Genesis 7 Too Late!
When Noah and his family entered the ark, God shut the door. It was too late for ANYONE to change their minds. Those inside and out.
I was thinking about which story to look at. I went through the stories I already did and discovered that there is one I would like to revisit with a different perspective. I think it is an important perspective and outcome to cover as the same sort of ‘ending’ is coming for those who don’t ‘get on board’ with Jesus.
The ‘ending’ we are waiting for won’t come by the same means but it will be just as permanent. And the ‘ending’ comes to each of us, individually or in groups. We ALL have a choice to make before that day.
I want to look at the story of Noah from outside the ark. I want to see what the people did that day. And how it impacted both those inside and those outside of the ark.
Before we jump in, there is one piece of the puzzle that I want to look at. It is the time it took Noah to build the ark. There is NO firm “start” and “stop” date mentioned in the bible. We see three “times” mentioned though.
The first “time” is in Genesis 5:32. We see that Noah was 500 years old when he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They were NOT triplets, and being that all three were mentioned, I would expect it to be his age at the time of the youngest.
The second “time” is in regard to God being fed up with man. This is where most people get their idea for the length of this building project. God says; “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years” (Genesis 6:3). We don’t know when God said this; nor do we know that God immediately gave Noah the blueprints for the ark at that same time. We see though that when God gave Noah his instructions, he already “had three sons, Shem Ham, and Japheth” (Genesis 6:10).
The third “time” that we are given is when Noah and his family enter the ark. “Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth” (Genesis 7:6). That leaves us with 100 years between the recorded birth of the third child until they all entered the ark.
So, here are my conclusions. Take them for what they are worth. 1) God is NOT above telling parents what to name their children, but we don’t see that here. 2) IF it took Noah 120 years to build the ark, his sons would have been born into that task. 3) God mentions Noah’s sons’ wives as to who would occupy the ark. Most people don’t think about that stage in a child’s life before they are born or while they are young. Which brings me to the conclusion that the building project would more appropriately have lasted 50-75 years. This gives all three sons time to be strong enough to help out and be of marriage age. However long it took, it was a substantial amount of time and it was noticed by ALL the neighbors.
One more thing that occurs to me is that Noah’s father and grandfather were alive at the time he was building the ark. Did they help out? Did Noah ask God why they weren’t included in the ‘passenger list’? So, being they weren’t on the passenger manifest, did Noah try and warn the people? Try and get them included on the list? Maybe not. For our story, I’ll pretend he did.
♥ ♦ ♥
Noah and his three sons have been steadily building the ark according to the plans God had provided. Each day, before beginning work and after concluding work, Noah calls out to the people in warning of what is to come. His heart breaks for them. He TRULY trusts that God will wipe from the face of the earth anyone and anything that is not inside the ark on that fateful day.
Noah is used to being ridiculed in the town square as well as enduring the shouts and jeers of those who pass by. His commitment to his work AND to sharing a warning never wavers. He keeps at both. His heart and conscious would have it no other way.
Noah has just completed the last ‘finishing touches’ in the family quarters when he hears in his spirit “It’s time!” He KNOWS this voice well. He chuckles as he thinks about God’s timing. Noah thought he was all done with the ark a couple of days ago, but his wife wanted a few ‘changes’ in the family’s area. Noah was happy to oblige her, so long as it didn’t go against the plans God had given him.
Noah puts his tools away and goes outside to tell his family. As he leaves the ark, he sees animals gathered all around. “I guess they know it’s time too”, he thinks to himself.
God speaks again; “Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground” (Genesis 7:1-6).
Noah cups his hands around his mouth and shouts; “It’s time!”
All three of his sons are soon by his side, along with all the wives. They can’t help but notice all the animals waiting to be let on board.
“This looks like it will be a lot easier than I figured. We won’t have to round up anything!” says Sham.
“Line forms here” says his wife with a giggle.
“All right; let’s get busy leading them in and settling them into their new homes” instructs Noah. “We only have a week before God will send the rain.”
With the timeline set, they all get to work. Noah won’t be going into town again to warn the people. There is too much work to do.
A day passes and hardly anyone in town has noticed the absence of Noah and his ‘doomsday preaching’. Those who have noticed are grateful for the silence. On the third day, people begin to wonder about Noah’s absence.
“Has he finally come to his senses?”
“Maybe he gave up.”
“Could something have happened to him?”
“Who cares! At least it’s quiet now.”
“I don’t care what you do, but I’m going to go find out what’s going on.”
“Suit yourself”, said with a shrug.
The rest of the market place returns to its normally busy morning while one lone straggler heads towards the place where Noah is building his monstrosity. As he gets closer he hears strange noises coming from the direction he is headed. He quickens his pace. He bursts into the clearing at a near run!
