OliveGrove
Pressing the Word of God for Deeper Understanding.
Genesis 6:14-22

The Ark of Preservation: Obedience in the Face of Judgment

God provides a means of salvation in judgment, and faithful obedience responds to His word.

Open in Study
Scripture Text

6:14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out.

6:15 And this is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high.

6:16 You are to make a roof for the ark, finish its walls a cubit from the top, place a door in the side of the ark, and build lower, middle, and upper decks.

6:17 And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish.

6:18 But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

6:19 And you are to bring two of every living creature into the ark—male and female—to keep them alive with you.

6:20 Two of every kind of bird and animal and crawling creature will come to you to be kept alive.

6:21 You are also to take for yourself every kind of food that is eaten and gather it as food for yourselves and for the animals.”

6:22 So Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him.

Anchor

God provides a means of salvation in judgment, and faithful obedience responds to His word.

Genesis 6:14-22 details God’s command to Noah to construct the ark for the preservation of life, establishes His covenantal intention, and demonstrates Noah’s obedience in carrying out all that God commanded.

Point of Contact

That people would trust God’s provision for salvation and respond with wholehearted obedience to His commands.

Rhythm

  1. 6:1-4 Human multiplication is accompanied by a troubling corruption associated with the sons of God, the daughters of men, and the Nephilim, setting a tone of increasing disorder.
  2. 6:5-7 The Lord sees that human wickedness is great, that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart is only evil continually, and He announces judgment on mankind and the created order.
  3. 6:8 In sharp contrast to universal corruption, Noah finds favor in the eyes of the Lord.
  4. 6:9-12 Noah is described as righteous, blameless in his generation, and one who walked with God, while the earth is shown to be corrupt and filled with violence.
  5. 6:13-17 God reveals His decision to bring a flood of judgment upon all flesh and instructs Noah to build an ark.
  6. 6:18-21 God declares His covenant with Noah and gives instructions for preservation of Noah’s household and the animal kinds.
  7. 6:22 Noah responds in comprehensive obedience, doing all that God commanded him.

Watch Out

  • Do not treat the ark as merely a historical structure without theological meaning.
  • Do not minimize the importance of Noah’s obedience.
  • Do not ignore the covenantal aspect of God’s promise.
  • Do not separate God’s judgment from His provision of salvation.
  • Do not assume salvation can be achieved apart from God’s appointed means.
  • Do not overlook the precision of God’s instructions.
  • Do not detach this passage from the broader flood narrative.
  • Do not interpret Noah’s obedience as partial or optional.

Canonical Thread

Gospel Clarity

God provides a specific and sufficient means of salvation from judgment, and those who trust and obey His word are preserved.