I was thinking about that song
written by Fanny Crosby, that line when she said, I'll see
him face to face. Boy, that was quite a statement. Let's take our Bibles and turn
back to Genesis chapter 6. The Lord had revealed to Noah that the end of all flesh was
come before Him. The earth was filled with violence
through the rebellion and the corruption of men, and the Lord
was going to destroy all men with the earth. But Noah, who
had found grace in the eyes of the Lord, was told by the Lord,
and this is where we were last week, Verse 14, make thee an
ark of gopher wood. Now, gopher wood is not truly
defined. You look up the definition of
gopher wood, and there's not one. Many speculate that it was
cypress, but we don't really know. But one thing that I did
find is that the word is said to be from an unused root meaning. I'm just quoting what it says.
An unused root meaning of to house in. That's what it means,
to house in. So the scripture says that the
Lord instructed Noah to make an ark of this gopher wood. It says, rooms shalt thou make
in the ark. It was to have, and here again
I'm just defining as I go through here, nests, chambers, or dwellings
for the occupants. The Lord obviously is a God of
order and Almighty God was going to have a place for every occupant
that was going to be in that ark. Almighty God knew exactly
what was going to be in that ark. And likewise, the scripture
says, Ephesians chapter 2, speaking of God's people, concerning all
that shall be found regenerated in the earth, but in heaven. Now therefore, you're no more
strangers and foreigners. but fellow citizens with the
saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone in whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." So every
creature Not only Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives,
but every creature was going to have a place prepared by God
through the means of Noah to be in that ark. It was not going
to be a haphazard, you know, well, y'all just kind of go in
and try to find a place. There was a place prepared. The
Scripture says also that the ark was to be pitched within
and without. Now, the word pitch, and you
can imagine it was kind of a sticky substance, but the word pitch
actually means to cover, to cancel, to appease, make atonement, disannul,
cleanse, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge away, or
reconcile. Well, I'll tell you what. pitch
on the outside and the inside of that ark absolutely set forth,
and our minds cannot help but go to the glorious mercy seat
that covered. It was a covering over that ark. It was to be completely covered
outside and pitched on the inside. It's a picture. It's a covering.
It's an atonement. Every time you hear me say the
word atonement, I always do this because in my mind I see an umbrella. It's a covering. It's a covering
from the rain. It's a covering. That's atonement.
It's the blood and that mercy seat that sat on top of the ark
of the covenant in the tabernacle in the wilderness. It had the
cherubims and their wings came together and touched And there
it is, it's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. I've told
you about the types, the cherubims, and the four faces, and all of
them. Those cherubims, I'm convinced, were created beings. They were
angels, angelic beings, but they were creatures that set forth
and glorified the mediatorial work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The face of a man, a lion, an ox, an eagle. And so here are
these two cherubims on that mercy seat. That was the mercy seat,
the atonement, the covering of the ark. And that was the place
where God would meet with His people. We meet with Him in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. But pitch, the pitch, that was
a picture of the covering that God's people enjoy and have of
their Protection, safety, it's the blood. It's the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Noah was to pitch the ark on
the outside, and that pitch set forth that glorious, atoning
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that shielded. without all the
people that were in the ark, that blood that satisfied the
demand of Almighty God for justice, because of the broken law. Noah,
his family, his animals, they were in the ark. But that ark,
built with gopher wood, but it was pitched, it was protected.
But it was to be pitched also on the inside. That same atoning
blood that kept Noah and the others safe within and without. That was the blood that secured
that safety, that comfort of God's remnant as the waves of
that flood rolled against the ark for 40 days and 40 nights,
perfectly sealed within. The Scripture says, they'll never
perish. We're sealed. One thought I was
thinking concerning that pitch, and it was, it was the blood
on the outside, the blood on the inside, they were sealed.
