Genesis 6:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

NIV: Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

NASB: So Noah did these things; according to everything that God had commanded him, so he did.

CSB: And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.

NLT: So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

KJV: Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

NKJV: Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

In this passage, God has given Noah a colossal set of tasks. He is to build a container longer than a football field and taller than a four-story building. He is to make room inside for pairs of every kind of insect and animal. He is to prepare food for his family and these animals. And, the reason for this is so that those inside the ark can survive God's upcoming judgment on a wicked human race: a catastrophic flood of water.

Given all of that, this verse is remarkable in and of itself. Noah demonstrates his faith in and submission to God by simply obeying. He did everything God had commanded, and he did it "just as" God commanded it. We are given very few details in this passage. Surely, Noah was told more in person than we are in this passage. And yet, there is no doubt that Noah would have had many, many questions and concerns. But, despite these, he acts according to the commands of God. We were told in the beginning of this section (Genesis 6:9) that Noah was a righteous, blameless man who walked faithfully with God. This verse is evidence of that profound faithfulness.

Genesis 6:9-22 begins another new section in Genesis called the ''generations of Noah.'' Because of humanity's power and wickedness, the earth had become filled with violence and sinfulness. By contrast, Noah was a righteous, blameless man who walked with God. God chooses to declare to Noah His plan to end all land-dwelling life on earth, but also to save Noah and his family and two of every animal. Noah obeys God's command to build the ark that would preserve the human race from total destruction in the flood.

God sees. In the first chapter of Genesis, God saw that all He had made was good. Now, many generations after sin entered the world, God sees that all man has made is wickedness and evil. Human beings have used their power for violence and destruction. God declares His plan to wipe out all land-dwelling life on the face of the earth. He will however, preserve humanity and animal life for a new beginning through the one righteous man, Noah, and a huge life-giving structure called an ark.

The previous chapter traced the generations from Adam through his son Seth and all of the way to Noah. This chapter reveals that Noah will be the man through whom God will preserve humanity for a new beginning after wiping out all life on the face of the earth. God tells Noah to build an enormous structure, an ark, and prepare to welcome representatives of all of the animals on earth. Noah does exactly that, setting the stage for the cataclysmic judgment of God to come in chapter 7.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.