"The waters of the flood were upon the earth"
THE FLOOD WASHES THE EARTH CLEAN
The epoch of the Flood dawns, and Noah is instructed to gather all that has been accumulated into the ark. He is then invited to enter the ark, which follows as a calm and orderly event. The door is divinely closed upon him, and the Flood commences. The source of the waters is two fold: they burst out from beneath, out of the ocean floor; and pour down from above as the heavens are opened. For forty days and nights the storm continues until the earth is covered, and all forms of life thereupon cease. For one hundred and fifty days the waters prevail upon the earth.
A Remnant To Be Saved — vv. 1-9
Further instructions are given to Noah as to those who were to be saved from the Judgment. At the set time they all entered the ark. They did so before the outpouring of Judgment, as, similarly, the saints living at Christ's coming will be withdrawn from the world before the judgment of Armageddon is experienced by it (Isa. 26:20-21; 60:1-2; 1 Pet. 4:17).
VERSE 1
"And Yahweh said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark" — The verb is in the imperative mood, expressing a sense of urgency, in which one is called upon to act for himself. Moved by faith, Noah acted upon the summons (Heb. 11:3). He left a world absorbed in its material pursuits (Matt. 24:38-39; Luke 17:26), left his home, property, and relations, to enter the ark in which were found only the barest necessities of life. He did this because he "believed God" setting forth an example later followed by Abraham (Gen. 12:1), and by all such "believers" (Acts 15:14; Rev. 18:4).
"For thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation" — There were probably plenty of people who were righteous in their own eyes; but only eight persons were saved (1 Pet. 3:20). As life upon the globe had by then continued for 1656 years, the population must have been considerable, for all the available evidence suggests that man had a vitality far greater than his state in the weakened postdiluvian world. For example, Josephus records a tradition that Adam had fifty-six children, thirty-three sons and twenty-three daughters. The statement of Cain also presupposes a population quite numerous, for he declared to the Elohim: "Everyone that findeth me shall slay me." Cain would not have spoken that way if the whole human race at that time had consisted only of the members of the size of a modern family. A. M. Rehwinkel, in The Flood, claims: 'On the basis of what has been said, it would not be unreasonable to assume that an average family in that age might have consisted of at least eighteen to twenty living and marriageable children. All will agree that on the basis of what has been said, this is a very conservative estimate, According to Genesis 5 there were ten generations from Adam to Noah. Taking these figures as a basis for calculation, we obtain the following results:
1 st generation 2
2nd generation 18
3rd generation 162
4th generation 1,458
5th generation 13,122
6th generation 118,098
7th generation 1,062,882
8th generation 9,565,938
9th generation 86,093,442
10th generation 774,840,979
"To this number must be added all surviving previous generations, which would probably number an additional hundred million. According to this calculation, the population at the time of the Flood would have been nearly nine hundred million."
VERSE 2
"Of every clean beast" — The distinction between clean and unclean animals was thus understood at this time, which argues for the existence of Divine law prior to the Flood. It also presupposes that meat was a staple diet of the antediluvians, for "clean beasts" would be those used for food (Lev. 11:1-22; Deut. 14: 1-20).
"Thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female" — Literally (see margin) "seven seven", or seven pairs.
"And of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female" — Only one pair of animals deemed unclean were permitted into the ark.
VERSE 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" — The reference is to "clean" fowls. Some versions include that designation. The purpose of God in Christ, the ark of salvation, is to preserve life. God desires not the death of any, but that all should come unto Him and live (Ezek. 33:11).
VERSE 4
"For yet seven days" — The ark of salvation is always available during mankind's week of seven millennial days. This interval also gave Noah time to complete his preparations.
"And I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights" — Forty is the number of probation; the number of trial ending in triumph for the righteous, and ruin for the wicked. Moses was forty days in the Mount (Exod. 24:18); the spies were forty days in the land (Num. 13:25); Israel was forty years in the wilderness (Num. 14:33); Elijah fasted for forty days in the wilderness of Beersheba (1 Kings 19:8); Christ fasted forty days before the temptation (Matt. 4:2), and sojourned forty days on earth after his resurrection (Acts 1:3).
