A real life, replica of Noah's Ark! Located at "1 Ark Encounter Drive, Williamstown, KY 4109"
"Noah and his family along with all
the animals enter the ark as the Lord commands. God makes it flood on
earth for 40 days and 40 nights. The flood began when Noah was 600 years
old. All the animals and humans on the earth perished. The life on
the ark was all that remained."
Reading from the Amplified Bible (AMP) version..
- “Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you with all your household, for you [alone] I have seen as righteous (doing what is right) before Me in this generation." v.1
- "For in seven days I am going to cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy (blot out, wipe away) every living thing that I have made from the surface of the earth.” 5 So Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” v.4-5
- “Noah was six hundred years old when the flood (deluge) of water came on the earth [covering all of the land].” v.6
- “Of clean animals and animals that are not clean and birds and fowls and everything that crawls on the ground, 9 they came [motivated by God] into the ark with Noah two by two, the male and the female, just as God had commanded Noah.” v.8
- “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, on that same day all the fountains of the great deep [subterranean waters] burst open, and the windows and floodgates of the heavens were opened. It rained on the earth for forty days and forty nights.” v.11-12
- “Those which entered, male and female of all flesh (creatures), entered as God had commanded Noah; and the Lord closed the door behind him.” v.16
- “The waters prevailed so greatly and were so mighty and overwhelming on the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered.” v.19
- “God destroyed (blotted out, wiped away) every living thing that was on the surface of the earth; man and animals and the crawling things and the birds of the heavens were destroyed from the land. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. The waters covered [all of] the earth for a hundred and fifty days (five months).” v.23-24
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My personal observations and reflections...
- COME INTO THE ARK. Considering how BIG the ark is, I wonder how many years (exactly) it took Noah and his family to build it. Almost a hundred years, because Noah was 600 years old when the flood (deluge) of water came on the earth. All the sweat, focus and determination to finish the goal, God’s sustenance to Noah and his household, it’s amazing!
- YOU AND YOUR HOUSEHOLD. What a blessing it is to have a godly FATHER (or mother) in a family. Noah was chosen and seen by God as righteous, so he was saved along with his family, for a great purpose. Somehow, it reminds me of one of the beautiful promise of God found in Acts 16:31, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."
- SEVEN PAIRS. IN SEVEN DAYS. There it is again, the number 7 that was being used by God to denote completion. For one, the ark is completed and ready to be boarded. “Seven is the number of completeness and perfection (both physical and spiritual). It derives much of its meaning from being tied directly to God's creation of all things.” (https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/7.html)
- FLOOD. I wonder how Noah felt with everything that is about to happen—it must have been a mixed emotion of relief, anticipation, excitement, maybe even compassion for others—all we know is that he is firmly obedient to God (as repeated in v.5 “So Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.”) He may not have 'understood' everything, but He trusted God enough, to follow Him in every way.
- ANIMALS ENTERING THE ARK. How do you convince a pair of “every animal according to its kind, all the livestock according to their kinds, every moving thing that crawls on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every winged thing of every sort.” (v.14)? It seems impossible, but with God everything is possible, He is the CREATOR of all things! If it is God’s plan, it will happen accordingly. He is a God of order!
- RAIN FOR FORTY DAYS, AND FORTY NIGHTS. What! Is this a foreshadowing of future events, during Moses’ time when “The Hebrews spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness before they finally did take the Promised Land.” (due to disobedience), and when “Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness being tempted by the devil”?
- THE LORD CLOSED/SHUT THE DOOR. How can you not believe in a God who shows great care? I think it was meant as it is. It must have been hard (humanly impossible) to close the ark’s entrance (considering all the beasts/big animals that entered), and God did it for them. Sealed it completely!
- LIVING WATERS. Through a great downpour of rain and flood waters, God cleansed the world. But one day, God won’t have to do it again; instead He will send a greater One who will 'blot out' and 'wipe clean' all our sins. He will be like a Living Water within us.🌊
- FRAGILITY OF LIFE. Genesis 6 reminds me of this particular (parallel) verses,
“All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man
as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls
away,
But the word of the Lord
endures forever.” 1 Peter 1:24:25
“The grass withers, the
flower fades
when the breath of the
Lord blows on it;
surely the people are
grass.
The grass withers, the
flower fades,
but the word of our God
will stand forever." Isaiah 40:7-8
What
is life apart from God? No matter how
those seemingly mighty, glorious, (boastful) multitudes of men tried to corrupt
and destroy God’s plans and creation, they are no match to God. They are still
under God’s authority. God is merciful, and patient, and loving, but He is also
a just, holy and righteous..
This
leads me to ask a big question upon myself-- am I willing to obey and submit my
life to God, in holy fear and all humility.. His great plans will still happen
with or without me.. Do I want to be part of it or not.. Are the desires of
this world worth it? Comparing to God, whoa.. Everything in this world will die
and fade away eventually, naked we came from our mother’s womb, and naked we
will leave.. No one can bring any riches or whatever treasures.. But God, He is
eternal, and His word shall stand forever. And that is where I pray my life
will be, in God’s book. I know that God is the Author of my life, and Jesus is
the Author and Perfecter of our faith.🙌❤️
Read the Bible here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+7&version=AMP
Read the Bible here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+7&version=AMP
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