Firstly, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have been patient these last couple of weeks as I’ve been sick and recovering from surgery. It has been encouraging to know that many of you—both in my local congregation and around the world—have prayed for me. I’m grateful, and I’m glad to be back with you today. But this is about studying scripture together, so let’s get stuck in.
Scripture Reading Genesis 7:1-5(ESV)
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.”
And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
How should we read the text?
Firstly, notice that there is a command of God to go into the ark before the rain comes. There’s an act of undeserved mercy here on God’s behalf for Noah—mercy that Noah didn’t deserve. God provides salvation before the floodwaters fall. Throughout Scripture we see this gospel pattern: refuge first, then God’s wrath.
Noah is called righteous. This is striking because the rest of Scripture tells us there is no one righteous, not even one. How could Noah be righteous? He trusted God’s word; he had faith in God. Hebrews 11 says it was by faith that Noah entered the ark. His faith produced obedience. We see the same pattern in Genesis 15, where Abraham obeys because he has faith. Ultimately, this points to our justification by faith in Christ (Romans 4).
Notice, too, the sevens of completeness in the passage: seven pairs of clean animals and seven days before the rain. These remind us of the wholeness and divine order in God’s action. The coming apocalypse is not random; it is carefully timed as God fulfils His promise to recreate the world after the fall into sin—a covenantally structured judgment.
The passage distinguishes clean and unclean animals long before Sinai. God is already anticipating Israel’s sacrificial system, preserving clean creatures so Noah can worship after the flood. Thus, even as total judgment approaches, God also totally preserves His people and their ability to worship. Creation is both judged and renewed—God’s love and judgment, wrath and kindness, meet here.
Finally, God gives Noah a one-week clock to finalise his preparations. His active, obedient faith now has seven more days—a week of waiting—before God acts. That becomes crucial when we apply this text to ourselves.
How should the text read us?
Firstly, the passage exposes our spiritual complacency. Like Noah’s neighbours shrugging at the warnings of judgment, we may binge distractions while storm clouds gather. The sky is darkening, but we are blind to it because we’re entertained.
Secondly, it uncovers our selective obedience. We might accept God’s ideas yet ignore His instructions. Noah, by contrast, obeys all the Lord’s commands—even the bizarre logistics about the ark and the animals.
Most importantly, we, like Noah, need an ark. We need something outside ourselves to save us. It was not Noah’s obedience that saved him, but his faith. We cannot out-swim divine justice. Salvation is found only in a person, not in our efforts. Jesus is the better ark who bears God’s wrath. As we trust in Him, we are regarded as righteous and given His righteousness before God.
So, as we reflect on these things this week and in the weeks to come, let us pause and be thankful for what God has done in Jesus.
Prayer
O Sovereign Lord, You have warned and You have waited, and even through Jesus You have saved.
Thank You for the ark of Christ that keeps us safe from the flood and the wrath our sin deserves.
Forgive us when we are complacent; forgive us when we offer half-hearted obedience.
Grant us faith, like that of Noah and Abraham, that acts quickly on Your word and is ready to obey when You call us.
Keep our hearts anchored in the ark of Christ, for Your glory and for our good.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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