Notes on Genesis 7
Gen 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the
ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
I wonder why Noah was righteous. Is it because he sought God and did not yield
to the ways of the world around him? Is it because he was a man who simply
believed in God and believed the word God spoke to him?
2Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a
preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
We see here from this verse in Peter that Noah was a preacher of righteousness.
Webster's dictionary says the word righteousness is purity of heart and
rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to divine law. Righteousness as
used in scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly
equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart,
and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice,
honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion.
We see that it would include faithfulness to God's divine word. It is when we
recognize that when God says something is wrong and we believe it enough to
practice it by avoiding the sin and doing works of righteousness. When we
recognize ourselves as sinners in need of God's righteousness that He provided
through Jesus Christ, we can be clothed with His righteousness instead of trying
to establish our own. Believing God and continually looking to Him for
forgiveness and overcoming strength is the key to righteousness. If we say we
believe in God and ignore all His commandments and His word, it cannot be true
faith. Believing in something is to live by that something.
Gen 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and
his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
We see here that even before the time of Moses, there was a law of some kind.
They knew what beasts were clean and could be eaten and what beasts were not for
eating.
Gen 7:3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep
seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
They could not have taken in all the animals so they had to have a way to
preserve each species.
Gen 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty
days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I
destroy from off the face of the earth.
This was like starting over. I'm sure God would have rather seen men repent and
not have to have killed them off. At some point God has to stop sin. He can't
allow evil to continue for eternity. This was His way to curb violence and sin.
It did start again shortly after the flood and He will only allow it to continue
until Jesus Christ returns to set up His kingdom. Right now the kingdom of God
is within each and every believer in Christ. His kingdom is not of this world.
We can't set it up ahead of time, we have to wait on Christ. Many have tried to
set up cities of God and kingdoms for Christ but men fail miserably. Only Jesus
Himself will be able to do this. Our job is to preach the gospel.
Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He did not go around and try to use force
to get people to live right. He preached. That is what we must do. We must
preach the gospel but we cannot force people to accept it. Only God can save, we
cannot. We are the vessels but the Holy Spirit does the changing.
Gen 7:5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
When we obey God, it works to our good. Noah's obedience saved the whole human
race from distinction.
Gen 7:6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon
the earth.
Gen 7:7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with
him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
Our godly influence will save our families sometimes. As we see later, not all
of Noah's family was righteous.
Gen 7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and
of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
Gen 7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the
female, as God had commanded Noah.
I believe God sent these animals to the ark. Noah didn't have to go out and hunt
them up. They probably were at the age where they were like our teenagers and
not fully grown. This is my speculation and not the word.
Gen 7:10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood
were upon the earth.
Gen 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the
seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great
deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Gen 7:12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
Gen 7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the
sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into
the ark;
Gen 7:14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their
kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and
every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
Gen 7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh,
wherein is the breath of life.
Gen 7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had
commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
Gen 7:17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased,
and bore up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth.
Gen 7:18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth;
and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
The ark must have been a well built ark to have withstood all the violent flood
and storms that probably occurred. The ark was a type of Christ at that time.
The only way of salvation.
Gen 7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the
high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
Gen 7:20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were
covered.
The waters rose high above the tallest mountain. There was no escape. Unless one
thinks God was cruel here, we must remember that Noah preached righteousness so
the human race must have been warned before this happened. God always warns. He
sends preachers to warn today. The message from God has always been repent and
believe, repent and believe. The message from man has always been, I'm going to
do it my way and ignore God's ways. Man continually chooses sin over God's way
of righteousness.
Gen 7:21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of
cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth,
and every man:
Gen 7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the
dry land, died.
Gen 7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the
ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the
heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive,
and they that were with him in the ark.
Gen 7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.
I image their faith was tried during those days on the ark. Just like we who
believe in Jesus Christ and make our decision to live for Him, we are tempted
and tried. I wonder if they sometimes feared that God had forgotten them and
their food might run out. This fear is the biggest reason some try to do it
themselves without waiting on God. Sometimes we can fear that God is far
away and we are on our own. Unbelief is a constant temptation we face. We must
continue to believe in the Lord's coming also. Here is what happens when we
don't.
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord
delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink
with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for
him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the
hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
I believe this is what happened in the Roman church of the Middle ages. They
thought the Lord delayed His coming and they tired to set up His kingdom by
force instead of waiting on Him. Many were put to death and the true gospel was
not preached.
I believe this also happened to the Protestant church which came later. This
also will happen to any church that has left its first love. Whether that first
love was Jesus Himself, love for one another or preaching the gospel, forsaking
it will cause our religion to become false and vain. The devil don't care if we
have religion, he just doesn't want our religion to save not only ourselves but
also others from eternal death. The gospel of Jesus Christ will save, religion
will not save. The gospel is believing in the one God sent to save us, Jesus
Christ. Believing means to believe to the point of partaking in His holiness and
accepting His Holy Spirit into our lives. We must believe we are sinners in need
of this salvation, be willing to turn from sin and turn to Jesus for salvation.
We now follow Him and become like Him daily as we pray and study His word.
Noah had to believe to have build an ark. As faith saved then, faith saves now
and there is only one way, Jesus Christ.