea in Iran, which fits better the small amount of information we have.
We must note that the scientists and "experts" of the world have rejected the idea of a God, they have stated that the action of evolution will explains all factors, creation of the universe, the world, the animals and Mankind, all were created by accident, so if God was to reveal the existance of the Ark and so proved that the story of the flood is true, some might ask "what else is true as recorded in the Bible?" It would have a major effect on the so called "experts," and the theory of evolution etc.
It is worth noting, that as part of the effect of the worlds temperature increasing, there is considerable evidence of glaciers and ice sheets melting, anything, at present hidden, may soon be revealed.