Skepticism
The biblical account of the Ark has been a target of skepticism. The skeptics highlight the seeming absurdity of having one person journey throughout the world to not only locate them, capture them, and transport them back to the ark. These people imagine that Noah would have had to cross oceans to islands and continents in order to capture millions of animals; all the while building an Ark.
It comes down to how an individual decides to view the world and it is a of faith. Either you believe in God or you don’t…first decision. God’s word is either true or not. It happened the way it is recorded in scripture or not. If one decides there is a God; His word is true, infallible, and scripture has been inspired for our benefit; and that it happened the way God said it happened…then the account of the flood makes sense and brings understanding of the fossil record as visible evidence of a catastrophic flood.
Back to the point of this post. Noah did not need to bring every species of animal on board the Ark—he needed to bring representatives of each kind. As scripture states, two of each kind of unclean land animal and seven or seven pairs of each clean animal. This means he probably needed to bring fewer than 5,000 animals.
Another problem with this skeptical claim is that it assumes that the pre-Flood land masses were virtually the same as our world today. However, there are good biblical reasons to think that prior to the Flood there was only one continent, so even if Noah had to track down all these animals, he would not need to travel overseas to find them. The passage in Genesis 1:9-10 states that all the water was gathered together in one place, which seems to indicate that all the land was in one place. Also, the description of the pre-Flood world in Genesis 2:10-14 does not match any place on earth today.
The biggest problem with this skeptical claim is that Noah didn’t even need to travel the world and catch all the animals. God said in Genesis 6:20 that the animals and birds would come to Noah to be kept alive. Since God brought the animals to Noah, this entire skeptical claim is moot.
This is yet another example of why it is so important to look at what Scripture actually states about an issue rather than taking the skeptic’s word for it. Many of their objections are based on what they think the Bible states or what they’ve heard from someone else rather than taking the time to carefully read Scripture.
God’s Call
God had called Noah to build the ark. He gave him exact instructions on how it should be done. And Noah followed them to the letter. His life and the lives of his family depended on it.
Noah’s was to store food for the journey. The bible doesn’t give details about how this was accomplished, but we know from the narrative that all survived the voyage so what was stored was adequate. There are many plausible ideas on how this could have been accomplished.
Noah also knew what his job was not. He did not need to gather animals. That would be God’s job. Noah faithfully followed God’s instruction which included preaching, building, and gathering food.
Genesis 7:1-24 tells much of this incredible true story. Verses nine and fifteen both record that the animals “came to Noah and entered the ark.” Can you picture the line?! A male and a female of each kind CAME TO THE ARK. (There were more of the “clean” animals of course).
Ark of Salvation
The bible is clear that Noah was a righteous man of faith. This character must have shone bright in a very dark world. We are told of the condition of the world at that time and it must have been unimaginable. The bible states about the condition of mankind that “the imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually’ (Genesis 6:5). Nearly the entire world unplugged or disconnected itself from the source of life…God. If they would have just connected themselves to Him they would have been saved for they would have entered the Ark.
You know, we are told that before the second coming of Christ that the world will be in the same condition as in Noah’s day. In fact, we are told in Matthew 24:21 that the troubles ‘will be such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be’. So, this tells us it will be worse than it was in Noah’s day.
The world was so violent and corrupt, outside of Noah and his family, that not one responded to the 120-year warning that judgment was going to be executed and that their ONLY way of salvation was walking through the One door of the Ark of Salvation. Because of man’s refusal of the extension of grace, the world was depopulated. Through Noah and his family, God repopulate the earth. As we know, it was not very long and people were building the Tower of Babel. Now that we have an understanding of the literal event, we must understand that is serves also as a type for a future event (antitype).
Flood Antitype – End of Time
Jesus referred to the days of Noah when He was describing what conditions would be like just prior to His return. His point was that people would be unaware of His return to judge mankind. Sadly, the vast majority of the earth’s inhabitants will be living ungodly lives in a world filled with violence when this monumental event occurs.
In His Olivet Discourse (Prophecy) found in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, Jesus described what would be happening on earth before His second coming. The signs of the end of this age will be very similar. As the gospel of the kingdom is preached as a witness to the ends of the earth (Matthew 24:14), how many will respond before the end comes? The bible tells us to enter the straight gate, for broad is the way that leads to destruction and that is where the many will be found (Matthew 7:13). It is not popular to be separate from the world but we are call not to be a part of the world (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
Our world is filled with so much violence (murder, etc.) and immorality (sex trafficking of adults and children, same sex marriage, gender reassignment, etc.). And, our earth is spinning out of control due 6,000 years of abuse, just consider all the disasters (fires, famine, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, etc.). None of these issues are going to improve, for the world is waxing old like a garment (Isaiah 51:6). By God’s grace we can be part of the new heaven and new earth where sin, suffering and death will be forever eradicated (Nahum 1:9), for this earth will pass away (Matthew 24:35, Revelation 21:1).
It is a commonplace for evil to be called good, and good to be called evil (Isaiah 5:20). Just think of all the social issues that plague our world. Think about all the issues that have marched their way to governments and found solace in embracing legislation (marriage, gender, life, etc.). Everyone has the freedom of choice (just as Eve and Adam for example), but there is a ‘right’ choice and a ‘wrong’ choice. Both choices have eternal consequences, which side of the fence stand thou?
God Wants You
God wants to save all of humanity (John 3:16-17,21). Unfortunately, the many love their lives outside of Christ, and they don’t see a need for Him or even acknowledge that He exists. They are content with where they are (John 3:18-20). Bottom line whether it is acknowledge or not, we only have two choices, either we believe and connect ourselves to Christ and his righteousness; or we disconnect from him and define for ourselves what is good and what is evil. As stated above, both have eternal consequences. Newsflash, Christ wants to give everyone an eternal abundant life in paradise.
Noah finished all of his work. Taking off his tool belt, he laid down his hammer. Just when the story couldn’t get any more interesting, two giraffes appeared on the horizon followed by two zebras and two elephants, etc. God definitely knows what He is doing! Get on the Ark. Stay on the Ark. Your life depends upon it!