Scripture: Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
Genesis 6:11-22 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Friday’s Daily Focus, because God deemed the sons of God’s conjugal relations an abomination, he shortened humankind’s lifespan to 120 years. That said, Yahweh looked into the hearts of humanity and saw its evil intent and, thus, grieved over creating man and woman in his image. So, the Lord declared he would rid the earth of all animal life. But Noah, a man of unwavering righteousness, found favor in the Lord’s sight, for he walked with God.
In today’s reading, Moses first reiterates that God saw the corruption in all the earth and then reports that God, in his divine wisdom, informed Noah of his plan to cleanse the land of its violent inhabitants. Thus, the Lord instructs Noah to make an ark of gopher wood waterproofed with pitch and rainproofed with a roof supported 18 inches above the vessel’s sides (providing a narrow gap for air and visibility). The ark’s three-tier design with a massive door on its side and dimensions of 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet deep testify to the magnitude of God’s plan because all life not brought on board will perish.
Thus, God made a covenant with Noah that would ensure the safety of his family (wife, three sons, and their wives) and the animal kingdom (two of every species—male and female). Additionally, God instructed Noah to store food on the ark for his family and all the paired creatures. So, Moses did all that God commanded.
Takeaway: Because Noah walked with the Lord (see yesterday’s Daily Focus), like Enoch (who also walked with the Lord and in whom God spared his suffering from death; Genesis 5:21-24), God will spare Noah and his loved ones from the horrendous fate of a catastrophic event unlike any ever to be seen by humankind until Jesus returns.
Regarding the ark’s design, Moses wants his readers to see a similar pattern to God’s mandate regarding Creation (Genesis 1-2) and the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-27). In all three events, God:
- speaks (wayyōʾmer /wayeḏabbēr) and commands an action,
- the action is carried out (wayyaʿaś) according to God’s will (wayehî kēn /kaʾašer ṣiwwāh ʾelōhîm), and
- God blesses (wayeḇāreḵ).
Like Moses, as we will later read, Noah meticulously follows God’s orders and becomes God’s vessel of salvation and blessing under his divine covenant. Also, like Moses, Noah embodies a testimony to faith in God. As the author of Hebrews recalls, “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Hebrew 11:7 ESV).
Our takeaway? We join the procession with covenant keepers who serve as the Lord’s agents of salvation and blessings. Indeed, Paul speaks to this truth when he informs the Corinthian church, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20a ESV). Indeed, God has entrusted us with his glorious message of divine reconciliation, where his Son, who knew no sin, bore our sins in his body so that God sees us through his Son’s righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Our part? Following the above bullet points:
- When God speaks, listen. Make no excuses. Instead, receive his extravagantly costly gift of salvation by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).
- Take action and do the good works God has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10)
- Become God’s blessing, his ark of salvation (2 Corinthians 5:20a).
Indeed, we, who were once drowning in sin, are high and dry as Christ’s ambassadors (his arks), through whom he appeals to others who are still thrashing in the rising waters of iniquity to receive our outstretched hand (i.e., his Good News). When we do, we are God’s blessing, and we are blessed.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for your Son, our ark of salvation who has reconciled us to you. Also, we thank you for the examples of Moses and Noah, who walked with you and have extended a helping hand through their stories to inspire us to do likewise. So, please help us pay it forward as your vessels of salvation and bless those you call to safety with outstretched arms. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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