Genesis Chapter 7
Just as God said He would do, He opened the fountains of the great deep and the windows of the heavens were opened, and rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. God had said that He would destroy every living creature upon the earth and that is exactly what He did.
One doesn’t have to look too far to see what damage a flood can cause from rain lasting six or seven days. Rains for forty days would certainly cause great devastation, and the envelope of water in the atmosphere that surrounded the earth burst open. As we know, when it rains hard, the water in rivers and lakes does not stay within their banks. Neither would the oceans have stayed where they were. This was total devastation. The water rose above all the mountains, and all living things were destroyed. God judged the earth as He said He would do.
Let's Reflect
1. We don’t know when Noah finished building the ark before the rain started. What we do know is that God told Noah that it was time to get in. What had God seen in the life of Noah that He spared him and his family?
2. Did Noah have to go and gather the animals? See Genesis 6:20.
3. When we see depictions of the animals lined up to get into the ark, we see two of each. Which would be correct in that God said to bring one male and one female, a pair. We learn in chapter 7 that Noah was to bring how many pairs of each kind?
4. Noah and his wife were not the only humans allowed to enter the ark, who else was Noah permitted to bring with him?
5. What animal in verse 8 did Noah bring on the ark that would indicate how great the devastation on the earth was?
6. How old was Noah when the rain began to fall?
7. After entering the ark that would safely keep Noah and his family and the animals; what did God do? See verse 16.
8. The great big, huge ark that Noah built, safely began to float as the waters on the earth rose higher and higher. What does the Bible tell us about the height of the waters of the flood on the earth?
9. How long was the earth swallowed up by water?
