Genesis 7: the Ark in the Storm

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits. Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

Genesis 7:17-23

We take the story of Noah and the flood for granted - so much so that it forms the basis for so many children's toys and artwork.  And yet, it is a terrifying and calamitous scene - the waters rise, they cover everything, everything perishes.  I, and I'm sure many others, have never witnessed first-hand a meteorological or geological event that has been catastrophic to human life, and so can only imagine the terror at events such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which decimated everything in it's path.  And none of us can do more than imagine the horror of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which devastated Pompeii and Herculaneum that we were all unaware of their existence until archaeologists uncovered perfectly preserved remains of life interrupted without warning.

We cannot know the whys and wherefores of the other calamitous events I have mentioned, but with the flood, we know why - God's just action in cleansing the world of evil and violence.  It was certainly a powerful cleanse - it makes me think of the extreme force of a power washer on a patio that gets so much into every nook and cranny, so much so that the whole appearance of the surface becomes a different colour, such was the extent of the dirt.  It is as Malachi writes: But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. (Malachi 3:2).

And where was Noah in all of this - inside the Ark that God had called him into and shut the door.  God may have used Noah's hands to physically build the Ark, but it was his initiative and his grace.  It was not Noah's strength that kept him alive through the flood that caused every other living thing to perish, but the strength of the Ark around him, made to God's perfect design.

There is another day coming when God will send his cleansing power to rid the earth of evil and violence.  We have all sinned and fall short - none of us can stand up to the flood (the cleansing holiness of God) in our own strength (Romans 3:23).  And yet, like Noah, there is a way out offered: and this time, the Ark is the risen Jesus himself.   In Philippians 3:9 Paul's desire is to be 'found in him', Jesus himself tells his disciples to 'remain in me' (John 15:4).  Why?  Because:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15).

The risen Jesus is our rock, our fortress and our ark - in this world, but more importantly in the one to come.

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