The Waters Prevailed

Genesis 7:11-24
2009-11-01
one28 Sunday worship

Because the wickedness of men prevailed on the earth, God commanded Noah to build an ark, in which Noah would be preserved from the punishment God would pour out through a flood of waters that would prevail on the earth. God commissioned Noah to build the ark (6:9-22) and called him to board the ark (7:1-10). After seven days of packing the ark with provisions, the flood begins.

The Flood Erupts (7:11-16)

It was time for God to fulfill His word. He told Noah that He “determined to make an end of all flesh” and that He was going to destroy “them (along) with the earth” (6:13). He revealed that the destruction would come by way of flood: “I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh” (6:17). He exposed His plan even more specifically in 7:4, “For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and everything that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” The cataclysmic flood was purposed by God and controlled by God right down the very first drop.

The Timing of the Flood (11a, 12b)

Moses records the date the flood started, how long the rain lasted, and how long the waters continued to rise (v. 24b).

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

Events rarely receive such explicit dating details as does the flood. This is the second paragraph in a row that begins with Noah’s age, and we can be sure that the survivors never forgot. Rather than force us to conclude that a later editor piece-mealed two accounts together, the repetition heightens the gravity of the occasion.

We know that Noah is 600 years old, but now we learn that the flood begins in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month. More than likely, the calendar in use at the time saw the new year start in late September. The flood rains came probably in the first week of November (for us), in the year 1656.

In addition to the great deep burst(ing) forth, the never-before-seen rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. The water level didn’t even start to decrease for another 110 days after the rain stopped, since verse 24 states that the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

It wasn’t until the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month that **the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (8:4). That means no land whatsoever was visible for the greater part of five months. The rain itself only lasted 40 days, but by the time the waters abated and the earth dried out, Noah and his family had been in the ark for 370 days (see 8:13-14).

The Sources of the Flood (11b-12a)

Two sources contributed the water for the flood, subterranean and celestial.

all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth

The first source described (mentioned for the first time in the story) were all the fountains of the great deep. These were great subterranean waters (that is, water below the earth’s surface), and they burst forth, they were “broken open” (KJV), they gushed out in a sudden rush of waters that must have caused something similar to a tidal wave.

The second source is what we expected based on God’s revelation in 7:4, rain. The duration of rain is significant, but the window metaphor is also powerful, the windows of the heavens were opened. It isn’t as if a few drops were falling on their heads. This was no light sprinkle. No filter slowed down the flow. The rain fell out of heavenly holes in torrents. It was a massive downpour. It dumped in buckets as though a window hatch on hinges fell open. God let out His heavenly storehouses laden with rain.

The flood came from waters above (rain) and from waters below (the great deep). In the beginning, “the earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep. And there Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (1:2). On the second day of creation, “God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse” (1:7).

Now God was dropping that huge canopy of water vapor He previously lifted. On day two He was still forming creation, now He was un-forming, He was un-creating and wrecking, trashing, scouring His planet.

With the canopy in place, storms would have been unknown because the temperature would have been uniform, heated as a global greenhouse. With the canopy in place, certain times of harmful radiation would have been blocked, perhaps one reason that men lived so long. With the canopy fallen, temperatures would change causing weather fronts and wind and storms and limited UV protection.

Who knows what havoc the great deep bursting forth wreaked. We can imagine earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and perhaps even entire continents shifting and crashing before settling into place. Think of the noise as the earth’s crust cracked open. Imagine the sounds of the storm beating on the ark.

The next paragraph repeats the depth of the water, but suffice it to say, this was the greatest “act of God” or so-called “natural disaster” ever.

Those Delivered from the Flood (13-16)

The repetition serves at least three things: it heightens the intensity of the epic story, it reminds us how life was preserved, and it haunts us with how many rejected the only way of salvation.

On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in.

The week was no doubt full of work as God brought animals to the ark and as those animals, along with all the necessary supplies, were loaded onto the ark. According to verse 13, the Noah family entered on the seventh day, on the very same day, a phrase that signals a memorable occasion, the flood began.

