Genesis Chapter 7

The Days of Noah – The Flood

7:1

The Lord God again speaks directly to Noah, telling him when he and his family are to enter the ark. God also confirms that He sees Noah righteous before Him. Remember, all that Noah has been doing; building this gigantic ‘Ark’ and stocking all types and kinds of foods, water and provisions, must have been an enormous undertaking, and all based on Noah believing and obeying God even though he saw nothing to prove this thing called a ‘flood’ would ever even come about. Note that the Hebrew word for flood is ‘Mabbul’, and is used only to describe this worldwide cataclysmic flood.

7:2

Notice that God only gives the specific instructions after seeing Noah’s obedience and faith. Often we are only given general words of wisdom and/or commandments from God, then, as we step out in faith and begin obeying God, then He gives us more specific instructions and guidelines to obey. God also reveals that He wants Noah to take ‘sevens’ meaning seven pairs of each of the ‘clean’ animals on board the ark. How would Noah know which ones were clean and not clean? Remember, God had given ceremonial distinctions about which animals were to be sacrificed. Although we are not given this information in Genesis, it is revealed elsewhere in the bible.

7:3

The details continue to be revealed by God to Noah. Even birds are to be brought into the ark; again the clean by ‘sevens’. Why? Genetically, multiple pairs would allow for a greater variety of reproduction, and much more quickly. Domesticated animals would also have been a kind of ‘fellowship’ for man, just as pets give a form of ‘fellowship’ to humans today. (In addition, some of these answers will be provided in following chapters.) God tells Noah it is to keep their ‘seed’ alive on the earth. Anything NOT brought on the ark would have become extinct. Keep in mind Noah does not know how deep this flood will be, nor how long it will last, nor how violent the waves will be.

7:4

Notice the importance of the ‘seven’. God warns Noah that in exactly seven days He will cause it to rain for forty continuous days and nights. Noah is again told ALL living entities and substance WILL die. Note that this refers to the animal life AND the plants. We know that plants cannot continue to grow while covered with water for long periods of time. However, the seeds of the plants probably did float together in large masses during the flood. This is the first of future prophecies giving this seven day period. It would seem plausible to assume that mankind had already been using the seven days as the time frame for a week. In the future, we also will see seven months, sometimes seven years, sometimes 70 years; all in multiples of seven. Why do you think God used sevens for His time frames?

7:5-6

Notice that Noah obeyed EVERYTHING God told him to do, not just what he understood, or felt ‘comfortable’ doing. We are given the additional information that Noah was six hundred years old when the flood water came upon earth. The reason God gives us Noah’s age is to help us understand and determine that times and dates are very important in God’s planning. God is also giving us information to counter the lies of evolution, and others who deny the Truth of Creation, the Flood and the True history of mankind.

7:7-9

We are given confirmation of exactly who enters the ark, so there can be no dispute in the far future times, meaning our times. We are also reminded that all the animals come in pairs of male and female, probably young, healthy animals and birds, so they could reproduce healthy offspring.

7:10

Prophecy fulfilled! God’s Word is always absolutely correct and prophecies always fulfilled. We realize that Noah obeyed God for a century before the actual event that God foretold was to take place. It must have been very difficult and discouraging to continually plan for an event that Noah could have no idea how or when it would be fulfilled. Do we, today, give up too soon in trusting God?

7:11

We are now given the exact year, month and day that the flood begins. The six hundredth year of Noah’s life, the second month, the 17th day of the month. This is an important clue that people probably kept tract of time in weeks, months and years. At the same time we are told ALL the fountain of the great deep were broken up AND the windows of heaven were opened. Was there an earthquake or some other event God used to suddenly cause all the underground water to begin pouring out on the earth? We are not given the specific details, but we can surmise this is what probably happened. The ‘windows of heaven being opened’ or ‘floodgates’; sounds like the ‘waters above the firmament’ suddenly began pouring down. This would be more than just a normal heavy rain, it literally POURED down in a great torrent on the earth.

7:12-13

Meteorological conditions today make it absolutely impossible for a worldwide rainfall to continue for forty days and nights. So this again would be a clue that the ‘waters above the earth’ were used to bring this continuous forty day and night ‘flood from the heavens’. The vapor canopy or frozen water canopy that encircled the earth was part of the original ‘perfect creation’ for our planet. This perfect atmospheric condition was probably the reason man, animals and plants lived such a long time. God created everything absolutely perfect for us. The destruction of all living beings (except Noah and his family and the male and female of the animal kingdom) meant the destruction of the perfect physical world of earth. (13.) God repeats again the names of Noah, and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, and their wives, to make certain we in the future will always remember and know exactly who was saved in the ark, and why.

