The and Noah’s Ark

It’s Spiritual Significance Noah’s Ark: Myth, Or Reality? Part One: Introduction

Bill Crouse 9/2/18 Noah’s Ark: Myth, Or Reality?

Part Two: The Case For the Final Berth

Bill Crouse 9/9/18 Noah’s Ark: Myth, Or Reality?

Part Three: The Spiritual Cause of the Flood

Bill Crouse 9/30/18 The Spiritual Lessons from Noah’s Ark

I. Introduction A. The first lesson from the as children is about the Noah’s Ark and the animals. B. Very often as adults its spiritual significance escapes us. C. To Understand its spiritual significance we must understand biblical types (typology) II. Typology A. Definition : A type is a divinely-ordained illustration based on a real OT character, thing, event, or institution which has purpose in Biblical history, but which also foreshadows something future in the NT. Types are generally Christocentric, in that they teach us about and His redemptive work. B. said all Scripture (OT at the time) speaks of Him: Lk. 24:25-44. See also Jn. 5:39-44 and many in Hebrews. Another definition:

Typological interpretation is specifically the interpretation of the based on the fundamental theological unity of the two Testaments whereby something in the Old shadows, prefigures, adumbrates something in the New. Hence what is interpreted in the Old is not foreign or peculiar or hidden, but rises naturally out of the text due to the relationship of the two Testaments. Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation, p.204. C. The original in the OT is known as the type while the fulfillment in the NT is known as the antitype. D. Examples of OT types: persons, things, events, and institutions. 1. Persons: , , and Isaac, , , and . (Elijah?) 2. Things: The Ark, the and the Temple. 3. Events: The flood, The Brazen serpent, , Red Sea, Wilderness Wanderings. 4. Institutions: Promised Land, Feasts, Sacrificial system. E. Two Extremes:

1. The safe way: only if indicated in the NT (Marsh). 2. “Every blade of Grass view.” Extravagant speculation, minutiae. (some early church fathers, , Augustine). 3. The Middle of the Road view: Example: Joseph; he’s never referred to as a type of Christ, but note: Examples of Middle of the Road view: a. His birth was supernatural. b. He was loved by his father. c. He was hated and rejected by his brethren. d. He was turned over to gentiles for 20 pieces of silver. e. He received prominence among the Gentiles. f. He was righteous; no sin ever mentioned. g. He delivers his people from calamity. F. Types show the unity and inspiration of Scripture. G. The biblical words: 1. tupos: an impression resulting from a blow. 2. hypodeigma: a representation or copy. 3. skia: a sketch, or outline 4. eikon: image 5. antitypon: formed after a pattern, a counterpart. H. Types are a species of prophecy. III. Noah’s Ark as a type Describes ’s Way of Salvation.

A. The Ark was God’s idea; He designed it. God took the initiative in saving a remnant. Rom. 3:10ff. …there is no one who seeks God. Jn. 6:44: …no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him… Ø Gen. 6:8 Noah, however, found favor in the sight of the Lord. Grace=unmerited favor. Eph. 2:8,9. Ø Saving sinners is a sovereign action of God. Ø It is the major uniqueness of the Christian religion. Ø Man could not save himself by treading water or going to the highest mountain! Ø In that judgement, i.e., the world-wide flood, salvation could only be through God’s provision of the Ark. Ø Something to contemplate. God gave the design and size of the Ark before Noah’s 120 year evangelistic campaign! B. The Ark was God’s perfect provision.

Ø Noah had no idea about ship-building; it was not a backyard project! I doubt if he fully comprehended the nature of the divine judgement. Ø From the text we gather that it had never rained before. Ø Only God could design the Ark because only He knew to the full extent the kind of deliverance required. It was perfectly designed to affect man’s rescue. The Ark’s ratio: (length: 300 Cubits, Width: 50 Cubits, Height: 30 Cubits) yields a ratio of: 30-5-3, the design for maximum stability. Ø The Ark was perfectly designed to affect man’s rescue. Christ, the God-man was the perfect sin-bearer. An angel could not have been our high priest. The battle was lost on the human level.

