Gen. 7:4-10

Genesis 7:4-10

Jesus tells us to watch for the signs of the times. Noah, in his day, had one big sign that being the building of the ark. However, other people either would not believe him or perhaps some did and were killed for their faith. We don't know if Noah employed helpers or built the ark entirely on his own. However, even if he did employ helpers, they may not have trusted in God to save them. We must be careful that we have Jesus Christ in us through the Holy Spirit by having called on him to save us from our sins, and that we are not just playing church.

It's interesting that Noah was told to enter the Ark seven days before the ark sailed. Clearly there was preparation needed once they got in there, such as getting all the animals settled. One also wonders if this is a picture of how Jesus will remove us before things get to the point they will in the tribulation. Of course plenty of persecution occurs even now, and sadly will continue to do so. But the tribulation will be so much worse than anything we could imagine.

Either way, God had organized everything,  and for a few verses we see.a recap, showing that all that had been told to Noah had been or would quickly be done.

Gen. 7:2-3

Just about everyone who knows about Noah seems to know he took two of each animal. This is so connected to the ark that a fun trick for children to play on each other (and adults) at times is to ask, “How many of each animal did Moses take on the ark?" they know that the brain thinks “ark” and the mouth says “two” before one has a chance to think, “Wait… he said Moses, Moses wasn't on the ark.”

That story isn’t just to give evidence that we Christians love to have fun, too – although it will likely cause at least some readers to try to pull that joke on others. It is not just to show how we often don’t listen to others, but how we often don’t read our Bibles. Because, in these verses we see a class of animal that Noah took by sevens.

Why? Well, by the “male and female” in verse 2 we see that it is seven pairs of two. First of all, we see they are to be brought “by sevens,” meaning a pair of seven, whereas the unclean beasts were only “by two,” meaning that there was only one pair of two.

That would have been enough, of course, to continue the species considering that there wasn’t the immense degrading of the genome there is today, and one could get lots of genetic types out of every kind. However, God clearly wanted more than two for certain animals. Not only is the word “seven” plural, but “the male with his female” would be too awkward if there was then one left over after 3 pairs were made.

What does it mean to have seven couples for the clean animals and fowls? This is moer evidence that people had been making sacrifices since the Fall when God slew that lamb to make clothing for Adam and Eve, and then when Abel brought from his flock while Cain brought a grain offering. The animal sacrifice was already the one which God preferred, because all those sacrifices, from the very first one, were pictures of what Jesus Christ would one day do for us on the cross. Because, all of them merely covered sin, while the perfect blood of Jesus Christ cleansed our sins completely. He was offered as our sacrifice once for all time.(Heb.9:26, 2 Cor. 5:21, etc.)

Until that time came, however, God had blood sacrifices to provide a picture of what Christ would do, so He could be easily understood as the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.”(John 1:29) And, since not everyone could afford a lamb, God established that other animals could be clean, too, including fowls(birds), as when the offering was made for the poor of turtledoves or pigeons, as seen for example in Luke 2:24.

These animals may have been for food for Noah and his family, too, but as before, the meals were almost certainly vegetarian, as they were for the animals, in order to keep them alive but also perhaps to signify that the ark was a type of salvation, where there would be no death on the ark during this time. Because, for the saved person, while there may be physical death, the second death, the spiritual death, has no effect on them. If we are born only once, we die twice, but if we are born again – born twice – we shall die only once.

Gen.7:1

Noah is told to bring his house into the ark. As noted before, it is likely that Noah only had the three children, although yet is just possible that he had others who died before the ark sailed, or at least daughters. However, it is almost certain that he did not, since the clear meaning of earlier versus is that those were his only children , Ham, Shem, and Japheth.

God declares that He has found Noah to be righteous in that generation. This does not mean that Noah was sinless of course. Remember that all our righteousness is as filthy rags compared to God's as said in Isaiah 64:6.  Rather, just as with anyone saved by faith - the only way one can be saved, as we see from effusion 2:8-9 and other places - God looked on him and saw what Christ would do in the distant future, when He took the sins of all humanity  upon Himself. As stated before, this is just as when Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.

