Noah and the Ark is one of the most famous children’s Bible stories. It is fun to think of the animals and the big boat, but there is much more to the story that God desires to share with us. I see three main themes found in Genesis chapters six through nine: Elimination of evil, Enduring a trial and God fulfilling His promises.
If you haven’t read the Numbers in the Bible introduction, start here for some definitions.
Elimination of Evil – 6
The people on the earth were wicked and evil and God decided to blot them out (6:5-7).
Noah was 600 years old when the flood came (7:6,11).
The waters covered the mountains by 15 cubits deep (7:20) and were on the earth 150 days (7:24 and 8:3). From 7:21-23, the word “died” and the phrase “blotted out” are each used twice.
When looking for significance to the numbers, search for patterns and definitions. The number 15 and 150 surround the definition details of God killing all the people not on the ark. From here we can see that 15 is likely the sum of 1 and 5 equaling 6.
The earth was cleansed of its wickedness by the flood. We see this again in 2 Peter 3:6 ”and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.”
We see this same reference in multiple other places as well.
Pharaoh sent 600 chosen chariots (Ex 14:7) that were destroyed by water with the Red Sea covering them.
When Jesus turned water into wine in John chapter two, he used 6 water pots that were used for purification. From this combination of verses we start to see that the number 6 does not just reference evil. It is God cleansing the evil and purifying the situation.
Enduring a Trial – 4
Noah had to build an Ark for a flood that would destroy his family and friends. He got to work (Noah was 500 years old when his sons were born).
Then when the rain came, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights (7:12,17).
At the beginning of chapter eight, we see a theme with the number 4. “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts..(8:1)” The number 4 in the Bible references the great difficulties in the Bible. The Israelites were in captivity for 400 years and wandered for 40 years. Jesus was fasting and tempted by the devil for 40 days and many others. As we look closer in each of these, God was with the people. God used the 400 years to turn the Israelites from a family into a nation (Gen 46:3-4). He was with the Israelites in the wilderness in a cloud by day and fire by night, and He was with Jesus during the temptation.
God Saving Noah and Fulfilling His Promises – 3, 7, 8, 12
Despite the evil and the difficult circumstances around him, God delivered Noah through the flood and created a new earth and new population.
God told Noah that man’s days shall be 120 years (fulfillment).
The Ark that saved Noah was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 30 cubits tall, and 3 stories tall.
The number 3 is used often representing accomplishment/saving from evil. Jesus was a great example of this with the many 3 references in his life.
There were 8 people on the Ark that repopulated the earth. Noah, his 3 sons and their wives. (Vs 6 and vs 13) In 1 Peter 3:20, it repeats the number 8 as the people on the Ark. The number 8 is known as newness in the Bible. Other examples are that Jesus rose on the first day of the new week (8th day) and boys were to be circumcised on the 8th day. Noah also lived 350 (3+5=8) years after the flood on the new earth.
Conclusion
The day that God delivered Noah was important as well.
“…At the end of 150 (6) days the waters had abated, and in the seventh (7) month, on the seventeenth (8) day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.” Genesis 8:3b-4
After the evil was removed (6) God gave Noah rest (7) and used him to re-populate the new earth (8).
Even without the understanding of the significance of the numbers, the account of the flood teaches us Gods hatred of sin and that He has a redeeming plan.
Adding the significance of the numbers gives “Biblical Links” that turn individual stories into a single intentional plan throughout the Bible.