Only Noah and his sons are named, their wives are only mentioned. Then the animals that boarded were listed with similar terminology that deliberately echoes the categories of created beings. There were beasts, livestock, creeping things, birds, other flying creatures (“everything with feathers and wings,” Leopold, 299), each according to its kind, all (sorts of) flesh in which there was the breath of life, male and female for the sake of the survival of the species.

The final phrase of verse 16 is similar to the final page of a chapter. And the LORD shut him in. Up to this point in chapter seven, “God” has been the actor. The name used was Elohim, the majestic, transcendent, authoritative, sovereign creator God. Now the name Yahweh is used, the covenant keeping, personal, immanent, gracious and faithful LORD. No doubt the door into the ark was substantial, big enough to allow the gigantic animals to board. But the stress seems to be the personal care of Yahweh more than Noah’s inability. Noah must have had some plan for shutting the door, but Yahweh affirms His attention and assures Noah of His protection.

The Flood Prevails (7:17-24)

The emphasis of this paragraph is not on those delivered, but those destroyed. The focus moves from inside the ark to outside, some were shut in and others shut out. It highlights not the dating and the sources of the flood, but the duration and depth of it.

The Depth of the Flood (17-20)

Four times in this paragraph, and three times in verses 17-20, the word prevailed occurs. “Prevailed” is a word that means to be strong, to be mighty, in such a way as to prevail or triumph over one’s enemies. In Genesis 7, the water wins.

The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep.

The waters increased, prevailed, increased greatly, prevailed mightily covering the mountains, and prevailed above the mountains 15 cubits (22.5 feet).

Speculating on the amount and depth of water is inexact at best. But taking what we know, that the ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat, that Mt. Ararat is almost 16,900 feet above sea level, and that the flood waters were above all the mountains by at least 22 feet (which, means that if half of the ark were under water it could float over the peaks smoothly, while also remembering that there are higher peaks than Mt. Ararat), that means that the water was over three miles high (from sea level). That also means that, taking the same height, and assuming that the waters continued to rise for 150 days, the level of water increased by 112 feet every day. If it only rose for the first 40 days, the level rose 420 feet a day. That’s a lot of water.

Filling up a pool, makes a lot of ruckus and sprays all over until there’s enough water for the end of the hose to be submerged.

Those Destroyed by the Flood (21-23)

God purposed the flood “to make an end of all flesh” (6:13), and now that purpose was fulfilled. The proportion of space devoted to describing the destruction, and the repetition make judgement the focal point of the paragraph.

And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.

The repetition leaves no doubt. Every category of animals created, of which two each were spared on the ark, are now destroyed. There were only two qualifiers. The sea creates did not perish, and neither did Noah and those who were with him in the ark (v. 23). Though 7:11-16, as well as the preceding sections in the story, reveals that Noah was promised deliverance, the reminder at the end of verse 23 keeps us from taking the damage for granted. It’s amazing that Noah survived.

Otherwise, All flesh…on the earth, everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life, every living thing on the face of the ground, were blotted out.

It’s difficult to imagine the anguish and struggle and terror of this scene. Men and animals would have ran for high ground, but with the water level rising 112-400 feet each day, they could run far enough fast enough. All their possessions and homes were left behind and swept away. Perhaps some close to the ark would have beat on the sides, crying out for Noah to open the door. The weaker ones, the sick and elderly, wouldn’t have made it long. Perhaps some floated for while, though the initial downpour and bursting forth would have overwhelmed many, such as a tidal wave (as the fossil record demonstrates). Men in particular, those who didn’t die immediately, would have suffered most by drowning on fire in a guilty conscience. As they struggled for breath, they may have realized they didn’t praise God with their breaths, even though many had heard Noah’s message of righteousness and repentance.

Even for Noah and his family, though they were spared, virtually nothing would have been the same. There probably weren’t many jokes around the table.

The Summary of Prevailing (v. 24)

And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

Next time we’ll observe how the Genesis story requires a universal, not local flood.