The Ark

Genesis 6:5-6, 13-14

The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.

So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out."


When the people of Noah’s time got to be too much, God decided to cast His judgment upon them. They were wicked, and "every inclination of the thoughts of [their] hearts were only evil all the time." God was heart-broken, grieved, and angry. Noah, however, caught His eye. God saw that Noah had a good heart, desiring God and all that He is. Noah was not like the rest, and He would save Noah and man-kind as well, through him. So, He had Noah build an ark – I think we all know the story.

There is so much to this story that strikes me with awe and wonder. Verse 14 in the KJV reads, "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch." The transliteration of the first "pitch" in this verse is different from that of the second "pitch," but they complement each other so nicely and really shed some light on the deeper revelation here. The first "pitch" is the root word kaphar, meaning "to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch; to cover over, atone for sin, make atonement for." Does it strike you as it does me? The definition is not what you would expect, is it? Now, let’s look at the second "pitch," which is kopher, which has as its root kaphar. So, they are similar, but not the same. Kopher means "price of a life, ransom, bribe." Wow! Do you see it?

The ark, God’s way of delivering Noah and his family from being destroyed in the flood, was covered, inside and out, with pitch. The covering, inside and out, represented atonement, the covering of our sins, and reconciliation with God. What was it covered with? The "price of a life." Christ’s life. Even in the time of Noah, God was revealing His plan, His beautiful, perfect plan.
Jesus said it, in Matthew 24:37, when He told us that "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." Can you see it happening? I can. It’s all around us, everywhere we look. Our society is not only doing many things that grieve God, we are beginning to relish them, exploit them, even celebrate them. I can’t imagine it getting much better, and I dread it getting worse.

Just as in the time of Noah, God has sent us an "ark," a vessel that will deliver anyone who is willing to climb on and trust Him. It is the greatest gift ever given - a gift of great love and sacrifice. Christ is our "Ark," and He will deliver us from the impending judgment. We need only to allow God to cover us inside and out with the only "pitch" that can truly seal out the flood of death, and keep us afloat in this wicked world. Let's take time to really celebrate and honor the gift that God sent to us 2000 years ago, as we consider what our lives would be like if we did not choose the "Ark."