By Steve A. Hamilton

Genesis 6:13-17

Introduction: Imagine you are in the prime of your life.  You are 480 years old.  The Lord comes to you and tells you to build a large barge which we’ll call an ark.  This barge will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall with three decks. By the way, you don’t get to use any power tools.  The only tools you get to use are those that you can craft yourself.  You are responsible for all the work including cutting down a particular type of tree and making all the boards.  By the way, the Lord wants to put about 76,000 animals in it with enough food to last a year.  The Lord expects it to be done in 120 years. Knock yourself out. 

          So it was with the task given to Noah in order to save a world from the great flood (Heb. 11:7).

I.  Problems Noah faced to build the ark.

          A. Age: Noah was 480 years old when he started the ark.  The Lord gave mankind 120 years to live until the ark was prepared (Gen. 6:3).  Noah was 600 years old when the flood waters began (Gen. 7:6).  600 - 120 = 480 years of age.

                   1. Noah lived to be 950 years old (Gen. 9:28).  Noah was at mid life when he was commanded to build the ark.

                   2. Even if we equate that to our mid 30’s to our mid 40’s and in good health, do we think Noah wasn’t going to feel the effects of the difficult construction on his body?  Remember the curse God gave man via Adam (Gen. 3:19).  Noah had 120 years of hard labor!    

          B. Dimensions of the ark:  We don’t know what the largest structure Noah built before the ark.  However, the ark was certainly the biggest thing he would ever build. 

                   1. The specifications for the ark (Gen. 6:14-16).  A cubit is conservatively believed to be 18 inches. That would make the ark 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall.   

                   2. Compared it to the lot this church building sits upon. [Show map with ark dimensions on it.]  Our lot dimensions are 446’ x 165’.

                   3. It had three decks. [Show inside drawing] It had one door one window and pitched within and without.

                   4. Pitch is a preservative.  There are reports of the Ark still on Mt. Ararat.  However, no verified photographs are known to exist.  Sketch artist have drawn pictures of what has been describe from those who claim to have seen the ark.  [Show sketches]

                   5. “The ark… meaning “chest,” “box,” or “coffin,”… was not a ship with sloping sides, rudder and mast, but rather a barge like repository intended only to float and to withstand the impact of waves.  Shaped thus, its carrying capacity was one-third greater than a ship of similar length and width, and it would have been almost impossible to capsize.” (Wycliffe Bible Dictionary, p. 140)             

II. Was the ark sufficiently large enough?

          A. The Lord loaded 2 of every kind of birds and animals into the ark (Gen. 6:19-20). Additionally, the Lord loaded “seven each of every clean animal” (Gen. 7:2-3).  The purpose for the clean animals was to keep the species alive (not specifically for eating).  Noah also had to load food enough for one year. 

          B. Ernst Mayr, a leading taxonomist (the study of scientific classification), listed 17,600 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians on the earth.  We do not need to concern ourselves with the species below water. 

          C. We can calculate an estimate of the animals on the ark as follows:  

·        17,600 species times’ 2 each equal 35,200 animals.

·        We’ll double that number for now extinct animals.

·        We’ll add 5600 “clean” animals for good measure.

·        The total mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians equal 76,000.         

          D. That number in all likelihood exceeds the number of animals on the ark.

Dr. Morris and Dr. Whitcomb in their book, “The Genesis Flood,” estimate less than 35,000 animals were on the ark.  John Woodmorappe in his book, “Noah’s Ark a Feasibility Study,” estimates no more than 16,000 animals on the ark.

          E. Assuming Noah loaded young animals (smaller than adults); experts estimate the ark was at the worse case less than 60% of capacity. There was plenty of extra room for food storage. 

III. How long was the ark in service?

          A. After 120 years building an ark, Noah had one week to load the Ark before it rained for 40 days and nights (Gen. 7:4).

          B. From the time the rain started, the waters flooded the earth for 150 days (Gen. 7:24).  The rains started on the 2^nd month, 17^th day (Gen. 7:11).  The ark hit ground on the 7^th month, 17^th day, exactly 5 months later (Gen. 8:4).  Five months multiplied by 30 days equals 150 days.

          C.  The waters receded continually until the 10^th month, 1^st day (Gen. 8:5).  That would make an additional 74 days. 

          D. Noah remained on the ark another 40 days before sending a raven out which didn’t return and a dove which returned with nothing (Gen. 8:6-9).

          E. One week later Noah sent the dove out again and that evening it returned with an olive leaf (Gen. 8:10-11).

          F. Noah waited another 7 days and sent the dove out a third time but this time it did not return (Gen. 8:12).  To this point, Noah was on the ark 278 days!

          G. Noah waits another month and a half before removing the covering on the ark (Gen. 8:13). It is not certain exactly what the covering was on the ark.

          H. A little over a month later, Noah opens the ark after being in it for one year, 10 days (Gen. 8:14 compared to 7:11).  God then sends everyone out of the ark to replenish the earth (Gen. 8:15-17). 

Conclusion: There are two important lessons that we should learn from this story.

1.     The end of time will come just as it did in Noah’s day (Matt. 24:37-39).

2.     If you want to be prepared for the end, like Noah, you must be saved by water (1 Pet. 3:20-21).

Last modified: 05/02/08