"And every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth" — The word is machah as in Ch. 6:7 (see note), not shachath as in Ch. 6:13, 17. Notice the marginal rendition. The word signifies to blot out, or wash off.
VERSE 5
"And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him" — This was faith in action. It constituted his righteousness. Cp. v. 1; Rev. 19:18.
VERSE 6
"And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth" — Six is the number of man (Rev. 13:18). In the Apocalypse, the sixth seal (Rev. 6:12-17), sixth trumpet (Rev. 9:13-18), and sixth vial (Rev. 16:12-16), announce epochs of outstanding judgment which vitally changed the course of human history. The year of the Flood was also the year that Methuselah died (see note Gen. 5:27).
VERSE 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" — We are not told at what point of time Noah entered the ark except that it was before the Flood was sent. The reference to "seven days" in v. 10 relates to the "seven days" of v. 4. It was a period of great activity during which all that were to be saved from the Flood were gathered into the ark, followed by Noah and his family, at which time the door was closed.
VERSE 8
"Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth" — Gradation of beasts, birds and creeping things were taken into the ark, during the seven days appointed for this purpose. As the week came to its end the work was completed.
VERSE 9
"There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah" — The orderly procession of animals into the ark was the result of Divine power. The lower creation could have been moved by a Divine impulse or instinct for preservation instilled in them in some mysterious way. The normal "enmity" of animal life was set aside in the face of the impending storm which they perhaps could sense.
"Unto Noah" — Typical of the future. It pointed forward to the way in which the nations will be drawn to Christ during the Millennium.
Noah's Log Of The Flood — vv. 10-24 When all preparations had been completed, and Noah and his family had entered the ark, the storm broke, and there followed the most devastating catastrophe this world has ever experienced or ever will experience. The record is given in simple direct language; and reads like the logbook of a sea captain. Doubtless Noah recorded a chronological diary of what occurred.
VERSE 10
"And it came to pass after seven days" — The margin renders it literally: "on the seventh day". Rotherham renders: "in the seven days".
"That the the waters of the flood were upon the earth" — Thus the beginning of the Flood was recorded in Noah's logbook!
VERSE 11
"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month" — That year Methuselah died, which notable event warned that the time of judgment had come. He must have died but a few weeks before the Flood. Thus the world of the antediluvians learned that "the ages have been so thoroughly adjusted to God's command" (see Heb. 11:3, Diaglott). What month was this? The ecclesiastical year commenced with the Passover (Exod. 12:2), which is springtime in the Middle East; but the civil year commenced with the autumnal equinox in the month Tisri, corresponding to September/October. The second month would then be October/November, about the time when rains normally commence.
"The same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up" — The Hebrew tehom, deep, is used both of the waters of the ocean (Isa. 51:10), and of the subterranean waters (Psa. 78:15). In Genesis 1:2, it is used of the waters that covered the earth originally. By "the word of God" earth had appeared above the waters, and life had been manifested thereon (2 Pet. 3:5). "He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap, He layeth up the depth in storehouses" (Psa. 33:7). The storehouses include the "waters under the earth" as well as those stored in the icy wastes of the south and north poles. Wherever they were — whether in the oceans, under the earth, or at the poles, — they were held in check by Divine laws (Jer. 5:22; Job 38:8-11). But now those laws were to be relaxed. The same "word of God" that had caused earth to appear and life to be manifested, proclaimed the decree that reversed the work of creation, causing the world to "overflow with water" and "perish" (2 Pet. 3:6). How was this brought about? The record suggests by great volcanic eruptions and seismic upheavals. This probably forced the seabeds up, and caused the land to subside. Huge tidal waves would then tear their way through the land, destroying everything in their path. Thus all the restraints originally imposed upon the oceans were relaxed to sweep away the ungodly creation. In like manner, earthquake and seismatic upheavals will introduce the judgments that will precede the reign of Christ during the Millennium. They will be both literal (Isa. 2:20-22; Zech. 14:4-11) and political (Rev. 16:18) upheavals.
"And the windows of heaven were opened" — Hebrew: larabboth, the sluices or floodgates (see mg.). Literally it signifies "lattices", or a window as being closed with lattice work instead of with glass. The floodgates of heaven were opened, and torrential rain poured down.
