The Flood!
7:1 God says to Noah "come" (KJV) into the ark and be saved. And God calls us to invite people into His eternal home and be saved. "The Spirit and the bride (you and me) say come" – come to Christ and be saved. (Rev. 22:17)
7:2, 3 The command to take seven each of every clean animal is not a contradiction of 6:19 but a new command. The additional clean animals could be used for food and for sacrifice once the waters subsided (8:20-22).
7:4 God gives His final warning yet none repent. "Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights." The numbers seven and forty are significant numbers, representing a special fullness of time (v. 12; Num. 32:13; Matt. 4:2; Dan. 9:27). "It is common for those that have been careless of their souls during the years of their health, when they have looked upon death at a distance, to be as careless during the final days of their sickness, when they see it approaching, their hearts being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." (M. Henry)
7:15 "Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark." The animals seem to have been drawn to the ark by the Lord not Noah.
7:16 "Then the LORD shut him in." The shut door was a symbol of closure, safety, and God's deliverance. (Eternal security) Yet the door of salvation will be shut against those that now make light of it. "He (God) who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens." (Rev. 3:7) Noah may have said to those outside the ark: "I have called and you refused."(Prov. 1:24) and now it is not in my power to help you: God has shut the door, and I cannot open it.'' (M. Henry)
7:11"All the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened." God judges the world. "The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood, And the Lord sits as King forever." (Psalm 29:10) Man might say, "How could a loving God destroy all these people?" In his sinful nature man wants God to give an account to him of why He takes a life or judges people. But Scripture makes it clear that we are accountable to God. "But our God is in the heavens: He does whatever pleases Him." (Psalm 115:3)
7:18-23-"The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. 21 Every living thing that moved on the earth perished-birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark." (For a scientific validity of creation and a universal flood see "In The Beginning" by Dr. Walter Brown – Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from M .I. T.) Jesus affirmed the historicity of the "days of Noah" when he compared them to the end days (Matt. 24:37, 38; Luke 17:26, 27). Peter similarly used the story of Noah and the Flood as a pattern for the final judgment (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:5, 6)."The causes of the flood suggest a world-engirdling catastrophe, not a local flood. (2 Peter 3:4-6) The displacement of vast quantities of subterranean waters (Gen.7:11) certainly by earthquake, involved sinking of land levels and raising of sea bottoms." (Unger's Bible Handbook) "God restored man's dependence on Him by making people aware of their impotence." (Alan P. Ross – Creation and Blessing – A Study of Genesis) "Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word." (Psalm 119: 67)
8:1 "But God remembered Noah." God faithfully loves the people with whom He is in covenant and keeps his Word to deliver and restore us. He remembered mercy in wrath. (Hab. 3:2; also see Exodus 2:24-25)
8:20 "Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it." "God will judge the wicked with severe catastrophic judgment in order to start life over with a holy people who worship Him. (Ultimately this is a picture of heaven). By his sacrifice Noah expressed his submission to the gracious government of God in his life and the world and by it he confessed the evil in himself and his fellow man which had brought ruin upon the world."(Alan P. Ross) We are commanded by God to be both a thankful people and a worshiping people yet nothing ages as quickly as gratitude and especially gratitude to God. Gratitude and worship need to be a daily discipline in our life not just an emotional response to God when things go as we please. Ken Boa suggests that we start every day by thanking God for at least 5 if not 10 specific blessings.
Discussion Questions FOR APPLICATION OF GOD'S WORD
"Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word." (Psalm 119:67) What personal catastrophe has the Lord allowed in your life to make you aware of your impotence – that you are not in control and are dependent on Him? How has that changed your relationship with Him?
"Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also. This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire." (Heb. 12: 26-29 NLT) We are commanded by God to be both a thankful people and a worshiping people yet nothing ages as quickly as gratitude and especially gratitude to God. Gratitude and worship need to be a daily discipline in our life not just an emotional response to God when things go as we please. Ken Boa suggests that we start every day by thanking God for at least 5 if not 10 specific blessings. Be prepared to share with your table 10 blessings from God for which you are thankful and that inspire you to worship Him.
Scripture memory verse: "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." 2 Peter 3:11-14