Tag Archives: Noah’s ark

Easter, People in Old Testament

Noah’s Ark – Rainbows and Promises

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Mission Noah
Art courtesy of Mission Noah

And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. – Genesis 8:4

Text: Genesis 8

Summary: God promised to never destroy the earth with water again. He gave us the rainbow as a reminder of his promise. We should keep our promises just as God keeps His promises.

God brought the ark to rest on the mountain on the same day that became Easter later. It was a beginning of a new world and new life. The old world had been swept away by the great flood. Noah and his family came out of the ark into a new world. Noah built an altar unto the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings. Most people would curse God if he destroyed everything, but Noah was grateful that God had spared him and his family.

The Bible says that God realized that man would remain sinful, so he decided never to curse the ground for man’s sake, and never to smite every living thing again as he had done with the flood. So God made a promise to never destroy the earth by a flood again. When God makes a promise, he keeps it. As a sign of his promise, he placed the rainbow in the sky whenever it rained. Have you ever made a promise? Did you keep your promise? With people, we might forget what we promised or break our promise. If you tell someone you are going to do something, you need to keep your word. That is called integrity. A Christian should be able to keep his word of honor.

God’s sign that he would remember his promise was the rainbow. Have you ever seen a rainbow? Did you ever wonder what a rainbow was made of? It is made of light. In fact, it is made of seven colors of light. It only occurs when it rains. The light of the sun shines through the rain, causing the light to bend (or refract) and reflect off the rain. The rain acts like a prism, splitting the white light into the colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (deep blue), and violet (purple). They always stay in the same order, because the frequency is from low to high. It always forms an arch. Does this sound like something God made? Yes, it is very orderly and dependable, just like God. Jesus is like the rainbow to us: when God sees us and our sin, he sees us through Jesus, who said “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12) God doesn’t see our sin due to the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross.

Some people think the story of the flood is a myth, something made up. How do we know it is true? The Bible speaks many times about the flood and God’s word is true. Even our Lord Jesus spoke plainly about the flood when he spoke of his return to earth. In Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus said:

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the Ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Let’s be ready when Jesus returns. Don’t miss the boat!

©1997 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.

Obedience, People in Old Testament, Protection, Sin, Tragedy

Noah’s Ark – The Great Flood

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The Invitation by Tom duBois
The Invitation by Tom duBois courtesy of Christ-Centered Art.

Quote: If Noah had been truly wise, he would have swatted those two flies. – Helen Castle

Text: Genesis 6:14-7:24

Summary: God provided detailed instructions for the Ark, and Noah obeyed God. The flood covered the entire earth and destroyed it. Noah and his family were saved.

In God’s Plan to Save Us we learned that Noah was good. God was going to save him and his family from the flood that would destroy the bad world. God’s plan was for Noah to construct a large vessel that would hold all the different kinds of animals. About 75,000 animals would need to go on the ark. Could it hold that many animals? Could Noah build such a boat? God gave Noah a head start. He told Noah when he was 480 years old that in another 120 years the judgment would come. When Noah was 500 years old he began to have children: three sons. Then the Noah & Sons Ark Supply Company began its task to build the ark. No one had ever seen much rain before. The earth had a mist, daily dew that would come, but that was it. They laughed at Noah and his boat. Sometimes people may laugh at Christians for doing the right thing, but what is important is that Noah obeyed God. We should obey God also, no matter what other people think.

God told Noah exactly how to build the ark: it was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall. It would have three decks, and a window for air. It only had one door. Through that door, all who entered would be saved. All who stayed behind would die. Jesus is like that door to us. In John 10:9 Jesus said I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.

This is where most folks miss the boat. They think if they merely believe in God, in some shape, form, or fashion that is good enough. There are many false religions in the world but only one Christ. Some people think if they go to church that God will admit them to heaven. Going to church might make you a churchian, but it takes Jesus in your heart to make you a Christian!

The ark’s size made it six times longer than it was wide. This made it very stable in the water. If a large wave tried to turn it over, it would right itself. It would tend to position itself to face the waves. Even winds blowing three times stronger than a hurricane would not turn the ark over. The ark did not have a rudder to steer it. It only had to float. God was the pilot. Do you have trouble giving the steering wheel to God? Pretend you are in the ark, with nothing to grab hold of except God. The ark had room for 750 railroad cars of cargo. It could have easily held 180,000 sheep. There was room for all the animals, and hay and corn to feed them. Most of the animals would nap and hibernate during the rocky ride. But how did Noah get all the animals on board? God supernaturally directed the animals to come to the ark. He brought them in to save them from the flood.

How was Noah sure it would rain? Did he wash his car that day? No. God had told him in Genesis 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights. So Noah built the ark, then his family went in the ark seven days before the flood when he was 600 years old. God brought in the animals and the Lord shut him in. God has always used the number 40 to signify a period of testing. Moses spent 40 years in the desert before God appeared to him at the burning bush. The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before they entered the Promised Land. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness in temptation, and forty days after the resurrection proving he had risen before he ascended to heaven.

The flood was the worst disaster ever recorded in history. The entire earth was covered with water and there were no survivors except those on the ark. The fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. (Genesis 7:11) Noah and the animals were surely frightened. Great earthquakes hurled ash high in the air and it rained as it never has. Even the waters under the earth came out of the ground. The water rose to a height that covered the mountains. The waters rose and the ark floated for 150 days, or five months.

Even when it came to rest on the mountains of Ararat, it was not safe for Noah to leave the ark. Noah obeyed God and stayed in the ark until 375 days after the rain began, or over a year on the ark. God always knows how to keep us safe, and will tell us what to do.

©1997 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.

People in Old Testament, Sin

Noah’s Ark – God’s Plan to Save Us

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But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. – Genesis 6:8f

Text: Genesis 6:8-13

Prop: a poster of animals going to Noah’s Ark

Summary: The story of Noah’s ark shows us that God has always had a plan to save us.

God rewards people who are good, but punishes those that are bad. Have you ever done something bad? When your parents found out about it, what happened? I don’t know about you, but I used to get spanked. Have you ever been spanked? Did your parents spank you because they didn’t love you anymore? No, they love you very much, but they wanted you to remember to do the right thing next time. They had to deal with your behavior so you would change it.

When God looked at the world that He had made, he became sad about how bad things had become. He had to deal with the world’s sin. He loved Noah and He had a plan to save us. Just as God saved Noah and his family from the flood waters in the ark, he sent Jesus to save us from our sins. In fact, many of the things we do in baptism remind us about the flood. The old world was swept away by the flood, and a new world was left when the waters went down. In baptism we show how our belief in Jesus has swept away our sins.

God’s plan to save Noah was to have him build an ark. God knew how to build it and what to use to build it. He gave Noah very detailed plans about how to build it. What if Noah had decided he would just build it the way that suited him? What if he had said, “Lord, I’ll build this boat with bricks. It will be the strongest boat ever!” The boat would surely need to be strong, but the bricks would not be light enough to float in water. The boat would sink. Can’t you hear God saying, “No, Noah, go for wood!” (gopher wood) Ha, ha!

God always knows what to do, and he will tell us. So we should pray to know what God wants us to do. If we pray we won’t make mistakes and sin. God told Noah to prepare a place for all the animals. How many animals of each kind did Noah bring? Yes, two of every kind, male and female. God wanted to have them for the new world that would come after the flood. He had Noah bring plenty of food for them also. God always provides for us. Even now He has prepared a place for all people who love Jesus and will come to get us one day, just as He came for the animals and Noah.

©1997 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.