2024-10-09_Noah's Ark

Genesis 6:11-13: The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them….

In Genesis 6:1-5, we learn of “the sons of God” copulating with “the daughters of men.” As a reminder, “the sons of God” could be a reference to descendants of Seth, the righteous line that God has preserved, or it could be a reference to fallen angels. Most certainly, “the daughters of men” refers to descendants of Cain, which is to say, worldly women who are cherished because of their fleshly beauty and sex appeal as opposed to fidelity unto God. These women care only for the standards of the fallen world. They have neither a mind nor a heart for God and, presumably, have forgotten about Him altogether. If Sons of Seth are copulating with them, then the Sons of Seth are defiling the integrity of their own line, and threatening the existence of God’s holy remnant. If fallen angels are copulating with them, then we see now the devil’s minions actively working to make man’s sinfulness all the more grotesque. Either way, the situation has changed dramatically: Man is not just walking a bit more away from God with every passing generation. Man is now in a free fall away from God and his former likeness unto God which, if not reversed, will make man indistinguishable in spirit from the devil. Creation itself is being perverted by this free fall into the darkest corner of sinfulness – hence, the creation of hybrid giants, born of sin, and yet celebrated by fans precisely because of the excess of their wretchedness. At least, in Frankenstein, the village inhabitants fear and reject Dr. Frankenstein’s perversion of creation. In Genesis 6:4-5, the connotation of “mighty men” and their fans embracing “evil continually” would be like if the village inhabitants in Frankenstein celebrated Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, not out of pity for his condition, but in demented exaltation of the very fact that he is a perversion of creation.

As creation had been caught up into Adam’s legacy, because Adam “named” the creatures God placed before him, so as man now free falls into a perversion of his own humanity, so creation is free falling into a perversion of creation. The “earth” is now corrupt, not just the men upon the earth, but the earth itself. This is “the end of all flesh,” for any fleshly life that is totally divorced from God’s Spirit will cease even to maintain the form and the substance of its own fleshiness. The “earth,” meaning all created, living beings and non-living things, is about to become something totally unlike the “earth” and, even worse, beyond redemption, much like when Pharaoh’s heart was hardened (Exodus 7:13).

Genesis 6:17-19: And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

The ”earth” has been corrupted, and yet God sets out to destroy not the “earth” completely, but rather “all flesh wherein is the breath of life.” The reason is that if man is redeemed from his perversion, then other living things will be redeemed in and through man, and if all other living things are redeemed, then non-living things are redeemed in and through those living things. This tells us that God is not setting out to punish but to save. Punishment consumes everything that has to be punished, which is to say, everything that has been corrupted; for if not, then the punishment would be arbitrary and unjust. On the other hand, if salvation is at work here, then God destroys only that which is necessary to reverse the free fall. Here, it is enough that living beings be consumed by the flood, just as in Christ Jesus, it is enough if one man dies for the sins of all men. Even though only living beings shall die, and a remnant of living beings shall be preserved in Noah’s Ark, “everything that is in the earth shall die.” At first glance, this seems to be a contradiction, but recall that as Christ Jesus died for us, we are all able to die sacramentally in Him, which is Holy Baptism, and, therefore, be reborn in His Resurrected life. Analogously, as the living things are sacrificed in the flood for the sake of the holy remnant, so the holy remnant (and then every non-living thing caught up into the legacy of the holy remnant) will die sacramentally in that sacrifice and be reborn into a new creation. Thus, “everything that is in the earth shall die,” and after the flood, everything that is in the earth shall be reborn into a new creation, for in essence, God intends for the flood to be a worldwide sacrament (a new creation born of spiritualized materiality, when the old is sacramentally sacrificed and replaced by grace with the new). God is setting up the flood to be a worldwide Holy Baptism that saves the holy remnant and through them the created world. The sacramental structure is implicit in the literary structure of the three verses: The reference to death is first: “everything that is in the earth shall die.” Then, God refers to His Covenant with man, which is to say, His promise as the basis for a binding relationship that will prevail: “But with thee will I establish my Covenant.” The death is taking up by God into His Covenant with man (see John 20:17: “Jesus says, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father”). After referring to the Covenant in such a way that God is inserting the Covenant in between the death and the new life, God then refers to the new life: “And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep [the two of every sort] alive with thee.” The new life calls back to when God hands the Woman unto Adam as his bride: “they shall be male and female” (see Genesis 2:23-24: “... she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh”). Marriage very often is used as a metaphor for Heaven, and so the new life born of the sacramental death and ascent into God is a new life fit for Heaven, which is to say, so complete and in sync to God’s will as to find rest (see below notes on Genesis 7:1-4).

