Day 799: Judgment and salvation - Genesis 6 vs 9 - 22

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 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. 12-14 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, (or: the end of all flesh has come before me) 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.

15-16 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. (1 cubit was about 18 inches) Make a roof (skylight) 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. 17-18 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.

19 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. 20 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. 21 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.” 22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him. Genesis 6:9-22 English Standard Version

What a lovely description is given of Noah in vs 9. Like Enoch, who the Lord took to be with Himself, Noah 'walked with God'. The result was that he was blameless in his generation. It doesn't mean Noah lived a perfect life without any faults at all, but he put righteousness first. What was the state of Noah's world because they didn't put righteousness first? (vs 11)

It had become full of violence. Mankind had totally corrupted life on God's planet. If we use the dates from the family histories in Genesis then the flood was about 1,600 years after Adam's creation, so God had given mankind ample time to repent. We see that it led to a judgment day and God was going to bring that generation to an end. But it was also a time of salvation. God gave Noah careful instructions for building a vessel that would carry himself and his family, as well as two of every living creature, to safety. The apostle Peter said of this event: “God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” (1 Peter 3:20)

Regarding the vessel itself, which God called an ark, it was huge. A 'cubit' is said to be about 18 inches so the ark would be about 450 ft long, 75 ft wide and 45 ft high, (137 x 22 x 13 meters). Calculations have been made with a sheep as the average size of animals, and two of each of the known species would easily fit into the three storied ark, as well as space for food supplies. We don't know exactly what wood was used as 'gopher' is a transliteration of the Hebrew word. But God's promise was that the ark would keep them all alive. What else did God promise Noah? (vs 17-18)

He would make a covenant with him. We'll see more of that when we reach Chapter 8, but it would obviously have encouraged Noah to know that the God he had chosen to walk with was tenderly caring for him and his family. Noah's response was not to question God's instructions, but to obey Him. Following what Peter said about God bringing Noah and his family safely through water, he then said: “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:21) Have we taken that step of obedience?