NOAH’S ARK
(Gen 6:13-14) 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. {14} Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.
The story of Noah’s ark is found in Genesis, chapters 6-9. The earth was filled with violence so God decided to destroy the earth but save righteous Noah and his family alive.
Facts about the ark: The ark was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It was the length of one and a half football fields and as high as a four-story building. The ark was exactly six times longer than it was wide, which is the same ratio used by shipbuilders today. The volume of space in the ark was 1.4 million cubic feet, equal to the capacity of 522 standard railroad box cars, which could carry 125,000 sheep. Scholars have calculated that a vessel of this size would hold more than 43,000 tons. Henry Morris states it can be shown hydrodynamically that a gigantic box of such dimensions would be exceedingly stable, almost impossible to capsize. Even in a sea of gigantic waves, the ark could be tilted through any angle up to just short of 90 degrees and would immediately thereafter right itself again. Furthermore, it would tend to align itself parallel with the direction of major wave advance and thus be subject to minimum pitching most of the time.
It took 120 years to build the ark (Gen 6:3). During that time Noah was a preacher of righteousness (2 Pet 2:5). Noah and family (total of eight) and animals sat in the ark seven days before the first drop of rain. Even more time for people to rethink their life styles. (Gen 7:4). He was in the ark over a year! (Gen 7:11-13; Gen 8:13-16).
The Bible says the ark rested in "the mountains of Ararat" (Gen 8:4), a mountain range in eastern Turkey. Many people claimed to have seen the ark through the centuries but there has been no scientific evidence to date that proves where the ark is located. Former astronaut James Irwin led expeditions to Ararat but found no tangible evidence of the ark. I have theorized that after the Church is raptured perhaps global warming will cause it to slide down the mountain to the skeptics feet! (Rev 16:8-9)
Was the flood local or universal? The language of the Genesis account points to a universal flood: (Gen 7:19) And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered.
A story of a great flood sent by a deity to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution is a theme widespread among many cultures. Most of these flood stories contain a culture hero who strives to ensure the rebirth of the earth after the flood.
Some doubt the story of Noah and reference the problem he would have getting all those animals into the ark. But it looks like God took care of that problem by leading the animals to Noah and the ark: (Gen 7:16) So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.
God sent the rainbow as a sign of the covenant he made with Noah that He would never destroy the earth again with a flood (Gen 9:12-17). But the apostle Peter states that the Lord will destroy the earth by fire at the end of the age in preparation for the eternal state (2 Pet 3:10-13). Let’s be ready like Noah was and make sure our family is in the faith! (Heb 11:7) (Gen 6:9)…Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. (Mat 24:37) But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Louie
No comments:
Post a Comment