By Faith Noah Built an Ark

BY FAITH NOAH BUILT AN ARK

An Exposition of Genesis 6:9-22

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: May 29, 2022

Series: The Book of Genesis

Note: Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

⁹ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.¹⁰ And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. ¹³ And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. ¹⁶ Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. ¹⁷ For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁹ And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.²¹ Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.”²² Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him. (Genesis 6:9-22)

INTRODUCTION

In Genesis 6:1-8, we learned that because “the wickedness of man was great in the earth” (Genesis 6:5), the Lord intended to “blot out man… from the face of the land” (Genesis 6:7). Nevertheless, in the thick darkness of those evil times there was one ray of hope shining through the gathering storm clouds: “Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:8)

This plot of verses 1-8 now unfolds in greater detail as we walk through verses 9-22. The beginning of verse 9 introduces the whole section that runs through Genesis 9:29. Verse 9 begins, “These are the generations of Noah.” This is a heading that alerts us to the fact that we will be learning about significant events that flow from Noah’s life.

A SUMMARY OF NOAH’S LIFE (v. 9-10)

After the introductory statement, we get a summary of Noah’s life in verses 9-10. Verse 9 describes Noah’s character in three different ways.

First, “Noah was a righteous man”. There are two things we should be thinking about when we learn that “Noah was a righteous man”.

First, Noah was in right relationship with God through faith. When the author of the New Testament Book of Hebrews was identifying examples of the Old Testament saints who lived by faith, the first man he selected was Abel, whom we met in Genesis 4. “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice” (Hebrews 11:4). The second man he selected was Enoch, whom we met in Genesis 5. “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death” (Hebrews 11:5). The third man he selected was Noah, whose faithfulness is attested in Genesis 6. “By faith Noah” (Hebrews 11:7). I’ll come back to Hebrews 11:7 later in the message. Throughout Scripture, we learn that “faith” – not faith in faith, not faith in one’s self, not faith in a vague higher power, but faith in the living God and in the promises of God – faith is foundational to having a right relationship with God. In fact, the only way to be in right relationship with God is through faith in Jesus: we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:24-25) Right outward conduct cannot make you right with God. But if you are right with God through faith, then you can be sure that right outward conduct will follow like good fruit growing on a healthy tree.

The second thing we should be thinking about in the declaration that “Noah was a righteous man” is that Noah lived righteously. Noah was right with God because Noah trusted God, and consequently Noah demonstrated practical righteousness in his everyday conduct. The Letter of 1 John says: “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.” (1 John 3:7) What’s the alternative? “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Noah was in the first group. His deeds were righteous. He conducted his affairs with integrity. He was just in his dealings. Noah treated people fairly, decently, generously, kindly. Although other human beings filled the earth with violence (Genesis 6:13), Noah was characterized by peace, patience, and kindness.

Verse 9 continues: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation” (italics added). The word translated “blameless” could also be rendered ‘complete’, ‘sound’, ‘unblemished’, ‘intact’. This character quality stands in stark contrast to the corruption of the human race: “for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Genesis 6:12). Other people were corrupt, dysfunctional, out of whack, unruly, morally diseased, ruined. But Noah stood apart from the general corruption. Noah had it together, so to speak, not because he was a high achiever, but because he had found grace (Genesis 6:8) and had learned to trust God. Noah embodied Paul’s later instruction: “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.” (Titus 2:2)

Day after day, “Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). Noah kept company with God and went God’s way. Noah didn’t live righteously because he was devoted to a complex system of righteousness. Instead, he lived righteously because he was devoted to the Lord and stayed close to the Lord. “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3) God set the pace for Noah, and Noah kept putting one foot in front of the other. How wonderful when a human being walks humbly with the Holy One!

After telling us that “Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth” in verse 10, verses 11-12 proceed to tell us about the world’s moral condition at this stage in history.

