Genesis 7:13, commentary and pictures

In the selfsame day eight persons went together into the ark for safety: Noah and his wife with Shem, Ham, and Japheth and their three wives. They entered at God's direct command on the day the flood began, and God Himself shut them in as a refuge for the obedient until the indignation was overpast. They were the only righteous people then alive out of the vast population of the earth, the only ones who believed the warning, while all the rest perished in the general ruin. After they had waited shut inside for a full week with no rain, the waters burst forth and swept away houses, people, and animals, while the immense boat rode safely with Noah and his family preserved by God's power. Christ treats the days of Noah as the pattern of the age before His return, when the same division between inside and outside will be repeated and God Himself will be the refuge of His believing ones in the days of destruction.

Those Who Entered

The selfsame day brought eight persons together into the ark: Noah, Noah's wife, Shem, Ham, and Japheth the sons of Noah, and the three wives of the sons with them. They entered together after the ark was finished and provisioned and after the cattle and every other living creature had gone in two by two. The dumb animals entered quietly two and two under the invisible leadership of God, with no visible leader driving them.

They entered on the day the flood began, going into the ark as a refuge from the storm and a shelter provided for the obedient. There the obedient were to be kept until the indignation was overpast. God Himself shut them in with an invisible hand, closing the door against all others because they believed His word. Preserved by the power of God, the immense boat rode safely upon the troubled waters with Noah and his faithful family safe inside while the waters drowned those who had mocked the warning.

These eight were the only righteous people then alive out of the vast population of the earth. They were the only ones who believed, accepted the warning, fled for refuge into the ark, and were saved. All the rest rejected the light, would not keep heaven's commandments, and were condemned. When rain was sent from heaven and the foundations of the great deep were broken up so that the waters from beneath united with the waters from heaven, the rest were swept away and perished and drank the waters of the flood. Thus the same message brought life and salvation to those who entered for safety and ruin to those who rejected it.

How Entry Unfolded

Noah and his family went into the ark at God's direct command, and God Himself shut them in, His invisible hand closing the door and shutting it against all others. Their going in came only after the ark was finished and provisioned and after the beasts, cattle, birds and every other living creature had come quietly in two by two. Those dumb animals gathered on dry land under God's invisible leadership without any visible leader, a wonderful and remarkable evidence that the hardened onlookers still refused to heed.

The ark itself had been prepared on dry land, where a great boat looked as strange as a steamer set on land for repair, and it needed no immense iron standards to bear it up because waters from above and beneath would form a great sea to bear it up. Once shut inside, they remained a full week before any rain fell, while the sun rose and set in a clear sky. Until then rain had never fallen but a mist had arisen to water the earth, so waiting seven days enclosed with no rain tried their faith and brought temptation to doubt.

During that week the wicked outside mocked, ridiculed and derided them for shutting themselves in, making light of Noah and his family, yet they rested on God's word that the flood was coming. After seven days, after six days of testing, the rain began gently and then poured in torrents, increasing in power until every living thing outside perished. It fell for forty days and forty nights, while waters hidden in the earth burst forth with power and the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened. That deluge swept away houses, idol temples, trees, mountains, people and animals, throwing up rocks as lasting witnesses, and those outside pleaded and clung to the ark for admission but could not enter and were washed away.

Preserved by the power of God, the immense boat rode safely upon the troubled waters with Noah and his faithful family safe inside. Their rescue was a miracle and the result of right-doing, illustrating God's care to keep from destruction those who after warning of coming wrath refuse to follow the wicked.

World Before Flood

The entry belongs to God's judgment on the antediluvian world after Adam's transgression brought sin in and men grew bold in disobedience. Idolatry had debased them until every imagination of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually, and the earth was corrupt before God and filled with violence and lawlessness. Unbounded indulgence of appetite had made them corrupt and filled up their guilt.

God gave the old world one hundred and twenty years of probation, precious probationary time and light, to repent, turn from sin, overcome bad habits and form righteous characters. The time was abundant and the invitation to repent, find refuge in the ark, and be saved was gracious. He bore long in mercy with a world full of self-importance, swelling pride and continued deeds of unrighteousness, threatening destruction by a flood of waters if evildoers did not repent, and declaring the limits of His forbearance when punishment of transgressors of His law became necessary.

During that time Noah, helped by his family and helpers, was constantly at work preparing the immense boat on dry land while warning of coming judgment as a preacher of righteousness. He did not grow less reverent and loving toward the law under universal scorn, but with those who died in the faith preached all the more earnestly in proportion to the ridicule and scorn heaped upon him and his helpers. Only a few repented, while many believing ones kept the faith and died triumphant before the flood came. Some believers and converts died before the flood and other converts backslid, including some of the carpenters Noah employed who believed for a time. Many who had helped build the ark did not enter because they did not believe the startling message, did not cleanse themselves from all wrong principles, and did not overcome the temptation to do and say things entirely contrary to the mind and will of God.