VERSE 12
"And the rain was upon the earth" — The word geshem signifies "violent rain". A different word (matar) is used in other places for rain (e.g. v. 4).
"Forty days and forty nights" — The torrential rain poured down continuously, to mingle its waters with the oceans that flowed over the depressed continents.
VERSE 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" — The word etsem signifies "bone" of the day (Strong); that is, its strength, when the sun is at its greatest. It suggests the most public period of the day, when all would observe the action of Noah. Noah entered the ark in the public view of all his contemporaries — an action that was a witness against the world (Heb. 11:7). It is also significant that Noah and his family entered the ark seven days before the Flood. In the typical foreshadowings of Genesis this suggests two factors:
(1) Noah and his family entering the ark typifies the whole work of God, which thus typically was "finished from the foundation of the world" (Heb. 4:3), for, "whom He (foreknew), them He also called" (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:4).
(2) As Noah was called into the ark prior to the outpouring of Divine judgment upon a Godless age, so it will be at the coming of Christ: The saints will be withdrawn before the outpouring of national judgment at Armageddon (Isa. 26:20-21; 60: 12; 1 Pet. 4:17).
VERSE 14
"They, and every beast after his kind" — Each individual species was represented.
VERSE 15
"And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life" — This was the only way they could be saved. In like manner, the nations, must do likewise as far as Christ is concerned if they would be saved from the judgments of Armageddon and its aftermath (Isa. 60:12).
VERSE 16
"And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him:" — The Elohim conveyed the message of Yahweh to Noah, and the responsibility for the work was placed upon his shoulders. He had the job of organising this strange assembly so that all members of it would harmoniously dwell together in the ark. Similarly, the immortal saints will have the task of organising the nations in the Kingdom of God (Rev. 5:9-10; Luke 19:17).
"Yahweh shut him in" — In shutting the door, Yahweh not only protected those in the ark, but shut all others out. His discriminating omnipotence was demonstrated. The Psalmist declared (Psa. 29:10): "Yahweh sat enthroned at the Deluge: Yea, Yahweh sitteth King for the Age." His work of judgment at the Flood is thus linked with His future exercise of authority when He will manifest Himself as "King over all the earth" (Zech. 14:9). The statement, "Yahweh shut him in," is important from two viewpoints. Firstly, the action prevented a calamity that might have occurred if it had been left to Noah to close the door behind him; for, lacking the insight of Yahweh, he might have been moved by natural sympathy, and so allowed others of the 'sons of God' in the Ark who were best excluded. Secondly, it showed that the selection was a Divine one, and revealed the responsibility that rests upon those whom God calls. Once in the Ark, Noah's company could not get out, even if they wished to. Once a person embraces Christ in the way appointed, he accepts a covenant which is irrevocable. He cannot escape the responsibilities of it, even if he wishes to. He will inevitably be brought to account at the Judgment Seat. Even knowledge of Yahweh's will involves responsibility to perform it.
VERSE 17
"And the flood was forty days upon the earth" — Forty is the number of probation and judgment. In that regard, the waters remained until the judgment had accomplished the whole purpose of God in sending it. On a day for a year principle, a comparable period of time will be occupied at the second coming of the Lord, to reduce the world of flesh to the obedience required in Christ. (Cp. Micah 7:15-20).
"And the waters increased, and bare up the ark" — The very waters that destroyed those on the face of the earth, ensured the safety of those in the ark. Peter records: "Eight souls were saved by water" (1 Peter 3:20). The water saved them because it lifted them up above the destruction that swept the world. It was a means of salvation to them, because of the protection afforded them in the ark. The same principle also applies to our relationship to Christ through the waters of baptism. It is a token of death to "the body of sin," that the individual might be raised to life (Rom. 6:4-6). The waters of the Flood washed the earth clean and preserved Noah and his family, as the waters of Baptism blot out past sins and enable believers to rise to a new way of life. Christ is thus a "savour of death unto death... and of life unto life" (2 Cor. 2:15-16). Referring to the Flood, Peter comments: "Eight souls were saved by water; the like figure, whereunto even baptism doth also now save us" (1 Pet. 3:20-21).
"And it was lift up above the earth" — So also was Christ, our ark of salvation. He declared: "Even so must the Son of man be lifted up" (John 3:14; 8:28).
