God announced that the end of flesh was in sight, the earth being filled with violence, gift of humanity, even superior elements now greedily combining with evil, till all was spoiled. Gone was Seth, taken by the Lord; now disaster reigned in splurges of sin, like black cascades of poisonous water, over every rocky fall (Genesis 6:13).
PLAN: God unveiled a plan. An ark, a boat, a vessel was to be constructed with precisely the characteristics which God appointed. It would carry representatives of what was necessary for the preservation of the race and of the creation, for a new continuance. Often enough have archeologists found what might have been the remains of the ark, whether through air sightings or earthly ones, but whether photographs are lost, or ice recovers the object, it may not yet have been found though there are accounts and records now spanning more than a century; and many are the accounts of local people, near the mountains of Ararat.
Some claim to have been there, such as the Navarra, father and son*1; and there is current a claim from a Chinese source, even now under investigation (May 2010), with some favourable possibilities from tests so far made on the object, partly hidden deep in the heights of the mountain where it is lodged. From all the evidence, it does appear that in the dangerous, exceedingly cold heights of this mount, it sometimes is exposed somewhat, but sometimes is not to be found. Many are the expeditions and sightings. Dr John Morris has visited the scene in 13 expeditions, and has given a clear account of the situation at the time of his writing (Noah's Ark and the Ararat Adventure. Master Books. 1988, 1994 with later publishings).
The current find, still under careful investigation, is some 14,000 feet up in Greater Mt Ararat, reportedly possesses rooms and is a structure hard to account for in any ordinary way, at heights where it is even hard to breathe. Its significance is yet to be confirmed, but appears for the present, to be great.
God aided Noah, just as He so well aids His servants in many near impossible tasks, against vast human, material and spiritual forces, to keep types in the ark (Genesis 6:18ff.). God made a covenant with Noah, and when GOD does this, and it is received by faith, this is simply no limit to what can be done (Ephesians 3:20). In that sense, one finds that the more impossible-seeming the job is, the more interesting it is, SIMPLY because if God is with you, amazing things happen, and the delight of co-operation at such a level is not only fascinating but comforting and meets a deep yearning for God which is in the human heart.
Alas much of this had by then been extinguished in man, and when the preparations for this lift-off had been completed, God ordered Noah to "come into the ark, you and your household," for He had found Noah righteous before Him in that generation, that is, trustworthy, receptive and obedient, a man who would follow his God.
Thus firstly, NOAH FOUND GRACE where it most mattered.
Secondly, he found PLACE for grace, the Ark a refuge centre while the human race was all but extinguished, the counterpart coming to our own Age in an increasing degree, leading up to judgment. His task was granted, the means were given, and over the century or so, it may be that he wrought his collection of materials for the Ark and its contents, with assiduity and reliability, till the time came. This is precisely what each servant of God (and all who are saved are saved to serve, though rest is in the heart of it) has to do, in his appointed task, with such appointed gifts as God gives to each one (I Corinthians 12:4-7). It is God who works these things sovereignly, not for spectacle or egotism, but for function and cohesion in love, as we read.
Thirdly, he took TIME for the works of grace.
Fourthly, in this, he pondered with PRECISION what had to be done, and was willing to obey orders.
Fifthly, he found TAKERS, who would come with him.
Sixthly, although the construction of an Ark in no known vicinity to water might seem to be the work of a fool, we are reminded that as far as this world is concerned. we who are Christians may seem just that, when in fact we are 'fools' for Christ's sake, that is, are putting to one side personal ambition and gain and self-service in favour of another, who made us, and to whom we owe fealty not only for this reason, but because in Jesus Christ, He has constructed an Ark for us in which we are placed securely while we sail the spiritual oceans set before us, and complete what we have to do in a drowning world (cf. I Peter 3:18-22). For Him, in this role, the Ark is the archetype.
What would not enter the ark, was separated by the very Ark itself, from what would; and those who did, were SEALED into the Ark (Genesis 7:16). It was, in other words, the LORD who shut them in, sealed, secured, enabled their voyage, with His own power.
There is, whether in Eden or in the case of the Ark, or in that of the Shepherd fold of Christ, a way, a challenge, an entry mode or exit provision; there is a door, a gate (cf. Psalm 116:19-24), into which those who are given the righteousness of Christ by faith, may enter, clothed as they enter, and sealed as they go in. The ENTRY was clear-cut, as is that into the salvation of Christ, to which Peter compares that in the Ark, as an image, where what saves is not the baptism of sprinkling with water (Ezekiel 36), but that of a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he announces.
Then came the VICISSITUDES of the VOYAGE, and the HOPE of its end, so that ACTION was taken, in the form of sending out birds, to find whether and when the waters abated.
After the glorious but searching voyage, there was further distinction. One of Noah's sons disgraced himself, and others made up for it in no mean style, so that there were results in the earth, for the days to come, both blessed and cursed. Man gained the SIGN of the RAINBOW as a testimony that this would not recur, this flooding of the entire earth.
As to the failure in Ham, and the results in his family, it reminds one of that of Lot's daughters, when Lot, for his part, was rescued, later in history, from a disgustingly degenerate city, that of Sodom, where men even sought carnal intercourse with angels! They, after the city's destruction, could find no way to continue their family, except by making their father drunk, and securing seed for the future, thus bringing a death sentence to many in Israel, since the resulting two children were to become fathers of Moab and Ammon. If this is not a warning not to be precipitate, and anticipate how the LORD will deliver and save and direct and supply and answer, what possibly could be! Be therefore seemly, sincere, alert, self-disciplined, quick to repent of error, imaginative, watchful before the Lord for direction; and do not forget what the Lord may schedule to come later.