Nearly all the world stood against Noah, sure they were right and he was wrong, claiming to know more than God's faithful servant and closing their ears to words of truth. They denounced the preacher of righteousness as a visionary, a fanatic and an alarmist, and laughed his warnings to scorn as superstitious fears, forebodings, parables and illusion. By false science they explained away his warning of rain where no sign of such had ever existed, arguing they had never had rain and that rain was fanatical and impossible. They trusted the apparent fixity of nature instead of recognizing God's power over it, holding that waters would never exceed their bounds. The hardened inhabitants were not impressed or humbled by the remarkable evidence of the dumb animals quietly entering two and two, but made light of Noah and his family and mocked and derided them. They followed their own pleasure, continued routine money-making work and their plans and inventions of iniquity without regard to principle, remaining asleep in carnal security amid rioting and godless pleasure. They were left in darkness to follow the curse their own sinful hearts had chosen, walking contrary to God's Word in rebellion under God's displeasure.

Their unbelief, scoffing and mockery did not hinder the predicted event, did not make the message of no effect, and did not prevent the flood.

Judgment and Aftermath

The day the eight entered marked God's verdict against the wicked, and the waters that then covered the earth were a terrible outpouring of His wrath in general ruin that swept that wicked race away. Those despisers of mercy, who had stood against the warning, were made to drink the waters of the flood that deluged the earth. The destruction came after one hundred and twenty years of extended probation and preaching, when crime and violence and repeated rejection of the messages sent had worn out long-suffering patience.

When wickedness made punishment necessary, God declared the limits of His forbearance after bearing long in mercy. Men can go so far in wickedness under continual remonstrance, and can exceed the bounds of long-suffering and the limits of grace by decided disobedience and despising warnings, until the measure of iniquity is full and the boundaries of divine mercy are passed. Then in His own time God interposed to show He beholds all the works of men, vindicating His authority and the honor of His law, repressing unrighteousness, appearing as avenger to the wicked and protector of the righteous, and answering His people's humiliation, fasting and prayer for wickedness to end by terrible things in righteousness, so that continual disobedience would not spoil all. The destruction of the corrupt people was at the same time an act of mercy to the world.

The flood came because the inhabitants transgressed God's holy law, would not keep heaven's commandments, and would not heed the admonitions given them. If they had repented, the one-hundred-and-twenty-year message of warning would have spared them, but they perished for great wickedness, ingratitude and disobedience. They had used giant forests, Eden-like gardens, fountains, streams, lakes, minerals, gold, silver and precious stones given to enrich the earth as means of forgetting God. Their destruction gives a lesson for all time on what transgression and impenitence bring.

At the entering into the ark the obedient were distinguished from the disobedient by the standard of God's law in a most critical time, exemplifying and proving the truth of God's word with its reward of obedience and penalty of disobedience. All who would not keep the commandments of heaven drank the waters of the flood and the rebellious race was swept away, with death as their portion, giving transgressors an exhibition of God's power. Noah and his family, preserved by miracle as the result of right-doing, preserved God's law through the flood and Noah taught the commandments to his descendants. All had been tested by the truth Noah preached for one hundred and twenty years, which was precious probationary time and light; the few who received it and believed and entered for safety were saved unto life, but that same message condemned the world and its rejection proved the ruin of the rest.

The flood changed the earth's surface, for its waters and a powerful wind reshaped the land and buried people, animals, trees and treasures, leaving the earth under a curse. Torrents of rain descended and the fountains of the great deep were broken up, uprooting idolized trees and sweeping away inhabitants, groves, palaces, costly pleasure works and places of idolatry. Rocks concealed under the earth were thrown up with power to cover lovely places with masses of rubbish and earth, utterly destroying fruitful trees, shady avenues, forests and gardens until the lovely home given to man became a broken, uneven surface and frightful solitude. Its seamed and cleft rocks, deep gorges, caverns, channels worn by cataracts, and time-worn rocky walls standing since the flood remain as lasting witnesses and evidences of that destruction. The time and meaning of such remains and of the great changes in the earth are learned from the inspired history, not from geology alone. The flood marks a great increase in the curse brought on by disobedience, and the curse continued to grow heavier on people, animals, trees and other vegetation as the human family forgot God and disobeyed Him.

Pattern for Last Days

The entry belongs to real, inspired history of a real Noah and a historical flood, and Christ treats those days as the pattern for the age before His return in the clouds, because human nature apart from God's Spirit remains the same and the generation then will resemble Noah's generation. That inspired record also explains the great changes in the earth and the remains of people and animals unlike those now living, whose time is learned from this history and not from geology alone. It was a real judgment that fell despite confidence in the apparent fixity of nature and that the waters would never exceed their bounds, after opportunity to believe and be saved was rejected.

As the world then ate and drank and married in common iniquity until the flood took them all away, the same condition fills the world now as the Spirit is withdrawn. They remained asleep in carnal security amid rioting and godless pleasure, pursuing ordinary life, worldly prosperity, planting and building, putting judgment afar off and continuing plans and inventions of iniquity and routine money-making without regard to principle until sudden destruction came after Noah entered. The same pattern will hold before Christ's second appearing, when a pleasure-loving, moneymaking, dishonest world and a sleeping church crying peace and safety will be eating and drinking, planting and building, unprepared and overtaken as by a thief, for the Son of man comes suddenly in an hour not expected while people pursue ordinary life.