Ø The Ark was by Divine Design but was built by human instrumentation which illustrates the dual nature of Christ as the God-man. C. The Ark had only one door

Ø This immediately calls to mind Jn.10:9;14:6. Ø Jesus said the path to heaven is narrow. Ø There are not “many paths” to the top of the mountain! D. The Ark was Mocked by the World

To the world then it seemed an unlikely way of escape. Everyone knows water does not fall from the sky. Imagine how much water it will take to float this thing.

Christ, the antitype was mocked. Paul warned that the preaching of the cross was foolishness. I Cor. 1:23. Even the brothers of Jesus thought He was crazy before the resurrection. E. The Ark was a place of security and rest.

— It is interesting that after the Ark was prepared God again takes the initiative in inviting Noah and his family aboard the Ark. He did not command him to Go. Instead God said Come into the ark. It is as though God is already in there and is inviting Noah to join him. What a picture of security! Why worry about a storm if the God of the universe is present with you in the Ark! Isn't this what Christ was trying to teach His disciples in Mark 4? — We are also told that God shut the door. Not only does this show God's sovereignty again in closing the invitation but it teaches the security of the believer.

Once Noah was in the Ark he was completely protected from the storms without. It's probably a good thing Noah didn't know how to shut the door. If he had he probably would have tried to open it when the people started banging on it as the flood waters rose. This could have only resulted in the death of Noah and his family. — And let's not overlook the significance of the pitch. There are two things that we call your attention to: First of all, the word itself in the Hebrew is the verb form of the word that is used elsewhere in the OT for atonement. It must be more than a coincidence that the word used to describe the covering of the blood of the Lamb for our sins is the same used to cover the Ark in order to protect the inhabitants of the Ark. — Secondly, the pitch also illustrates the security of the believer. The purpose of the pitch is to prevent the Ark from leaking and ultimately capsizing. Those in the Ark were perfectly safe from the waters of judgement. Our salvation in Christ is watertight! It is too long to quote but please read Romans 8:33-39, certainly one of the most comforting passages for believers in the entire Bible. See also Col. 3:3, I Pet. 1:5 and Jude 24 F. The Ark Provided a Place of Rest

While the storm raged outside, the Ark provided man a place of rest. God instructed Noah to make the Ark with rooms. The word in the Hebrew is literally nests. The Ark not only protects but it was a place of rest. Jesus said Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28). And in John's gospel He said Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms..., literally, resting places. G. The Ark Bore the Brunt of the Flood Waters

While Noah and the animals rested inside, the Ark took a terrific beating in a catastrophe like the world had never seen. While Christ hung on the cross He bore the sins of mankind. Nobody says it more graphically than the Prophet : Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isa. 53:4,5). H. The Ark Brought the Survivors into the New World

— And so believers in Christ, our Ark of Safety, will pass into eternal life at the resurrection. — The last book of the Bible, Revelation describes in detail the New Heavens and the New Earth into which believers will enter. I. Salvation Extends to the Whole Realm of Creation

— The sin before the Flood affected the whole earth and the animal world.

• God's plan of redemption includes the physical earth. Romans 8 tells us the whole creation suffered as a result of the Fall, and therefore, it too must be redeemed. The second law of thermodynamics will be reversed. Summary Points of Comparison A. The Ark was God’s idea; He designed it. B. The Ark was God’s perfect provision. C. The Ark had only one door. D. The Ark was Mocked by the World. E. The Ark was a Place of Security. F. The Ark Provided a Place of Rest. G. The Ark Bore the Brunt of the Flood Waters. H. The Ark Brought the Survivors into the New World. I. Salvation Extends to the Whole Realm of Creation. Some Observations:

1. All the types ever noted by scholars in the OT were historical. Jesus, Matthew, Peter, and the author of Hebrews believed The Flood and The Ark was a historical event. 2. The Ark certainly teaches the Sovereignty of God in Salvation. 3. The Flip side of Sovereignty: We didn’t deserve to find favor (Grace) in the eyes of the Lord! The Type The Antitype