Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis. This is study #2 of Genesis, chapter 7 and we are looking at Genesis 7:1-3:
And JEHOVAH said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
I will stop reading there. In our last study we were looking at the statement in verse 1 where God said to Noah, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” We saw how it was Noah and his wife, his three sons and their wives (eight souls) that were delivered aboard the ark from the flood and God saved them from physical destruction. We do not know, but it seems very possible that God did save all eight souls, spiritually. It is without question the picture that is being painted by God, as these eight souls represent the elect. We also saw that all the animals were a remnant of the whole of the animal kingdom and they were, likewise, delivered.
When God said, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark,” it reminded us of the spiritual house that God built, “whose house are we.” Christ is the Son over His own house and, in this case, Noah is a type and figure of Christ and His house. So Noah’s house was saved, just as Christ’s spiritual house is the body of true believers that have been saved by God.
Then it said, “for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” This reminds us of what we read in the previous chapter in Genesis 6:8-9:
But Noah found grace in the eyes of JEHOVAH. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
We looked at that when we went through chapter six and we saw that this a true of everyone that God saves. He saves us by grace and we become just and righteous in His sight and we “walk with God” as we keep His commandments. Walking with God is walking in the Word of God.
The statement the Lord makes in Genesis 7, verse 1 is interesting because He says, “for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation,” but He did not say, “for them.” The rest of the household is not included in this statement and the Lord is focusing on the prophet Noah and not His family and the reason why Noah is emphasized can be found in Romans 5:19:
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
This verse speaks first of Adam (one man’s disobedience) and of Christ (one man’s obedience). So God refers to Noah’s righteousness only and, yet, that righteousness is, in a manner of speaking, imputed to his house. It is likely that others in his household were saved and, therefore, were also righteous in God’s sight, but as far as it relates to the spiritual picture Noah was a type of the Saviour. Jesus Christ as the Saviour delivered His people through His righteousness alone and His righteousness was counted to them.
Let us go on to Genesis 2:2-3:
Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
We have already seen that the animals are also a picture of those God saves, but now God is breaking the animals into two groups:
The clean animals were to be taken by “seven” and the unclean animals were to be taken by “two.”
I do need to point out one thing that regards the mechanics of the historic situation and that is that God told Noah, “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female,” and right away we have a problem. The command was to take them by “sevens,” but you cannot have complete pairs if you take them by “sevens.” You would have only three pairs and one extra male or female, so we have to understand that the clean beasts that are taken by “sevens” refers to seven pairs (male and female), which would total fourteen clean animals.
Later on in Genesis some of these animals were offered for a sacrifice, so God had His reasons why there were to be so many clean animals. Although the language does not really get into this area, it is possible that some of the animals were to be eaten, but that kind of language is not found in chapter six. When we looked at the two words translated as “food,” it pointed us to herbs and fruits and trees, and so forth, but none of it identified with food being animals.
One reason that God did not give us a look into that area is because the animals represent something, so since the Bible does not get into that area we are not going to get into it either. We are not going to say they were eating the animals aboard the ark because that would be speculation.
But there were seven pairs of clean animals and not seven individual animals and we can know this if we turn to Genesis 7:15:
And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
This is why some people think that there were just two of each kind of animal. They are not familiar with the clean beasts taken by “sevens.” The “two and two” would be one pair of clean animals and this would be repeated for a total of fourteen animals of each kind. It also says in Genesis 7:16:
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and JEHOVAH shut him in.
So in both cases, we find no exception. There is no language in the Bible that allows for an “oddball” animal that was the “seventh” and did not have a mate. It says they went in “two by two” and every animal had a mate. So that is something that we needed to clarify.
Now we need to try to understand why there was the division of animals between “clean” and “unclean.” It is the case that when God said, “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens,” the clean beasts point to those (people) that have been cleansed of sin. For instance, it says in Leviticus 12:8:
And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.
I think this refers to purifying after childbirth. It also says in Leviticus 13:17:
And the priest shall see him: and, behold, if the plague be turned into white; then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean.
This is referring to a leper and in the Bible leprosy is used to typify sin. When Jesus would cleanse a leper it was a picture of salvation. When Naaman the Syrian dipped himself in the Jordan seven times and was cleansed from his leprosy it was also a picture of salvation. Again, and again, this word “clean” identifies with salvation.
