Noah’s Flood

For facts about Noah and the Ark, the Bible is the only reliable source. Several modern day movies have portrayed the Flood, with assorted degrees of accuracy.

Beginning in Genesis 5:21, we have the names of the people who would have been contemporary with Noah. Adam’s son Seth had died before Noah was born, but Noah was 84 when Enos died. Noah was 179 when Cainan died, 234 when Mahalaeel died, 366 when Jared died, 502 when Shem was born, 595 when Lamech died, 600 when Methuselah died (the same year as the flood).

FACTS ABOUT NOAH

Noah was the grandson of Methuselah, the oldest person in the Bible, who died at 969 years old (in the year of the flood). Noah’s father was Lamech, but we are not told his mother’s name. Noah was a tenth generation descendant of Adam, who was the first human being on Earth.
Scripture tells us Noah was a farmer (Genesis 9:20). He was already 500 years old when he fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Gen. 5:32).
When God decided to wipe the wicked people from the face of the Earth, he first warned Noah, making a covenant to save Noah and his family. While Noah and his family labored constantly on the ark, he also preached repentance, but the violent generation ignored him. Like a parent whose children have gone bad, God mourned for his wayward children. The Lord was sorry He had created man and “was grieved in his heart” (Genesis 6:6). Notice that God was sorry He had made man. Their failure to repent caused God to repent, or turn around, in his approach to humanity.
Noah was called a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet. 2:5).
After the Flood, Noah promptly built an altar of stones and offered animal sacrifices to give thanks to God for salvation.
God told Noah and his family the same thing he told Adam: “be fruitful and multiply.” (Gen. 1:28, 9:7).
After Noah planted a vineyard, made wine, and got drunk on the wine, he lay naked in his tent. Ham told his brothers but did not protect his father. Shem and Japheth took a garment, backed into the tent and covered Noah without looking at him. When Noah woke, he blessed Shem and Japheth but cursed Ham’s offspring, Canaan. Ham’s sin was disrespecting his father.
Noah lived 350 years after the flood and died at 950 years old.

FACTS ABOUT NOAH’S ARK

One of the most debated facts about the ark is the type of wood used. The King James Bible calls it “gopher wood,” but trees are not called that today. Some speculate that gopher wood was what we call cypress, which was commonly used by Phoenicians in shipbuilding.
Noah’s ark was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high (Genesis 6:15)—about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. A cubit is generally considered to be 18 inches. The proportions of the ark, 6:1, were still being used in shipbuilding into the 1900s. The ark was constructed with three “decks,” or stories (Genesis 6:16). When Noah and his family and all the animals entered the ark, God himself shut its door to insure their safety against the raging flood (Genesis 7:16). When the waters subsided after the Flood, the ark rested on the mountains of ARARAT (Genesis 8:4).
God told Noah to cover the ark, inside and out, with pitch to waterproof it. Deposits of solid bitumen (asphalt) and sticky tar occur naturally in the Middle East.
The ark took approximately 100 years to build. Notice that Noah was 500 when he bore his three sons and 600 when he went into the ark.
The ark had a window in the top and a door on one side. There were three decks, with rooms within the decks. The ark was not designed to be steered or sailed but only to float. It drifted wherever God willed.
God commanded Noah to take seven “clean” animals and two of every other kind of animal (male and female). The clean animals were used for food and sacrifice after Noah and his family came out of the ark.
God said the animals “will come to you to be kept alive,” (Genesis 6:20), showing that the migration was directed by God.
When the waters receded, the ark came to rest in the mountains of Ararat. No specific peak is named in this mountain range, located in present-day Turkey, but we are made to understand it was the highest or main peak.

FACTS ABOUT THE FLOOD

God saw how great wickedness had become and decided to wipe mankind from the face of the earth. He also cursed the ground (Gen. 5:29). However, one righteous man among all the people of that time, Noah, found favor in God’s eyes. With very specific instructions, God told Noah to build an ark for him and his family in preparation for a catastrophic flood that would destroy every living thing on earth.
God also instructed Noah to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, both male and female, and seven pairs of all the clean animals, along with every kind of food to be stored for the animals and his family while on the ark. Noah obeyed everything God commanded him to do.
After they entered the ark, rain fell on the earth for a period of forty days and nights. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days, and every living thing, which had the breath of life, died (Gen. 7:21). The water rose to 15 cubits (## feet) above the highest mountain (Gen. 7:20). As the waters receded, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Noah and his family continued to wait for almost eight more months while the surface of the earth dried out.
Finally after an entire year, God invited Noah to come out of the ark. Immediately, he built an altar and worshiped the Lord with burnt offerings from some of the clean animals. God was pleased with the offerings and promised never again to destroy all the living creatures as he had just done. Later God established a covenant with Noah: “Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” As a sign of this everlasting covenant God set a rainbow in the clouds.

POINTS OF INTEREST:

God’s purpose in the flood was to destroy the people because of their wickedness and sin.
With more detail in Genesis 7:2-3, God instructed Noah to take seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, and two of every kind of unclean animal. Bible scholars have calculated that approximately 45,000 animals might have fit on the ark.
Genesis 7:16 interestingly points out that God shut them in the ark, or “closed the door,” so to speak.
The ark was exactly six times longer than it was wide. This is the same ratio used by modern ship builders.
Remember the window was on top of the ark, and after 40 days Noah sent out a raven (Gen. 8:6-7).
Noah also sent out a dove, but she returned because she had no rest for her foot (Gen. 8:8-9).
Seven days later, he sent the dove out again and she returned with an olive branch in her mouth (Gen. 8:10-11).
Noah waited another seven days to send the dove out again and she did not return.
Noah opened the window of the ark and saw that the waters were gone when he was 601 years old (Gen. 8:13).
God gave Noah power (authority) over the animals (Gen. 9:2; 9:11-13).

