Gen 7:1-9 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him. And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
In this passage, we see the first reference to “clean beasts” and “beasts that are not clean.” Later, in the law, this distinction was clearly noted and was to be upheld by the Israelites. There was good reasoning in the distinction specified to Noah and the command given to him concerning the clean and unclean that were taken on t During the years of the construction of the ark, Noah preached of the coming judgment and the need for people to prepare to meet God. There were many undoubtedly that worked for Noah in the building of the ark. There would have been suppliers from whom Noah would have purchased wood, pitch and other supplies needed in construction. He would have purchased the supplies needed for the stay in the ark. All of these individuals with whom Noah had contact with concerning the building of the ark undoubtedly heard from the removal of the floodwaters.
From Genesis 6:1 to 7:1, a span of 120 years passed. It was during this time that Noah built the ark and prepared for the flood that was to come. The Apostle Peter wrote, “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly...” (2 Peter 2:5) During the years of the construction of the ark, Noah preached of the coming judgment and the need for people to prepare to meet God. There was many undoubtedly that worked for Noah in the building of the ark. There would have been suppliers from whom Noah would have purchased wood, pitch and other supplies needed in construction. He would have purchased the supplies needed for the stay in the ark. All of these individuals with whom Noah had contact with concerning the building of the ark undoubtedly heard from the “preacher of righteousness” the purpose of this massive endeavor and of the coming judgment that necessitated it’s construction. A construction project like the ark would have drawn much attention and many bystanders coming to observe the building of such a large boat. These were undoubtedly warned of the coming deluge through Noah’s preaching. Incidentally, Jesus said it would be days similar to Noah’s days prior to His Second Coming, and just as Noah preached with the goal of seeing souls come to repentance, many faithful men of God have been preaching for years the coming of the Lord. Their goal, like Noah’s, has been to see souls come to faith in Christ prior to His coming, that they might escape the horrible days that will follow.
Pastor Steve Smith