Genesis 7:1, commentary and pictures

God himself commanded and invited Noah and all his house to come into the ark because He had seen him righteous before Him in that generation. Noah obeyed and went in with his family, and the Lord shut him in and shut the unrighteous world out. That shut door ended the one-hundred-and-twenty-year probation, withdrew mercy from those who rejected the last warning, and brought judgment in the flood that destroyed the wicked while preserving only the eight who believed and entered. As the wicked knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so Noah's generation is the pattern for the world before the coming of the Son of man, when those who heed God's warning escape the judgment on the disobedient. The call into the ark is therefore God's call today for parents and all to enter the ark of safety through Christ by obedience to all His commandments, laboring earnestly while any remain outside, for those outside are perishing and those inside are safe.

Command and Historical Setting

The word is spoken by God Himself, both command and invitation, calling Noah with all his house to come into the ark because He had seen Noah righteous before Him in that generation. The call came as probation for that world was nearing its end, after Noah had faithfully followed every instruction given him. He had finished the ark in every part as directed to preserve his family, and had stored it with food for man and beast. He had also given his last solemn appeal with inexpressible agony of desire, only to have it rejected with jest and scoffing and boisterous merriment.

At that moment the animals came to the door without a visible leader, the beasts from mountain and forest and the birds by sevens and by two and two, moving quietly in perfect order as they were guided by holy angels and taken in. In this the animals obeyed the command of God while men remained disobedient and unbelieving. Philosophers called to explain the mystery could not fathom it, and though the watching world looked on in wonder and some in fear, the sign made only a momentary impression on hearts hardened by persistent rejection of light. Noah obeyed and went into the ark with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives because of the waters of the flood. Then the Lord Himself shut him in with an invisible hand, a bright light as an angel of heaven shut the massive door.

After entering, Noah and his household remained shut inside a full week before any rain fell, with still no rain to be seen. Until then rain had never fallen, for a mist had risen to water the earth, so that waiting without evidence was a trial of their faith. During that rainless week the wicked outside did not humble themselves but mocked and derided those inside and made light of them despite the remarkable evidence. After six or seven days the rain began, falling gently at first and then increasing in power until every living thing outside was destroyed and no living being or animal outside the ark was left alive. This came in the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month on the seventeenth day of the month, when the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened. Rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights, the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days, and all the wicked inhabitants perished.

The setting was universal corruption, for the wickedness of man was great in the earth, every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually, and the earth was corrupt before God and filled with violence. Transgression of the law and the consequences of transgressing it prevailed everywhere, in a polluted and corrupt generation. The account is real history belonging to the inspired Old Testament record: Noah was a literal person, and the Flood actually occurred.

Noah's Righteous Character

God found and declared Noah righteous before Him in that generation because he walked with God and loved God, receiving light and truth and moral power from Christ to obey, so that when tested by the law of God he was found righteous. That righteousness was obedience to God's law and doing right, for he believed just what God told him and began to work on the light and plan given him. He preserved God's law, and he did not stop to question what the inhabitants of the old world would think of building a boat on dry land. His was a genuine faith, a faith that works by faith and works, which condemned the world, whereas mere belief without obedience would have given him no good influence.

He proved that righteousness by steadfast witness amid widespread corruption and scorn, employing many carpenters and testifying by his building that he believed God. He prayed for the people day after day and gave them his last warning message before entering the ark, preaching all the more earnestly in proportion to the ridicule and scorn heaped upon him. He stood in faithful integrity as a witness to that generation amid ridicule, sport, and mocking as insane, and God's testimony of his righteousness gave him courage when others rejected his message. His preaching and example in building the ark warned the world of destruction and showed that he believed his warning, keeping reverence and love for God's law despite universal scorn thrown upon the law and upon himself and his helpers.

Noah alone was seen righteous before God in that generation, yet his influence and example brought blessing to his family, so that for his faithfulness and integrity God saved every member of his family with him. Noah and his sons were righteous in their generation, and the whole household was acknowledged as righteous amid a wicked generation, with his righteous sons preserved with him in the ark. His household followed God's order for marriage, for he had one wife and their united family discipline was blessed by God, and his preservation with them was connected with that righteousness. His being called righteous does not mean God approved polygamy among other righteous men, for that practice remained contrary to His order.

He stands among the most pious and godly men, and before the flood he ate no flesh. He was left on the earth after Enoch walked with God and was translated to heaven without seeing death, and he stood firm despite the wicked associations and influences around him. With his sons he stood firm under opposition to proclaim coming judgment and carried the last of the warning message alone after other faithful saints died off and others who had worked on the ark turned back from the truth.