“What in the world is going on here?!”, he thinks as he sees the animals being herded into the contraption that Noah has been constructed. Everyone looks busy but he can’t resist going up to Japheth and asking his burning question.
“Japheth, what is the meaning of this?”
“My father has told you for many years what was going to happen. The rain is on its way.”
“Ok. Fine. But what are all these animals doing here? Why are you putting them in…that!”
“’That’ is the ark God told my father to construct. It will protect a portion of all the animals on earth as well as all those whom God calls righteous.”
“Protect them from what?”
“From judgment. From death. From the rain and all that it brings.” Japheth looks his listener over for a moment, then asks; “Do you want to come?”
“No! Not if it means living with all those animals! Besides, who are you to judge my ‘righteousness’?”
“It’s not me judging, it’s God. The God of Adam. The God that walked in the garden with him until he sinned.”
“I’ve heard those old stories. They are nothing but fairy tales.”
“Have it your way. I have to get back to work.” With that, Japheth turns his back on the visitor and goes back to herding the animals into the ark.
“He’s crazier than I thought”, mumbles our visitor as he heads back into town. He can’t wait to tell the others what he has seen.
Evening comes before our traveler reaches town. He decided that his news can wait until morning. Who knows, Noah himself might come in the morning to tell them about this ‘development’.
Morning doesn’t bring Noah to town. He and his family are still hard at work. They only have three days left for working. They MUST rest on the Sabbath, as God instructed. The Sabbath is only a day away. Noah wants to get as much done before evening so there will be little left for the final two days.
Our visitor is in the market spreading the news about what he saw in the clearing.
“You wouldn’t believe how many animals are there and how many different KINDS of animals too! I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen it myself.”
“Maybe I’ll go out and see them tomorrow. I’m too busy today. The last day of the week is slower anyway with some people still insisting on a day of rest. Myself, I don’t have time to rest! I need to earn a living so I can provide the finest things for my family.”
“I hear that!” another joins in. “But I suppose we could go and take a peek before the market opens tomorrow.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I will put my idiot son in charge, in case we don’t get back in time for opening. He can’t screw up that bad in a few hours.”
The day continues with all the groups engaged in their tasks. When the sun sets, Noah calls a halt to the work. He really didn’t have to call for a rest as the animals simply stopped moving forward and made beds for themselves under every shady tree.
“AMAZING!”, exclaims Noah’s wife. “Even the animals know it is the Sabbath. That it is time to rest.”
“How could they not my love. The Lord Himself has brought them here to us for this very day.”
It is a peaceful night in the clearing as all observe God’s plan. In the morning, there is a group of visitors from town peeking in when the family rises. The animals are still enjoying their rest as the family emerges from their house.
Bold as you please, the leader of the group marches up to Noah.
“What is the meaning of this? These animals can’t stay here. They will eat all our crops and trample our stalls!”
“They won’t bother you. We will all be safe inside the ark in another few days.”
“And THEN what! Do you plan on keeping them in there forever?”
“No. Only as long as the Lord tells me to.”
“Why did you bring them here in the first place? This is no place for wild animals!”
“I didn’t bring them. God did. And they are here to preserve their lives when the rain comes.”
“Again with that ‘rain’ stuff! When will you get it through your thick skull that the world doesn’t work that way? Who ever heard of water falling from the sky!”
“It’s not only going to happen EXACTLY as God has said, but it will happen in two more days.”
“We’ll see. When the third day comes and you are sitting in there like fools, don’t come crying to us.”
“We won’t. And when the third day comes and it DOES rain, it will be you who are crying out.”
“There is no talking to him”, grumbles the leader as he turns to the group. “Let’s get out of here and let the fools alone. I have much more important matters to deal with than listen to this old man.”
The group makes its way back to town, laughing at Noah and his family. “He has been saying the same thing for YEARS! When is he going to shut up?!”
“Soon”, thinks our original visitor, “if what he is saying is true. Two more days.”
Noah and his family welcome the day of rest and spend it telling stories of the Lord, of Adam in the garden with God, and about what may lay ahead for them.
“Father”, intones Ham’s wife, “will we really be the ONLY people to survive?”
“This is what the Lord has told me my daughter.”
“But what will become of us? How will we…”
“Questions, questions, so many questions. I don’t have the answers either. We only need to know that our God does. He will provide. He brought all these animals to us. He has even commanded them to rest with us this day. How could He NOT have a plan for ‘after’? All we need to is be obedient to Him.”
“You are wise beyond your years my husband” says Noah’s wife with a look of pure love in her eyes.
“No. No wiser than any other man. Only humbly walking before my God.”
The next morning brings renewed activity in the clearing. The men are still herding the last of the animals into the ark. The women are putting together the perishable foods. These will be kept in the coolest place on the ark to prolong their use.