Noah's family was also brought into the ark. While the Bible does not say they also were righteous before the Lord, like Job one imagines Noah continually made sacrifices for his children. He likely told them of what he had heard from his ancestors, who would have known Adam at an advanced age in fact. And, in the way he would have shared how Abel's sacrifice was acceptable unto God, because it was a blood sacrifice just as we see in Leviticus, the life of a creature is in its blood.(Lv. 17:11) Hence he shared with them the fact that one must worship the creator God and not the creation, and that God would make a way of redemption. It is not known how clearly Noah understood how God, Jesus Christ, would come in flesh and be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins - many times the Bible shows that it is His blood which was shed to wash away our sins, with His life being given for us. What we do know is that he trusted the Lord to make the world new.

Gen. 6:21-22

We see, before God tells us that Noah did everything as God directed, that God promised to provide food for Noah his family and the animals. Matthew 6:33 reveals Jesus will provide all of our needs when we fully seek Him, but not luxuries, the things we really want but don't need. God knows what our needs are, and food is a vital one. After all, Matthew 6:33 is right after a series of verses where Jesus describes how animals and flowers are fed and clothed. God provides all their needs, and will provide hours to. That is why that verse is so vital, seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

It's interesting that Noah apparently didn't bring meat. God tells us in Genesis 1:29-30 that all plants and herbs had been given for food. That which was gathered for food seems to mean only that which was originally meant to be eaten.  One doesn't gather meat the way one does fruit, grains, and so on.

This doesn't mean animals weren't eating other animals by this time, of course. Romans 5:12 says by one man sin came into the world and death by sin, so that death passed on to all men, for that all have sinned. This death passed to the animals right away as well, with their instincts suddenly telling them to consume and beware of each other.

However, the same God who closed the mouths of the ravenous lions for Daniel in Daniel 6 when he was in the lions' den overnight can do so for longer if need be. Between hibernation,  the storage of excess food as some animals do, and other things, God could work it so no animals were hungry for anything but the vegetarian diet they had originally. Indeed, while there was plenty of room for the animals as adults since there were only two of each kind, there could have been mostly smaller animals that didn't need as much food, yet who were beyond babies and thus off mother's milk.

Noah, of course, didn't know exactly how all this would work, but he trusted God by faith to fulfill what was needed that he couldn't do himself. That is important for all of us, especially in these difficult days. God has a perfect plan He will use to allow Himself to be glorified. He calls us to trust Him and simply follow His leading.

Gen. 6:19-20

We see here God has a plan for the disaster that is to come upon the earth. He will not totally destroy creation, but instead he will make a way for a new world to be formed.

It is interesting to note that's in verse 20 we see the animals will come to Noah. It is interesting because there were probably no world's oceans between continents like there are today. This confirms the idea some scientists have that a single large continent once existed. Geologists refer to this as Pangea.

Later, we will see that not only did the rain start coming down but the fountains of the deep would start rushing up and overflowing every thing. It has been shown lately that the oceans contain springs. These springs undoubtedly contributed to the oceans of the deep expelling the water. However, massive earthquakes would also have opened up fissures that would allow water to rise up out of the earth. Thus Pangea would have been broken up not in the slow process geologists who have a time frame of many millions of years think. Rather, it broke up in a very rapid and violent process.

We can see something for today's world also, in how we do not just go out and win people to the Lord. (Of course it is not we but the Holy Spirit who wins souls, but the point is we do not only do so by going far away.) many times, those opportunities to reach the lost come to our shores, to our communities, to us. We have an obligation to help those who come to us. Yes, it can be frustrating when those from other places come and take our jobs and resources. But we must understand that, first, these are all worldly things and we should focus on the souls of men and women. But secondly, the world is going to act like the world because they do not know Jesus. Whereas if we share the Gospel with them they may wish to receive Christ and take the good news of the gospel back to their homelands.