1 And the Lord said to Noah, Take all your family and go into the ark, for you only in this generation have I seen to be upright.
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was an upright man and without sin in his generation: he went in the ways of God.
And as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. Because as in those days before the overflowing of the waters, they were feasting and taking wives and getting married, till the day when Noah went into the ark, And they had no care till the waters came and took them all away; so will be the coming of the Son of man.
And did not have mercy on the world which then was, but only kept safe Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he let loose the waters over the world of the evil-doers; And sent destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah, burning them up with fire as an example to those whose way of life might in the future be unpleasing to him; And kept safe Lot, the upright man, who was deeply troubled by the unclean life of the evil-doers (Because the soul of that upright man living among them was pained from day to day by seeing and hearing their crimes): The Lord is able to keep the upright safe in the time of testing, and to keep evil-doers under punishment till the day of judging;
Who, in the days of Noah, went against God's orders; but God in his mercy kept back the punishment, while Noah got ready the ark, in which a small number, that is to say eight persons, got salvation through water:
By faith Noah, being moved by the fear of God, made ready an ark for the salvation of his family, because God had given him news of things which were not seen at the time; and through it the world was judged by him, and he got for his heritage the righteousness which is by faith.
And as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the day of the Son of man.
And Noah, with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives, went into the ark because of the flowing of the waters.
So that you may be holy and gentle, children of God without sin in a twisted and foolish generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, Offering the word of life; so that I may have glory in you in the day of Christ, because my running was not for nothing and my work was not without effect.
For the word of God is for you and for your children and for all those who are far off, even all those who may be marked out by the Lord our God.
The Lord said to him, Go through the town, through the middle of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the brows of the men who are sorrowing and crying for all the disgusting things which are done in it. And to these he said in my hearing, Go through the town after him using your axes: do not let your eyes have mercy, and have no pity: Give up to destruction old men and young men and virgins, little children and women: but do not come near any man who has the mark on him: and make a start at my holy place. So they made a start with the old men who were before the house.
Come, my people, into your secret places, and let your doors be shut: keep yourself safe for a short time, till his wrath is over. For the Lord is coming out of his place to send punishment on the people of the earth for their evil-doing: the earth will let the blood drained out on her be seen, and will keep her dead covered no longer.
Happy is the upright man! for he will have joy of the fruit of his ways. Unhappy is the sinner! for the reward of his evil doings will come on him.
For him in whose heart is the fear of the Lord there is strong hope: and his children will have a safe place.
Blessings are on the head of the upright, but the face of sinners will be covered with sorrow. The memory of the upright is a blessing, but the name of the evil-doer will be turned to dust.
Happy is he whose resting-place is in the secret of the Lord, and under the shade of the wings of the Most High; Who says of the Lord, He is my safe place and my tower of strength: he is my God, in whom is my hope. He will take you out of the bird-net, and keep you safe from wasting disease. You will be covered by his feathers; under his wings you will be safe: his good faith will be your salvation. You will have no fear of the evil things of the night, or of the arrow in flight by day, Or of the disease which takes men in the dark, or of the destruction which makes waste when the sun is high. You will see a thousand falling by your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. Only with your eyes will you see the reward of the evil-doers. Because you have said, I am in the hands of the Lord, the Most High is my safe resting-place; No evil will come on you, and no disease will come near your tent.
See, the eye of the Lord is on those in whose hearts is the fear of him, on those whose hope is in his mercy; To keep their souls from death; and to keep them living in time of need.
He will keep you safe from six troubles, and in seven no evil will come near you. When there is need of food he will keep you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. He will keep you safe from the evil tongue; and you will have no fear of wasting when it comes. You will make sport of destruction and need, and will have no fear of the beasts of the earth. For you will be in agreement with the stones of the earth, and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you. And you will be certain that your tent is at peace, and after looking over your property you will see that nothing is gone.
Wealth is of no profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness keeps a man safe from death. The righteousness of the good man will make his way straight, but the sin of the evil-doer will be the cause of his fall. The righteousness of the upright will be their salvation, but the false will themselves be taken in their evil designs. At the death of an upright man his hope does not come to an end, but the hope of the evil-doer comes to destruction. The upright man is taken out of trouble, and in his place comes the sinner.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Genesis 7
Commentary on Genesis 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 7
Ge 7:1-24. Entrance into the Ark.
1. And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark—The ark was finished; and Noah now, in the spirit of implicit faith, which had influenced his whole conduct, waited for directions from God.
2, 3. Of every clean beast … fowls—Pairs of every species of animals, except the tenants of the deep, were to be taken for the preservation of their respective kinds. This was the general rule of admission, only with regard to those animals which are styled "clean," three pairs were to be taken, whether of beasts or birds; and the reason was that their rapid multiplication was a matter of the highest importance, when the earth should be renovated, for their utility either as articles of food or as employed in the service of man. But what was the use of the seventh? It was manifestly reserved for sacrifice; and so that both during Noah's residence in the ark, and after his return to dry land, provision was made for celebrating the rites of worship according to the religion of fallen man. He did not, like many, leave religion behind. He provided for it during his protracted voyage.
4. For yet seven days—A week for a world to repent! What a solemn pause! Did they laugh and ridicule his folly still? He whose eyes saw and whose heart felt the full amount of human iniquity and perverseness has told us of their reckless disregard (Lu 17:27).
9. There went in two and two—Doubtless they were led by a divine impulse. The number would not be so large as at first sight one is apt to imagine. It has been calculated that there are not more than three hundred distinct species of beasts and birds, the immense varieties in regard to form, size, and color being traceable to the influence of climate and other circumstances.
16. and the Lord shut him in—literally, "covered him round about." The "shutting him in" intimated that Noah had become the special object of divine care and protection, and that to those without the season of grace was over (Mt 25:10).
17. the waters increased, and bare up the ark—It seems to have been raised so gradually as to be scarcely perceptible to its occupants.
20. Fifteen cubits upward … and the mountains were covered—twenty-two and a half feet above the summits of the highest hills. The language is not consistent with the theory of a partial deluge.
21. all flesh died … fowl … cattle, and … creeping thing—It has been a uniform principle in the divine procedure, when judgments were abroad on the earth, to include every thing connected with the sinful objects of His wrath (Ge 19:25; Ex 9:6). Besides, now that the human race was reduced to one single family, it was necessary that the beasts should be proportionally diminished, otherwise by their numbers they would have acquired the ascendancy and overmastered the few that were to repeople the world. Thus goodness was mingled with severity; the Lord exercises judgment in wisdom and in wrath remembers mercy.
24. an hundred and fifty days—a period of five months. Though long before that every living creature must have been drowned, such a lengthened continuance of the flood was designed to manifest God's stern displeasure at sin and sinners. Think of Noah during such a crisis. We learn (Eze 14:14) that he was a man who lived and breathed habitually in an atmosphere of devotion; and having in the exercise of this high-toned faith made God his refuge, he did not fear "though the waters roared and were troubled; though the mountains shook with the swelling thereof" [Ps 46:3].