Pam Padgett - teacher
The instructions God gave to Noah for the ark took care of
everything needed to keep Noah, his family, and the animals with him
alive and allow them to increase after the flood.
Genesis 6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of
the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits,
and the height of it thirty cubits. 16 A window shalt thou make to the
ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark
shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third
stories shalt thou make it. 17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood
of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of
life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall
die.
18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come
into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with
thee. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort
shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every
creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come
unto thee, to keep them alive.
21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt
gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. 22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
All living things on the earth would
be destroyed by the flood, but God made a way for Noah and those with
him as Noah obeyed what God told him to do.
A few of the instructions which stood out to me are ...
-- Noah was to use pitch inside and outside the ark. Pitch is a
waterproofing material. It would keep the water from coming into the
ark. Although the entire earth was covered in water, the ark would
float on the water and the pitch would keep the water from coming into the ark and destroying
those in it.
-- Food was to be gathered and taken into the ark for the people and animals so they would have food to eat. They would not go hungry, for God knew they needed food and instructed Noah ahead of time to gather this food.
-- Both males and females of each kind were taken into the
ark. Living things on the earth and outside the ark were destroyed. But God
provided a way for life to continue on the earth when the waters receded
from the earth as those saved from the flood could multiply.
Considering these things, I was reminded that God knows everything we
need and provides for what we need as we seek to do God's will, obeying what He speaks to us by the Holy Spirit:
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your
life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body,
what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than
raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do
they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can
add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither
do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe
the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the
oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall
we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these
things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.