Genesis 7:1-4: And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female… Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days.

The Ark is God’s Tabernacle, where God is most immanent within and on behalf of His holy remnant, which has been invited into the safety of that holy place in virtue of the righteous life that God sees in them.

See Hebrews 11:7: By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house…and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

See Philippians 2:9,15: Wherefore God also hath highly exalted [Jesus Christ], and given him a name which is above every name...That [in virtue of Jesus’ righteousness] ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.

There is a holy remnant still in virtue of Noah’s righteousness (Genesis 6:8). All the other Sons of Seth presumably have been defiled, perhaps by cavorting with “the daughters of men.” God imputes righteousness unto those who are with Noah, just as God will impute righteousness unto the faithful who give themselves over to Christ Jesus. First, God tells Noah to bring into the Ark all his family, who will be righteous in the eyes of God because Noah is righteous. Then, Noah is to bring into the Ark “clean beasts” by seven pairs, both male and female, with the number seven referring to the completed nature of the “clean beasts” Noah brings into the Ark in virtue of Noah’s righteousness. The beasts already are “clean” pursuant to the Law of Moses to be unveiled by God later, but they are “complete” in the seven pairings because Noah, who alone is righteous, does God’s will in bringing them into the Ark in this manner. In essence, Noah is a foreshadow of the Altar Christus, because there is a sacramental imputing of righteousness unto those brought into God’s immanent place because Noah is righteous, as Christ Jesus will be righteous, and does precisely as God commanded, as Christ Jesus also will do the will of the Father. The fowls also are to be brought into the Ark in seven pairings, and Noah is to bring the animals into the Ark over the course of seven days, which alludes to the Seven Days of Creation and as discussed before reaffirms that Creation is Salvation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17, where a man or a woman who is saved in Christ Jesus is a new creation). Therefore, going into the Ark, or going into Heaven, requires first that the unrighteous be made righteous in virtue of the one who is righteous doing God’s will in interceding for him or her. Moreover, going into the Ark, or going into Heaven, is an intrinsically sacramental experience, where what is dead is now cleansed by God’s Covenant and reborn in such a way as to be fit for the heavenly marriage (see Matthew 22:11, where everyone at the wedding must wear the right wedding clothes).

Genesis 7:6,11: And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth…In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

From the Pulpit Commentary: Literally, a sum of six hundred years, i.e. in his 600th year (cf. ver. 11). The number six "is generally a Scriptural symbol of suffering. Christ suffered on the sixth day. In the Apocalypse the sixth seal, the sixth trumpet, the sixth vial introduce critical periods of affliction."

The rain does not begin to drop so much as it is unveiled. The great deep is broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, much like when the Sixth Seal is opened.

Revelation 6:12-17: And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

The rainfall is Apocalyptic, not just in the sense of its destructiveness, but more so in how the rainfall reveals who God is. In essence, God is descending down from on high to clean away what is already irredeemable and to preserve the holy remnant. He is doing the work of salvation Himself, while Noah holds together the holy remnant that God intends to save.

Psalm 72:6: He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

Isaiah 45:8: Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.

