Explore the Bible: January 7

Judgment • Genesis 6:13-22; 7:20-24

Laura Lee Leathers 

You and I can’t begin to fathom the depths of depravity that prevailed in the days of Noah. Sin was rampant. Nothing but evil was on men’s minds all the time. It’s so bad that “The Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Gen. 6:6,7). 

But there was one man, Noah, who had found favor (first mention of grace) in the sight of God (also see Ezekiel 14:14,20). Out of all the inhabitants upon the earth then, only Noah was righteous and walked with God (vs. 8-10).

Judgment Announced (Gen. 6:13-17, NKJV) – God tells Noah that all flesh—every living creature- will be destroyed. It’s time for Noah and his family to prepare. 

God instructs Noah to build an ark. The word “ark” (tebah) is found here in the focal passage and again when Moses is placed in a basket in the Nile River (Ex. 2:3,5). Gopherwood (possibly cypress) was to be used for the ark’s construction. This is the only mention of gopherwood in the Bible. Covering the inside and outside of the ark, Noah was to use pitch (a sealant).

The structure of the ark would have three decks. The length is approximately 450 feet, the width is 75 feet, and the height is 45 feet. There was one entrance door and one window.  

In verse 17, God describes the floodwaters. The earth’s surface was watered by the “vast watery depth” (Gen. 2:5). In Genesis 7:11, we read that “the floodgates of the sky” would bring rain for the first time. 

“The Hebrew word for “flood” is an ancient term that appears only in this episode and in Psalm 29:10. This word appears to have been created primarily to describe the flood of Noah” (Lifeway). 

It took years, somewhere around 75 to 100, for the ark to be constructed. There was still time to repent. While Noah was a witness/preacher of what was to come (2 Peter. 2:5). 

Rescue Promised (Gen. 6:18-22) – “A covenant is a binding agreement or an oath-bound promise between two people or groups of people” (Lifeway). However, the covenant between God and Noah is different. Why? Because they are not equals. God is the one who takes the initiative to have a covenant relationship with His people. 

God promises to protect and preserve Noah and his family in this passage. What did Noah have to do to fulfill his part of the covenant? Obedience–faithful to build the ark, gather the animals, and walk into the ark. 

Noah’s wife and three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives were to go with him into the ark. He was also to take two of every kind of birds, animals, and things that crawled, like rodents and lizards, male and female, for procreation. Note, this is “kind,” not species. Furthermore, Noah didn’t have to hold a round-up. The “kind” came to him, ready to board.

And for every human and kind, there must be food—plant-based meals. Imagine what it must have taken to plan, store, and feed everything daily—labor intensive.  

Judgment Executed (Gen. 7:20-24) – The day arrived on God’s kingdom calendar.It’s time to enter the ark. Once again, the LORD tells Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.”

Noah, now 600 years of age, had completed everything the LORD commanded (7:5,9,16). He and his family entered the ark, and the Lord shut him in (v. 16). 

Water rose from the earth, and torrents of rain fell from the skies. The waters prevailed and lifted the ark for forty days and forty nights. Everything was covered. Everything that “had the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died” (v. 22).

Don’t miss how Moses emphasizes the length of the flood; the total is more than four hundred days. “Such an emphasis on time heightens the importance of this even in Hebrew history and the seriousness of God’s judgment” (Lifeway). 

Through His mercy and grace, God provided a plan of salvation. “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7). 

God always keeps His promises! There is coming a future day of judgment. The prophet and apostles wrote about it in Joel 2:1-14; John 3:36; Romans 2:4-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; 2 Peter 2:1-9; 3:1-13. 

The only way to avoid judgment is to take the step, by faith, to enter the ark of Grace. 

Leathers is a member of First Church, Lexington. Contact her at laura.l.leathers@gmail.com