Grace to Walk with God  6:8-9 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
When you consider the world Noah lived in, it becomes all the more amazing that he was able to “walk with God.” The constant inventing of evil by humanity had created an unimaginably difficult world to live in. Can you imagine how Noah’s warnings and lifestyle would have been attacked? How lonely he must have felt at times? His strength in the face of this tidal wave of evil was found in becoming a man who “walked with God” (6:9). Only during time alone with God, removed from a sinful world’s drowning noise, could Noah have found the grace to walk with God. Alone in worship and prayer he was able to deepen the roots of his life into the soul that is God. We have much to learn from Noah. Jesus warned that as it was in the days of Noah it would also be in the last days. There are many parallels between his time and ours. If we don’t take seriously what it will take to “walk with God” in an ungodly age, we will most likely become one of its casualties. To walk with God takes serious effort in seeking to spend enough time alone with Him to overcome the influences of a world in rebellion that is all around us. We need time to receive nourishment for our souls from His word and His presence. It’s when our thinking, our emotions, and our desires have time to grow deeper into God’s life that we become spiritually strong. It is by this process that we will be able to weather the tremendous storms of opposition we face. Through this life that depends its roots in God we can walk in strength through this fallen world and not be coerced to walk in its rebellion. Instead we will become a light, a source of unwavering truth that is eternal. |
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Genesis 6:8-7:12  8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Noah Pleases God 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. |
Noah is Introduced and the Ark is Described (Verses 8-22) v. 8 Noah found grace – Noah was chosen by God to carry on the godly line of Seth that would lead to Abraham and then on to Christ. We are told Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet. 2:5). Noah would have received amazing information about God, the fall, and other truths from Enos, the grandson of Adam, who was alive until Noah was 80 years old. v. 9 a just man – Just is tsaddig in Hebrew and refers to one who has interacted with others in a right or fair way. To be just is also a reference to that righteousness that is imputed to a person because of their faith in God (Gen. 15:6; Heb.11:7). | perfect – tamin (Heb.) means to be complete, wholly what one is to be, without blemish. It does not mean sinless perfection. walked with God – Like Enoch (5:24), Noah lived a life of personal fellowship with God. This gave him the strength and grace to live in such a wicked time. v. 11 corrupt – shachath (Heb.) means to destroy, devastate, to ruin. The image of God in humanity had been completely ruined. violence - chamas (Heb.) This means to be boldly violent, to tear down, to be disgraceful or wicked in your violence. v. 12 all flesh – The whole of society had come under the influence of ungodliness. |
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The Ark Prepared 13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 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. |
v. 13 I will destroy – To preserve the godly line of Seth, which would eventually produce the Messiah, God had to take drastic measures. v. 14 an ark – This is a word only used one other time in Exodus 2:3,5. It denoted a container, box etc. gopher wood – This was most likely cypress trees, which are evergreen. rooms – This would serve as storage areas for the feed for animals, and living quarters for Noah, his family, and the animals. pitch – Tar, an asphalt-like material to enhance the ability of the ark to float. v. 15 make it – The size of the ark was 150 yards long, 25 yards wide, and 15 yards high. It was designed to float, not to navigate. v. 16 window – This was an opening 18 inches from the top that ran all the way around the ark. door – There was only one large entrance. three decks – These would enable the full use of the footage available for all the animals that had been taken. | v. 18 my covenant – brith (Heb.) This word that refers to an agreement reached by two parties. Here God agrees to save Noah from the impending judgment in response to Noah’s faith in building the ark. v. 19 two of every sort – The ark was the largest seaworthy vessel referred to in history until 1858. Those who have sought to determine whether or not the ark could have held two of each species have come to the following conclusions. All species that could not withstand the water of the flood would have numbered around 35,000. Secondly, the ark was large. It had enough room to fit 569 double deck railroad cars within it. As an example, one railroad car holds 240 sheep. Assuming the average size of a species was the size of a sheep, there would have been enough room for the estimated species plus feed. v. 22 Noah did – Noah’s had faith that God would do exactly as He said. This is proven in Noah’s action of obeying God in preparing for the judgment of the flood and accepting God’s way of salvation through the ark. |
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Genesis 7 The Great Flood 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. |
CHAPTER 7 v. 1 come into the ark – This command would have been 120 years after the initial command to build the ark (Gen. 6:3-15). During this time Noah not only built the ark but preached, as a warning and plea to the people (2 Pet. 2:5). your household – Noah’s family was sanctified or “set apart” by God. This is likewise the experience of New Testament believers. We are told a believing spouse sanctifies his or her family (1 Cor. 7:13-14). This does not mean we can “save” our families as far as salvation and eternal life are concerned. The scriptures make it clear each person must have their own faith and acceptance of Jesus Christ. However, what it does show is that a believer’s family shares the blessings of that believer, being set-apart to uniquely experience God and the things that give a basis to put faith in God. righteous – Noah’s righteousness began in his faith in God. His trust in God became his first and greatest act of righteousness (Gen. 15:6). His lifestyle of justice, maturity, and walking with God, (Gen. 6:8-9) originated in his belief that God’s will was supremely true and right in all He is. v. 2 seven…clean animals – There were more of the clean animals because these would be used for sacrifice (8:20) and food (9:3). | v. 4 seven more days – God gives a final opportunity for the world to repent. What an amazing last chance! Noah had preached and built the ark, now the animals are entering it. This parallels the seven years to be marked out by God prior to the second coming of Jesus and judgment of the world (Dan. 9:27). forty days and forty nights – The number 40 has often been used by God to signify a time of judgment or special encounters with God. Examples include Num.13:25; Num.14:33; Ex. 24:18; 1 Kings 19:8; Jonah 3:4; Matt. 4:2; and Acts 1:3) v. 5 Noah did…all – Noah’s faith is validated by his complete obedience. He believed enough to actually act, no matter how difficult that seemed to be. He obeyed even when he could not fully understand the importance of that obedience. The importance of faith expressed in obedience is a strong aspect of New Testament teaching as seen in Matthew 7:21-22 and John 14:23. v. 6 six hundred – Since the warning about the flood and command to build the ark was 120 years earlier (Gen. 6:3), Noah would have been 480 years old when he began to build the ark. |
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7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ 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. 10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth 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. |
v. 11 fontains of the great – All the waters underneath the earth’s crust were unleashed as earthquakes opened up the earth and released these subterranean waters. It’s also possible that the earth experienced a shift of its axis in relation to the sun. This would have had an unimaginable impact upon the geological layers and appearance of the earth. This shift in axis combined with surging water could explain why at the North Pole Mammoth Mastodons have been located that were frozen instantly with tropical food in their digestive tracks. | windows of Heaven – Enormous amounts of water were released from the earth’s atmosphere. This was most likely the canopy of water in the atmosphere surrounding the earth like a band of moisture as described in Genesis 1:6-8, 13. |
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