Bird's-eye view
This passage is a pivotal moment in the history of the world, second only to the Fall itself. Here we have the formal declaration of a global de-creation, a sentence of death passed upon all flesh by the Creator Himself. The reason is stated plainly: the earth was filled with violence, a corruption so deep and pervasive that it required a cosmic reset. But in the midst of this pronouncement of utter judgment, we see the bright and inextinguishable light of God's grace. The God who sentences the world to death provides a very specific, tangible means of salvation for a remnant. The central feature of this passage is the interplay between God's righteous wrath and His covenantal faithfulness. He is not a capricious deity; His judgment is just, and His salvation is by grace, received through faith, which is then demonstrated by a staggering feat of obedience. Noah is commanded to build a massive vessel, an ark, according to divine specifications. This ark is to be a floating sanctuary, a microcosm of the created order, preserved through the waters of judgment. This entire event is a foundational type, a real-life parable that prefigures the salvation offered in Jesus Christ.
God's communication with Noah is not a vague warning but a detailed set of blueprints and a binding promise. He announces what He will do, what Noah must do, and what the outcome will be. The judgment is total, but the salvation is also complete for those who enter the ark. The passage concludes with a simple, profound statement of Noah's faith: he did everything God commanded him. This is not the foundation of his salvation, but the fruit of it. He believed God, and therefore he built the boat.
Outline
- 1. The Divine Verdict and Sentence (Gen 6:13)
- a. The Reason for Judgment: Pervasive Violence
- b. The Nature of Judgment: Destruction with the Earth
- 2. The Divine Provision for Salvation (Gen 6:14-16)
- a. The Command to Build
- b. The Materials: Gopher Wood and Pitch
- c. The Dimensions: A Vessel of Divine Design
- d. The Features: Rooms, a Window, a Door, and Decks
- 3. The Divine Declaration of Intent (Gen 6:17-21)
- a. The Agent of Destruction: The Flood of Water
- b. The Scope of Destruction: All Flesh
- c. The Covenant of Preservation: God's Promise to Noah
- d. The Occupants of the Ark: Family, Animals, and Provisions
- 4. The Human Response of Faith (Gen 6:22)
- a. Noah's Comprehensive Obedience
- b. Faith Expressed in Works
Context In Genesis
This passage is the direct result of the situation described in Genesis 6:1-12. The world's population had exploded, but this growth was not accompanied by righteousness. Instead, humanity's wickedness grew to a fever pitch, characterized by a specific and heinous sin: the intermarriage of the "sons of God" (celestial beings) with the "daughters of men," producing the Nephilim. This was a profound corruption of God's created order, a vile attempt at a kind of perverse immortality. The result was a world where every inclination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually, and the earth was filled with violence. God's heart was grieved. The 120 years mentioned earlier (Gen 6:3) was likely the probationary period, the time it would take Noah to build the ark and preach righteousness. Amidst this universal depravity, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Gen 6:8). Our passage, then, is God's formal response to this state of affairs. It is the execution plan for the judgment He has determined and the salvation He has graciously provided. This event will serve as a new creation point, with Noah and his family as the new Adamic figures for the post-flood world.
Key Issues
- The Justice of God in Universal Judgment
- The Nature of Saving Grace
- Covenant Theology: The Noahic Covenant
- The Ark as a Type of Christ
- The Relationship Between Faith and Obedience
- The Historicity and Global Nature of the Flood
- The Divine Sovereignty in Preservation
Judgment and Deliverance
It is crucial that we hold two truths in tension here. First, God's judgment is terrifyingly real and utterly just. The world was not basically good with a few bad apples. It was rotten to the core, filled with hamas, the Hebrew word for violence and corruption. God was not overreacting. To wipe the slate clean was a profound act of justice, a necessary surgery to prevent the cancer of sin from completely consuming His creation. We must not sentimentalize this. An entire world, likely numbering in the millions, was sentenced to a watery grave.
Second, and just as important, God's grace is astonishingly specific and powerful. He does not simply save Noah in some abstract way. He gives him a job to do, a vessel to build. Salvation here is not a passive affair. It involves saws and hammers, gopher wood and pitch. The ark is the instrument of deliverance, a massive, floating fortress against the wrath of God. And this deliverance is not based on Noah's intrinsic merit, but on the grace God showed him. The covenant God establishes is a unilateral promise of preservation. God is binding Himself to Noah. This pattern of judgment for the world and gracious, covenantal deliverance for God's people is the pattern of the gospel in miniature. It is the story of the Bible, and it is our story.
Verse by Verse Commentary
13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
God speaks directly to His servant. This is not a rumor or a premonition; it is a divine declaration. "The end of all flesh has come before Me." This is legal language. The case has been heard, the evidence reviewed, and the verdict is in. The time for probation is over. The reason is stated again for emphasis: the earth is filled with violence. This is not just petty crime; it is systemic, deep-seated corruption and brutality, stemming from the wicked hearts of men. And notice the scope of the judgment. God will destroy them with the earth. This is not just the removal of a wicked generation; it is a de-creation. The very stage on which their rebellion played out will be washed clean.
