Genesis 7 – The Great Flood
Timeline: Before 2500 BC
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There are many proofs that the flood actually took place. Forests have been compressed by the pounding of the pressure of water. There are water layers of sediment which form coal that is found all over the earth, in every continent, even near the North and South Pole as well as fossilized whales and fish. In addition, these fossils have been found in Michigan, Ohio, Wyoming in areas that are over 7,000 feet above sea level. In the history of mankind, in over 270 nations or tribes, non-biblical flood stories have recorded a worldwide flood. Many of them make mention the wickedness of men, of a favored family that survived and ended up on a mountain. Some also say that animal were saved. A Hawaiian legend speaks of Nu'u who was a man who built an ark with which he escaped a Great Flood. Many of the stories tell of a bird being sent out and about a rainbow. This story has been told and retold which changed some of the details but they all get the general idea. Noah knew all but three of the ten generations of patriarchs before the flood begain. They included Adam, Seth and Enoch. Enoch was raptured, Adam died 136 years and Seth died 14 years before Noah was born. 1 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. The Lord told Noah to "Come into the ark". God didn't say "go", he said "come". The ark didn't have a navigator. God was the captain. Noah was found righteous before God due to his faithfulness and obedience. One hundred and twenty years had passed since God told Noah to begin work on the ark. Noah had just seven days left to get his family and all the animals on board the boat. Clean animals: land animals that chew the cud and have a divided hoof, such as cattle, deer, goats, and sheep; certain birds, including chickens, doves, and ducks; and even some insects, such as grasshoppers and locusts. Unclean animals: land animals such as pigs, dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, and rats; some birds, such as owls, hawks, and vultures; and other animals, such as reptiles and amphibians. Nutritionists have noted that the listings of clean and unclean foods in the Old Testament actually provide a guideline for a healthy diet. Why seven clean animals? Genesis 8:20 tells us that "Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. " Noah's sons would need to begin breeding their flocks so they probably each received a pair accounting for the seven of each of the clean animals. 7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. 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. Scientists have new evidence that there is one to three times the amount of all the water in the oceans hundreds of miles below earth’s surface. Since previous calculations indicated that the vast majority (96 percent) of earth’s water is in the ocean, that means the earth may have two to four times as much water as we previously thought! Rain fell when the "windows of Heaven we opened". The solid dome that was the firmament was broken and water could pour down in huge quantities. Up until this time, Genesis 2:5-6 tells us that no rain fell but that "a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground." 13 On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in. By instinct, the animals entered the ark without effort on Noah's part. The scripture is very specific about the date the flood began. Scholars have concluded that the flood started in “the autumn at the beginning of sowing, or the autumnal equinox; so that the flood would be pouring upon the earth in October and November.” Many commentators suppose that 120 years were spent in the work. Noah had preached and warned the people of the earth to no avail. They refused to hear the word of God and continued to do as they pleased. Noah did not close the door, God did. Noah would have wanted to rescue the people as they cried out in fear and anguish. 17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days. The rain fell and the water gushed out from the fountains beneath the earth's crust causing the flood to increased for forty days. Noah's ark was lifted up and had been afloat for a long time. The waters rose so high, that the tops of the highest mountains were overflowed more than twenty feet and covered "all the high hills under the whole heaven," clearly indicating the universality of the flood extending over every part of the world. The old civilization was completely destroyed and the ark drifted on a rough sea. The ark's dimensions would give make it almost impossible to upset. There were ten generations from Adam to Noah inclusive and by the time the flood had receded, the only thing that was left was Noah and his family along with the animals he had on the ark. Bible Study Questions 1. Why did God to tell Noah to come into the Ark?
2. How many days did Noah have to get the animals on the ark?
3. Who closed the door when boat was ready?
4. How old was Noah when the flood came? 5. When the Lord sent the flood, the floodgates of the heavens were opened. What else did he cause to "burst forth"?
6. Which of the following was NOT one of Noah's sons?
7. What people were on the boat?
8. The floodwaters lifted the ark high above the earth and covered the mountains to a depth of more than how many feet?
9. What died on the earth?
10. The waters flooded the earth for how many days?
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