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17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 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. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.” 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did. ~ Genesis 6:17-22
Today, we conclude our study of Genesis 6 where we are told by God of the impending flood due to the wickedness of man. There is no other way to interpret today's passage which clearly shows that God was behind it all. As disturbing as it may sound, God had to judge sin, otherwise sin would have won. God is both infinitely merciful and infinitely just. And sadly, there will always be those who will reject His free offer of salvation. But, for us who receive it, we will spend eternity in heavenly bliss.
In v.17 of today's passage we read, "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die."
God delivered the flood in response to man's wickedness. Man's wickedness ultimately exposed itself in Noah's day in the sexual realm. It is very noteworthy that in every listing of wickedness in the Bible, we find its ultimate expression to be sexual. This is what Paul described in Romans 1, where he traced man's decline and the fall of all societies back to sexual dysfunction. The ultimate sign of impending collapse in a society is traced biblically back to the turning of men to unnatural lusts with other men, and women to unnatural lusts with other women.
In v.18 of today's passage we read, "But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you."
God promised to establish His covenant with Noah. This is the first time the term "covenant" is used in the Bible. Even though God was going to destroy the world, the emphasis here is on the fact that God would save through the Flood anyone willing enough to believe in the goodness of God. Sadly, it was only Noah and his family who believed and were saved by the ark. The covenant God established with Noah was binding and it was a covenant of life and also of death.
The Lord Jesus established the New Covenant in His blood and it is just as binding as what God did for Noah. Like Noah, God has given the conditions and all who obey these conditions, they will be saved. The term "saved" is used 106 times in the Bible and it is always used to indicate being rescued "out of something" or "from something." Not for something.
Salvation is always a work accomplished by God. Our salvation is a salvation from God's wrath. The Bible says we were enemies of God and yet He accomplished the work necessary to restore us to Him and then invited us to believe that His Son's death on the cross made it possible for us to enter into a personal relationship with Him. It is our relationship with God that saves us from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and ultimately, the presence of sin. Going to heaven is the result of being made right in the eyes of God through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In v.19-20 of today's passage we read, "19 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. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive."
As instructed by God, Noah brought two of every type of animal into the ark. This is not hard to accept as a real event that actually happened in history when we remember that God had instructed Noah to build the ark 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall. The ark had three decks, all spaced fifteen feet apart. It is calculated that there was 100,000 square feet of deck space in the ark. There was 1.4 million cubic feet of storage space which could have easily accommodated 125,000 animals the size of sheep. Given its size, there was plenty of room in the ark to accommodate for all the animals that needed to be on it.
In v.21-22 of today's passage we read, "21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.” 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did."
The specifics given in this passage provides the infrastructure to conclude that the Flood actually happened. While destroying the world, God was saving anyone willing enough to believe in the God of the Bible. The ark was God's idea, and it was how God chose to save Noah and his believing family. The ark was not only a symbol of salvation, it was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
During the entire time that Noah built the ark, 120 years, he preached to the people of the world about the righteousness of God and the judgment that was to come. Noah preached there was only one way to be made right with God and that way was to get on the ark. Noah's call has been ringing out God's justice and His offer of forgiveness ever since. But the call has been rejected far more than it has been accepted.
There was only one door to enter the ark. The ark was a picture of our eternal salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. It was the Lord Jesus who said, "I am the door." Then, He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." Although it was the Lord Jesus who earned our salvation, it is up to us to receive His free gift of salvation. There is yet another day of coming judgement when God will finally render sin and death void. And, it can be escaped, but you must get on board. And you can only come through one door and that door is the Lord Jesus Christ.
