Chapter 4.1
Noah’s Ark
The
Ark of the Covenant is the most
treasured
article in the nation of Israel.
It’s
a sacred symbol of God’s covenant
with
them.
A Little Background
After
Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden, the world sunk
deeper into sin to such an extent that men had evil on their mind continually
and God said; “Enough is Enough”. God was Grieved with
extreme Heart Piercing Sorrow and Disappointment and made a decision to start over and
chose Noah
and his family to be His remnant seed. The
third son of Adam and Eve was the Godly line of Seth and his descendent was
Noah.
God had flooded the earth some 2000 years
before (which is another study) and was
“fixin’” to do it again. The Account of
the Flood is not to show why God destroyed all living creatures, but to show
“WHY HE SAVED NOAH”
Before the Flood
Giants: It is believed
that some Angels took women of mortal men to be their wives who produced the
giants. [1] (Nephilim) There are certainly other
opinions on this, but my BS favors this one.
Evil: There was
a population explosion and man’s inclination was on evil, crime and immorality,
but Noah
found favor in God’s eyes and was obedient to
His instructions, he was a righteous man.[2]
He’s a NUT: You can
just hear the scorn, ridicule and laughter of the town’s people who for 120
years, shook their heads in pity as they watched a crazy old
fool and his three
idiot sons build a Hugh Boat on
dry land when there was not any water to be found for hundreds of miles. Some students
of the word and commentaries say that Noah probably had some servant workers
that also helped with the building which with my BS, my Belief System
would tend to agree.
Noah, for 120
years, was an evangelist of the righteous of God’s grace; he preached the
message of; REPENTANCE, “the world is coming
to an end”, but nobody listened [3] …
until it started to rain… and the door was shut… and the tallest mountain was
under some 20 feet of water.
The Family
The
Line of Descendants beginning with Adam, then Seth, Enosh, Cainan,
Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and finally Noah who “walked with
God”. Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather
probably perished in the flood at the age of 969.
Noah’s name
means rest, relief, and comfort; when he was 480 years old God told him to build the Ark; he lived 350
years after the flood and died at the age of 950. He was the second great progenitor of the
human race, with Adam being the first.
Noah was uniquely righteous; he believed God and obeyed according to all
that God commanded Him.
Noah had three sons born about a
year apart.[4]
1)
Shem was born when
Noah was 502; it would be the line of Shem that would produce the Godly line of
Abraham.
2)
Japheth is listed as the middle son, who we believe was
born when Noah was 503.
3)
Ham his youngest son was born when Noah was 504,
about 24 years after Noah started the building project. Hams descendants would be “Egypt”
who later would enslave the Israelites.
Four
wives
were also included; a total of 8 living souls that would be saved on the ark. It is believed that Noah’s three sons had
taken wives from other nations before the flood.[5]
Shem is the
progenitor of the “Semitic” peoples of the East. (White)
Japheth’s descendants are
the inhabitants of Asia Minor and the sea people. (Yellow)
Ham’s descendants
became the Egyptians, Canaanites and Africans. (Black)
After the Flood, Noah and his boys had hundreds of
years to re-populate the earth with all the races.
The Ark
The Point and Purpose: God delivers the righteous who are Obedient and
walk with Him. The Ark was a floating
repository for living creatures, plants, seeds, and food supplies.
The Command: Build a large oblong wooden Ark by yourself on dry land far from any
lake or ocean. When you have some kids,
and they grow up, they can help you too.[6]
Obedience: God spoke; Noah
obeyed in detail with all his heart and received salvation and blessings.
Construction: It took 120 years to build the Ark, it
was made of Gopher
wood which is believed to be “a
term” for “Squared” sealed “Cypress”
wood which was known for its lightness and durability and was used extensively
by the Phoenicians. It was sealed inside
and out with reeds and pitch or a tar substance like “bitumen” a readily available natural
crude petroleum product that boiled up out of the earth. Some
students of the Word believe the wood was Teak wood, claiming Cypress shrinks, withers, and
attracts insects. My BS says it
only had to last a year, so it was a moot point.
Size: It was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet
high. It was taller than a four story
building and one and a half times longer than a football field.
Bottom: Some commentaries indicate that Noah was a
ship builder by trade, but my BS, my Belief System says
that since he lived so far from water; I
don’t think so. Most students believe
the bottom was flat and not contoured like a boat. The Ark’s draft would make it sit about 15
feet down into the water.