The Moral Condition of Earth (v. 11-12)

Unlike the morally intact Noah, “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight” (Genesis 6:11). Unlike the spiritually upright Noah, “the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:12). Unlike Noah who walked with God, the earth was populated with people who were attempting to do life on their own terms. And that never goes well. In his Letter to Titus, the apostle Paul contrasts the way of the Lord with the way of sinful man:

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” (Titus 3:1-3)

What are ungodly people like? Self-willed, disobedient, selfish, critical, quarrelsome, harsh, short-tempered, malicious, envious, and hateful. That is what is in the heart of ungodly people, even if they manage to cover some of it up with a shell of public respectability. But when God gives people over to their unrepentant hearts, the outcome is a self-absorbed, short-fused, highly critical, verbally abusive, finger-pointing and fist-throwing society that is violent across the board. Violence between human beings is the inevitable outcome when those human beings are at war with God. You will either walk with the Prince of Peace and have peace, or you will walk with the venomous serpent and have violence.

The end of verse 12 adds an important detail: “for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” To be clear, the fundamental problem upon the earth wasn’t a problem with air quality, soil quality, or weather patterns. The fundamental problem was people – “all flesh” – flesh-and-blood human beings who had turned away from God, and were walking down foolish and ruinous paths, and were filling the earth with violence.

GOD SPEAKS TO NOAH (v. 13-21) 

As we come to verse 13, verses 9-12 have set the stage: there is one righteous man in a corrupt and violent world. Now in verses 13-21, God speaks to Noah. God informs Noah about the impending judgment upon the world, and God instructs Noah about how Noah and his family will be kept alive while everyone else is swept away to death.

The Sobering Promise (v. 13) 

In verse 13, God tells Noah about the coming judgment: the “end of all flesh” is near! Why? Because “all flesh” have become conduits of violence – which goes along with the corruption of verses 11-12 and the wickedness and evil of verse 5. We are told in Proverbs 6 that “hands that shed innocent blood” and “a heart that devises wicked plans” and “feet that make haste to run to evil” are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 6:17, 18, 16). Although the Lord is patient and is willing to forgive anyone who repents, there comes a time when sinners are so entrenched in their wickedness that the opportunity for repentance is long past, and so enough is enough! That time has arrived here in Genesis 6. Therefore, God makes this sobering promise: “Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (v. 13)

The Command to Build an Ark (v. 14-16)

When God reveals to Noah what is about to happen, it is evident that God wants Noah to adjust his life to what is about to happen. So, the sobering promise (of v. 13) is followed by practical instruction (in v. 14-16): “Make yourself an ark” (v. 14).

The word translated ‘ark’ means ‘box’ or ‘chest’. This wooden box was to be made of gopher wood and covered with pitch inside and out. Jonathan Sarfati points out that this pitch might have been made “from pine resin mixed with charcoal” and used for waterproofing and impact resistance.[1]

This box, of course, was no ordinary box. The big box was to have three levels and many rooms – literally, nests. There would be nesting areas for the living creatures on board the ark, as well as living space for Noah’s family and places to store food. There was to be a single door on one side, and a roof on top. The word translated ‘roof’ has also been translated as ‘window’ or ‘skylight’, and very plausibly indicates a place for light to shine in and may also indicate a place for ventilation.

The ark’s dimensions were 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. If a single cubit was about 18 inches or a foot-and-half, then the ark would be about 450 feet long (longer than a football field), 75 feet wide (a little less than half the width of a football field), and 45 feet high (a little taller than a three-story building). The ark had a volume of around 1.5 million cubic feet, which Jonathan Sarfati indicates is “the equivalent volume of over 340 semi-trailers”.[2] The ark had sufficient space for thousands of animals, as many as were necessary to bring about all the animals that are alive on the earth today.

Not surprisingly, the Creator knew the proper dimensions for a flood-proof floating box. Jonathan Sarfati comments,

“There is very good reason for the proportions of the real ark. Such a shape is extremely stable in the water. Indeed, river barges have been built to the same proportions, and proved almost impossible to capsize. The dimensions are also ideal for comfort, because the Ark’s shape tends to resist rotational motions that destabilize a boat or make the ride uncomfortable.”[3]

The ark had a big purpose, namely, to serve as the exclusive living quarters for Noah and Noah’s family and the appointed animals for over one year.

