13 God said to Noah, “I intend to make an end of all that lives, for through men the land is filled with violence; and behold, I am about to destroy them together with the land. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make in it rooms (stalls, pens, coops, nests, cages, compartments) and coat it inside and out with pitch (bitumen). 15 This is the way you are to make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits (450’ x 75’ x 45’). 16 You shall make a window [for light and ventilation] for the ark, and finish it to at least a cubit (eighteen inches) from the top—and set the [entry] door of the ark in its side; and you shall make it with lower, second and third decks. 

Genesis 6:13-16 (AMP) 

Fed up

Yesterday we read of the terrible corruption that mankind had brought on the earth. God had waited patiently but now He communicates His decision to give a 120 year warning that He’s hitting the reset button – to, “make an end of all that lives” (v13). Of all the people on the earth (which could have been a billion or so), only Noah was found to be righteous so The Lord worked with him.

Conversation with Noah

The Lord talks to righteous Noah. He tells him what Noah already had been experiencing, the sinfulness of his neighbors, but then adds that He will destroy it all. He doesn’t tell him how (yet) but only tells him to make a boat.  How would you respond? “That’s a crazy idea, I can’t do that!” How did Noah respond? We’ll see that tomorrow.

Some boat!

Whether there were boats at this time or not we don’t know. For sure there were large bodies of water. Regardless, this was no small fishin’ boat; this was an ocean liner! It’s half the length of a cruise ship! That’s one big boat!

God gave him the rough dimensions and structure and later, the purpose. Whether the Lord gave Noah blueprints to build it, the Bible doesn’t say. But we do know that God had thought of all the details – such as a window – probably one very wide one that went all the way around the top of the boat. He also made sure it would be waterproof.

A remnant by grace

Maybe the most important idea is that God does not wipe out everything, everyone, he keeps a remnant. “In the midst of such corruption and judgment, there is also grace. Instead of wiping out the entire race, God preserved a remnant.” (enduringword.com) Surely, since all sinned, The Lord could have wiped out even Noah and his family.

It’s also interesting to note that the literary style used is a chiastic. “The “chiastic” (palistrophic, crossing) structure of this section shows that Moses intended to emphasize God’s grace to Noah, which occupies the central part of the story…The turning point of the narrative is found in 8:1 ‘God remembered Noah.’” (planobiblechapel.org)

RЯeflection

• Thank God for His grace. He will not always be angry (Psalm 103:9). He is quick to forgive. Look at how he kept showing grace to Israel in Judges and all the OT even to Revelations. As you read Judges some time, place yourself in the place of Israel.