Thus when around 100 years in age, Abraham through Sarah was able to have a child. The patriarch, apparently concerned lest he should not beget one, and thus fail to fulfil the promise he had received from God concerning the promised land and a numerous nation from him (in fact more than one), had acceded to Sarah's plan of providing her maid for a child, since she could not find one in her own womb. This brought on bitterness in the end, and led to the roving Ishmaelites in particular. It did nothing for the line in view, or the promises.
NEVER therefore say, HOW will I reach these and those people, unless I add worldly music to my church, allow sexual indulgence, mitigate distinctions too 'hard' for our culture and so forth. Always wait on the Lord and keep to His way. Flowers to not have to be able to be useful as brooms; they have sufficient appeal in beauty in their place. Let therefore everything have its place, the word of God in our hearts, the mind of Christ in our living, the truth of creation and redemption in the savour and saltiness of our very atmosphere, the power of God in our path.
Now Noah is one of the FIRST MAJOR DELIVERERS whom God used for the human race. Possess this example as a heart stimulus, considering one who may have spent a century in constructing what was apparently useless, but was crucially important in the very continuance of the human race! Moreover was Christ, a carpenter by trade, evangelist in speech, teacher in knowledge, without a place to put His head, without the grandeur and the majesty of property and many servants, to be held surpassingly attractive as a spectacle! Yet He being God, could draw men to Himself, and did, and millions have come. There has to be a categorical distinction between the majesty of man in the flesh, the appearance, the substitutes for spirituality, the brittle bric-a-brac which men so prize, and the majesty of God who made man (cf. Isaiah 53:2 with Psalm 45).
Children may be fascinated by frippery; adults need to realise the point of it all. It is not wise to say, Let us all join together and forget little things like believing whatever the Bible teaches, the Gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ as presented in the Bible, like refusing additions, subtractions and remakings of it; for HOW will we get anywhere otherwise! On the contrary, by such mingled defeatism and arrogance, displacing God for the sake of man, even when ostensibly acting for God, such pollution is brought on as resembles more and more closely, the world which God decided to deluge.
He will remove it again, this time by fire, after He has finished shaking it, and using it as a platform for the publication of His goodness and mercy, righteousness and equity, without the power of evil insidiously strangling much. This is what you find in II Peter 2 and Hebrews 12-13. He IS going to shake it and has said so for millenia, as in Haggai 2:20-21, and further confirmed in Hebrews 12:26-27.
Remember Noah then, an explicit prototype in the sense of a SUDDEN judgment on the earth, for the coming of Christ, and this from Christ's own mouth (Luke 17:26ff.).
Recall the deliverance, its startlingly original method, its provision by God through grace only, and through faith.
Revise nothing of the word of God, but let each of us revise his or her own conduct, way of life, thinking, understanding, constantly adjusting it to what God has said, to His formative Spirit as He moves in us (II Corinthians 3:18), being alert to our hearts, to keep these things with all diligence; and in Noah, let us realise four things.
Firstly, he found grace in the sight of the Lord. He did not gain approbation for glorious marvels; but he RECEIVED grace. Let us all work on that principle (Ephesians 2:5-12).
Secondly, he persevered when all seemed far beyond anything normally imaginable.
Thirdly, he received little support in making provisions on a grand scale, for few took the results.
Fourthly, for all that, what he did made a profound difference, for he kept precisely to the revealed will of God.
It is THIS God who speaks to each one of us, in His word, the Bible, in its propositions, its premisses, its perspective, in its power, and by His Spirit enables what has to be done. Such is His provision for believer's in the Lord's Christ, the One who came and not another (Luke 2:26).
Let us each one:
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do
what He appoints, which after all, is merely our reasonable service
(Romans 12:1ff.). |
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possess the
transcripts, if you will, the very will of God for each one of us, the Bible in its directives for heart and mind, His appointments for labour and His rest for the way of it (Hebrews 4). |
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indeed
reflect on the great works of DELIVERANCE which God has
occasioned and directed for the human race, and so possess more intimately our possessions. |
In Chapter 6, we plan, DV, to cover some major ones of these.
NOTE
A record with many photographs was provided of these attempts, in the book, The Noah's Ark Expedition, by Fernand Navarra.
There certainly does seem to have been a convergence of many sources, aerial photography, air sightings, expeditions, earth explorations, even wood taken and dated, stories of locals, place of religious regard and the like, which point into the general area of the mountains of Ararat. Further, reason for the difficulty seems clear, especially from the work of Dr John Morris. Boulders can rain down, as if tormented, cannonading down the precipitous slopes, vibrations, roars, snow, political restrictions, weather at 14,000 feet; while at the same time, the clues and indications have a certain confluence.
It may soon be known if this latest find in the area, so far not falsified, is the treasure itself, or some parallel exhibit.
It was correctly predicted in II Peter 3:3ff., that mockers would wish to dismiss the universal flood, and their contemporary proliferation is merely a testimony to the accuracy of the Bible; for NOW with all the other signs of Christ's near coming in place, is precisely the time when romanticising adventurers love to mock at the flood, despite the remorseless pursuit of evidence by such scholars as Dr Steve Austin (displayed in his classic, Grand Canyon, Monument to Catastrophe), and Dr Andrew Snelling, at work in Answers in Genesis, directing research publications, and indeed the RATE group of scientists, whose scholarly publications have relevance here (cf. Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth).
The reader may consult for overview, for example, News 1 , SMR Ch.2 , pp. 160-170, 234-248.