Genesis 7

Genesis 7: The flood

Synopsis

This chapter continues the flood story. In Chapter 6, we read of God’s reasons for the flood, and in this chapter we read about the flood itself.

In case you’re not familiar with the story, here are the salient points:

• Two of every kind of animal came to Noah, and entered the ark
• When the time came, God commanded Noah to get into the ark, and he and his family did so
• It rained for 40 days and 40 nights
• Verses 19–20 say that the waters rose high enough to cover the mountains, to a depth of 20 feet.
• The waters stayed on the earth for 150 days.

And that’s about it. In the next chapter, the waters will recede.

Thoughts

One thing to note is that Noah didn’t have to go out looking for all of the animals, to put into the ark; they came to him. This is mentioned in verses 8–9 and again in verse 15. I mention this because we have to remember that the LORD is involved in every aspect of this; He didn’t just command Noah what to do, He took an active part in it.

Also, it says in verse 6 that Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters came on the earth. But in Chapter 6, it had mentioned that the LORD said man’s days “will be a hundred and twenty years” (verse 3). I think that Noah was already born, at the time, so I think that the intention was for people born after Noah to live no longer than 120 years.