7:1 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 {HB=dowr, period, age}.
the LORD said...- Observe again the way that God uses His names:
Jehovah - in relationship with His own (the covenant people). eg. v.1; 6:8
Elohim - in connection with the earth, mankind, or the animals. eg. 6:12,13; 7:9,16
Come... into the ark - Note that He did not say 'go into the ark.'
God was inviting him into the protection of His presence. cp. Psa 91:1-10; Prov 18:10
This is the first occurrence of the word 'come' in scripture. It illustrates the invitation which God extends to man, to find refuge in the salvation which He has provided. cp. Mat 11:28; Rev 4:1; 22:7,17
7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female:
and of beasts that [are] not clean by two, the male and his female.
7:3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female;
to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights;
and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
7:5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
7:6 And Noah [was] six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
yet seven days...- After 120 years (6:3), it was time for final preparations.
of every clean beast... take by sevens -
Since, God did not reveal this detail at first (cp. 6:19), apparently He knew that Noah maintained a sufficient supply of these animals.
Clean animals are not identified in scripture until the Law of Moses (cp. Lev 11:2-f).
However, Noah knew the difference between clean and unclean. Since, only clean animals were to be used in sacrifice, the requirement for seven (rather than two of these animals) allowed for both the sacrifice and the preservation of these species. cp. Gen 8:20
7:7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that [are] not clean,
and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female,
as God had commanded Noah.
7:10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
7:11 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.
7:12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
7:14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind,
and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind,
and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
7:15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein [is] the breath of life.
7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
Noah went in... -
Wrath would be poured out upon all sinful men.
Only the eight individuals (v.13), who went into the ark, would be saved. 2Pet 2:5
The ark is a type of Christ, who suffered the punishment for sin, in our stead.
The 'fountains of the deep' would burst forth upon Him. cp. 1Pet 3:18; Psa 42:7
The door had been open to Noah's neighbors, yet they refused God's invitation, preferring willful ignorance until the very day of judgment. cp. Mat 24:38,39; 1Pet 3:19,20
Those few who went into the ark (like those who are in Christ by faith) would be immersed in the waters of judgment, which brought death to all flesh; and after that judgment was complete, they would emerge from death into life with Him. (This is also pictured by water baptism. 1Pet 3:21,22)
The LORD shut him in -
Noah's responsibility was to enter, and to bring with him such as should be saved.
God closed the door, at the appointed time, and secured it against the coming tempest.
This speaks of -
the eternal security of the believer. cp. Joh 10:27-30; 1Pet 1:5; Rev 1:18; 3:7 The Hand, which shut Noah in, also shut his unbelieving neighbors out.
the exclusion of the unbeliever, at the close of the day of grace.
Familiar voices may have pled for mercy when the rains began to fall, but the time for mercy had ended, the time for judgment had arrived.
cp. 2Cor 6:2; 5:19,20; Luk 13:23-27; 2Pet 3:9,10
7:17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth;
and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
7:18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth;
and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
7:19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth;
and all the high hills, that [were] under the whole heaven, were covered.
7:20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
7:21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast,
and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
7:22 All in whose nostrils [was] the breath of life, of all that [was] in the dry [land], died.
7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground,
both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven;
and they were destroyed from the earth:
and Noah only remained [alive], and they that [were] with him in the ark.
7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
fountains of the deep... and the windows of heaven... forty days... waters increased...-
This was a catastrophe of nature without precedent. Torrential rain was compounded by torrents from subterranean water sources. When the NT refers to the 'Flood', it uses the GK word 'kataklusmos' (cataclysm; eg. Mat 24:39; 2Pet 2:5).
all the high hills... and the mountains were covered - This was not a local flood.
Some may protest that '15 cubits' (about 23 feet} is hardly deep enough to cover the mountains (v.20). However, the text indicates that the water was fifteen cubits 'upward' {ie., above, higher than} the high points of ground. To this, some might protest, that the waters certainly could not have covered peaks like Mt. Everest. However, it may be that such high mountain peaks and ranges arose, due, in part, to the weight of water and the resulting tectonic stresses upon the earth's surface. Additional forces, such as those which opened 'the fountains of the deep,' also may have contributed to the rise of the high mountains.
all flesh died... all men... every living thing- The judgment was complete.
A local flood would have spared some. But none remained.
The earth would have remained unpopulated, if it had not been for those in the ark. cp. Gen 9:19
the water prevailed upon the earth 150 days (v.24) -
After 40 days, the rain stopped (v.11,12), but for a while, the water may have continued to rise due to underground sources. Eventually, the waters began to recede slowly. (This is the first occurrence of the number 40, which is often associated with judgment, in scripture.)
150 days after the flood began, the ark became grounded on a mountain top (v.24; 8:3,4).
But an additional 74 days would pass before the mountain tops became visible (8:5).
Dry land would not appear for another 70 days (8:13).
The land was not sufficiently dry for Noah to leave the ark until a year after the rain began (v.11; 8:14-16).