This blog post will cover the devotionals #52-57 for Genesis Chapter 7.
Please note that this devotional book is for sale as a physical (paperback) &/or digital (PDF) book on my website.
[52] Genesis 7:1,4-7,10-13,16
In Genesis 7:1, we see God alerting Noah that the time had come to load up, and that the flood would begin in seven days. Noah was roughly five hundred years old when God told him to build the ark (and I imagine he began right away), and six hundred years old when he entered the ark. That means that it took him one hundred years to build it. As we saw in our calculations and conclusion from devotional #38, the flood happened 1,656 years after the world was created (around 2328 BC). They entered the ark the exact same day that God told them to. God reminded him of the reason he was invited in. “I have seen you righteous before Me in this generation.” We saw, in Genesis 6:8, 9, that Noah found grace in God’s eyes—that he was a just man, perfect in his generations, and walked with God. Here, in Genesis 7:1, God again mentions Noah’s perfection / righteousness in this generation. What does He mean by ‘generation(s)’ in both these passages? It’s hard to say for sure, but it seems to be referring to Noah’s own life, and not merely the group of people living in that time-period. Notice that every time God told him to do something, he did it. Now, something that’s super important to notice is that, in Genesis 7:16, we’re told that God shut him in after his family and all the animals entered the ark. In devotional #48, we discussed how the Bible doesn’t mention that the door couldn’t be opened or shut by man. However, we can see here that it was closeable and by God Himself. Now, imagine all the people hanging around outside ‘waiting’ for something to happen. The family was closed inside the ark for seven days. I have to wonder if anyone in that ark ever started doubting that the rain would come. Then, to hear the people outside laughing and mocking them wouldn’t have helped much either. But then, the raindrops began to fall, and God’s century-old prophecy of what was to come finally came true. God's so beyond patient. He held back the crumbling of the Earth for a hundred years with the hopes of convincing men of the truth. Nobody was convinced—until it was too late. They had never seen rain, or any other precipitation, for that matter—and they chose not to trust God's prophecy that it’d indeed come. Now it was falling on them from the sky, and they quickly realized their mistake. That ark was forty-five feet tall (and maybe even double that). It didn’t have footholds, steps / ladders, windows, etc. that they could use to scale to the top. They pounded on the side of a door that was impossible for the inside men to open to them. Noah probably felt just as helpless as they did, but none of them felt as helpless as God Himself, watching everything unfold and not being allowed to do anything about it. I believe that this is the same scenario that will happen in the very end, after the thousand years in Heaven, when the city of God is to be returned to the earth. All the righteous saved will be inside the city, and the massive gates closed tightly. All the unrighteous lost will be outside of the city, reaching their point of complete realization of the error of their ways, but not being able to do anything about it. They’ll confess and repent, but probation will have already closed, and they’ll be allowed to die for eternity. I bet the Antediluvians will experience Deja-vu when they realize that history repeats itself.
[53] Genesis 7:2,3,8,9,14-16 (Part 1)
Why did God have them take seven of each clean animal (which He specified should be sets of male and female)? If we look at Genesis 8:20, we can see that after Noah’s family left the ark, they built an altar, and gave burnt offerings on it—specifically one of every single clean beast and bird. If God had required them to take even-numbered sets (say six or eight of each), then one of each species could’ve been left without a mate to reproduce and replenish the earth. Beyond that, we see there may have been another purpose in taking seven, rather than just three—which would’ve evened out the number to match the unclean animals’ single pairs (we’ll see why God only had them take two of each unclean animal shortly). If we look at Genesis 9:3, 4, we’ll see that God also told them that they’d now be ‘permitted’ to eat flesh as well (not just the green plants, as stated in the garden). Why did He do that? Did He want them to eat meat? No, He probably didn’t. Did He consider the fact that the earth now had little plant-based foods available to them—due to their destruction in the flood? We saw, in devotional #51, that there was a good chance that the food that God had them gather (remember they had to gather every type of food) wasn’t just for their year-long ‘cruise’, but also to replant for future crops as well. That would take time to reach harvest, so they’d need something else to eat in the meantime. So, of seven animals, one was sacrificed, two were to maintain the species, and that means that four animals were available for both the above-mentioned purposes of sacrifices / offerings and food (and of course, extra for reproduction just for our pure enjoyment). So, why did He have Noah take only two of each unclean animal? There are probably several reasons. As we just saw, one of every single clean animal species was sacrificed after Noah’s family left the ark. However, God wouldn’t want them to sacrifice an unclean animal. The sacrifices were directly symbolic of Christ’s perfect sacrifice, so God would never use something unclean (or even fermented) to represent something righteous. Furthermore, if they were to sacrifice (or eat) even one of the two unclean animals saved, then they’d know that there’d be no way for that species to reproduce and multiply to replenish the species. That may have been a boundary God created to make sure that a pair of each species was maintained. While the unclean animals needed to be able to reproduce, just like the clean animals, they likely didn’t need as many, because a few would serve the purpose. But what was God’s purpose in creating ‘unclean’ animals in the first place? They weren't unclean, in and of themselves, but by nature of their habits and diet. Many ‘unclean’ animals were created to bring balance and cleanliness to the earth (a necessity created by sin). This seems like a contradiction, but the unclean animals are the ones that provide cleanliness for us! Many rodents, scavenger birds, ocean-floor animals, and larger beasts (like pigs) all have a place in that part of the system. They clean up and filter waste and filth. That stuff remains inside their bodies—and is precisely why God doesn’t want us to eat them. They’re full of toxins, chemicals, parasites, fecal matter, and so much more that we wouldn’t want to consume. Think about it, if you saw everything that they clean up sitting on a plate (outside of their bodies), would you ever be tempted to swallow or even put it in your mouth? If not, then does it make sense to eat something that you know has all of that within its organs and flesh? As you've probably heard, you are what you eat!
