#21 "The Ark" Genesis 6

And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. And behold, I myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark - you, your sons, your wife, and your son's wives with you. And 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 after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them." Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did. Genesis 6:13-22

A cubit is approximately 1.5 ft. in length. This would make the ark a rather large box at 45 ft. tall, 75 ft. wide, and 450 ft. long. I am not sure what kind of wood goherwood is, but some have theorized cedar, since that wood is prevalent in this area of the old world. Pitch is referring to the resin they used to seal the seams of the ark and keep water tight. 

There is some interesting symbolism here:

• God is giving Noah directions to build the ark of his escape. he has given all mankind Jesus and His word.
• This will be built with natural materials and by human labor. There obedience will see them through this flood.
• The ark will save eight people, his whole immediate family. Noah's family will repopulate the earth and continue with the seed.
• It will take many years to build the ark. It stands as a testimony of faith in a time where they had not seen this sort of rain. During this time, Noah will be jeered and ridiculed by his peers as they have no desire for the things of God.

God, by His design, has already calculated the size of the boat Noah will need both for capacity and stability. Though God will bring about this judgement in His time and by His own means, he allows the work to be carried out by human hands. He will use water to destroy the earth, and a man made vessel to sustain human life and keep His covenant promise of a redeemer. This is the greatest natural catastrophe of all history, and the ark made of wood will stand symbolic of a God, made into man, born of a woman, and hung on a tree to cover all believers, of all times, once and for all. Jesus will be the ark  for God's final judgment, and the only means by which to cross the void of spiritual death and separation.

God saves Noah's whole family. I am not sure, but this may in some way be attributed to a weakening genetic pool. What started with two may now require six representatives, of the human species, to keep enough genetic material in the new population. 

The building of the ark with the tools probably available to them at the time would have taken many, many years. In all this time, the people saw Noah, spoke with Noah and saw this monstrosity of a box in his yard. Yet, Noah and his family are the only ones that will enter the ark.

"And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man; They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." Luke 17:26&27

Christians are often shocked by unbelievers disregard for God, sin, and judgment. We are so fortunately blessed yet somehow it escapes us that we are just as helpless without God. We, who believe, are so easily impressed with ourselves, that we try to conform a dying world to us rather than taking them to a Christ who can save them. We try to return to the law that we could not keep, and impose it upon those who do not believe. Is it such a shock that sinners sin. I pray my own sins bothers me more, and that I am humbled by the realization of my salvation. 

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, 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