Probation Closed, Judgment Fell

Genesis 7:1 marks the end of probation for the inhabitants of the Noachic world, when human probation was about to expire and mercy was withdrawn from that polluted and corrupt generation. The obedient were distinguished from the disobedient by the standard of God's law at the close of the 120-year probation given in mercy to the antediluvian world that refused to obey. Noah had faithfully followed every instruction, finished the ark in every part as directed, stored it with food for man and beast, and housed the cattle and all other living creatures two and two, with clean beasts by sevens. His last solemn appeal, made with inexpressible agony of desire and with preaching all the more earnest in proportion to ridicule and scorn, was rejected with jest and scoffing, while he kept reverence and love for God's law despite universal scorn thrown upon the law and upon himself and his helpers. Entry into the ark did not bring rain at once but began a one-week period of testing with no rain for seven days, which fully revealed the reviling and mockery of unbelievers, and after six days a steady rain set in until no living being or animal outside the ark was left alive.

God bore long with sin, sent Noah with a message of warning, and gave men one hundred and twenty years to turn from their sins. They rejected and despised His love until wickedness and transgression of God's law became so great that a crisis came, the measure of iniquity was full, and the boundaries of divine mercy and forbearance toward that guilty race were passed. When people presume on mercy, despise warnings, and go decidedly counter to God's will they exceed the limits of grace, so God interposes in wrath to vindicate the honor of His law and repress unrighteousness. Though the wicked say their way is hidden from God and though the prayers of the righteous may long seem unheard, God beholds all the works of men and in His own time answers by terrible things in righteousness.

When Noah and his family entered, God Himself shut the door with an invisible hand, shutting Noah in and shutting the unrighteous world out, with a bright light as an angel of heaven shut the massive door. That shut door ended probation and ended God's long forbearance, closing mercy and hope for the guilty race who rejected the last appeal and last warning. It gave place to justice, vengeance and wrath in the Flood, from that shutting no man could open the door, the voice of mercy was heard no more, and those inside were kept safe under God's protecting care while the world outside was destroyed. The closing of the ark means the door of mercy closes, after which he that is holy remains holy still and he that is filthy remains filthy still. Those serving two masters and blinded by Satan's peace and safety theories will not hear the last call of mercy, so all must humble themselves under the mighty hand of God and get ready now, lest it be everlastingly too late, for time is very short and wickedness is increasing as in the days of Noah.

The Flood was God's judgment on people who continually transgressed His law, with increasing sins bringing judgment on the earth. God brought judgment on the wicked in mercy to the world, and the floodwaters declare that the wicked are incurable and unwilling to submit to divine authority. By the waters of the Flood He swept that wicked race from the earth as an avenger of the wicked, to re-people the desolate earth after it had been swept clean of moral corruption. At the same time He remembered mercy and did not let the faithful perish with the wicked, but appeared as protector of the righteous in bringing Noah and his house into safety, acknowledging them as righteous amid a wicked generation and preserving only Noah and his household alive. Their destruction warned later generations that God punishes those who disregard His law.

Only those few who believed the message of heaven, the Word of God, were saved from the waters, for all were tested by the truth Noah preached and those who believed were saved. Only eight persons of that vast population accepted the warning, fled for refuge into the ark, and were saved, while the message condemned the world. The fact that the whole world perished and only those who entered the ark were saved proves that great numbers do not follow God and only a few believe present truth and are saved. One should not be discouraged when only a few believe nor follow the majority, for following the majority leads to destruction and to missing heaven.

The call was a message the world could not endure, coming as the days before the Flood stole silently on like a thief in the night, joined to Noah's last tearful, trembling-voiced entreaty for rejecters to believe and secure safety in the ark. The vast population turned from him with impatience and contempt, saying a flood could not come upon the world, having no patience with his warnings and his building an immense boat on dry ground. They laughed and mocked and scoffed at Noah as preacher of righteousness, insane fanatic, and at his claim that his family were the only ones right, while reason, science, philosophy and none of the wise and honored men of the earth believed his testimony. Their rejection did not make the message of no effect, for none but Noah and his family were saved in the ark.

Many helped Noah build the ark who did not believe the startling message, who did not cleanse themselves from all wrong principles, and who did not overcome the temptation to do and say things entirely contrary to the mind and will of God. The ark was God's use of means to save all who would hear the warning and turn from unrighteousness when the world was destroyed by a flood because of its iniquity.

Pattern for Last Days

As the inhabitants of the old world knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so the coming of the Son of man will be, and that generation stands as the pattern for the character of the world before Christ appears. The account is true history of a literal man and an actual flood, in which God himself commanded Noah and all his house to enter the ark because He had seen Noah righteous before Him in that generation. Noah did according to all that was commanded, going in with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives because of the waters of the flood, and the Lord shut him in. This came in the six hundredth year of his life, in the second month on the seventeenth day, when the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened, with rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights and the waters prevailing a hundred and fifty days until all the wicked inhabitants perished.

