Genesis, Chapter 6
Long ago, men in this world lived to be much older than now, but instead of growing better, they were more and more-wicked. They knew all the wonderful works of God and His goodness, but they would not honor or obey Him. The Lord was very patient with them, but at last He said all must come to an end by a great flood.
One man, named Noah, believed God, and God told him to build the big ship, called the ark, which means a safe place. All in that ark should be kept alive when the dreadful storm came. God told Noah how long, how wide and how high to make it. There were to be a lower, a second, and a third story, so as to hold many animals and birds besides people, with food for all.
“God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence ... Behold I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher-wood, rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch.” Gen, 6:13,14.
To build such a boat took many years, and Noah must have had help, He talked of the storm to come, but no one believed it.
At last all was ready, and seven days before the great rain began, God called for Noah and his family and the animals to enter the ark. There were seven pairs of the animals and birds which were good for food to be taken in, and two of those not used for food, and the creeping things. What a long line of animals there must have been!
But only eight persons went in—the ones who believed God and wanted a safe place. The Lord shut the door of the ark, and the rain began to fall, and the waters to come also front the great oceans onto the land.
All people outside of the ark were drowned. The way of escape was provided, but they would not believe God. The ark is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, our place of safety from the judgment of God that will soon come on this poor world for rejecting the Saviour, whom God has given us. Must not those people who had not, believed, then cried out in fear?
ML 06/14/1936