"And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth. There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them into the ark; they, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in." (Genesis 7:6-16)
How many ways do we see the hand of God at work in this passage of scripture?
Who brought the animals to the ark? Did Noah go and gather them all himself, even such as the lions and bears? No. The same God who brought the animals to Adam so that he could name them, now brings them to the ark. The same God who created all of these animals is now able to cause them to be restrained from tearing apart the very man who has been designated to save them on the ark: Noah. And they "went in two and two." Perfectly planned, perfectly orchestrated…by GOD.
"the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up" – waters that had been kept in reserve for a need such as this? Waters help deep within the bowels of the earth? And who is able to break open the stores that hold these waters? GOD alone.
"and the windows of heaven were opened" – heaven, the place of God's throne. The heavenly atmosphere out of physical sight to man, yet controlled by the One on that heavenly throne; the Only One who is able to open heavens windows and allow the 'waters above' to lose their restraint and flow freely in a deluge of destruction. Who is the master of that house of which these windows are a part? GOD.
"Wherein is the breath of life" – again, possible only by God who is the giver of life. The same God who is about to destroy the entire wicked world has shown mercy to these few people and to these few animals. He can give life and He can take it away. For He is GOD.
"And the LORD shut him in" – not for Noah to do for himself. God Himself "sealed" in the remnant of creation that He wanted saved. Just as He will "seal" His servants in a coming latter day of trouble protecting them from the evil that will fall upon the earth, allowing them to continue as His witnesses to a perishing world.. Just as He "seals" His children within the confines of heaven, instead of an ark, when He brings judgment and wrath to a wicked world for a second and final time. Who cares for His creation so much that He will not suffice someone else shutting that door, but will do it Himself? GOD.
Here, in merely the first few chapters of Genesis, we are being given a picture of who GOD is and what His sovereignty entails. And here, in the preservation of His creation, and in the display of His mercy and grace, are we enticed to join our own lives to this wondrous, merciful and loving God, if we but will.
Is it possible that the remaining many books of the Bible can tell us anything more about God when it has revealed so much of Him to us already?
YES. There is much more to come, for our God is infinite and all the books written in the whole world cannot contain all that He is.
2 comments:
The spectacle of animals walking two by two into the Ark must have raised the eyebrows (so to speak) of the "wicked." I would think that might have made them begin to question their criticism of Noah for the years as he built the Ark and their "non belief" in God. Is it correct in assuming that God hardened their hearts at some time in this process while the Ark was being built? GW
In fact, in Genesis 6:3 God says "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for the he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." It is thought amongst some bible scholars that it took 120 years to build the ark, and that the building of the ark was the amount of time allotted for man to repent, during which the Spirit of God strived with men to persuade them to turn to God. And it is very safe, I think, to asssume that by the time the animals are loaded in, God will not allow them anymore time to repent, and they are unable to see the "miracle of God" at work as the animals file by in twos.
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