July 2, 2006
“Noah’s Ark”
Genesis 6:8-22
I. Its builder and Architect – Genesis 6:8-14 & :22
1. Noah is the builder
A. By God’s grace Noah is chosen –6:8 (not for building skills)
B. By his walk with God he is distinguished from the world – 6:9-12
C. By following instructions Noah builds the ark – 6:22
2. God Himself is the Architect – 6:15-21
II. Its material: gopher-wood and pitch – Genesis 6:14
1. Gopherwood – no one really knows what this is, probably an extinct type of tree
2. Pitch – (Hebrew: kopher) literally a covering. The same Hebrew word is also translated “atonement” – Leviticus 17:11. This pitch kept out the flood waters of God’s wrath (judgment) as the blood of the Lamb covers and protects us from wrath due sin.
III. Its dimensions – Genesis 6:15
1. 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 30 cubits high
2. How long is a cubit? 17.5 inches to 24 inches
3. If 17.5 inches, the ark would be 438 feet long, 72.9 feet wide, and 43.8 feet high.
4. An ark of such dimensions would be exceedingly stable and virtually impossible to capsize.
5. According to Henry Morris, “the total volumetric capacity of the Ark was approximately 1,400,000 cubic feet, which is equal to the … capacity of 522 standard livestock cars … since it is known that 240 sheep can be transported in one stock car, a total of 125,000 sheep could have been carried on the Ark.”
6. Considering that the Ark carried mice and sparrows, as well as elephants and dinosaurs and the smaller animals outnumbered the larger, most scientists agree that the average size of an animal on the Ark was smaller than a sheep. All could easily fit.
IV. Its window and door - Genesis 6:16
1. Providing ventilation
2. A possible source of water
V. Its three decks (levels) – Genesis 6:16
1. Most likely larger animals would be on bottom, smaller on top, food and supplies in the middle
2. Rooms – 6:14 literally “nests”
3. John Woodmorappe wrote “Noah’s Ark A Feasibility Study” discussing feeding, watering, waste disposal etc…
VI. Its purpose – Genesis 6:17-20
1. Protection during a time of judgment – 6:17
2. A means of fulfilling God’s covenant promise – 6:18
3. Keeping all alive – 6:19-20
VII. Its passengers / content – Genesis 6:18-22
1. Noah and his family – 6:18
2. Two of every kind of land animal, seven of clean animals – 6:19-20; 7:2
3. God cause them to come - 6:20 (migrating patterns)
4. Food and hibernation
Applications: apologetics, faith
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