Genesis Chapter Seven, Part 3

7:11 the same day were all the fountains of the deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
The fountains of the deep appear to have been massive underground chambers of water, extremely pressurized by the earth’s crust resting upon them. When the ground rent the pressure was loosed, and out came the water in destructive force, possibly as the earth’s crust began to settle into the previously water-filled chambers. These enormous pockets of water were the storage chambers for the “mist from the earth [that] watered the whole face of the ground (i.e. the whole world,) Genesis 2:6. The result of this eruption was the fountains of the deep, which were likely seen for many miles across the earth, and could easily explain the oceanic trenches, especially the Mid-Oceanic Ridge. For an extremely detailed argument regarding this and related topics, please see In the Beginning, by Walt Brown, Ph.D.

7:15 they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
That is, all land dwelling animals escaped the destructive forces of the Flood by being called into the ark along with Noah and his family. This reveals God’s providential care for not only the sons of men, but the animals He created. Job chapter 39 is a wonderful demonstration of God’s provision for the animals He has made. Our Lord testifies: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” Jeremiah 32:27. The “breath of life” at this point would refer to all land animals, clean or unclean, including the birds of the sky; see verse 22. There is no mention of the aquatic animals since they would not need to be brought aboard the ark.

7:16 and the Lord shut them in.
Verse 1 begins with “come…into the ark.” God was with Noah in the ark as Savior. God seals Noah in the ark now, along with his family and land-dwelling animals as the Flood of judgment breaks over the earth. God was without the ark as Judge; for anyone who is not preserved in Christ this is all He can be. We read: “On the day that I make up My jewels…I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked,” Malachi 3:17-18. In this dispensation Christ is our “ark” and those in Him are sealed by the Spirit and safe from further judgments of God that deal with man’s sin; for Christ dealt with our sins when He died on the cross in our stead. Paul plainly tells us that “there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1. Like Noah was preserved from the final judgment, so too are Christians preserved from the wrath to come; this wrath also includes the seven year period known as the Tribulation. God’s wrath is poured out in its fullest on an unrepentant world at this point, and Scripture is clear that those who are in Christ will not receive God’s wrath, for Jesus our Lord paid that penalty at Calvary. Like Noah, we shall be saved from wrath through Jesus (Romans 5:9), because Jesus delivered us from this coming wrath, 1st Thessalonians 1:10. Let us humbly praise our God for His undeserved mercy.

7:17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
The prophet writes that God remembers mercy even in His wrath, Habakkuk 3:2. The Flood that destroyed the world of the ungodly bore Noah and his family safely away; it is a biblical truth that God can only manifest to man in one of two ways: either Savior or Destroyer. When God manifested at Mount Sinai the people were not allowed to approach Him, lest He break out and destroy them; sinful man cannot approach God without a mediator. Christ’s birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension assure the believer that we now have boldness to come before the throne of God without fear, for Christ is there, and His throne is a throne of grace and mercy. We are either judged and condemned by the law and our natural conscience (since no man ever lives up to what he knows is right); or we are saved by the condescending grace manifest in the person and work of our beloved Lord, who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor that we might become rich. The God who will save those that trust in Him will also be the God who judges those who resist and reject Him: “’For behold, the day [of the Lord] is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble, and the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings,” Malachi 4:1-2.

7:19-20 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
The waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; that is the whole earth. This was not a local or tranquil flood being described, as some would suppose; it inundates the entire earth! First the high hills that were “under the whole heaven” were covered with flood waters. This indicates that anywhere on the globe water covered the high ground and utterly consumed the land. Verse 20 records that the waters prevailed so much so that they settled fifteen cubits (about 22 feet) above the highest mountains! The mountain which the ark settled on when the Flood began to abate, Mt. Ararat, is 17,000 feet high. If it were that high in Antediluvian (pre-Flood) times then it must indeed have been a catastrophic global flood. Twice we are told the waters prevailed in two verses. They prevailed over the entire face of the earth. The only safe place in the world was the ark of God’s design, election and provision. So now is Christ our Lord, who was offered up because of our offenses, and raised from the dead because of our justification, Romans 4:25. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe,” Proverbs 18:10.

7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
This is another mention of “prevailing waters” that cover or canvas the entire earth. The Holy Spirit wanted to make it abundantly clear that this was no small act; it was a global inundation that destroyed mankind from the face of all the earth. The waters prevailed or dominated the surface of the earth for 150 days, or 5 months of 30-day months.