Universality of Sin: The first two chapters of Genesis are mainly interested in the creation of our planet and all forms of life within it. It has a clearly universal outlook. Although the fall into sin takes place in the Garden of Eden, sin itself soon became a universal phenomenon (Rom. 5:12). By the time of Noah, the human heart was corrupt beyond repair and “every inclination of the thoughts” of the human heart “was only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:5). “The earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence” (verse 11). Humans had corrupted their ways and, in order to correct this situation, the Lord was ready “to destroy both them and the earth” (verse 13). This emphasis on the universality of the problem points to the universality of the means used by the Lord to deal with it.
All Humans: The language used to refer to humans is also universal and all-inclusive: “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal”; God was grieved “that he had made human beings on the earth” (verses 3, 6). It is obvious that the phrase “that he had made” is referring to the creation of humans in Genesis 1:26-28. In other words, God is bringing to an end the lives, not of certain ethnic groups, but of the humankind He had originally created. The Lord’s preservation of Noah and his family demonstrates that the rest of humanity perished in the Flood: “Only Noah was left” (Gen. 7:23).
All Living Things: The language used to refer to the animals is also universal. God is bringing to an end “all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it” (Gen. 6:17; cf. Gen. 7:22). The language used here goes back to the Creation account (Gen. 1:30). In other passages we read: “Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth” (Gen. 7:21). The Lord was to “wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made” (verse 4). Again, the language points back to Creation (Gen. 2:6; 1:25). This is “the end,” the eschatological end of that generation. During the Flood God judged humankind: He gave humans a probationary time (Gen. 6:3), investigated the evidence (verse 5—“the Lord saw”), concluded that the earth was filled with violence (verse 13), pronounced a sentence (verse 7), and executed judgment against His creation (Gen. 7:11-24).
All the Waters: The Hebrew word mabbul is used exclusively to refer to the flood of Noah and not to local floods. Its waters destroyed all living things, including humans (Gen. 6:17), and covered the highest mountains of the earth (Gen. 7:20). The torrential rain and the breaking of the fountains of water of the earth lasted 40 days (verse 17). Noah had to wait inside the ark one year and 10 days (verse 11; Gen. 8:13, 14).
Biblical Research Institute
Genesis 7 – Overview
1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Noah was a righteous man who trusted the Lord and obeyed His word. Noah found grace in God’s eyes. In an attempt to save others from the coming devastation, he became a preacher of righteousness, who forewarned his neighbours of impending judgment. They scoffed at his invitation to salvation. As God does time and time again, He gave ample warning (120 years of preaching) for people to turn to him but his invitation was rejected and they spurned the long-suffering patience of the Lord. The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance – for the Lord is not slack in fulfilling His word! 2 Peter 3:8-10.
The day came when Noah and his household received divine invitation to enter the ark of safety, probation had closed upon humanity and the door was soon to be shut. Jesus is our ark of safety.
2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
God is telling Noah how many pairs of clean (7) and unclean (1) will be entering the ark.
Why should any distinction be made between clean and unclean animals prior to man’s receiving permission from the Lord to eat the flesh of animals? The statement in Genesis 8:20 provides the answer, “Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” Soon after man began to sin, the sacred system of offering animals as sacrifices to symbolize and illustrate God’s plan for providing pardon for penitent sinners by means of an atonement made by the shedding of blood – the death – of the sacrificial victim was introduced. Adam and Eve by their own works tried to cover their nakedness – not speaking of the physical, but as we are told, God himself provided a covering. The sacrifice of the animal(s) to cover their nakedness (sin) could only be accomplished through God. Of course, we know this was a foreshadow of the ultimate and final sacrifice prophesied to come, the predicted Messiah.
God himself provided a tunic made from hide to cover Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel brought offerings, see posts titled:
– Nakedness of the Soul (see section titled: The Covering)
– Cain and Abel
Scripture does not record the instructions of sacrifice, but we read where Cain and Abel brought sacrifice…one a blood sacrifice the other was of ‘fruit of the ground’? We also see where Moses wanted the Pharoah to let the people gather for three days to offer sacrifice. So, the sacrificial system was well in place.
In addition, which we will see later on, God gave permission to eat of the clean animals. That will be discussed in further detail when we get to those verses.