And I thought to myself, you know, when that storm, you know,
we'll look at when the windows of heaven opened up and the water
billowed out from the earth, it had never rained before, that
was the first rain they'd ever seen. It was a rain too. And
I thought to myself, Noah couldn't see the pitch on the outside,
but he could on the inside. And I thought to myself, just
imagining with that pitch on the outside, that ark shook under
the judgment of God, But he couldn't see the pitch on the outside,
but he could on the inside. He could see that. And I just
thought, as I imagined in my mind, with that arc rolling and
that storm outside, he could hear it. I mean, he could hear
it raining. Yesterday would have been just
a little Sunday afternoon shower compared to that. I mean, it
was raining here. I don't know if it rained at
your house, but buddy, it was storming here. And I thought
to myself, that was nothing. For 40 days and 40 nights, it
never stopped. And I can just, you know, here
was Noah, and he's in that arc. And he hears it, he hears it,
and he feels those waves, but he could see the pitch on the
inside. And there was no water coming
in. And he was safe and he was secure. And while he looked by
faith, he saw in that type the blessed sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Blood that was shed for all just
like Noah. And the only reason that Noah
was in that ark was because of the grace of God. God put him
there. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. And all the rest of mankind,
except for those eight souls that were there. How often do
you think it ran through his mind? He'd been preaching 120
years. 120 years. And there's eight
souls, and it's just his family. His family. And he'd think, but
for the grace of God, I'd be out there. Romans 3.23.25 says,
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus whom God has set forth, that is foreordained
to be a propitiation, that is the cleansing cover of reconciliation,
through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for
the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance
of God. So make thee an ark of gopher
wood. Rooms shalt thou make in the
ark, and shalt pitch it within and without. And this is the
fashion which thou shalt make of it. The length of the ark
shall be 300 cubits, the breadth of it 50 cubits, the height of
it 30 cubits, A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in
a cubit shalt thou finish it above, and the door of the ark
shalt thou set in the side thereof, with lower, second, third stories
shalt thou make it." Now, just reading the instructions that
the Lord had given Noah concerning the construction of the ark makes
us realize that the daunting undertaking that this would be. I can't even imagine the job
of building an ark 450 feet long, 45 feet tall and 75 whatever 75 is times one and
a half. That's how many cubic feet I gave. It slips my mind
right now. But it's huge. It's a huge box. It's a big box. And I'm sure that the ridicule
of Noah, it's on dry land. It had never rained. And Noah's
telling them, God's going to send a flood of water. It's going to flood. And I read
the scripture, this is the fashion which thou shalt make of it,
the length of it, the width of it, this, this big, this big.
And as I read, and I'm not saying this without looking and asking
and seeking the Lord concerning what I'm about to tell you. Just
a note of observation concerning the construction of the ark.
there is no mention that I could find of Noah ever having any
help building the ark. Now I just always, I'll just
confess, I just always assumed that there was always, you know,
that there was, you know, his family or some Somebody, somebody
was out there helping, but I don't mean to imply that there wasn't
any help, but what I do mean to imply is that the Scripture
doesn't bear it out that there was any help. And so with the
Scriptures being silent concerning that point, every time you read
it, it's always the Lord told Noah, you build it. And someone
says, well that just means that he was to oversee it or it means
that he was the one responsible, I understand all that. I get
it, I get it. But my point is this, it's never
recorded. It's never said that anyone but
Noah, and so therefore, it leaves for myself, and I'll say it,
it leaves me no other thought except that Noah alone was the
builder of the ark. You say, well, that just, that's
impossible. Noah is a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. You know where I'm going with
this? Jeremiah 32, 17 says, Ah, Lord God, behold, thou hast made
the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out
arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. Noah, again, is
a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation by grace through
faith in him alone, our Lord. Noah being a picture of our Lord
and the type of the Lord Jesus. He alone wrought out the salvation
and deliverance of his people. Isaiah 63 says, I have trodden
the winepress alone and of the people there was none with me. It took a hundred and twenty
years. I thought this through. A hundred and twenty years. And
why would it take 120 years? That's how many years God gave
Him. But if Almighty God gave Him 120 years to build it, and
it takes Him 120 years to build an ark, then that's how long
it took. My point is, it's never recorded
that anyone but Noah was involved. And with that being the case,
it's a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Leviticus
chapter 16, On the day of atonement, Leviticus 16, and starting in
verse 11, the scripture, listen to what it says concerning Aaron.
