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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. 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; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all 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." 5 And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. ~ Genesis 7:1-6
Today, we transition in Genesis 7 where the narrative continues to be focused on Noah and his family and the animals God brought to them. Noah was righteous because of his faith in the God of the Bible. The Bible is the foundation of our lives and Genesis is the foundation of the Bible. It is very clear that the New Testament writers believed that this story about Noah and the Flood was absolutely true. This also includes the Lord Jesus, as well. He spoke of Noah as a real person and the account of this Old Testament story as literal.
In v.1 of today's passage we read, "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.'"
In the same way that God spoke to create the heavens and the earth and everything in it, the Lord spoke to Noah. Through it all God gave to Noah a story of immense love and faithfulness in the midst of judgment. This is what life is all about; being given a story with God that we can share with others in hopes that faith in the God of the Bible will be awakened in them.
In v.2-3 of today's passage we read, "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; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth."
This is the first mention of clean animals in Scripture. According to the Mosaic law, we are instructed on how important blood sacrifices are to God, the blood sacrifices of clean animals. It is also clear that sacrifices were instituted by God long before Noah's story. Cain murdered his brother because he was jealous that his brother made the right sacrifice. And, after the flood, Noah came out of the ark and made a sacrifice unto God.
The Old Testament sacrificial system pictured a sacrifice that would come. In all the offerings that Old Testament believers made to God, they didn’t buy salvation with those. Those were, in a sense, depictions of the fact that God wanted their heart and their soul to be engaged with Him. He desired faith; He has always desired faith. And faith is best seen in the giving to Him of all that we have been given, and these are ways in which the believer can demonstrate our yieldedness and submission to God. Again, it wasn't that they earned God's favor; No mere human can do that. In giving their all to God meant that they were better off.
The clean-and-unclean animals were symbolic of the fact that God wanted His people to learn to make distinctions. The clean animals were to be used as sacrifices. Through the sacrifices the Lord was saying to those with a heart to trust Him, "I want you to learn to separate my ways from all other ways." From the very start, God taught His people there was His way and there was another way. And it all had to do with every day life. All of it was to be applied to the most common things of their lives. This is the process involved in learning God's culture and to learn to live in God's way.
In v.4-6 of today's passage we read, "'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.' 5 And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth."
According to v.4, God clearly told Noah why he needed to get on the ark. One week later it was going to rain for forty days and forty nights. God’s grace toward Noah created a man who obeyed God. As is always the case, God's grace precedes our obedience. The flood was a precursor for a coming period of time known as the Tribulation. It will be a seven year period which will culminate in God's judgment upon sinful man.
God gave Noah one final week before the flood to warn the people of His impending judgement. I am sure, during those final seven days, Noah intensified his message of salvation to the people who were on the earth at that time. I am sure the people laughed at the concept of rain since they had never experienced rain before. And, of course, nobody listened. This just underscores how far from God humanity had fallen in those days. Similar to the seven days before the flood, God will give seven years before His next judgement upon man. God is always faithful to offer the way out before man's sinfulness is judged. Aren't you glad that you had the where with all to respond before it became too late?