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
Noah was given the exact time when the flood waters would fall and spring forth, seven days from this point.
The number seven is significant in the Bible. The first and foremost is the seventh-day God gave us at the end of creation week. A Sabbath of rest and fellowship with the Creator of the universe. There are many sevens in scripture that signify importance:
- God creates our world in seven days including the resting day,
- seven feast (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles or Booths),
- Jacob labors seven years for Rachel,
- every seventh year the land rests,
- Year of Jubilee (7×7=49, the 50th year was the Jubilee – a proclamation of release or liberty and the land was to rest),
- seven churches,
- seven spirits of God,
- seven seals,
- seven trumpets,
- seven bowls (vials),
- seven last plagues,
- seven heads of the beast in Revelation 17,
- forgive others seventy times seven, etc.
In fact, the number seven appears more than 700 times throughout the Bible. The number seven represents holiness, divine perfection, and completeness.
Noah was also told how long the flood waters would come…forty days and nights. Again, forty has significance as well, and appears 140 times in scripture. Forty represents a time of testing, trial or probation. Here are a few examples: Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days/nights on two separate occasions, Moses sent spies to investigate the land of promise, 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Jonah warned in 40 days Nineveh will be overthrown, Elijah went 40 days without food or water, the temptation of Christ was 40 days, and of course Christ appeared to his disciples and others for 40 days after his resurrection.
All life outside of the ark would be destroyed: human, animal, and plant. This was not only a literal event that occurred, but also points to Jesus as our “Ark”. Just as there was one door on the ark, there is only one way to salvation and that is through Jesus Christ alone; by no other name or means can we be saved. At His second coming all those who have accepted his invitation of mercy will go with him to the place he has prepared, the earth and those that rejected his mercy will be consumed by fire and destroyed…the a new heave and new earth will be created before our eyes.
5 And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him. Obedience is essential, for it reflects the change…the new birth within us.
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 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. Noah and his family accepted the invitation.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
God sent the animals to Noah. We see so often in books and such of Noah and his family gathering the animals, but it was not so. This should have been another witness that something extraordinary was about to happen to the inhabitants of the world.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 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.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. Fulfillment of the prophecy.
Verses 13-24, the account is repeated and enlarged. This is a biblical principle that permeates throughout the Bible. Previously, we saw this same principle in Genesis 2 where day sixth is repeated and then enlarged.
13 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; Parallels with verse 1 and 5-7, more information is provided about Noah’s family who entered the ark with him.
14 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.
15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in. Parallels with verses 2-3 and 8-9, more information is given about the animals, and they went to Noah in the ark (God sent).
17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. The breath of life (same word for humans as well as animals) ended.
23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
Parallels with verses 4 and 10-12, again there is a repeat and we are provided with much more information about the flood waters and its destruction.
Summary of Chapter
Noah did everything according to the word of the Lord, but despite his urgent warnings, none responded. They were told that the waters of judgement would come and sweep them all away. Noah knew neither the day nor hour of the flood, but God’s appointed day arrived. When it was time to go inside He said, “and the LORD said to Noah, ‘Come, you and all your household into the ark – Come inside the ark, because I’ve seen that you alone are righteous in this generation”, likewise we are invited to respond to God’s call…’He stands at the door and knocks…’.
Noah and his family had faithfully been working on the ark for a century, with no further communication from the Lord, until the day he was instructed to enter the ark. “Come into the ark…” was God’s invitation, “COME.” Whosoever will may ‘come’. Noah was not sent into the ark alone – the Lord was already inside… for God goes before us, and He is the one Who keeps us safe and holds us securely in His hands. He is the One Who says – ‘This is the way… walk ye in it. COME!! I am the Way, the Truth, and I am Life’.
The Flood was a divine act that perhaps we’ll never be able to explain through the study of the natural world. It was a divine act of de-creation—almost returning the earth to its original condition—followed by the divine act of re-creation through an eternal covenant with humans and nature. When sin had apparently conquered the world, God preserved for Himself a faithful remnant through whom He would fulfill His plan for the human race. This universal judgment against human sin became a type of the universal judgment at the return of Christ (Matt. 24:38, 39). At that moment He will preserve His end-time remnant people.
Biblical Research Institute
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2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” AND 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”