Genesis 7:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.

NIV: And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.

NASB: So Noah acted in accordance with everything that the Lord had commanded him.

CSB: And Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him.

NLT: So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him.

KJV: And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.

NKJV: And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him.

Again in this verse, we are told very simply that Noah did all that the Lord commanded. Faithful Noah obeyed God. Period. That was his lifestyle. His obedience is all the more remarkable to us because of the strangeness of the commands God gave to him: building a massive ark, preparing it to carry representatives of all of the animals of the earth, and then receiving those animals, including birds and insects, as they came to the ship in the week before the rain fell. Noah's prompt obedience was key to his survival: according to verse 13, the preparations were completed just as the waters arrived. Had Noah waited, there would not have been enough time to prepare.

It's not surprising to us that the New Testament writer of Hebrews describes Noah this way: "By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith" (Hebrews 11:7). Noah acted in faith. His righteous obedience was evidence of that faith.

Genesis 7:1–10 confirms that Noah fulfilled all that he was commanded in chapter 6. In addition to the two pairs of all animals, Noah is also told to bring seven (total) pairs of ''clean'' animals, most likely for sacrificial purposes. God gives Noah a last-minute warning of the coming flood. As the preparations are completed, the great catastrophe occurs, just as God said it would. The next passage describes the colossal event.

Genesis 7 tells the story of the actual flood itself. God again commends Noah for his righteousness. The animals of every kind come to the ark. God shuts Noah and his family and the animals in, and it begins to rain. Water pours from above and bursts forth from below with incredible intensity. This outpouring of water lasts for 40 days, and covers the surface of the earth for another 110 days. The ark floats, rises, moves across the surface of the water. Outside of it, every land-dwelling, air-breathing thing dies. God wipes it all out, including every human being other than Noah and his family.

In chapter 6, God saw the wickedness and violence of humanity and resolved to wipe it all out. He revealed that plan to Noah, and He commanded Noah to build the ark. In chapter 7, the ark is finished, the animals arrive, the door is shut, and the rain begins on a specific date in the history of the world. All life aboard the ark is saved; all land-dwelling, air-breathing life outside of it is ended. The waters burst from below the earth and pour from above with great intensity for 40 days and then covered the earth for another 110. In the following chapter, the ark will come to rest, and the remade earth will begin to dry out.

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.

Accessed 5/2/2024 8:48:40 PM