Genesis 6 (Verses 9-22)
God Commands Noah to Build an Ark
Translation: New Life Version (NLV)
Scripture
9 This is the story of Noah and his family. Noah was right with God. He was without blame in his time. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 Now the earth was sinful in the eyes of God. The earth was filled with people hurting each other. 12 God looked at the earth and saw how sinful it was. For all who lived on the earth had become sinful in their ways.
13 Then God said to Noah, “I have decided to make an end to all the people on the earth. They are the cause of very much trouble. See, I will destroy them as I destroy the earth. 14 Make a large boat of gopher wood for yourself. Build rooms in the boat. And cover it inside and out with tar. 15 This is how you are to make it: The boat is to be as long as 150 long steps, as wide as twenty-five long steps, and eight times taller than a man. 16 Make a window for the boat, that goes down a cubit from the roof. Put a door in the side of the boat. And make it with first, second, and third floors. 17 See, I will bring a flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh under heaven that has the breath of life. Everything on earth will be destroyed. 18 But I will make My agreement with you. You will go into the large boat, you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the large boat two of every kind of living thing of all flesh, to keep them alive with you. They will be male and female. 20 Two of all the kinds of birds, and animals, and every thing that moves on the ground are to be with you to keep them alive. 21 And take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it. It will be food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did just what God told him to do.
Commentary
Why did God save Noah? Because he walked with God? Yes, but we are also told in Hebrews 11:7 (AMP): By faith [with confidence in God and His word] Noah, being warned by God about events not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his family. By this [act of obedience] he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith.
It took faith to prepare an ark on dry land when it had not even drizzled! In this same chapter in Hebrews, we are told that it was by faith that Enoch was translated from the earth. You see, when the church is taken out of this world, every believer is going because the rapture is for believers, and the weakest saint is going out. They are going out because God extends mercy, and we are told that the mercy of God will be demonstrated at that time.
This was one big boat. To put things in perspective, the ark was 510 feet long (nearly 1.5 Football Fields) and the height was 50’, nearly 5 stories. It would have been able to hold over 112,500 sheep. That’s a lot of lamb chops ;-) Modern science has shown that the ark was near the maximum size for a wooden vessel. It remains one of the most remarkable feats of construction in world history. Either Noah was a master engineer, or he had divine guidance during the planning and construction process.
It is also interesting to note that the story of a worldwide flood is found in other cultures around the world. Here are some of the stories:
Mesopotamia - Key Elements: A great flood, a righteous man (Ziusudra), and instructions to build a boat to survive.
Sumerian and Akkadian cultures - Key Elements: A massive boat, animals, and divine intervention.
Maya of Mesoamerica - Key Elements: The sacred book of the Maya Quiché people recounts a flood that wiped out the first humans.
These other flood stories are considered mythology, but there is a ton of evidence for a world-wide flood. We will talk more about the evidence later.