Today’s passage: Genesis 7:1-24
Helpful thoughts:
- In verse 5, we see this reiterated, “Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.”
- Noah certainly exercised dominion over the animals as God had intended from creation (Genesis 1:26).
- The seven pairs of all the clean animals were brought on the ark for worship and for the survival of Noah and his family. The two were kept to maintain the animals’ existence. The rest would be used for burnt offerings and food.
- Details concerning the flood:
- Water came from beneath the ground and from above!
- The rain lasted 40 days and 40 nights.
- The highest mountain was covered by water for 150 days.
- Every air breathing creature that was not on the ark perished. God’s judgment was fulfilled.
Questions to consider:
- What do these measurements, mentions of time, descriptions of events help us to confirm about this narrative? If this was only an illustration, how might it have read differently? Why does it matter whether this really happened or not?
- What do we learn about God in this passage? When God says he is going to do something, what happens? How do we see God’s wrath against sin? How do we see His care and compassion for His redeemed? (Who shut the door to the ark?)