On the day of atonement, one, one, one day a year, the high
priest, one day a year could go into the Holy of Holies. One
day a year. It says, Leviticus chapter 16,
verse 11, concerning the Day of Atonement.
And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering which is
for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, for his
house, shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is
for himself. He shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire
from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet
incense, beaten small, and bring it within the veil. He shall
put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud
of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony
that he die not. He shall take of the blood of
the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat
eastward, and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the
blood of his finger seven times. Then shall he kill the goat for
the sin offering that is for the people and bring his blood
within the veil and do with that blood as he did with the blood
of the bullock and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat and before
the mercy seat. He shall make an atonement for
the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of
Israel and because of their transgressions and all their sins. And so shall
he do for the tabernacle of the congregation that remaineth among
them in the midst of their uncleanness. And there shall be no man in
the tabernacle of the congregation until he go within to make an
atonement in the holy place until he come out and have made an
atonement for himself and for his household and for all the
congregation of Israel. So we're sitting here looking
at a glorious picture of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And with no mention ever been
made concerning any other involvement, it was always Noah. Noah. The work of redemption was accomplished
by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ who, 1 Peter 2.24, his
own self bear our sins in his own body. Noah had God's word
and the Lord was Noah's strength. He believed God and was to build
an ark because God was going to destroy the world. And the
Lord had promised that Noah and his family only would be found
in the ark. And that ark pictured Christ,
God's haven of rest, city of refuge, and cleft of the rock. In Matthew 19.26, with God, all
things are possible. Is it possible for a man named
Jonah to be swallowed by a whale and remain alive in the belly
of a whale for three days, three nights, and then the whale vomit
him up? Yeah. The Scripture declares
that there's nothing too hard for the Lord. But what a beautiful
picture. of that lack of mention of any
other but Noah as a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then
the scripture says back in Genesis chapter 6 verse 16, a window
shalt thou make to the ark, and a cubit shalt thou finish it
above, and the door of the ark shall set in the side thereof
with lower second and third stories shalt thou make of it. Now, the
word in that particular verse of scripture, window, window, it's T-S-O-H-A-R. It's either to sohar or just
sohar, but what it means is that's the word for window in this particular
passage of scripture. And what it means is a light
Noon and double light are midday. That's what that word means.
It's to soar. That's the word. Now, and just
hold your places. Just turn over to Genesis chapter
8 and verse 6. Genesis 8, 6 says, and it came
to pass at the end of 40 days that Noah opened the window of
the ark which he had made. Now that word, window, right
there, is chalon. It's a different word. It's not
the same word. It's a different word. And the
word in Genesis chapter 8 and verse 6, that word means perforated. And it would answer to what we
think of as a window. Perforated. There's an opening
in the wall. That's what it means, perforated. So that word, window,
And A is the window. Noah sent the raven and the dove
out of, that was a window. But this window in Genesis 6
right here, verse 16, a window shalt thou make to the ark, and
a cubit shalt thou finish it above. I just, as I was going
through and studying this week and looking at these words and
seeing the meanings of it, the exact understanding I'm going
to have to say is questionable as to that, but it seems to indicate
an opening probably finished a cubic height above the arc,
but the full length of the arc. In my mind, I would think of
it as a long skylight. That's the only way I could relate.
But it was a light that went entirely, not like just one window
where Noah sent the birds out. No. This was a long, long opening
that was finished one cubit above. It had a covering. So it was
that the ark was given As far as the description, it was a
light all the way. It was light, complete light
within. Christ being the light. So it
was built to exact specifications. The length and width, the height,
a three-story door. The levels, all the levels of
where the animals were, where God would place the animals,
the door was three stories high. Opened up, I say opened up, The door was there. It was there.
It was attached to the ark. And I can only imagine some type
of a hinge. I don't know. It doesn't say.
