Time to Leave the Ark at Last
In a nutshell: Today we will study Noah’s obedience to God, how the Flood truly was Universal, how creepy crawlies fit into the event, how God was and is and ever more will be a God of order, and how “after their kind” relates to positive or negative thinking.
Genesis 8:15-19 (KJV) “And God spoke unto Noah, saying 16 Go forth of the Ark, you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons’ wives with you 17 Bring forth with you every living thing that is with you, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creeps upon the Earth; that they may breed abundantly in the Earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the Earth 18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him: 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creeps upon the Earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the Ark.”
Yet again we learn that God is still speaking to humans! Wow! That right there blows my mind! He is still the same yesterday, today and forever, so why do we not hear of Him audibly speaking to humans in today’s world? Does He or doesn’t He? Yes, we have the Holy Spirit speaking to us, but I mean an out loud audible Voice. Have you?
Verse 15: Here we learn that Noah did not just leave the Ark on his own but waited on God’s command. In fact, he waited on Him for EVERYTHING! What a valuable lesson for us today. Noah presumed nothing. Remember Genesis 6:22 that says, ” Thus did Noah, according to ALL God commanded him, so did he.” Every…single…thing.
Verse 16: GO forth, God said. Notice God did not say COME OUT? God was in the Ark with Noah just like He was when the rains began when God said COME IN to the Ark. He did not say GO in. He was already inside.
Verse 17: Some people think that the Flood was only localized to Noah’s area and not universal. This verse proclaims the fact that the Flood WAS universal. God now commands Noah to bring all the humans, fowl, and cattle (Livestock) and everything that creeps out of the Ark so they can breed and multiply in the Earth. It does not say in the area, or in the country, but in the EARTH. Also did you notice the order in which God told Noah to empty the Ark? People first, then the birds, then the animals, then lastly the things that creep. Like snakes. Creepy crawlers.
Ever thought about why we use the word “creepy” to describe things that scare us or cause fear and make us uneasy? Like reptiles? This goes back to the Garden of Eden when satan (the snake) was cursed to creep and crawl on his belly in the dust for the rest of time on this Earth. Creepy crawlies indeed.
Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let Us make man in Our Image, after Our Likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the Earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the Earth.”
Mankind was given dominion over all the Earth. Dominion is another word for ruling over all animals and being master of them. It could also mean caring for, tending to, and using animals without being mean and abusive and mistreating them. They became our responsibility. So, when this was done in Genesis, it waws done for as long as the Earth exists! So the first ones out of the Ark were the master of all the fowls and the animals, and last was the lowest in the chain…the creepy crawlies.
Verse 18: Notice when mankind came out first that Noah was first, then his 3 sons (Shem, Ham and Japheth), then his wife, then the daughters in law. They all came out with him but in that order.
Verse 19: This was not a mad, chaotic stampede for freedom to dry land, because God is a God of order. They did not leave the Ark in confusion or even randomly wandering out, but in an orderly fashion AND with its own kind! That is interesting! The cow didn’t wander out with the chicken but came out with the other cow.
1 Corinthians 14:33,40 ” For God is not the Author of confusion, but of peace, as in all Churches of the Saints. 40 Let all things be done decently and in order.”
God’s entire Creation backs up verse 33 because EVERYTHING He made is orderly, detailed, complex and consistent!
What else does the Bible say about “after their kind”?
Genesis 1: 11-12,21,24-25 ” And God said, Let the Earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the Earth: and it was so. 12 And the Earth brought forth grass, and the herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind. And God saw that it was good. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 24 And God said, Let the Earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the Earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the Earth after his kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every thing that creeps upon the Earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ” TEN TIMES it states, “after his kind”!
What about your thoughts and beliefs? Can they too produce “after their kind”? YES!! But are you producing good or bad seeds? Are you aware that God can uproot the bad seed that has been destroying you all your life and plant a new seed in you? Jesus paid the price for you on the Cross to break and uproot this defective seed of curse that you have been struggling with all this time!
YOU must take a step of Faith forward and allow God to guide you towards “freedom on dry land”. It is time to get out of the Ark and walk out with your own kind: THE VICTORIOUS BELIEVERS! God is waiting for you to take His Hand and allow Him to help you walk past all the creepy crawlies in your life and take dominion over them all!
Be a Noah! Whatever God commands you to do…JUST DO IT!
(references from the Expository Study Bible KJV)