Genesis 7
March 7, 2010 by: thechosenBible Passage: Genesis 7
Bible Quiz: Are you the descendant of Cain or Seth?
Basic theory test of Noah & the Flood:
1. How long did it take to build the ark?
2. How old was Noah when he entered the ark?
3. How many days did it rain?
4. How many days did the water prevail on the earth?
5. Did Noah take two of every animal into the Ark?
Hehe, let’s try not to google for the answers but find them from reading the Bible.
Well if your answer to the last question is yes, then you would have been misled by pictures and other sources than the Bible. The answer is found in today’s chapter, that God commanded Noah to bring in the clean animals by sevens, and only the unclean animals by twos.
Now whether it is 4 males 3 females, or 3 males 4 females, or 7 pairs of clean animals… that I have heard different answers and translations, so its not so clear. But I guess that it would be 7 pairs… basically because it forms a nicer image in my head for them to go in pairs when they enter, since that is also the description of how they went in.
“two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.” v9
Hmmm… what do you think of the sight of all the animals walking orderly into the Ark? Actually you do not need to imagine it that much, because a movie had helped us do the imagery via 3d graphics.
Yes - Evan Almighty!
Well, the movie is a modern version of the story that has been edited, so you can’t expect it to be a faithful portrayal. But it does bring to light some of the things we might have overlooked. For example the animals beginning to gather around the building of the Ark. This by itself is already an amazing sight! Don’t you wonder why the people did not believe Evan that this is a work of God?
Talking about animals coming under the control of God, Friday night Dn Shee spoke about Balaam’s donkey that spoke, and he said Balaam was not the least surprised and even argued back with his donkey! It’s funny isn’t it? The donkey even had to defend herself and prove her history of loyalty to wake up his senses.
Now back to Gen 7…
Two things I thought I want to leave you readers to think about:
- How many people do you think went into view the Ark when it was under construction? I for one, as an onlooker, would be curious to enter an almost finishing project to see the result of such a big piece of architecture.Morever the one who gave the blueprint of the Ark was God.
Surely it was like no other construction at that time. Would they have seen the handiwork of God and how the Ark was designed to save them from the flood? Or perhaps they just saw how awful it would be to stay in the Ark for days, probably with restricted daylight and not so comfortable space.
Whether there were visitors or not, we know that eventually all of them would have left and gone back to their own lives and houses…
- What do you think Noah felt when he entered the Ark just before God shut him with his family in and sent the rain down?How would he have felt, looking at the people around him, who have not heeded his words that he was on a mission by God, that the Ark was the only way to be saved?
Oh by the way, if you did try to find all the answers for the theory test above and you could not really get a definitive answer for Qn 1, don’t worry, I heard its an age old question. So there have been several theories for different answers. But let’s just know that it took many years, and might be as long as one’s lifetime!
March 7th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
In the Katong Home Fellowship just now, we had an enjoyable time reading today’s passage and attempting to answer the questions thechosen posed.
It’s hard to imagine what went through Noah and his family when they were stuck inside the ark with only a single skylight (window) to see through
“The smell. The claustophobia. The sense of helplessness. The puzzlement of what was happening outside. The thought of being the only ones left in the world. The …. “
As I put myself in Noah’s shoes… all these thoughts came to my mind…
But then I realised that this was not what was important.
What was important was that Noah was in the ark that saved not just him… but also with his family.
Looking around the happy faces during the home fellowship - my mom was there, my sister’s family, my cousin’s family… and my church family - made me also realise this… how blessed are we if our whole family is saved along with us in the ark of the last days.
Just as the judgement of God proclaimed to Noah came to past, so will the second coming of Jesus be.
Let us all pray for one another, and for the families of those who are single believers in the Lord that we can all enter the same ark and be saved through God’s almighty grace.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:56 am
The KHF just now was indeed enjoyable.
There are some interesting questions which never cross my mind like: were there clouds before the flood?
Some questions which cross my mind but i find no answers yet are: why need to flood the earth for so many days? Why need to perserve the animals too? What were the clean animals?