The Promise of Life (v. 17-20)

After instructing Noah to build an ark, God gives the reason why in verses 17-20. Why has God instructed Noah to build an ark? God says starting in verse 17:

“For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.” (v. 17-20)

So what becomes clear is that the ark is the means of keeping a precious few alive while, outside the ark, “[everything] that is on the earth shall die.” Outside the ark: destruction and death. Inside the ark: preservation and life. Outside God’s appointed means of salvation: judgment and ruin. Inside God’s appointed means of salvation: life and peace.

Allowing for some ventilation in the skylight roof area, the ark was basically a fully enclosed sea vessel that was designed to withstand the devastating floodwaters. In Chapter 7 we learn that “the ark floated on the face of the waters” (Genesis 7:18). So the ark is a fully enclosed floating sea vessel that will protect its occupants from the judgment to come. Noah and Noah’s sons, and all their wives, and all the appointed pairs of birds and animals and creeping things, “shall come” and find refuge in the ark (v. 18-20).

At the heart of God’s promise to preserve life through the ark is His promise to establish His covenant with Noah: “But I will establish my covenant with you” (v. 18). The concept of covenant is hugely important in the Bible. When God created mankind, “God blessed them” (Genesis 1:28). At the beginning, God’s blessing was upon humanity and upon every living thing. But after the rebellion of Genesis 3:1-6, the blessing faded and accursedness marched onto the scene. The serpent was cursed (Genesis 3:14), the ground was cursed (Genesis 3:17), Cain was cursed from the ground (Genesis 4:11), and in general human beings had to deal with various kinds of conflict, heartache, and pain. And now, in Genesis 6, God’s judgment is coming upon the entire human race. The question is: where can a sinful human being in this cursed world rediscover blessing? The answer is: be on the lookout for God’s covenant!

When God establishes a covenant with someone, that covenant becomes a springboard of blessing in a dry and thirsty world. When God brings someone into covenant with Himself, He promises to do good to that person and through that person. So what you and I should be doing is looking out for God’s covenant promises, and then – by faith – believing those promises and living under those promises. The way to experience God’s blessing in the midst of this cursed world is to place yourself under God’s covenantal grace by believing His covenant promises.

Of course, here in Genesis 6:18, God doesn’t actually establish His covenant with Noah – and we don’t know the details yet. But God promised to do it at some time in the future – “I will establish my covenant with you” – and He does it in Genesis 9, after the flood.

The Command to Store Up Food (v. 21)

After speaking forth the promise of life to Noah in verses 17-20, God instructs Noah to store up “every sort of food” in order to have physical nourishment for his household and for all the animals while they are on the ark. Can you imagine storing up in advance enough food to feed a family of eight and a very large number of animals for an entire year?

NOAH DID WHAT GOD COMMANDED (v. 22)

Finally, verse 22 tells us how Noah responded to God’s Word: “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” (Genesis 6:22) There is more here than the mere fact that Noah obeyed God, but we must not miss that Noah did, in fact, render complete obedience to the instructions God had given him. Noah was a doer of the word, and not a hearer only (James 1:22). Noah was a blessed man, for Jesus said: “Blessed… are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28) Noah’s obedience in verse 22 confirms that Noah was indeed “a righteous man, blameless in his generation” (Genesis 6:9) – a man who “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9).

GOD’S PROMISE GOVERNED NOAH’S LIFE

There is one primary lesson from our passage that I want to drive home to our hearts. I’m going to state it twice – the first time, in terms of Noah; the second time, in terms of you. Then we’ll take time to unpack it.

Here is the lesson, stated in terms of Noah: God’s promise concerning the future, and God’s instruction about how to prepare for this promised future, governed Noah’s life.