Psalms 19:1—To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Who would have seen more of God’s handiwork than Noah? Noah surely understood more than any man at that time what the handiwork of God was. Remember the “fountains of the great deep” were broken up (Gen. 7:11; Gen. 8:1-2; Pro. 8:28), and the rains came down from heaven when there had been no rain before (Gen. 2:5-6)? Can you imagine the shaking of the earth and the loud clapping of thunder? Can you envision seeing the ground break up and fountains of water spewing up from the earth when such a thing had never happened before? Such physical events would only be the beginning to help the people to see the big picture of other wonderful works of God. Like we read in Romans chapter one, the physical wonders are only the beginning. Spiritual works of God far outweigh physical in glory and beauty—works in nations, in hearts of men, in giving understanding, etc. The entire Bible shows the works of God. NOTE Psalm 107, and particularly last verse, shows what the “natural events” of the world are—the work of God FOR His purpose (Rom 8:29) to form Christ in the hearts of men. It is like a mystery for us to unravel. We must learn to ask for understanding and spiritual sight to do that. (Example—David Psa. 119:18—Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.)

Luke 24:45—Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Luke 10:21—In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

Remember all the miracles that Pharaoh saw?

Literally every belief known to man teaches an account of the flood—even the Aborigines in Australia. The Hindu religion in India tells how “Lord Krishna lapped up the waters.” Can this be coincidence? Archaeologists have discovered a number of flood stories among pagan nations in the ancient world.

In stark contrast to the pagan stories, the book of Genesis presents the holy and sovereign God who acted in judgment against sin and yet mercifully saved Noah and his family because of his righteousness.

Many artists have painted imaginary “pictures” of Noah’s flood. The famed Michelangelo (1475-1564) had great compassion for the doomed people who could not escape the waters sweeping away their world. This depiction of the flood from the book of Genesis was one of the first scenes he painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Instead of concentrating on God’s chosen survivor Noah, this radical artist imagined the anguish of all who were doomed to drown.

There is much scientific evidence for the flood, and all you have to do to become a believer is note rock formations and layers along the highways as you drive. The evolutionists contort the evidence to support their hypothesis. The Grand Canyon is a perfect example. Evolutionists use it as proof that the earth is billions of years old, claiming that the Colorado River carved the canyon over millions of years, while Bible-believing Christians understand the canyon as a spillway from Noah’s Flood. Even though the evolutionist believes it formed slowly, with a little water and a lot of time, the Bible believers understand it formed quickly, with a lot of water and a little time. What a stark difference!

Since the Bible is true, and the earth is only about six thousand years old, we should easily find evidence that debunks the evolutionist theory about the Grand Canyon. That evidence is everywhere. For example, the top of Grand Canyon is over four thousand feet higher than where the Colorado River enters the canyon, meaning (if the evolutionists are right) the river would have had to flow uphill for millions of years. Additionally, in contrast to all other rivers, we do not find a delta (a place where washed-out mud is deposited). This alone makes the evolutionist interpretation impossible (Citation 2 paragraph down).

The evidence does, however, point to Noah’s Flood. Today, we see two beach lines from what used to be two large lakes near the Grand Canyon. Creationists believe that after Noah’s Flood, the lakes got too full and spilled over the top. When water overflows a dam, the weakest point is instantly eroded. Thus, the Grand Canyon would have been formed quickly, supporting the creationist view.

So, which interpretation is right? Knowing that rivers don’t flow uphill and no leftover sedimentary deposits are found, evolutionists have a lot of explaining to do when it comes to the Grand Canyon. The Bible, however, says that a flood covered the whole earth (Genesis 7:18-20). This means we should find places where the water drained. The Grand Canyon is one of those places. It is a washed-out spillway and provides great evidence for Noah’s Flood.

(http://www.creationtoday.org/grand-canyon-flood-creation-minute/)

(http://www.creationtoday.org/flood-facts-creation-minute/)

Reading the Genesis account closely to understand the flood and the various things that took place during that time would help us all to understand about the wonderful works of God.

One reason a Bible class may be able to relate well to the Noah story is that there is supposedly a new movie about it. I do not go to movies, but some of these students may and teaching them the truth about what really happened could help them to see how badly the truth is distorted in the movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1959490/

I am no doubter that the movie will be intended to destroy our faith in the Genesis account (Gen. 5:29-10:32). The humanists are taking our children and now they want to destroy every last believer age 1 to 100!

Note the introduction to the movie trailer has this sentence: The Biblical Noah suffers visions of an apocalyptic deluge and takes measures to protect his family from the coming flood—as if the ark were totally Noah’s idea and work. If it had not rained on the earth before, could any man know about boats or large bodies of water? The men of Noah’s day must have mocked him as they watched him build something they considered useless.

In the New Testament, Jesus spoke of the Flood and of Noah and the ark, comparing “the days of Noah” with the time of “the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37-38; Luke 17:26-27).

House-to-House has put out a picture called “Noah by the Numbers.” Maybe we should keep that little chart handy as we are studying the Genesis account along with our children? One thing to note even here is that the window is in the wrong place.