We will look at one more verse in Psalm 51:10:
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Since the fall of man, man’s heart is desperately wicked, deceitful above all things and very filthy. It is in need of cleansing and that is what salvation accomplished. God would take out the dirty, rotten heart of stone and He replaces it with a new heart and a new spirit. He creates a “clean” heart. That is why 1John tells us that the one that is born again does not sin because there is no sin in that heart. That is what it means to be clean because there is no sin counted against the elect. The clean beasts on the ark pictured God’s elect.
It also says in Genesis 7:2:
… and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
If the clean beasts represent the elect, what does the unclean beast represent? It actually does not say “unclean,” but it says “not clean” and they also came in by two. When we look into the Bible we find that God speaks of delivering the creation or of saving the creation. That is the language of the Bible in Romans 8:18:
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
The word “creature” can be translated as “creation.” Let me just stop for a second to point out that the word “creation” is being used interchangeably with “creature” and a beast is a creature. Actually, the animals are the highest order of creation after mankind. We have mankind that has dominion over all and then we have the animals that have the breath of life and some intelligence, more so than a rock or a plant, and so forth. So the animals are an excellent option to typify the entire creation.
It says in Romans 8:20:
For the creature (creation) was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature (creation) itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
If this latter verse was not speaking of the creature or creation, we would definitely see it as a picture of salvation. It says it is “delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God,” We can find this language elsewhere in regard to God’s magnificent salvation program and, yet, here it is speaking of the creature or creation itself that is being delivered from the bondage of corruption. So when we see the account of the building of the ark and the animals entering into the ark, we can look at that as God’s salvation program and the clean animals do typify people that God saves. They are a figure of the elect that have had their sins washed and cleansed. On the other hand, the unclean animals are still experiencing the bondage of corruption and looking to be delivered from it, as they are not clean. Historically, as God had Noah load these animals onto the ark, it was to make sure they did not perish and go extinct. And, yet, by having unclean animals on board, they are animals that are “longing” to be delivered, as we see when we continue to read Romans 8:22:
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
It is the “creation” that groans, not you and me, although we have our own “groaning” and God’s people have their righteous souls vexed from day to day, but God is speaking here of the creation or the creatures. It is as though they are greatly desiring to be delivered from the bondage of corruption or the taint of sin and the curse that was placed upon the whole world. They are desiring to be delivered from death because sin the fall all animals die, as well as people. So, God is, as it were, putting words into the creation’s mouth and not only words but feelings: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”
Then it goes on to say in Romans 8:23:
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Here, we have the creation groaning and travailing in pain waiting for the new creation to come to pass, because once God destroys this world and creates a glorious and perfect new heavens and new earth, He will create new creatures to inhabit the new creation and it will be as if the animals or creatures and this creation were delivered. It is, as it were, the deliverance of this creation. God’s people also “groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” So, too, the animals are in that same situation, as God is putting the two together in Romans, chapter 8, and it is as though you have, on one hand, the whole company of elect that are waiting for the fulfillment of all these things and, on the other hand, the creation and the animals that are looking to that great day.
Both come together on board the ark, the clean beasts by sevens and the animals that were not clean by twos and then the door shut. All the animals came into the ark, two by two, males and his female. Finally, when all the people and all the animals were boarded, then God shut him in. God shut the door of the ark and the voyage began and that voyage was to go through the flood as the forty days of rain and the waters came from above and beneath. The waters overcame the earth for five months, fifteen cubits above the highest mountain. The unclean animals remained unclean throughout that five months and as the waters began to recede, the tops of the mountain were seen and the ark landed on Mount Ararat.
The unclean animals remained unclean all the way through because Judgment Day, which began the seventeenth day of the second month of Noah’s 600th year, which pointed to May 21, 2011, exactly 7,000 years later. It was not the end of the world and it was not the time of the deliverance of the creation. For example, with the world of our day it is over five years since Judgment Day began and the creation is still “groaning” and still “travailing in pain” and waiting for the redemption to be created anew. So the figure of the flood and the maintaining of the unclean animals is actually very accurate because it points to a creation that will remain “unclean” throughout the prolonged Day of Judgment. There will be no cleansing of them and no deliverance, in that sense, and then God finally comes at the end of the prolonged spiritual judgment to destroy the world, physically and literally.