Genesis 7 - 12
There are so many fascinating details concerning the ark and the flood that it makes it difficult to know where to begin or what to say. Right off the bat in chapter 7, there is a consistency of particular phraseology continued from chapter 6: "male and female" (vv. 2 (*2), 3, 9, 16). God specifically told Noah to take pairs of animals - male and female - in order to keep them alive across the face of the earth. Each time that he mentions the phrase it is just a reiteration and accentuation of the gender-specific necessity. It had to be male and female for the continuation of creation. There is a Divinely structured order to life and the continuation of it.
One of the details that I loved most about the reading was something which I do not believe I have noticed before today. "God remembered Noah, as well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark" (8:1). In the midst of the great turmoil, God remembered Noah. I think because Genesis 1- 11 spans 100's of years extremely quickly and then 12-24 only a few decades, many of the details get overlooked. Partly, that is because many are not included simply because they were not the main point of the story, but it does not hurt for us to think about or point them out. For instance, it an extremely long time to build the ark and that was a difficult task, BUT, once they were on the ark, it was about a year that they were inside it with all the animals. I can only imagine that between the smells, storms, waves, and noises there also came fear, anger, and doubts. They knew that God had provided the answer, the medium with which to survive, but day by day and the waters were not disappearing, Had He forgotten about them? No, 8:1, "God remembered..." In the midst of His wrath, He remembered and showed His mercy. Immediately following 8:1 it says that God caused a great wind to pass over the earth and the water began to subside. There were still days, weeks remaining but the tide was changing, and the water began to recede.
God does the same thing in our lives. Although there is pain that seems never-ending and it appears that the waters will never recede, the flood will never end, and we will never get off the boat of our misery God does remember. He is with us. He does and will show His kindness and mercy. Often it is just not time yet. Or, the waters are receding, and we cannot see it. We must not keep looking for the dry land. That is the wrong focal point. Dryland has never, will never, and is never the answer to our problems. What we must keep our eye on is Jesus. He is the ark that carries us through storm after storm. When we are ready to be on dry land, He will carry us there. He never leaves us or forsakes us.
The following are some great resources about the ark:
