THE DAYS OF NOAH
We find the report about Noah’s ark in the book of Genesis (6:9 to 8:22), the first book of the Bible, basic for knowing the origin of the universe, of our planet and of all that exists on it, and of ourselves. Still more important is what it tells us about God the Creator, and His relationship with man, the last to be created.
The very short description given us of the beginning of all is essential for us to know the harmony which at first existed between God and man, and how the latter severed it with immense loss to himself, and in this way also ruined all creation through the consequent curse which came over it. We also find in this book the faith which saves by the grace of God, illustrated by Noah, and salvation through the ark he built. (Genesis 6:8).
It is not surprising therefore that the book of Genesis is the one most attacked by Godless society, together with the book of Revelation, which speaks of the final victory of God in the person of the Lamb, His Son. Even in a great number of churches which call themselves Christian these two books are studied little, but are generally relegated to a class of legends, fables, children’s stories, symbolic and mysterious figures with various “spiritual” interpretations, limited to the comprehension of a few masters in theology.
After the first three initial chapters, the report about Noah’s ark is the most important of all and, like them, suffers the invective of the ungodly, of the apostates, and the doubt of believers of little faith.
The ungodly, wishing to refute the existence of God, and His influence over the world and to justify their own “independence” of action, have invented various theories which have crystallised in the theories of evolution which we all know now, for they are taught from the very first classes in schools as being science, in spite of their uncountable contradictions and lack of evidence for their most fundamental concepts.
Their statements, without concrete proof and frequently striking at the recognised natural laws, are so universally exposed and accepted these days that they have come to be called “scientific”. Few people adventure to publicly expose their inconsistencies, frauds and deliberate lies, for they risk the ridicule of the media and of the ignorant public.
Among the courageous are many sincere scientists who manage to perceive the vast smoke curtain cast by evolutionists over the reality which is evidenced in nature, if correctly studied. Many have converted to Christ when they were awakened to the perfect syntony existing between the short biblical report in Genesis and all the discoveries made by science.
A large group of them gathered in a mission to open that curtain to other scientists, and to the general public, through the Internet, literature and the media. In the month of June 2007 they inaugurated a museum specially dedicated to creation, highly praised by those who have visited it, even unbelievers. I highly recommend a visit to their web site – www.answersingenesis.org – where you will find a multiplicity of soundly based articles written by renowned scientists, and more information about their activities.
Returning to Noah’s ark … Read carefully the biblical account, to remove from your mind so many things which have been invented by story tellers, and are not there. It was, no doubt a true event, proven time after time by increasingly common discoveries made by archaeologists, zoologists, biologists, geologists and other scientific fields.
The ark was built after a period of 1,656 years starting from the creation of the first man, Adam, according to the meticulous genealogy found in chapter 5 of Genesis. During this period the population of earth multiplied, and it is calculated that at the end it was of more than 25 million inhabitants.
In its final part we have a sad picture of the moral and spiritual state of humanity at that time. The holiness of marriage was disturbed by the lust of men, attracted only by the physical beauty of the women. There were “nephilim” (giants), mighty men (military) and men of renown (with influence and power), from which we can expect social castes and exploitation of the weak by the strong. The wickedness of man, who was inclined only to evil, and violence filled the earth (Genesis 6:1-13).
At this point, with great sadness the LORD decided to end that civilisation, which had no cure. The testimony of the few people who served God since Enosh, among them the prophet Enoch, had been of little avail. Every living creature had corrupted their way on earth, with the exception of Noah who, sincere and righteous, was favoured by God. The rest of humanity, together with the animals, great and small, and the birds of the air, were condemned to destruction.
Having been advised by God, Noah and his family built a gigantic rectangular shaped ark made of wood, measuring 133 metres long, 22 metres wide and 13 metres high, containing a volume of over 38,000 cubic metres. As we understand it, from Genesis 2:6 and 9:14-16, it had never yet rained over the earth. Noah was no doubt a faithful and obedient man, full of faith in God to carry out such a huge enterprise, which took him 120 years.
The Bible gives a very short report of the flood: “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7:11-12 - NKJV). We know, from traces found in abundance, that the water which rained from heaven and the breaking up of the fountains of the deep changed for ever the composition of the surface of the earth and its atmosphere. The giant animals and plants were destroyed, leaving their fossils and (small) specimens of their species preserved in life as proof of their existence.
The Lord Jesus, confirming the reality of this astonishing event advised: “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matt 24:37-39 (NKJV).
The flood was a supernatural phenomenon. It would even be more extraordinary to the people before the flood than to us if they had never seen rain before. Noah believed on the Word of God and took measures to build the ark.
Humanity at the time of Noah did not want to hear his “preaching of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), and, although God’s patience awaited during the century it took to prepare the ark, only eight people were saved: Noah and his family. No-one else believed in the flood, nor wanted to know about it, but it really happened and all of them died without having where to shelter.
We are now in a situation similar to that of Noah. Humanity, having to a great part abandoned the concept of a creator God, limits itself to what is material, visible and palpable, assuming that we and all that surrounds us came from nothing through an inexplicable accident, and “evolved” through an infinity of other accidents during billions of years until arriving at the present reality.
And humanity lives, like the people before the Flood, for itself and for its pleasures in disobedience, thinking that it will never have to give account of the sins of which their conscience accuses it: ”Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we die” is the general attitude. Few are those who repent and turn to God: “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”, as our Saviour foretold (Matthew 7:13-14).
Let us always remember the example of Noah, who believed in God and on His word about “things not yet seen” and “moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Hebrews 11:7). We are justified by the blood of Christ, and so enabled to enter into the presence of God; we are safe from the wrath of God which will once again devastate the world, this time with fire. We have knowledge of the Truth found in His Word, and let us not allow ourselves to be deceived by the lie of evolution which can undermine our faith.
R David Jones
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