Decks: The Ark had three decks. The smart people say the lower deck housed the
larger animals and waste material, and the upper deck was the living quarters
and contained the food supplies.
Windows: Just above the living quarters was an 18” high
roof with wide windows all the way around for light and ventilation. I bet it stinketh. It seems there
was a special window just for sending out the birds.[7]
Door: The one and only
door in the side was so large that God Himself had to close it.[8]
Hatch: On
the top was a removable hatch or covering.[9]
The kitchen: Nothing is mentioned in scripture about a
kitchen, but I would put a kitchen in the middle of the upper deck living quarters,
just under the vents to cook my Bar-B-Que. Something to think about; When you cook a cow,
8 people can’t eat the whole thing in one day, so storage and preservatives
would be required. (They were not allowed to eat
blood)
Navigation: Man’s expertise and ingenuity had nothing to do
with guiding the ship. There was NO motor, NO rudder, NO sails, and NO oars, it was the hand of
God’s grace that guided it.
The Cargo
In the very
beginning, God supernaturally directed all the
animals to come to Adam for him to name them.[10] One week before the flood, God invited Noah and his family, to enter into the
Ark; they would be the sole human survivors; then God supernaturally directed
all the other living creatures to enter also. NOTE: Noah did not
go and get the animals, they came to him just like they did Adam.[11] As
they arrived; his job was to just lead them into the place that was already
prepared for them. When Christ returns
He will lead us into the place that He has already prepared for us. SELAH
Two by Two: God told
Noah to bring into the ark, a pair of every living creature, both male and
female; animals, and birds.[12] Fish, worms and insects were not taken into
the Ark except what might have divinely hitch hiked on the creatures. It has been calculated, that the Ark could
have accommodated over 50,000 animals. (That’s 6,250 animals per person, per day to
care for)
Assistance: Scripture implies that God supernaturally
assisted Noah and his family in taking care of the needs of all the living
creatures.[13]
Sacrifice: Noah was told to bring five additional pair
of the clean birds and animals for beast of burden food, and sacrifice; that’s
a total of seven pairs of the clean animals.
Sustenance: He was to bring every kind of food and store
it away.[14]
This probably included plants and seed
and enough food and fresh water for
every living creature for over a year. Noah was able to harvest the fields before the
rain came and a year later was out of the Ark just in time to plant.
Drink: Some
students believe that there were two HUGE cisterns; one on
each end of the Ark’s living quarters to catch and retain the fresh rain water
for a year; there were also some grapevines to be planted later for a little “Kick-a-poo joy juice” when
they docked and tilled the land again.[15]
It’s
in the Book
The Flood
Ponder this for a moment;
the Book says a day to the lord is like a 1000 years and a
1000 years is but a day; so the six day
creation would be 6000 years and he
rested on the 7th.… Hold that thought.
The Noatic flood occurred about 2000
years after the creation of the world as recorded in Genius; which was
still another 2000 years before
Christ was born and now it has been another 2000 years since His birth; we are now at the 7000 year point where God rested.
Did you see it? We are now in position for the 1000 year reign of
rest in Christ.
Noah started construction when he was 480 years old and it started
raining when he was 600 years old. That
means it took Noah and the boys 120
years to complete the Ark. Not only
did it pour rain, but the springs in the great depths of the earth burst forth
also. Two opposite forces; the deluge
was 24 hours a day for 40 days and nights straight.[16] The waters rose to a height of more than
twenty feet above the tallest mountain and stayed for 150 days and then started
receding.[17]
We don’t know if the flood was worldwide
or just the world that was known at the time of Noah. In Columbia SC, we have a sand belt 150 miles from the ocean that the smart
people say was under water at some point
How Deep: The highest peak of Mt. Ararat where the
Ark came to rest is 16,916 feet
above sea level, plus the water was 20 feet above that.[18] I would be amiss if I didn’t say that some
students of the Word believe that the mountains and valleys did not actually form
till after the flood, my BS thinks they may be right.
On April 17th, (Their second month) God in His
grace invited Noah to enter the Ark; Noah waited for God’s next instructions;
then one year later on April 27th
with “Devine permission”, Noah “abandoned ship” with his family. What’s that
strange smell he said? It was Fresh air.
