Noah’s Ark

  A couple of years ago a group of people built an exact replica of Noah’s Ark in Williamstown, Kentucky. It is built on eight hundred acre site near Interstate 75 in Grant County, Kentucky, near the city of Williamstown.  Amish carpenters built the 551’ long ark out of  gopher wood. It is quit impressive. It stands 51’ high and is 85’ wide. The inside has four stories and displays all about the times of Noah.  Noah lived to be 950 years old. He was one of the last of the long-lived Patriarchs.  When Noah was five hundred years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth. Together with their wives they entered the ark while the rest of mankind was perished. The ark was far from the ocean and brought onlookers from all over the country. It took Noah 120 years to build the ark, and during this period Noah urged people to repent, to turn away from their sins and turn toward God. In 120 years not one other soul turned to God. After the flood God limited man’s lifespan  to 120 years. And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Genesis 6:13 NKJV

The ark is an early example of Christ and what His ministry means for us.  The Hebrew word for pitch is our English word for “atonement,” It is first recorded in the Bible when God describes to Noah how to build the ark. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.  Genesis 6:14 NKJV  Back then pitch was the only way they had to waterproof a ship. It was the pitch that made it unsinkable. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:6-8 NKJV Noah did everything God told him to, and he built the ark just like God described it to him.

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. Genesis 7:1-3 NKJV Again Noah did as God instructed loading all the animals, food, and water into the ark. God tells Noah to “Come into the ark.” With this statement we know that God was already in the ark waiting for Noah to enter. This is a perfect example of the reconciliation of God with man through Jesus Christ. The ark represents the crucified blood of Christ that paid for our sins, and covers us like a blanket so that when our heavenly Father looks at us we are sinless. Christ substituted His own life for ours so that we could reclaim fellowship with God.

And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. All the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. It rained on earth for forty days and forty nights until  the ark was lifted up, and it rose high above the earth until the water covered all the mountains.  Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive, and the flood continued for one hundred and fifty days.  Then God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the fountains of the deep and the rain from heaven were stopped. Then the ark rested back on land on the mountains of Ararat which is in Turkey, and about a year after the flood had started the land was dry.  Then God spoke to Noah, saying, “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”  Genesis 8:15-17 NKJV

Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. “While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:21-22 NKJV  Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I will set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Genesis 9:11-13 NKJV

After the flood all life started over and the rainbow was the sign that God will not destroy the earth by a flood again. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we too, are starting over again. Just like a newborn baby we are born again into the family of God. We become His sons and daughters by removing the obstructions that block our path to doing what we know is right in our heart. When we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God there is no punishment for our sins. God punished the people of Noah’s time because they walked according to the evil ways of this world. Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? If you have not you can by saying this simple prayer with me.

Dear heavenly Father,

Please accept me into your family, and forgive me of my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son, and He died for me so that I might have fellowship with you. Please place Your Spirit in my heart and start to rebuild me from scratch.  Renew me in the likeness of Christ, and remove from me anything that in contrary to You.

In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen