Bible Study: Genesis 7

Chapter 7: Genesis 7:1-24, the flood

God commanded Noah and his family members to enter the ark. God made all the male and female animals and birds chosen by Noah, to enter the ark. God closed the ark and sent the rain from the compartment of water above the sky and waters from below the sea to flood the earth.

Verses 1-4, 1 Yahweh said to Noah, “Come with all of your households into the ship, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation. 2 You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female. 3 Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth. 4 In seven days, I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy every living thing that I have made from the surface of the ground.”

God commanded Noah to bring his family members into the ark. He commanded him to take seven pairs of clean animals, two pairs of unclean animals, and seven pairs of birds into the ark to preserve their lives. In seven days’ time, God sent the rain to flood the whole world for forty days and forty nights. God destroyed everything that was outside the ark.

Verses 5-12, 5 Noah did everything that Yahweh commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth. 7 Noah went into the ship with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters. 8 Clean animals, unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps on the ground 9 went by pairs to Noah into the ship, male and female, as God commanded Noah. 10 After the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the sky’s windows opened. 12 It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

Noah obeyed God and did everything accordingly. Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came. Noah went into the ark with his wife, three sons, three daughters-in-law, animals, birds, creeping things, etc. Seven days later, God sent the flood. The fountains under the sea broke opened and flooded the earth from below. The compartment of water above the sky broke open and water poured down from the sky. The great flood took place on the seventh day of the second month when Noah was six hundred years old. The flood lasted forty days and forty nights.

Verses 13-16, 13 In the same day Noah, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth—the sons of Noah—and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ship— 14 they, and every animal after its kind, all the livestock 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. 15 Pairs from all flesh with the breath of life in them went into the ship to Noah. 16 Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; then Yahweh shut him in.

According to the LORD’s commandments, the eight family members of Noah, the pairs of animals, live stocks, birds, and creeping things, went inside the ark seven days before the flood came. When the door of the ark closed, those outside the ark perished.

Verses 17-20, 17 The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased and lifted up the ship, and it was lifted up above the earth. 18 The waters rose, and increased greatly on the earth; and the ship floated on the surface of the waters. 19 The waters rose very high on the earth. All the high mountains that were under the whole sky were covered. 20 The waters rose fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

The flood went on for forty days and forty nights. The ark sailed on the water like the titanic. Even the highest mountain peaks were covered under the water by twenty-two and a half feet. One cubit is one and a half feet.

Verses 21-24, 21 All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. 22 All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. 23 Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ship. 24 The waters flooded the earth one hundred fifty days.

All human beings, animals, livestock, creeping things, and birds outside the ark perished. Only eight human beings survived the flood. Today, all eight billion world inhabitants are descendants of Noah. God gave all human beings a second chance, a new beginning to start over again on a clean slate.

Application:

If you are in a flood now, do not despair. Cry out to God and He will rescue you just as he had rescued Noah and his family. God is the God of creation, salvation, redemption, and reconciliation. God is a God of the miracle. With men it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

God is a God of a second chance. God will give everyone a second chance to start all over again, with sins forgiven, justified, and declared righteous

The ark is a type of Christ. If you are in Christ, you are born again into a new creation, 2 Corinthians 5:17.

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.”

Entering the ark speaks of grace. The dispensation of grace will be over when the ark is closed.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You that You are the true and the living God. Thank You that You are the God of the Bible, the God of creation, salvation, redemption, and reconciliation. We call upon Your name. We build an altar in our lives to worship You. We surrender all our fears, worries, and anxiety to You. We pray that You will rescue us from the flood of our lives, in Jesus’ name, Amen.