Share biblereadingcompanion’s sentiment that “What was important was that Noah was in the ark that saved not just him… but also with his family.”
As one who is not baptized as a baby, i walk my journey of faith with fear and trembling, praying hard that Lord Jesus has mercy on my yet-to-believe family members.
Gen 7:23 …Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him,”I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Met a relative at a wedding banquet yesterday. She asked me how do i feel when i pray in tongue. She also shared that she is not sured if she can go to heaven although she attends a big church in Hong Kong.
The ark housed Noah and his family through the flood till the land dried up(Gen 8:11) May God keep us in His house too, so that we can be assured of our own salvation and preach His gospel to all nations.
May God have mercy on us.
March 8th, 2010 at 10:12 am
Interesting questions!
One of the younger kids posed an interesting question as well…how about the fishes?
Did they go into Noah’s ark as well?
If they remained in the waters and God destroyed everything with the flood, surely all marine life will be destroyed..?!
March 8th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
I imagine myself as Noah with my family members and the animals, all trying to settle comfortably in the Ark. And as God shut the only door to the Ark, it dawns on me that this is it! Something unimaginable is going to happen. I look out the window - curious to see what’s the reactions outside and hoping to see more people changing their minds and want to come up into the Ark. I see some shaking their heads and sniggering, some with stony expressions totally unaffected, while still others (my friends) looking amazed at the unbelievable mammoth structure but at the same time concerned that I have gone nuts!
I turn away from the crowd beneath to get some reassurance from my family. I don’t know what is going through their heads and I can’t read anything from their faces. If they are having doubts, they are not showing it. They are giving me their unconditional support. There are butterflies in my stomach. Maybe I have misunderstood God and did carry my faith a little too far? But there is no turning back now. We just have to wait. I may end up a laughing stock but at least I take comfort that my soul is in God’s hands and my entire family is with me.
It’s starting to rain! No it’s pouring. Never seen anything like this before. My body is shaking uncontrollably. I am afraid and sad for the crowd outside but at the same time, my heart is filled with peace and overwhelmed with an immense feeling of joy (to the point of being embarrassed to express it) that my family is safe as I am in the Ark. My gratitude for God’s grace is indescribable…….I don’t want to come back to reality because it’s so blessed to be in Noah’s position.
I am back in me now. Put myself through what Noah went through. Contrary, I see myself in pieces crying very hard, overwhelm with utter sadness cos’ I don’t have my entire family with me! Some are outside the Ark about to be consumed by the water.
Noah didn’t get to where he was just by sitting around. He put faith into actions. His focus on God was unwavering and he worked hard for the salvation of his family. Daydreaming and whining do not put us on the right track with God. Contentment with my present spiritual situation is the direct route to spiritual suicide, let alone spreading the salvation grace of God to others. There’s only one way to go - conduct continual checks on my spiritual foundation, repair faults, replace spoilt parts, restart engine to work.
So much more to accomplish before it’s too late…. May God have mercy and see us through.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Ps 51:10
March 8th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
So… InHisTime… why not give us the answers to the questions?
Anyway… to your question about the fishes… I don’t think Noah kept fish tanks in the ark (unlike one of our younger brother who has tanks and tanks of green algae, prawns and other really small water creatures)
If you read Genesis carefully, you will see Gen 6:7 -> it says that God will destroy man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air. There was no mention of marine life will be included in the ‘cleansing’ plan.
Gen 7:21 then went on to confirm that all flesh that moved on the earth died. Not the fishes.
So the fishes and all water creatures was spared.
Now some people have said that perhaps cockroaches should not have been allowed on board the ark
March 9th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
When I was looking for the image for the blog, I came across one where people were in the water knocking on the side of the ark. I wonder whether Noah could hear them. Actually when I think of the story n consider the Last Day, I do have fearful thoughts n sad feelings. And Noah n his family went through the actual process of earth cleansing! Those end of the world movies always makes their audience cry. But today when we prophesy to people, they do not heed, n there’s nothing we can do, only to keep saying the message, n trust in God’s righteousness n mercy.