“Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside. This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. You are to make a roof, finishing the sides of the ark to within eighteen inches of the roof. You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper decks” (Genesis 6:14–16). Approximately one-hundred-thousand feet of floor space…
A floating zoo… It might have taken a hundred years to construct (Genesis 5:32; 7:6). That’s a big boat!
Like Noah himself, the Ark is a clear and convincing reflection of Jesus and His Good News. Let’s see seven points of comparison.
One. The Ark was God’s only provision for salvation.
Two. The Ark was big. There was room for all to enter.
Three. The Ark was a symbol of atonement. God instructed Noah to cover the Ark with pitch (Genesis 6:14) just as God had covered the nakedness of Adam and Eve with the skins of sacrificed animals. To cover is to atone. At Calvary, Jesus, the Lamb of God, covered us with His blood.
Four. The Ark was constructed, according to God’s blueprints, with only one door. There was only one way in! Likewise, Jesus is the only way to salvation (John 14:6).
Five. Everyone was invited to enter the refuge from Divine judgment.
Six. The Ark offered absolute safety from the storm. Noah “entered just as God had commanded him. Then the Lord shut him in” (Genesis 7:16). When God slams the door, we’re secure!
Seven. The Ark is symbolic of the resurrection. After the storm, God called to Noah saying, “Come out of the Ark” (Genesis 8:16). That reminds me of Jesus’ call to his deceased and decayed friend: “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43, NKJV).
Read the Book of Beginnings. If you’ll look closely, you’ll find Jesus and His Good News!
“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).
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