Bible Commentaries
Genesis 7

Verses 1-3

Noah Must Bring All in the Ark

Noah has prepared the ark. In Hebrews 11 it says that he does so “by faith …, being warned [by God] about things not yet seen” (Hebrews 11:7). He does it “in reverence”, out of respect for what God has said. And he does it “for the salvation of his household”. God wants to save families.

What is the responsibility of the head of the family great to live with the Lord, so that he can receive Divine “warnings” to build the ark. What am I building on as head of the family? What am I doing as head of the family?

It must have been a foolish activity for the people of his time. There they see a man building a huge ship, in the middle of the land, without water in the neighborhood. However, they do not only see him, they also hear him. Noah is “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), so he is called. While he is building the ark, where does he warn the people for the coming judgment and invite them to come into the ark. He has been doing this for one hundred and twenty years.

But they don’t believe. They continue with everyday life. As time goes by, they laugh harder and mock Noah. So it is also now: “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with [their] mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For[ever] since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God [the] heavens existed long ago and [the] earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water” (2 Peter 3:3-Joshua :).

People also mock today when they hear about the coming judgment. As a Noah, am I also a preacher of righteousness, i.e. of the righteous judgment of God? Judgment is again about to burst. God will no longer destroy the world by water, but by fire (2 Peter 3:7).

When the ark is ready, the LORD commands Noah and his house to enter the ark and also to take with him the animals. It is striking that in the animals a difference is made between pure and impure animals. It is the first time this difference is mentioned. Of the pure animals he takes more with him. That is to be able to sacrifice of them (Genesis 8:20).

Verse 4

Seven More Days Added

After commanding Noah to enter the ark, God leaves the door of the ark open, as it were, for an extra seven days. To God’s patience which “kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark” (1 Peter 3:20) seven more days are added.

Verses 5-9

Noah Obeys the LORD in All Things

When Noah has finished constructing the ark, his mind is still as it was at the beginning of constructing the ark (Genesis 6:22). He does “according to all that the LORD had commanded him”. When the flood begins, he is six hundred years old. He enters the ark. God sends the animals to the ark. The same hand that first brought the animals to Adam to receive their names from him (Genesis 2:19), now brings them “into the ark to Noah” to be kept alive by him. “An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master’s manger”, but man has no understanding or knowledge (Isaiah 1:3). The animals are more obedient than the people. Noah gives all animals their place.

Verse 10

God Does What He Has Said

Then the patience of God is at an end. God does what He has said. All mockers are silenced when they see that every word God has spoken will be fulfilled by Him.

Verses 11-16

All Go into the Ark; the LORD Closes the Door

On the same day that the flood begins, Noah with his house and the animals enter the ark. Only Noah and his house, which are “a few, that is, eight persons”, enter the ark (1 Peter 3:20), no one else. The LORD closes the door behind him. Everyone who is outside at that moment is lost without salvation (cf. Matthew 25:10-1 Chronicles :).

The devastating judgments of the future will not come until God has provided for the safety of His people (Revelation 7:3; Genesis 19:22). If the God-fearing men are taken away, the judgments are not far away, for they are taken away before evil (Isaiah 57:1). This also applies to the church that will be raptured before the great tribulation comes upon all the earth (Revelation 3:10). We have seen this in the picture of Enoch, who was taken away before the judgment of the flood (Genesis 5:24).

Verses 17-20

On the Water and under the Water

For forty days the water rises – and the ark and its contents rise with it – until the highest mountains are covered by the water. It takes no imagination to imagine the terrible scenes that have taken place in those days. When it begins one may have been surprised by the heavy rainfall, but an explanation might be sought and found why.

When it keeps raining, there will be some who started to go to the ark. They will have banged on the door and begged to enter, but it is too late (cf. Luke 13:25). Then they fled to the hills, but the water has chased them and hunted them higher and higher. There is less and less space available. The battles for survival will have been numerous, both between humans and between humans and animals and between animals. Until the highest mountain is finally covered by water.

It is clear that this flood has been global and not just a local flood. It says that “all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered”. The fact that the water rises to fifteen cubits above the highest mountains may have something to do with the depth of the ark.

Verses 21-23

All Blotted out Except What Is in the Ark

This an end is put to “every living thing that was upon the face of the land”. Only Noah and what is with him in the ark are left. What judgment means for the world means salvation for them. The waters that destroy the world lift up the ark and place it on a land cleaned by judgment. The ark undergoes the judgments of God, while those who are in it are spared.

This is an impressive picture of the Lord Jesus during the three hours of darkness on the cross, over Whom God pours out the waters of His judgment in those hours (Psalms 42:7). All sinners who take refuge in Him are spared thereby, and are not struck by judgment, for He has carried it in their place.

In 1 Peter 3 the flood and the ark are used as a picture of baptism: “who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through [the] water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:20-Ecclesiastes :). Who is immersed in the baptismal water undergoes, in correspondence, the judgment of God. But just as Noah is safe in the ark, so is such a person safe in Christ. In the case of Noah, judgment strikes the ark; he who is baptized knows that the judgment has affected Christ.

Only through the flood could Noah enter a new world; only through the death of Christ can the believer be with Him on earth. In 1 Peter 3:21 it is not about being saved by baptism to be in heaven with Christ, but to be with Christ on earth. As long as a believer is not baptized, he has not yet openly shown that he belongs to Him on earth.

Verse 24

The Earth Under Water

After forty days of raining from the floodgates of heaven and great water floods having been pushed up from water sources under the earth, the water reaches its final height. At this level, the water remains standing for one hundred and fifty days.