Gen 7:6 Noah
was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.
Many things in life can bring a man down, or lift them up. We know that HaShem can give a man the straight to do His will, if that ma is willing to do so. We are not told that Noah had any help at all, then we are also not told he didn't. Many follow that Noah did all the work on his own, with no help at all. Een seen a movie once that showed it in this manner.
How ever if one thinks about it, his sons would have right by his side working, and getting things done. Well I say would have, I should say most likely would have. As we know in the days of old, family always worked together, no mater what the job. The sons would almost always take over the family trade, one that they knew well. As they would learn it from the time they could start to help. Even if it was just pulling water from a well. or opening a gate.
Gen 7:8 Of clean animals, of animals that
are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth,
Gen 7:9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.
This text shows us that Noah didn't go out on the largest round up in history. Rather the animals seem to have came to him. Giving us the info we need to say that all animals of the earth, also did what HaShem wanted them to. I could build a full sermon on this, yet in doing so I would be injecting my own teaching. I know I have at some points in this already, even though I really do try not to.
Yet even on this, we can many teachings. One that come to mind is a good example of not letting the Bible tell us what it truly says, and injecting our own thoughts in. Even at the risk of removing the divine wisdom and power of HaShem.
In that teaching, they take the stand that Noah got the giants to help, by telling them he(Noah) was taking the worst beast so they would have more room for what they wanted. This as the story goes, made everyone happy, so they all helped out. There are many things wrong with this story however. The people at that time were so consumed by their own wants, they would have cared less, and most likely made fun of Noah, as he worked to get all the animals in the ark. Also, if HaShem had not lead the animals, every time Noah opened the door to get the bunch in, the first ones would be trying to get out. Wild animals, simply don't like being locked up. Watch them at the zoo some time. I mean really watch them. You can see they looked unhappy.
One other teaching that just popped in my head. Teaches that as the animals went inside, they shrank. An elephant would be the size the of a large dog, and so on. Also, their mouths were closed, so the didn't need food. This as they teach, was all done to add Noah in the care of the animals, and to keep them from fighting. Now I know that all sound fantastic, yet it is not out the scope of HaShem's power. So what may I ask do think? Or do you hold a teaching that is not on here? If so, would you mind filling us in?
Gen 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
The one teaching I really like on this will be the first.
In this, we are told that there was only one continent. It is called Pangaea today. When the fountains of the deep broke open, this also broke up Pangaea, forcing the land mass to drift. As the water under it, was forced out, the land masses drifted fast, some think they may have been moving at speed of up to 100 miles an hour, They slowed over time to (what I think is) 2 CM a year. I won't get into the full teaching, as that would take a long time. I will point out a show on Nextfilx that if you can watch it, gives most of this teaching. It is called, "IS GENESIS HISTORY"
The next one tells us that this was not the case. The water under the earth, just bubbled up slowly. The rain came down in a gentile manner, slowly covering the earth. This also I can see. As the we are told,
Gen 7:18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters.
This passage does seem to indicate that it was slow, and not as horrific as the first teaching would lead one to think. Both work in my mind, as I have seen first hand that a little 1/4" hole in the water main behind my house, turned my yard into a swamp in just a week. It took the city 5 weeks to fix the leak, and in that time, I had to dam of teh water to keep it from softening the ground under the foundation of the house. The city has said that if I find any sinking of the foundation, they will get teh house raised and foundation fixed. Yet just to see the back 1/2 of my yard under 5" of water, in a short time, due to a small leak, opened my eyes to just how slow the flood could come, and still cover the earth in just 40 days.
I skipped some on this, I am going to back to it in my next posting. As there is still some things to look at. I skipped so that I could cover the flood, and how it may have came about, with out being forced to interrupt the flow of thought. PUN not intended.