Here is the same lesson, applied to you: God’s promise concerning the future, and God’s instruction about how to prepare for this promised future, must govern your life.

Now let’s unpack this.

God made promises to Noah. God promised to destroy the entire world with a flood. At the same time, God promised to save Noah and his family. Now notice that God did not allow Noah the option of treating these promises like abstract theories that made no practical difference in his life. That was not an option for Noah, and that is not an option for us. Instead, notice that God told Noah to order his practical day-to-day life in accordance with His promise: “Make yourself an ark”; gather and store up “every sort of food”. This wasn’t the sort of thing Noah could do over the course of a weekend, or by pulling an all-nighter.

Do you have any idea how long it would have taken Noah to carry out these instructions? How long would it have taken Noah to build a 450-foot by 75-foot by 45-foot ark of wood? How long would it have taken Noah to obtain the wood and fashion it into construction material, and then put it all together? Although the Bible doesn’t say how long it took, and allowing for Noah to have had help from his three sons and possibly others, this seems like at the very least a multi-year project, although it is not unreasonable to think that it may have taken several years or even decades. We don’t need an exact figure to grasp the lesson. Whether it took Noah three years or thirty years to build the ark, the point is that it would have taken Noah a long time to build the ark. It also would have taken Noah considerable time to gather up food that would feed his family and the animals on the ark for an entire year. It is evident, therefore, that God wanted Noah to be invested in God’s promise. God wanted Noah to adjust his life to God’s promise. God wanted Noah to devote massive amounts of energy, time, and resources to prepare for a future reality. To put it simply, God wanted Noah to live by faith.

Faith is the essential link between hearing God’s promise and adjusting your life to the future that God has promised. A man wouldn’t devote years of thought, energy, and resources to building a massively large wooden box to float in water unless he believed that God had spoken and that a deluge of floodwater was coming and that this massively large wooden box was necessary to survival.

God’s command to Noah to build the ark was a call upon Noah to make it very clear that the world around Noah wasn’t Noah’s true home. Noah was not to live for the here and now; Noah was not to lay up treasure on earth; Noah was not to live for what his physical eyes could see; Noah was not to live in the same manner as the people around him. The world of Noah’s day was about to be destroyed; the corrupt society and depraved culture were about to be swept away. Everyone else believed that the here and now was the only thing that mattered. Everyone else was making investments in the present world. Everyone else wanted to build an impressive earthly portfolio. Everyone else wanted immediate comforts and pleasures. Everyone else wanted to get ahead in the world. But God wanted Noah to live radically differently than everyone else.

Think about it: Everyone else was about to perish. Everyone else’s plans were about to come crashing down. Everyone else’s careers and projects and hobbies and artistic endeavors and business investments and accomplishments and wealth and fashion were about to be washed away. God wanted Noah to do something that looked odd and foolish in the minds of all those people. God wanted Noah to live with confidence that the only stable and lasting future is the future that God has promised for His people. And God wanted the future that He had promised to practically govern Noah’s life. Noah was to live in such a way that his way of life wouldn’t make sense unless God’s Word is true, unless God’s promise is true, unless the future is going to happen just as God said. Friends, God’s promise is true – and Noah believed God!

According to Hebrews 11, true faith is having confidence that the unseen things that God has promised are true, and therefore living in light of those unseen things. God’s Word declares what is true, and the faithful believer hears and believes what God says, and is not in bondage to what his physical eyes or political eyes or financial eyes can see. The believer is free from bondage to this world, and is free to lose his life for the sake of God’s promise – because the believer knows that He who promised is faithful! Listen to Hebrews 11:1, 7:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:1, 7)

“By faith”! Noah believed God concerning future unseen events. Noah stood in awe of God and God’s Word and God’s plan, and Noah lived accordingly. From the time Noah received the command to build the ark, until the time many years later when he went into the ark, Noah staked his entire life on the reliability of God’s promise. Therefore, Noah invested his life, energy, thought, time, and resources in constructing an ark and gathering food, thereby anticipating the fulfillment of God’s promise. Of course, Noah would have continued to carry out the other everyday duties that God had assigned to him as a husband, father, provider, neighbor, son, grandson. But he didn’t do these things as a man of the world. Instead, he did them as a man who walked with God and believed God’s Word and adjusted his life to God’s promise.

