Read Genesis 7
1 The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. 4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”
5 And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, 9 male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. 14 They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings. 15 Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. 16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.
17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits. 21 Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
Go Deeper
This chapter picks up where the previous chapter left off. The ark that Noah spent countless days working on has been constructed, and it’s time for he and his family to enter the ark. What happens next is incredibly heavy and sobering for us to read. The rains begin and all of creation (except for Noah and his family) are wiped out. All of the unchecked and unrepentant sin in the world has led God to the point where He decides that it’s time to start over and He’s going to use the one righteous man left to do so.
Verse 5 tells us everything we need to know about Noah: “And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” Throughout the entire process, despite the ridicule from the people around him, Noah faithfully worked and built the ark because that was the task that God had given him. Have you ever been doing something you felt like God called you to do but as time went on, you started to second guess yourself? One could expect Noah had those same feelings as he waited and waited for the rains to come. But God did what He said He would and, because of Noah’s faithfulness, God preserved him and his entire family.
As we read about in Genesis 3, we’re still dealing with the ramifications of sin all around us. When we look around us, there’s an abundance of wickedness. Watch the evening news for fifteen minutes and you’ll see a world of people that indulge themselves with no regard for the God who created it all. The weight of this can leave us feeling a sense of despair. But there’s good news! The same God that preserved Noah and his family because of their faithfulness is the same God that’s on His throne today. If we, like Noah, do all that the Lord commands us to (even in spite of the resistance and opposition we face), we can live with the same confidence and boldness that Noah did, too.
Questions
Have you experienced ridicule or opposition when you were trying to be faithful to what God called you to? What was that experience like?
Have you second guessed yourself after God has called you to do something? How did God prove Himself faithful in those times?
What is it that God is asking you to do that you’ve been hesitant to do? What does faithfulness look like for you in this situation?
Keep Digging
Going back to Genesis 6, we know that the days of Noah were wicked. But what exactly did that mean? Check out this article from GotQuestions.org on the days of Noah!
9 thoughts on “Genesis 7”
God repeats himself again in this chapter saying “Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” Father, help us follow like Noah did in doing what you command us. May we take you at your Word even in the face of this sinful world. Please do a work in us like you did Noah.
4 “Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”
I’ve heard it said that in Noah’s time there was no rain (Gen 2:5-6 talks about no rain, but instead a mist watering the earth). If that’s true, it’s amazing to consider the obedience faith of Noah to follow God’s order to build an ark when he had never even seen rain before!
What intrigues me about this chapter is the animals. God instructed them to go get on the boat, all the differnet kinds. They never questioned why. They just obeyed.
We ask and think aobut how could God regret making us? He gave us freedom of will, He knew it would cause trouble but who wants a robot to love them? He wants us to choose Him over ALL the things. And even though He wiped out all the others, He made sure that the right lineage was in place and ready for the Savior. God opened the door of “salvation”, the boat and knows when to close it. There is coming a time when that door will be shut for all eternity. Are you ready? Is your family ready? We should be sharing our faith. We need to make sure all are on the boat of salvation when God shuts the door.
God help me to share who You are. Help me to be a light in a dark place. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? You, God. My help comes from You, oh LORD, who made heaven and earth. God sometimes I feel lost and do not know? BUT GOD, You are the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. You do not faint or grow weary; You will help with understanding that is unsearchable. God, You give power when I feel faint, and will give me the means necessary to increase in Your strength. God I am so thankful for Your word and when I do not know how to pray or good words that express You show me from Your Word. God thank You for being Hesed, that love that never ends. God help me to see people through Your love goggles and to speak to them words that build up. Thank You for beinig able to praise You in all I say and do in these minutes of this day in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As we begin a new day, we like Noah, can choose a righteous and obedient lifestyle that can impact the world and bring glory to God. Will it be hard? Probably, will it be worth it? Absolutely! Noah’s life was marked by surrendering to the will of God, instead of pleasing and managing the perceptions of his culture. I’m turning the lyrics of this song into my honest prayer to the Father:
https://youtu.be/hk-ReRHb_2s?si=X9eZjIJlJE1sP02u
Ella,
I will join you I this prayer of surrender daily.
I love what Amy said about “making sure we are all on the boat of Salvation when God shuts the door!”
The ark was an in-between place of both refuge and challenge. It was a way out of the world’s wickedness … and sanctuary from the storm sent to consume it. Noah’s epic sea voyage drew him and his love ones away from evil … and closer to God.
It was better – so much better – but not exactly EASIER. Sea voyages can get pretty uncomfortable, especially when you’re cooped up on a floating zoo, with no real notion of when the ride is going to end.
But end it did, and as I read this story again, I am reminded that earthly life is OUR “ark life.” We who know Christ can trust him to protect us from the storms and sustain us in the challenges, as he carries us through our own in-between voyage.
Meanwhile, there’s still time to invite more people on to the boat!
History repeating itself is an indicator that Satan/evil never gives up trying to steal, kill and destroy, but the full verse is “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I have come that they may have life, and have it in the full.” John 10:10
God is the righteous judge, but like Noah, we can be saved from the judgement to come. Let us find favor in the eyes of the Lord.
I sometimes think, we live in the worst age. How would you like to have lived during this age? During the time pharaoh killed the Jewish babies in Egypt. How about in Sodom and Gamorah. Maybe when Herod killed all babies 2 and under?
God wants us to be faithful, be a remnant of righteousness. He wants us to obey even if no one is repentant. God wants us to be Holy ( not arrogant) Loving (not judge mental) Honest (not condemning)
May God help us to be salt and light in this perverse generation!
Scholars don’t even agree on why or how people lived for 700-800+ years back then. It’s very intellectually frustrating.