Genesis 7

This chapter begins with an invitation from Yahweh. God invites our ancestor and his family into the ark. He says, “Come.” He draws them to Him. This was not a command, like, “Go.” Yahweh even explains why He invites them: “For thee I have seen righteous before me in this generation.” Noah was faithful and obedient. How can we rightly separate these two qualities?
Was this family perfect? Probably not, but they can be typified as a sort of “second Adam,” a new beginning for humanity and the living creation. People are saved, so Christ must be typified here as well. Christ is the means through which we are saved, so the ark can represent Christ here. 2 Timothy 1:7-11. Different instructions were given in 7:2-3 regarding the animals when compared with the parallel passage in chapter 6. Note that God, or Elohim, is used to refer to our heavenly Father in 6:9-22, while LORD, or Yahweh, is used in the verses immediately preceding and following.

We are not told how anyone might have known what a clean or unclean animal is. At least some of what we commonly consider “Mosaic Law” surely was known before the days of Moses. We know that under the law of Moses that unclean beasts could not be used for food or for sacrifice. Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14. Now some will claim that God had additional clean animals taken aboard only for the purpose of sacrifice. This may be true. God had already told Adam that humans and animals were to eat vegetation only. Genesis 1:29-30. But later, God changes this commandment, Genesis 9:2-3, so that if humans were to eat meat directly after the flood there will need to be more than a pair of each species to prevent immediate extinctions.

My daughter’s favorite video game (years ago) was based on this story. You moved the avatar around searching for animals in bushes and trees, carried them onto the ark, and put them in their pens. The animals were often not cooperative. Yet 7:15 shows the animals going into the ark without any human coaxing.

Was this a global flood? It sure seems that way from 7:18. Verse 7:20 can be a bit confusing. Were all the mountains less than 15 cubits (22-23 feet) tall, or were the highest mountains submerged more than 15 cubits? Well, one theory is that the ark was 30 cubits tall so that it may have needed 15 cubits of clearance to keep it from striking ground. 6:15 Others suggest that the great mountains were created during or after the flood.

Was the ark big enough to house and feed such a sampling of all the land animals and birds? Many profound miracles were obviously happening at once, so this question may not be a meaningful one. However, there have been estimations that the ark would have been, indeed, physically large enough with room to spare.

Is the ark account historically true, is it allegory demonstrating spiritual truth, or is it an old Babylonian fable that crept into our Holy Scriptures? Before you answer that question, first consider the cloud of witnesses.

Isaiah 54:9
Ezekiel 14:14,20
Hebrews 11:7
1 Peter 3:20
2 Peter 2:5

And the most persuasive testimony from Jesus the Christ

Matthew 24:37-39
Luke 17:26-27

So, what do you think? What do you wonder about? What would you like to share? May the Holy Spirit bring to us the faith and obedience that brings glory to God.