14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and you shall cover it inside and out with pitch.
From the sweeping declaration of universal doom, God pivots to a specific, personal command. "Make for yourself an ark." Salvation is not going to just happen to Noah; he is commanded to participate in it through an act of faith-fueled obedience. The material is specified, gopher wood, and the construction details begin. It must have "rooms" or nests, indicating a concern for order and the separation of the various creatures. And it must be sealed with pitch, inside and out. This waterproofing is essential. The very element of God's judgment, the water, is to be kept at bay by a barrier of God's own design. The church is like this ark; it is in the world, surrounded by the waters of judgment, but it is sealed by God's grace, kept safe from the wrath to come.
15 Now this is how you shall make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.
God is an engineer. He provides the exact dimensions. A cubit is roughly the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, about 18 inches. This makes the ark approximately 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. These are not the dimensions of a coracle for a local flood. These are the proportions of a massive, stable sea-going vessel. Modern naval architects have noted that this length-to-breadth ratio of 6 to 1 is ideal for stability in rough seas. God did not give Noah a design that was spiritually significant but nautically foolish. He gave him a blueprint for a vessel that would actually work. God's wisdom is intensely practical.
16 You shall make a window for the ark, and complete it to one cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
More details follow. A "window" or, more likely, a light source or ventilation system running the length of the roof, is to be included. There is to be only one door. This is theologically significant. There is one way into the place of salvation. Jesus is the door (John 10:9). To be saved from the flood, you had to go through that one door. And the structure is to be a three-story affair, maximizing the internal space for its precious cargo. This was not a slapdash project; it was a massive, complex construction project that would have required immense faith and perseverance to see through to completion.
17 As for Me, behold I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall breathe its last.
God reiterates His personal responsibility for the coming judgment. "As for Me, behold I..." This is a sovereign act of God. The flood is not a natural disaster that God is merely predicting. He is the one bringing it. The purpose is stated with chilling finality: to destroy all flesh with the breath of life. This is comprehensive. Nothing on the earth will survive. The phrase "breathe its last" is a stark reminder of the physical reality of this judgment. This is the righteous wrath of a holy God against sin.
18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
Here is the gospel. After the declaration of total destruction comes the great "But." This is the hinge of the entire passage. "But I will establish My covenant with you." A covenant is a sworn oath, a binding commitment. God is pledging Himself to Noah. This is not a deal Noah negotiates; it is a promise God makes. And on the basis of this covenant promise, Noah and his family, eight souls in all, are invited into the safety of the ark. Salvation is federal; Noah, as the head of his household, is the representative through whom his family is saved.
19-20 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
The ark is not just for humanity, but for the animal kingdom as well. God's redemptive plan includes His creation. Noah is commanded to bring in pairs of every kind of animal. But notice the beautiful detail in verse 20: "two of every kind will come to you." Noah did not have to go on a global safari. In a miraculous display of sovereignty, God brought the animals to the ark. Noah's job was to build the ark and let them in. God handles the logistics that are beyond man's capacity. He commands what we can do and provides what we cannot.
21 As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.”
Again, God's care is intensely practical. He thinks of everything. An ark full of people and animals will need to eat. Noah is commanded to provision the vessel. This was another monumental task, requiring foresight and hard labor. Grace does not mean laziness. God provides the plan for salvation, but He gives His people real, tangible work to do in response to that grace.
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.
This is one of the great summary statements of faith in all of Scripture. The command was immense, the project would have taken decades, and the ridicule from his neighbors must have been relentless. Building a massive boat in a dry land in anticipation of a flood that had never been seen was an act of what the world would call insanity. But it was an act of profound faith. Noah believed God. And because he believed God, he obeyed God. He did not just obey the parts that made sense to him. He obeyed "according to all that God had commanded him." This comprehensive obedience is the unmistakable evidence of a heart that has found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Application
We live in a world that is also filled with violence and under a sentence of judgment. It is not a judgment of water this time, but of fire (2 Peter 3:7). The temptation for us is the same as it was for Noah's neighbors: to scoff, to dismiss the warning as foolishness, and to continue on with life as though no accounting will ever be required. But God has once again provided an ark. That ark is the Lord Jesus Christ. There is one door into this ark, and all who enter through that door by faith will be saved from the wrath to come.
The story of Noah calls us to examine our own faith. Is it a faith that results in obedience? When God gives us our "ark-building" assignments, our callings in family, church, and work, do we get to it? Or do we debate the blueprints? Do we complain about the lack of rain? Noah's faith was not a warm feeling in his heart; it was a faith that swung a hammer for the better part of a century. Our faith must be the same. We are to be "doers of the word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22).
Furthermore, we see that God's salvation is comprehensive. He saved Noah's whole family. He saved the animals. He provided the food. Our God is not a God of half-measures. When He saves, He saves completely. He has provided everything we need for life and godliness in Christ. Our task is to believe His covenant promise, enter the ark through the one door He has provided, and live lives of faithful obedience until the final storm passes and we step out into a new heavens and a new earth.