Almost everyone is familiar the Bible story known as “Noah’s Ark.” A faithful man of God was commanded by God to build an ark because God was going to destroy the world with a flood. The ark was built of gopher wood. Noah’s family and many pairs of animals, both clean and unclean, were in the ark during the flood. Because of Noah’s obedience, humanity was spared and could begin anew.
When we study the flood, most of the time we pay close attention to those who were in the ark. But, we do not always consider the fact that there were a lot of things to be found on the outside of the ark. In this article, we want to look at some of those things. First, the lost were on the outside of the ark. This group was definitely in the majority. They are described in several verses in the account of the flood. Genesis 6:5 tells us: “And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:11 continues the description: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” These individuals were warned repeatedly by Noah about the coming flood (I Pet. 2:5), but they refused his message. When the door of the ark was closed, they were on the outside. One word that could be used to describe them is “lost.”
Another element that was on the outside of the ark was the wrath of God. God was very unhappy with mankind. Genesis 6:6 tells us: “And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” God was deeply upset and angered. “And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowls of the air: for it repenteth me that I have made them” (Gen. 6:7). His wrath was poured out upon the earth in the form of a flood. “In the sixth hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty day and forty nights” (Gen. 7:11-12). God’s wrath is serious, severe, and strong. The writer of Hebrews tells us: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).
A third element that was found outside the ark was comprehension. Those who rejected the preaching of Noah, did not fully comprehend the message Noah had proclaimed to them. He told them a flood was coming. He told them that safety could only be found in the ark. None but his family gave heed to the message. When the rain started and the fountains of the deep were broken up, the masses, then, comprehended his words. Sadly, it was too late at that point in time. As the waters rose, mankind was awakened to the God of heaven, to the severity of sin, and to the ramifications of their stubborn hearts. Again, at that point in time, it was too late.
Regret was another element that was found on the outside of the ark. Regret is defined as “sorrow, remorse, and disappointment.” Can you imagine the regret that was felt as the rain persisted day after day? Can you imagine the regret that was felt as Noah’s ark was lifted from earth? Can you imagine the regret as the land disappeared beneath the waters? Can you imagine the regret as families suffered fear, desperation, and death? Can you imagine the regret of the people who could have been in the ark with Noah and his family?
Closely associated with the regret on the outside of the ark was also the sense of hopelessness experienced by the people. Homes were destroyed. Animals perished in the flood waters. Family members were swept away from their loved ones. Some may have pounded upon the sides of the ark, but the ark was sealed shut. There were no more warnings. There was no more access to safety. There were no more opportunities to choose. Dear readers, when the door was shut and the rains began, all hope was gone. Men, women, and children fled and wept in bitter hopelessness.
A final element found on the outside of the ark was death. “And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven: and they were destroyed from the earth…” (Gen. 7:21-23). Not one thing in whose nostrils was the breath of life lived outside the ark. After the rain ceased, there must have been an eerie silence that filled the earth. No birds were chirping. No dogs were barking. There were no sounds can came from the cows, the horses, the pigs, the sheep, the goats, the ducks, or the chickens. Not one human voice could be heard uttering one syllable. Death had taken them all.
That which we see on the outside of the ark is horrific. Mankind was suffering the fate of his own making and his own choosing. Jesus took this event in Matthew 24:36-39 and compared it to another day that is yet to come. Listen to His words: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Regrettably, man today is similar to mankind in Noah’s day. Man is living in sin. He will not heed the warnings of God’s preachers. He refuses to enter into the church, that is, the ark of God’s safety today. He just continues about his life as if God either does not exist, or, is not serious. When the heaven opens, and the trumpet sounds, and the archangel shouts, and the Lord appears, things on the outside of the church will be similar to the things on the outside of the ark. But then, it will be too late, just as it was in the days of Noah.