Did you see it? The Ark floated for ten months and Noah left the
Ark only at God’s Devine command; Obedience. By the way; just to drive you crazy, some
commentaries at great length, say the Ark was a Trapezoid, a ship whose sides
were slanted in, meeting in the middle like a tri-angle.
The Covenant
The Ark signifies “Salvation:” The water symbolized “Baptism.”[19] Noah
entering the Ark signified “Acceptance.” The Closing of the Door was God’s “seal”
of judgment and the sign was the “rainbow.” It was instituted by God, universal in scope,
unconditional and everlasting. God
promises that He will not destroy the earth with a flood again and set a RAINBOW as a sign in the sky as a reminder of
his COVENANT with man.[20] However
on the Day of the Lord, the earth will be destroyed by fire and the unbeliever
should consider getting some fire insurance.[21]
As soon as Noah had finished with disembarking the animals from the Ark,
he made an alter to sanctify the earth and to praise God for his provisions.[22]
Sightings
After
Noah “Abandoned Ship”, the Bible does not speak of what happened to the
vessel. We do not even know on which
peak of Mount Ararat the Ark was grounded on.
George Hagopian claimed he
saw the ark on Mount Ararat in 1908 and described it as totally enclosed with a
flat bottom, a slightly sloping roof with an additional row of openings raised
above the center running the entire length of the Ark; below is an artist
sketch from the “Illustrated Manners and Customs of
the Bible;” (An important book by J.I.
Packer and M.C. Tenny to have in your library.)
God says that just as it was in the time of Noah,
So it will be when Jesus returns.[23]
The call to Noah to come into the Ark is the same call of the Gospel
message today. COME. The door to the Ark was left open for seven
more days for any that would come. If
you want on the Ark you must make your reservation now. When God shuts the door, no man can open it.
[1]
Genesis 6:1-2 –
Angels took mortal women to be their wives. -- Genesis 6:4 – The angels
offspring’s were Nephilim; giants -- Genesis 6:5-7 – God is grieved; His
patience is wearing thin
[2] 2 Peter 2:5 – Noah was
righteous and a preacher of righteousness
[3] Genesis 6:12 – Everyone
was corrupt except Noah -- Genesis 6:8-9 – Noah found favor with God -- 1 Peter
3:20 – God waited patiently for 120 years while Noah preached and built the Ark
[4] Genesis 6:9-10 – Noah had
three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth -- Genesis 9:20 – Noah was a farmer; tilled the
soil; a vineyard
[5] Genesis 6:18 – Bring your
wife, yours sons and their wives into the Ark -- Genesis 7:7 – Just eight
people in the Ark
[6] Genesis 6:14-16 – Here’s
the specifications to build the Ark
[7] Genesis 8:6-7 – A special
window just for sending out birds.
[8] Genesis 7:16 – The Ark’s
door was so big, God had to shut it.
[9] Genesis 8:13 – A removable
hatch on top --
[10] Genesis 2:19 – God brought the animals to ADAM
[11] Genesis 7:7-9 – God brought the animals to NOAH.
[12] Genies 6:19-21 – Bring
two of every living creature into the Ark and every kind of food
[13] Genesis 8:1 – God
remembers THE NEEDS of
the wild animals
[14] Genesis 7:2-3 – Take
seven pairs of the clean animals for food.
[15] Genesis 9:20 – Noah
planted a vineyard just as soon as they docked
[16] Genesis 7:11-12 - It rained
forty days and forty nights.
[17] Genesis 6:17 – Everything
that has breath will perish in the Flood -- Genesis 7:24 – The water stayed on
the earth for 150 days Genesis 8:3-5 – The Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat.
[18] Genesis 7:17-20 – It got
deep, the mountains were covered over 20 feet -- Genesis 8:3-5 – The Ark came
to rest on Mount Ararat.
[19] 1 Peter 3:21 – Water
symbolizes the Baptism that saves
[20] Genesis 9:12-13 – The
Rainbow is a sign of the covenant between God and Man
[21] Isaiah 24:6 – Make
Believers should get some fire insurance
[22] Genesis 8:20 – Noah make
the first alter to sanctify the earth.
[23] Matthew 24:37-39 – Having
a good time – eating and drinking -- Luke 17:26-27 – In the days of NOAH; Eat, Drink, get married --
Luke 17:28-30 – In the Days of LOT; Eat, Drink, get married -- 2 Peter 3:4-7 – Where is this
coming Messiah? Everything is the same
as in the beginning
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