How would you live, if God told you that the entire world was about to be undone? What counsel might you give to Noah?

Noah, since the whole world is about to perish, what sort of man ought you to be in a life of holiness and godliness, waiting for the coming of the day of judgment, because of which the earth will be flooded with water, and every civilization on earth will be swept away. But according to God’s promise, you are waiting for the dawn of righteousness in a renewed world. Therefore, dear Noah, since you fully expecting these things to come to pass, live accordingly. In reverent fear and holy joy, build the ark, gather the food, hold fast to the Lord and hold loosely to everything else, and keep yourself unstained from the world. (This counsel is adapted from 2 Peter 3:11-14, Hebrews 11:7, and James 1:27)

God’s promise governed Noah’s life. With every cut of wood, with every piece of wood fastened into place, with every application of pitch to cover the wood, with every room prepared for the animals and for food storage and for living space, with every fruit and vegetable and grain prepared for the voyage ahead, with every ounce of painful toil invested in the ark, Noah was making it clear that this present world was not his home. Noah believed God’s promise! Noah’s everyday life declared the truth of Hebrews 13:14 – “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)

Applying these things to you and me

Now all of this applies to you and me. Although God has not called us to build an ark, God has called us to adjust our life to His promise. And the parallel between God’s promise to Noah and God’s promise to us is profound. The destruction of the ancient world by means of the flood corresponds to the future destruction of this present world by means of fire. The apostle Peter makes this connection strong and clear:

“… the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly….

“… the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” (2 Peter 3:5-7, 10-14)

Brothers and sisters, we must live in a way that makes no sense to people who are chasing after all the wrong things. We must live in a way that makes no sense to people who don’t believe that God has appointed a day when He will judge the world in righteousness, destroy the ungodly, and take the entire sin-polluted universe through an unimaginable cleansing by God’s holy fire. We must live in a way that makes no sense to people who don’t believe that God has promised  “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells”. But if you, like me, know that God has spoken – that God told Noah that He would destroy the ancient world with a flood (and He did); that God has told us that He will destroy the present world with fire (and He will); that He will preserve His chosen ones through the judgment and bring them into a new world; and that He commands us to make it clear to the world that our life is not in this world, but instead we are to live in the light of the glorious future that God has promised – if we have understood these things by faith, then we must put everything on the line for the sake of God’s promise. Like Noah, we must live with confidence that the only stable and lasting future is the future that God has promised for His people.

If you understand these things, then you will:

Build your entire life on Jesus and His words (Matthew 7:24-27).

Store up for yourself treasures in heaven, not on earth (Matthew 6:19-21). Invest yourself in the kingdom of God, not the projects of men.

Find your security in the faithfulness of God, not the deceitfulness of money (Matthew 6:24).

Be generous to people who can’t repay you. “For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:14)

Consider everything else as rubbish in comparison to the infinite worth of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:7-11).

Brothers and sisters, don’t reflect the character of the world, but reflect God’s character to the world: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14-15). Shine brightly for the Lord in lives of holiness and godliness (2 Peter 3:11)!

When the world is aghast that you aren’t on the right side of their revisionist history, when they take cheap shots at you and slander you and persecute you, let the beauty of the Lord put joy in your heart: “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:12).

And always remember: “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4)

ENDNOTES

[1] Jonathan D. Sarfati, The Genesis Account: A theological, historical, and scientific commentary on Genesis 1-11. Second Edition. Powder Springs, GA: Creation Book Publishers, 2015: p. 499.

[2] Sarfati, p. 500.

[3] Sarfati, p. 502.