More curious visitors have come to see the ‘crazy family’. Some of these visitors are children. Their jaws drop in wonder at the animals but their hearts are already as hard as their parents. They begin to throw taunts at Noah and his family. Nothing the family hasn’t heard, and ignored, before. They don’t even take notice of their onlookers and neither do the animals.
The seventh day has come to an end. Because of Noah’s prediction of time, the clearing visitor group has grown significantly. They watch as the last animals enter the ark and Noah and his family follow them in. The door stands open, as if waiting for something.
“How are you going to close the door? Won’t you get ‘wet’ too?” jeers on man.
Another joins in the taunt. “Careful, it might leak with the door open. But then, there’s no water anywhere near here, so that shouldn’t be a problem” he laughs.
As dusk settles on the clearing, the door raises itself and folds into place along the side of the ark. There isn’t even a seam visible from the outside. Those who are watching do so with open mouths and slack jaws!
“How?”
“I can’t believe it!”
Seconds after the door shuts, the first raindrops fall from the sky. They make huge splats on the ground, on the roof of the ark, and on the heads of the people in the clearing. At first there is confusion but as the speed and size of the rain increases, fear grips them! This is EXACTLY what Noah had said would happen!
Some immediately go pounding on the side of the ark, crying to be let in while others race home to try and save themselves and their families. And some laugh at the panic of the others. “What’s a little ‘rain’ going to hurt?”
Within minutes the water is covering the feet of those in the clearing. Their pounding has gone unheeded. No one has opened the door. They splash around in the rising water, looking for another way into the safety of the ark. For they BELIEVE Noah now when he said they would all DIE.
Inside the ark, hearts are heavy as they hear muffled sounds of the people’s cries. The thick sides and airtight seals keep them from hearing clearly the panic raging around them. With all the pounding one would expect the animals to be disturbed, but God has taken care of that too. All the family can do is pray and trust God.
In town, people are gathering together. They are trying to figure out the best place to wait out this ‘rain’. The water is waist deep within an hour and shows no signs of slowing. Some have suggested nearby caves but they know that not all of them will fit. Who decides who lives and who dies? They group dissolves in chaos as it is ‘every man for himself’. People are scrambling over one another for the highest places they can reach.
One man notices that some of the tables have lifted off the ground and began to float. The water is chest deep at this point. He grabs a table and hoists himself onto it. As he reaches to his wife to pull her to him, he falls off. The two of them struggle for purchase again on top of the table but their weight pushes it down.
Others have noticed the man and his wife that they too try to grab hold of anything that is floating. The water is over their heads now as people cling to life by the fistful. There simply isn’t enough floating debris or enough care for one another for anyone’s safety. Those who have safety are quickly dragged back off their perches while another tries to take their place.
Two hours after the beginning of the rain, enough water has accumulated to lift the ark from its resting place. No longer are their sounds of people crying to be let in. No longer are their fights for safety. ALL is quiet as ALL life has been washed away. What the water didn’t drown, their fellow man killed.
The only sound heard outside the ark now is the torrential downfall of the rain. Inside the ark, quiet weeping for the lost lasts the first day; along with prayers of thanksgiving for their own safety. God is working a MIGHTY work. Judgment has come, whether the people believed it would or not.
♥ ♦ ♥
Judgment is coming for our world today. It won’t be in the form of an entire earth flood, but it WILL come just as surely. Fire appears to be one of the instruments that will be used on earth. And ETERNAL fire awaits all who refuse the call to ‘safety’. God says Himself that not all will listen. But we don’t know who He knows will. All we can do for our fellow man is to share the truth. To ‘point to the ark’ where safety waits. To point to the cross and the empty grave. The places where Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and offers salvation and safety.
You can’t get to the cross and the tomb without Jesus. HE is the ‘door of the ark’. NO ONE gets in except through Jesus. Don’t be caught on the other side of that Door when judgment comes. Once it is shut, NO man can open it.
Father God, my heart breaks too for those both inside and outside the ark that day. I can’t imagine being safe inside and hearing the cries all around. I would be tempted to open the door. Did anyone inside try and open it? Did You deafen their ears? And, those on the outside; did they die as my imagination suggests or did You give them a quick death? I’m thinking they died in agony; recognizing their sins.
Today Father, there are MANY people who are waiting until the last minute to ‘get on board’. But they don’t know when that ‘last minute’ will be. My husband is mourning the loss of one of the children he had as a step son for a few years. He isn’t even in his 40’s yet. One would expect he would still have time to make that decision. He didn’t. I don’t know where his heart is right now. I don’t know if he chose You in this life. I pray that his passing will be a ‘wake up call’ to his family that will bring them closer to You. Have Your work and way in this family.