Christ's offering was a public declaration of the righteousness of God; and so also was the ark of salvation, as it was lifted up high above the earth. Many saw the ark but were destroyed by the waters, as many later looked at the brazen serpent that Moses reared up, (Num. 21:8) but without faith they could not obtain the salvation offered.
VERSE 18
"And the waters prevailed" —The
Hebrew gabar signifies to be strong, hence the Gibborim of Ch. 6:4. The Flood was a contest between the mighty men of the earth, and the Mighty One of the heavens; and the waters, His weapon, proved stronger than they. Nothing could resist the terrible surge of the billows as they swept across the earth destroying all in their path.
"And were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters" — The waters became deeper and deeper, marked by the lifting up of the Ark, which triumphed above the waters of judgment.
VERSE 19
"And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth" — The language describes the incident as though it was a contest between the water and the earth. Gradually the hills and mountains were covered with water, and as they were submerged, the victory of Divine judgment was complete.
"And all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered" — The Flood was evidently universal in its extent (ct. Dan. 7:27), though the expressions of this verse do not necessarily teach this. What they do state is that the highest mountains within view of the spectator were covered; but if they included some of earth's highest mountains, it is obvious that the whole earth was covered with water, and creation was turned back to its original state (Gen. 1:2). It seems that the contour of the earth as relating to the height of mountains, the extent of continents, and so forth, was different before the Flood than is the case today. For example, there is evidence of tremendous growth in the polar regions in antediluvian times, as well as on high mountains where, today, it cannot develop. Moreover, throughout the Globe there are evidences of past tremendous cataclysmic upheavals which could relate to the Flood. These had the effect, firstly, of bringing the water tearing across the face of the earth; and, afterwards of forcing the earth above the water as at creation. The height and depth of mountains and oceans probably were much greater after the Flood than before. Probably, before the Flood, mankind was congregated on one continent; whereas afterwards, new continents were formed. It is obvious, that at one time, vast areas of Australia were under water for a considerable period of time, and similar evidence has been found elsewhere.
VERSE 20
"Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail" — The waters prevailed to a depth of approximately 22 feet (6.7metres) above the highest mountain.
"And the mountains were covered" — Most likely, before the Flood, mountains were not as high as today so that a lesser volume of water would be required for the covering of all land masses.
VERSE 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" — This excluded fish life, much of which remained unaffected by the Flood.
VERSE 22
"And in whose nostrils was the breath of life" — Or neshemet ruach chayim, "breath of spirit of lives"; the various forms of life are included: cattle, beast, fowl, creeping things.
"Of all that was in the dry land, died" — There was salvation only within the ark. See Acts 4:12, for our Ark of salvation — Christ.
VERSE 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" — Literally was "wiped out." Heb. machah, "wiped out" by washing (cp. Ch. 6:7).
"And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark" — This will be the case, likewise, in the Age to come: Isa. 60:12.
VERSE 24
"And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days" — This period was inclusive of the forty days of rain (Ch. 7:11-12), and therefore comprised five lunar months of thirty days each. The rain commenced on the seventeenth day of the second month, and the Ark rested upon Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month (Ch. 8:4). Thus, in Bible numerics the number 17 becomes the number of the saved ecclesia.
REFERENCE LIBRARY
Genesis Expositor - HP Mansfield
Concordance - Young
PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:
- Who are the remnant that will be saved at Christ's coming?
- What is the difference between a clean and an unclean animal?
- Why are fish not mentioned as being in the ark?
- What is the significance of 40 days?
- Compare Gen. 7:24 with Revelation 16:13
- How old were Noah's sons when they entered the ark?
- 1 Peter 3:20 informs us that 8 souls went into the ark, who were these?
- Why does Gen. 7:11 tell us the exact date?
ESSAY QUESTIONS
- What is the significance of the numbers 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 in scripture numberology?
- How is the ark like the ecclesia?
- Compare the population explosion at the time of the flood with our days.
- What other similarities are there between the flood and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ?
- How long was Noah and his family in the ark?
- Compare Abimelech's army (Judges 9:51) with Genesis 7:16.
- Compare Noah's ark with Moses' ark.