7:14-16

Every beast, domesticated animals, creeping things and fowl and birds of every kind and sort went in unto Noah, into the ark. The language seems to indicate that the animals went to Noah, he apparently did not have to go out and ‘select’ them, or round them up. These animals, birds, etc. were obviously directed by God in some way to go to Noah and go into their respective rooms. Because of the number of animals and the length of time they were on the ark, it may have been that they all, or most of them, went into some state of hibernation. Perhaps after Noah fed them all. How God ‘closed the door and shut them in’ is a mystery. Perhaps it was to keep out any animals or persons God did not intend to be saved. Perhaps it is a way of securing Noah, his family and all the animals to protect them from the coming deluge which was probably terrifying. In any case, we know God closed them in, giving them His protection.

7:17

The ark was thirty cubits high, and when loaded, probably had a draft of almost fifteen cubits. As soon as the water rose to a level of fifteen cubits above the platform on which it had been constructed, it would have begun to float.

7:18

The word ‘prevailed’ in the Hebrew means ‘were overwhelmingly mighty’. These powerful waves and water movements were of such magnitude that the ark was probably tossed about quite it bit. The animals probably were in a semi-hibernation state, or were too frightened to move. Many animals just seem to ‘freeze’ when they are in a state of fear. Noah and his family probably just clung to one another and prayed! Some scholars believe that God steered the ark away from the zones of the most serious hydrodynamic violence. In any case, this was not a pleasant ocean cruise!

7:19

The waters are continuing to prevail over the entire earth. The eruptions of the ‘fountains’ of the great deep would been magma and other materials being extruded from the earth’s mantle. The termed prevailed exceedingly, assures us that the entire earth was completely covered. We are told ‘ALL the high hills under the heavens, were covered’! This is no small flood! There were tsunamis, vortices, turbidity flows, cyclic erosion and deposition, and other types and kinds of geomorphologic activity taking place. The tremendous volcanic underwater explosions no doubt shook the earth repeatedly. We know that some of the highest mountain ranges, our Rocky Mountains and other mountain ranges throughout the world, were all formed by violent volcanic eruptions. These mountain ranges are continuing to rise! This means that volcanic conditions are still in effect. Mt. St. Helens proved just how violent these eruptions can be. We see continuous erupting of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The magma continues to pour out day and night, flowing to the ocean and actually adding a great deal of ‘land’ to the island of Hawaii! In II Peter 3:6-7 we are told: “Through which the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished (or was destroyed), But by the same Word the present heavens and earth have been stored up and reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly people.” So we know that the perfect world of Noah’s day was destroyed, and we now live in a very imperfect world; filled with ungodly people, which will eventually be destroyed by fire. What type of fire? Other scriptures say the earth will ‘dissolve’, or ‘melt away’. See II Peter 3:11-12. The sky shall ‘roll up like a scroll and vanish’ Revelation 6:14. Also read Isaiah 34: 3-5. This would be an accurate description of a nuclear type destruction during the coming Judgment of God at the end times.

7:20-23

Now we are told that all the mountains were covered by at least 15 cubits (this is approximately 23+ feet) of water. This will eliminate any idea that maybe some survived by going up on a very high mountain. (21. – 23.) All flesh died that moved upon the earth. This means, fowl, birds, beasts, domestic animals, every creeping thing, and all men; everything that had the breath of life in it, all died. All living substance, this means all the plants and plant life of every kind, all died. Only Noah, and those on the ark with him, remained alive, everything else died. Notice the emphasis on all died. Reminds us of the emphasis in Chapter 5: …and he died. Reminding us that we all will someday die.

7:24

The water prevailed mightily upon the earth 150 days. This would be five months of unbelievable violent upheaval. Remember how quickly Mt. St. Helens exploded and caused a tremendous amount of damage and destruction. Can you imagine five months of cataclysmic type earth movement, volcanic action, water erosion, crashing waves, and convulsive activity beneath the surface of the waters? It would have been thousands of times worse than Mt. St. Helens! Remember that II Peter tells us: “the earth that then was, was destroyed!”

Challenge: This is an important Truth to remember, “destroyed” in this sense means the earth, as it existed, no longer existed with the same geography, or climate, or functioned in the same manner. The perfect world God created was so badly damaged, or ‘destroyed’, that it no longer existed. We are told, in the New Testament, that the earth will again be “destroyed” by fire. For more information and understanding on this, be prepared to do your own research and study.