The same unbelief that prevailed before the Flood will exist prior to Christ's coming, with warnings laughed at and called fanaticism and enthusiasm. Wickedness and violence are increasing as then, men are blinded by peace-and-safety theories and try to serve two masters, and only a very short time is left to prepare to enter the city of God. The hardened inhabitants were not impressed or humbled by the remarkable evidence of the animals quietly entering two and two under God's invisible leadership without a visible leader, but made light of Noah and his family with mocking and derision that continued through the week without rain after God closed the door, until rain fell gently then in power and destroyed every living thing.

As God then gave one hundred and twenty years of building, warning and probation to choose between evil and good, repent and turn to God, He again gives a period of test and trial before the great destruction of the world by fire, with opportunity to show loyalty to God and obey His law. That probation was not appreciated and only eight souls entered and were saved, showing men can go so far in wickedness under continual remonstrance that God must arise to vindicate His honor. The same division between inside and outside the ark, distinguishing the obedient from the disobedient by the standard of God's law after the ark was finished and provisioned and the living creatures had entered, will be repeated in the days of the Son of man amid convulsed nature, burning mountains, boiling waters, earthquakes and destruction of life.

As Noah and his family were shut in by an invisible hand and preserved in the ark through the deluge while those outside perished in sin, God Himself will be the refuge, habitation, pavilion and defense of His believing ones in the days of destruction and calamity so no evil befalls them, which requires watching and readiness. Their safety illustrates His care to keep His people from destruction by the wicked after warning the world of coming wrath, including those who refuse to worship the beast or receive its mark. This history was taught to the sons of the prophets and to the children of Israel to make them steadfast for truth and righteousness and to prepare them for the advent of Christ, after one hundred and twenty years of preaching when crime, violence and repeated rejection wore out long-suffering patience and despisers of mercy drank the flood waters. Its destruction came as the sure result of transgressing God's holy law and refusing admonition, giving a lesson for all time pointing to the final destruction of the whole world in the closing period for the same cause of transgression and impenitence. God looks upon the world today as He looked upon the wicked world before the Flood and sends His messages today, and the repetition in this age of wickedness before the Flood is accompanied by increasing calamities, earthquakes, floods and disasters by land and by sea.

Call to Respond

Time is very short now, for wickedness is increasing as in the days of Noah, men are blinded by peace-and-safety theories and try to serve two masters, and the last call of mercy will soon go unheard. All must humble themselves under God's mighty hand and get ready with holy character before it is everlastingly too late, holding loyalty to God and His law when Christ comes. As Noah and his family entered and the hand of God closed the door, one week passed without rain while mocking continued, until rain began gently and then destroyed every living thing, and as the flood then swept away the inhabitants so only a very short time is left to prepare to enter the city of God. As Noah was preserved in the ark through the deluge, God Himself will be the refuge, habitation, pavilion and defense of His believing ones in days of destruction and calamity amid convulsed nature, burning mountains, boiling waters and earthquakes, so that no evil befalls them, which requires watching and being ready because the Son of man comes in an hour not expected.

Salvation belongs to a small minority and not to great numbers, so those who believe present truth and regard God's commandments must not be discouraged when only a few believe and must not follow the majority, for following the majority leads to destruction and not seeing heaven. Only eight persons, Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives, entered the ark in the selfsame day and were saved while all the rest of the vast world perished and were swept out of existence by the waters covering the earth. That small number caused rejection of the warning as not in accordance with the character of God, on the claim that great and good men, philosophers, scientific and learned men could not all perish while Noah alone was worthy to be spared, so Noah must be deceived and his message an illusion of the brain that the wise would have known if true. The same fallacious reasoning is used today against the warning to fear God and keep His commandments, that God is too good and too merciful to save just a few who keep the Sabbath and believe the warning while wrath falls on the sinful and disobedient and they perish in the general conflagration by fire, and that philosophers and men of wisdom would see the Sabbath and the shortness of time if it were true, and unfaithful professed servants of Christ lull themselves to carnal security with it as men did in Noah's day.

After Noah bore God's warning to an impenitent, pleasure-loving, corrupt world, only eight accepted the warning, fled for refuge into the ark in the selfsame day and were saved, while his message condemned the rest, and the flood came despite unbelief and scoffing which could not prevent what God had said would happen. Noah's faithfulness in warning them despite scorn is the example of faithfulness required of those who deliver God's message. The same unbelief that prevailed before the flood will exist prior to Christ's coming, yet moral darkness covering the earth does not change the duty to lift the warning voice, give all sufficient light to accept saving truth, show professing children of God their transgressions, and call them to obey all God's commandments and be saved. God laid out the great plan of redemption, then created the world and placed Adam and Eve in Eden, but their fall opened the floodgates of woe and the world became corrupt before God, and because people would not believe God did not compel them so only Noah and his family were saved, while He still gives humanity the privilege of gaining back true manhood and womanhood so the immortal image of God may be restored.