Apart from Noah and his holy remnant, humanity is too far gone. That is the implication of the perversion of nature in the form of the giants and, even more importantly, the fact that most people applaud this perversion. Submerging them beneath water is mercy, for there is no other alternative to the irredeemable than a Hell of their own making. Though the beasts have not sinned, they are caught up into this perversion of the created order, as the animals were caught up into Adam’s legacy, and will become more demon than animal accordingly. What is revealed about God is that, when He descends from on high, and unveils Himself, it is inevitable that there will be an apocalyptic reordering of the world. It is impossible to be close to Christ Jesus without being transformed by the Holy Spirit into a new creation. It is impossible for man to be judged in the Second Coming of Christ Jesus without also heaven and earth giving way to the New Jerusalem. These two events are foreshadowed here: God descends as a deluge from on high, and it is impossible for the irredeemably perverted then to withstand His close presence. They will fall beneath the waves to make room for the new and the blessed to emerge out from this watery tomb. Similarly, the person who is baptized into the Body of Christ Jesus cannot maintain his old self. The Old Adam is buried and gone. He has been forever engrafted into Christ Jesus and comes out from beneath the water as a new creature. Because he has free will, the baptized Christian can make a Hell for himself if he so chooses. Nevertheless, even if his heart is hardened to the point of Hell, Christ Jesus will be as near to him as when he was first baptized into Our Lord. This is the idea where the fire of Hell is God’s love as experienced by those who reject Him. For them, God’s intimate closeness is painful, for it is a constant reminder that they never can be rid of him and thus alone in their despair. Returning then to the Great Flood, assuming that the deluge actually is God descending from on high, then the irredeemably perverse drown for the reason that they are immersed in God, literally breathing God into their lungs, but by their perversion of the created order have rendered their own flesh unfit for God. It is merciful that God literally immerses these sinners in Himself rather than allows them to continue freefalling into Hell.

Psalm 139:7-12: Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Genesis 8:4: And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

Ellicott’s Biblical Commentary: The seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month. — As the months had each thirty days, this makes exactly 150 days (see Genesis 7:11). The seventh civil month would be Abib; and the Speaker’s Commentary notices the following remarkable coincidences: — “On the 17th day of Abib the ark rested on Mount Ararat; on the 17th day of Abib, the Israelites passed over the Red Sea; on the 17th day of Abib, Christ, our Lord, rose again from the dead.”

Genesis 8:5: And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

Ellicott’s Biblical Commentary: “Ararat” is translated Armenia; but it is more correctly described in Jeremiah 51:27 as a country near Minni, that is, near Armenia. There are in this region two mountains of great altitude, the Aghri-Dagh and the Kara-Dagh, the highest of which is 17,260 feet above the sea-level; and naturally legend chooses this as the place where the ark settled. But the inspired narrative says that it rested “upon the mountains of Ararat,” upon some chain of hills there, and seventy-three days afterwards Noah found himself surrounded by an amphitheater of mountains, the word used in Genesis 8:5 being emphatic, and signifying “the tops of the mountains became distinctly visible,” and not that they had just begun to emerge. For, doubtless, after so vast a flood, mists and vapors would for a long time prevail, and shut out the surrounding world from Noah’s view. The Targum of Onkelos and the Syriac translate this as “on the mountains of Carduchia.” This range, which separates Armenia from Kurdistan, is regarded by many authorities as the hills here meant, because they are nearer the place whence the ark started on its voyage.

Genesis 8:6-12: And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him anymore.

Keil & Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Raven: The raven went out and returned until the earth was dry, but without being taken back into the ark, as the mountain tops and the carcasses floating upon the water afforded both resting-places and food. The “to and fro” suggests the picture of its flitting backwards and forwards, near the ark.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Dove: The dove is an emblem of a gracious soul, that, finding no solid peace of satisfaction in this deluged, defiling world, returns to Christ as to its ark, as to its Noah, its rest… The carnal heart, like the raven, takes up with the world, and feeds on the carrion it finds there… And as Noah put forth his hand, and took the dove, and pulled her to him, into the ark, so Christ will save, and help, and welcome those that flee to him for rest.

Barnes’ Notes on the Olive Leaf: The olive leaf plucked off was a sign of returning safety to the land... The olive leaf plucked off was a sign of returning safety to the land… From this event, the olive branch became the symbol of peace, and the dove became the emblem of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the messenger of peace.

There is peace because God has accomplished His will. The created order has been saved by God Himself from freefalling into a state more akin to that formless void just before God starts to create the universe. God baptized the world with Himself in order to preserve that holy remnant He had established first in Seth.

Genesis 9:14-15: And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

Keil & Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Rainbow: The very fact that the rainbow, that "colored splendor thrown by the bursting forth of the sun upon the departing clouds," is the result of the reciprocal action of light, and air, and water, is no disproof of the origin and design recorded here. For the laws of nature are ordained by God, and have their ultimate ground and purpose in the divine plan of the universe which links together both nature and grace. "Springing as it does from the effect of the sun upon the dark mass of clouds, it typifies the readiness of the heavenly to pervade the earthly. Spread out as it is between heaven and earth, it proclaims peace between God and man; and whilst spanning the whole horizon, it teaches the all-embracing universality of the covenant of grace.”