The call was the final invitation after the last signs were given, when provision for man and beast had been taken in, the beasts came from the forests to the door and were taken in, the birds presented themselves by sevens, and the heavens darkened while the mocking world still refused the warning. God warned Noah before judgment and invited his household into the ark, and Noah believed the warning, obeyed, and was saved. In this is seen that those who heed God's warning for their time escape the judgment falling on the disobedient and unbelieving, and that present obedience secures shelter before judgment falls.

The call into the ark is the pattern for the last message of mercy to be given to the world in this age. It is a truth requiring self-denial and the lifting of the cross to obey all God's commandments, for which all will have sufficient light to be saved, and which must go to regions beyond. Though the same unbelief that prevailed before the flood exists prior to Christ's coming, and though moral darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people, it must be proclaimed and will prove a savor of life unto life to some and a savor of death unto death to others. Noah had fulfilled the divine will in bearing the warning to an impenitent, pleasure-loving, corrupt people, yet only eight of that vast population accepted it, fled for refuge into the ark, and were saved, while the message condemned the world.

Noah and his household being preserved in the ark God had prepared illustrates how the saints will be preserved amid the earth's final upheavals. Their safety during the flood is the pattern for being kept safe on earth amid fires, eruptions, earthquakes, convulsions, and great destruction of human life that destroy the wicked just before Christ comes. The whole world is fast becoming as in the days of Noah, with fraud, murder, crime, and iniquity so common as no longer to shock, yet in days when burning mountains pour lava over villages and cities and mighty earthquakes convulse nature before the Son of man appears in the clouds of heaven, God himself will be the refuge of His believing ones and will shelter the righteous in worldwide destruction. The righteous will be kept safe while God destroys the wicked.

The call to faithful Noah and his household to enter before the flood is the pattern for God's future call to faithful saints preparing for translation to enter a place of safety before the time of trouble and the punishment of the earth. Before that trouble He will call them to enter their chambers and hide until the indignation has passed. Noah had faithfully warned the inhabitants of the old world while they mocked and derided him, and as the rain descended and the floods came and drowned one after another, the mockers beheld the ark they had made sport of riding safely upon the waters. So the people of God who have faithfully warned the world of coming wrath will be delivered, God will not suffer the wicked to destroy those expecting translation who will not bow to the decree of the beast or receive his mark, and those who mocked at the idea of the saints going up will witness God's care for His people and their glorious deliverance in the last closing struggle in which Satan and all his evil host and all who hate God would be gratified to have power over them.

As it was then so it is today, with wickedness increasing and the wicked doing wickedly, and the wickedness of the world before the flood repeated in this age. God looks upon the world today as He looked upon it in Noah's time and sends His messages now as He sent them then, and the time of this warning is marked by increasing calamities, earthquakes, floods, and disasters by land and by sea. God's own invisible hand closed the door after Noah and his family and the animals entering two and two had gone in, and a week passed with no rain in which the hardened inhabitants did not humble themselves but made light of Noah and his family and mocked and derided them despite the remarkable evidence, until rain began gently and increased in power until every living thing was destroyed. The coming of the animals two by two without a visible leader is the sign that the hour to close the ark has come at last, and when the word to close is given the door of mercy closes, after which he that is holy remains holy still and he that is filthy remains filthy still. Therefore, with only a very short time left to obtain a genuine experience, live in obedience, humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, and secure the salvation of the whole family, all must get ready now lest it be everlastingly too late, for those serving two masters and blinded by peace-and-safety theories will not hear the last call of mercy. Many helped Noah build who did not believe the startling message, did not cleanse themselves from all wrong principles, and did not overcome temptation to do and say things entirely contrary to the mind and will of God.

Entering Safety Today

The ark is a place of safety, the ark of safety that no one can afford to stay outside of, for those outside are perishing while those inside are safe. To enter is to accept the great salvation offered through Christ's complete sacrifice by responding to mercy's invitation in preparation to stand in the day of the Lord. To stay outside by neglect is to fight against God even without open opposition.

God's call to Noah and all his house is a call for parents to work earnestly for themselves and their little ones so that together they are gathered into the ark of safety. While still in the enemy's country they must strive to reach a higher standard and carry their children with them, keeping them usefully busy, casting off the works of darkness and putting on the armor of light. Husband and wife should walk unitedly blameless in all the Lord's commandments, treasure truth above everything and sell it not for any price, and by earnest prayer seek to bring their children into the ark with them. Mothers are accountable for their children's souls, and a mother who remains outside cannot expect her children to enter, but must go in first for them to follow.

Patient, prayerful labor for souls must continue while any remain outside the ark of safety so they may be won to Christ. This requires earnest house-to-house work, lifting the standard of truth in neighborhoods, preaching present truth with power, and moving on to other unworked places and cities to bring souls into safety. Those not yet in need to be helped in, and every moment is an entrusted trust to be used in doing good and blessing humanity, with the soul fully alive with interest to open the door for them to enter.