[54] Genesis 7:2,3,8,9,14-16 (Part 2)
Why do you suppose that God had birds included in the ark’s cargo? Couldn’t they fly above the water? Well, despite their impressive endurance in the air, they too need rest. Imagine the humans trying to tread water for a year straight (and with nothing to eat!). It wouldn’t be possible. The tallest mountains were covered, which meant that the birds wouldn’t have had anywhere to land until the water receded—forcing them to fly for a year straight to avoid drowning. We see evidence of that in Genesis 8, when Noah sends out birds at different times to see if they’d find signs of food or dry ground / trees to land on. Now, why did he only take beasts and birds—why not things from the sea? The animals that boarded the ark were land and air animals. Sea creatures could survive in the water (and thus didn’t need brought on board). However, what I find even more intriguing, though, is that not all of them did survive all the tumult that occurred beneath the surface (which we can see from evidence of creatures who were clearly fossilized while still alive). But wait, if they lived in the water, why didn’t all of them survive? Well, there was a lot of thrashing and intense changes that happened very suddenly that even the fastest swimmers would never have been able to escape. Yet, imagine the excessive amount of sea life we would have today if they had all survived and continued multiplying for the six thousand years of Earth’s history? So, just like God allowed all but a few of the land and air animals to be destroyed in the flood, He allowed the same with the sea creatures. However, sea animals weren't the only ones left out of the ark’s cargo. In devotional #8, we discussed the idea of man’s ‘creative’ science in making strange animals by messing with aspects of God’s original species. These strange animals likely included dinosaurs (which we also see similarly fossilized in the same areas where fish were clearly buried alive during the flood). If God created dinosaurs, He would’ve found a way to maintain them (either on the ark or otherwise) so they could repopulate after the flood—unless there was some major reason why not. We’ll see, in devotional #55, that there’s at least one other animal that wasn’t included in the ark—and why not.
[55] Genesis 7:2,3,8,9,14-16 (Part 3)
Did you ever notice that certain verses show that God commanded Noah to bring animals into the ark (Genesis 6:19; 7:2, 3), but others show that the animals came to Noah and entered the ark (Genesis 6:20; 7:8, 9, 14-16)? What really happened here? God was showing Noah what he needed to be prepared for, but that God was going to provide. In devotional #51, we mentioned that God had a reason for not requiring Noah to gather up the animals. What was His purpose? Think of all the people looking on. They had serious doubts about what God said would happen. Noah gathering up hundreds, if not thousands, of animals would’ve been impressive, but maybe not miraculous. Now, imagine all those wild animals coming of their own will and boarding the ark. That alone would’ve been dumbfounding. But now, picture them coming together, in sets of species, in a single-file line—one species in proximity with another…a lion behind a deer…a fox behind a rabbit…a snake behind a mouse. These animals were no longer tame and ‘abiding together in peace’ like they were in the Garden of Eden. I honestly think that event would be considered just as miraculous as the parting of the Red Sea. This was no man’s task—those animals were organized / herded to that boat by God’s angels. And yet, the people still weren’t convinced enough to board the boat of salvation. However, there was also another creature that we mentioned wasn’t convinced to get on board—that was the unicorn. How do I know they existed before the flood? Do I have proof? No. Have I ever seen a unicorn? No. Have I ever heard of anyone that has seen a real unicorn and not just these fictional stories about the ‘mythical’ creature? No. However, did you know that the Bible talks about unicorns? Look it up—there are six instances (in five passages). It can’t be so hard to believe that something so fantastical (a flying horse with a horn) could’ve existed, considering that we saw the flying serpent that existed in the Garden of Eden. But just like the serpent was proud, the unicorn is also said to have been a very proud animal. Psalm 92:10 says, “But my horn will You exalt like the horn of a unicorn…” The unicorn was so proud that it chose to not enter the ark. Job 39:9 says, “Will the unicorn be will to serve you, or stay in your stall?”The unicorn refused its stall in the ark. So, just like the flying serpent—the flying, horned horse also went into extinction. And just like the flying serpent was compared to Lucifer / Satan, we could do the same with the unicorn and the Antediluvians. They chose not to serve God. Job 39:9-12 says, “Will the unicorn be willing to serve you or stay in your stall? Can you bind the unicorn with his band in the trench? Or will he plow the valleys after you? Will you trust him because his strength is great? Or will you leave your labor to him? Will you believe him, that he will bring home your seed and gather it into your barn?”
[56] Genesis 7:17-20
I’m enthralled by Genesis 7:18, where it says that “The waters strengthened and were increased greatly on the earth; and the ark went on the surface of the waters.” If you look at the definition of ‘went’ here, in Strong’s Concordance, it shows something very interesting: ‘walked’. We may think that the ark was floating but being thrashed—which it likely was—but the idea that the ark walked on the water in the middle of the craziest storm ever known to Earth makes me think about how Jesus walked on the water in the middle of the storm that almost capsized the disciples’ boat. And the calm that the passengers of the ark experienced would’ve been maintained only by the One that calmed a storm for the disciples after sleeping through it. That was a massive boat, with an unbelievable quantity of passengers and supplies, and God was able to help it glide along safely, and at a terrifying height at that. The same idea we saw with the giants before the flood being lofty was here applied to the hills (mountains)—yet they didn’t compare to the impressiveness of the flood waters. The water grew fifteen cubits above the top of the tallest mountains. That means that even the very tallest mountains in the world were submerged no less than 22.5 feet under the flood waters (remember, it shows us the height of the flood waters above the mountain based on cubits—but cubits are based on the length of a man’s arm in any given time, so since we know that men back then were taller / larger than we are today, their cubits were very likely more than today’s 1.5 feet—maybe even about double). Mount Everest (the tallest mountain in the world) currently measures at 29,032 feet (exactly 5.5 miles tall). It likely was taller than that before the damage done to it by the flood, but this just provides a rough idea of how high the flood waters rose. The flood waters were nearly six miles high from ground level upwards. In devotional #57, we’ll be astounded to see the volume of water that covered the entire earth during the flood.
[57] Genesis 7:4,10-12,17-24
We can get a feel for how long the water levels were maintained at a crazy height. We saw, in devotional #56, that the waters were 5.5 miles above the ground, and at least 22-45 feet above the highest mountain top. Imagine an entire planet being covered with 5.5 miles of water for 150 days—not including what soaked back into the ground! The Earth has 1.97 million square miles of surface area. Multiply that by about 5.5 miles to get a rough estimate of the volume of water that covered the earth (obviously that'll vary based on the amount of space mountains occupied, as well as the seas already existing). 1,083,500,000 (~1.1 billion) cubic miles = 5,720,880,000,000 (~5.7 trillion) cubic feet, or 42,795,154,285,714 (~42.8 trillion) gallons. There was almost 43 quadrillion gallons of water on Earth for five months. For perspective, the Pacific Ocean (the largest body of water) is currently estimated at around 16,440,454,059,144 (~16.4 trillion) gallons (based on my math), making up fifty percent of the water found in all oceans combined. The oceans hold ninety-seven percent of the Earth’s water. Multiply the Pacific Ocean by 2.6 (or all the water on Earth right now by 1.3) for the rough amount of water that covered the Earth at the flood. So how did roughly 43 quadrillion gallons of water cover Earth's surface? The Bible uses the term, ‘firmament’ to show the air space above the planet and the origin of the climate from the clouds and up. Job 38:8-11 gives more insight. “When I made the cloud the garment of the earth, and I made thick darkness a swaddling band for it, and put a brake on it, setting bars and doors, saying, ‘You will come up to here, but no further. Your proud waves will be stayed here.” God put the protective layer (the 'garment' and 'swaddling band') around the earth and restrained the waters above the firmament. In devotional #2, we saw that God created the atmosphere (to block the intensity of the sun’s rays and trap heat to keep Earth’s temperature comfortable—which we see described here by the cloud and thick darkness). Genesis 8:2 says, “The fountains also of the deep and the windows of Heaven were stopped, and the rain from Heaven was restrained.” Psalm 18:15 says, “Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at Your rebuke, oh Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.” When God created the earth, He restrained the waters from their natural course. He did the same when He stopped the flood from continuing (Genesis 8:2). What happened in between that caused the flood to occur? God removed His restraints, and the waters went flowing back into their natural course. However, because of sin, other things occurred inside the earth too (not just around it). Genesis 7:11 says, “…All the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of Heaven were opened.” The water came both from above and below them. The ‘known’ world record of rainfall was 71.8 inches in twenty-four hours over a French Island during a 1966 tropical cyclone. Let’s pretend the entire world experienced that rainfall for that day, then multiply that by forty days. The earth would’ve received 8,865,000 (~8.9 million) cubic miles of water, which is 122.22 times less than what was on the earth by the end of the flood’s forty days of rain. The Bible reveals that the rain’s water combined with the water that burst out of the earth, meaning that not only was God maintaining the Earth’s environment, but also its internal structure. Humanity’s rejection of Him forced Him to let go of both, just enough to allow everything to die. He wasn’t allowed to sustain life any more than He would sustain the planet. He didn’t let the earth completely self-destruct because floating somewhere on top of those waters was a little boat with some very precious cargo.
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