During Vacation Bible School Doug Reynolds taught two lessons on Noah.  These are those lessons edited for posting on the Church’s website.

Noah – Part II

Genesis 6: 14 – 22: The Ark, The Promise, and The Faith
In Chapter 6, we see the results of a world turned away from God.  We will meet Noah, perhaps the greatest example of faith in scripture.  And, we will discuss the preparation of the ark.  Please continue to remember that the earth was a very different place at this time than it is today.

Verses 14 – 16:
What’s a cubit?  A cubit is approximately equal to 1.5 feet in our measurement system (although it averaged from between 17.5” – Hebrew Short – to 20.6” – Egyptian Long).  This would make the ark approximately 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

The ark had three decks, a single door on the side, a roof that covered the entire vessel, and a window 18 inches high all around the top of the boat apparently just under the roof.  What do you make of the single door?

The ark was made from gopher wood.  This has been translated to mean a wood similar to either cypress or redwood.  These types of wood are very resistant to water and rot.

The ark was to be sealed with pitch (tar) inside and out for waterproofing.

Remember that the ark needed only to stay afloat.  It did not have to navigate.

The ark took Noah and his sons 120 years to build.  Remember that each plank had to be hewn from trees by hand.  This was probably accomplished by either axe or saw, with primitive tools.  However, building the ark wasn’t the only work Noah had to do during these 120 years.  He also preached about God’s coming judgment, and he and his sons raised and stored crops in preparation for the flood so the animals and his family could survive.

Verse 17:
How hard would this have been to understand?  (Some believe that up until the Flood, rain had not fallen upon the earth – this is not revealed clearly in scripture.  The earth may have been watered by dew and by underground and above ground streams.).  The coming judgment would wipe from the face of the earth every living creature.

Verse 18:
The announcement of the covenant with Noah shows that God fully planned the events of the Flood and made preparation for life to start over.  The Flood was not happenstance, nor was the survival of Noah, his family, and the animal species.

Verses 19 – 21:
Noah was to prepare for two of every living “sort.”  The meaning of “sort” here is not clearly understood.  It was God’s intent to save two of every living sort.  This could mean as few as 700 different types of animals, or as many as ~35,000.  Either way, the ark would have been able to house them.

Also interesting is that the animals come to Noah (Verse 20) to keep them alive.  Noah did not have to travel to gather them.  This tells us something about the landmass in the time of Noah.  Apparently, these animals could journey over land to Noah.  Also, this shows God’s intent for man to have dominion over all the animals.  Where did the animals go when there was danger?

 Verse 22:
Noah’s obedience is complete.  Let us ponder the faith Noah exhibited and what he accomplished because of that faith.

Please read Hebrews 11:7.  Noah expressed his faith in hard labor for 120 years.  If you were asked to work for 120 years to build a boat in the desert for a flood that no one had ever seen before, how would you react?

Andrew Murray writes that “obedience is indispensable, the first token of integrity.”  In service to God, would you agree with this statement?

Perhaps better said by Amy Carmichael, faith is not “trusting God when we understand His ways” – there is no need for faith then.  Faith, as exhibited by Noah, is “trusting God when nothing is explained or understood”.