But it said it was three stories high. All three stories open. So that was a task, again, that
was showing the glorious work of the redemption of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Safety for all that was within. Then in verse 17. And behold,
I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy
all flesh wherein is the breath of life from under heaven, and
everything that is in the earth shall die. Now, here's what I
know. The Lord had promised life in
the ark, death without the ark, or outside the ark. And by Noah
and his family and all the animals that God would put in there,
this was the reason, verse 18. But with thee will I establish
my covenant. And thou shalt come into the
ark, thou and thy sons and thy wife and thy sons' wives with
thee. Now here is the glorious picture
of the covenant of God's grace for the surety, salvation of
God's people of whom Noah and his family was a type effectually
saved by the grace of God. That covenant of grace established
by the three persons of the one God, the Father who chose, the
Son who redeemed, the Holy Spirit who affectionately calls, who
seals, who guides, who teaches. This ark is salvation in Christ. This ark is Christ. And the scripture
says in verses 19 through 20, and of everything of all flesh,
"'Two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark "'to keep
them alive with thee, "'and they shall be male and female, "'of
fowls after their kind, cattle after their kind, "'every creeping
thing of the earth after its kind. "'Two of every sort shall
come unto thee "'to keep them alive.'" Absolute order. absolute
understanding from God. This is who, this is what will
come in. And with the entrance of every
living thing, of all flesh, of the fowls and their kind, cattle
their kind, creeping thing after their kind, there was a place.
I was talking to Mark Tilko yesterday, we were over here chit-chatting
and some kind of a, I don't know, long, milky looking thing, about
that big around, you know, came crawling by while we was talking. And it just, I mentioned it to
him, I told him, I said, it amazes me that there's been nothing
created after God created all things and God said it was very
good, it was done. And of every kind of cattle and
after their kind, whatever they were, deer, antelope, all that,
you know. And of the fowls, after their
kind, all the kind. Clean and unclean. And all these
creeping things. Everything that you find in the
earth today was there. God created them all then. And there was purpose for them.
I told you about looking up that time, mosquitoes. I've told you before, you don't
have mosquitos here. Buddy, I can show you mosquitos
down in south Louisiana. Mosquitos that will carry you
off. And I thought, what is the purpose of a mosquito? I hate
the sound of them at night. Boy, when you shut the light
off, if I can hear, eeeeee, I've got to get up. And I'm going
to find him. And I'm going to get him. Because he's going to
get me. I read where without the mosquitos, this earth would
not exist. This earth couldn't exist without
mosquitos. And the intricate way in which
it plays into the environment. And I thought, oh, the wisdom
of God to create all of these things. We look at them as pests. I understand that. But God saw
it was very good and everything that was needed for the sustaining
of His people. That's why they're here. And
I don't know the depth, none of us do, but God knew and He
put them all in there. And everything was to be after
its kind and to come in to that ark and have a spot for it. And that ark was built to hold
all the occupants with those rooms that we looked at in verse
14. But I think about this scripture of the Lord, John 14.2. In my
father's house are many mansions, many dwelling places. Now, I don't know. I don't even
know where to go with this. But the Lord said in his father's
room are many mansions, dwelling places. If it were not so, I
would have told you. And I go to prepare a place for
you. And all of those places, those
nests and those places, whatever was needed for what God was going
to put, the Lord told Noah, you build it this way, just exactly
like this. And Scripture says in verse 21,
And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou
shalt gather it to thee, and it shall be for food for thee
and for them. Before I make a statement on
that verse 21, I want to make one on verse 20 that I failed
to. You know, whenever the Lord told
Noah in verse 20, He said of fowls after their kind and cattle
after their kind, creeping thing of the earth after its kind,
two of every sort shall come unto thee, shall come unto thee,
shall come unto thee. Do you know how all those creatures
got there? God made them willing in the day of God's power to
come. That's how they came. Which ones came? The ones marked
that God said, okay, you two giraffes, you two go. You two
elephants, you two. They shall come unto you. That's
how they got there. The scripture sets forth, all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me. That's how those
animals got in that place. They just came. It wasn't time
yet. There's going to be that 120
years between the end of chapter 6 and the beginning of chapter
7. 120 years will pass. Because the next thing in chapter
7 it says, And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all
thy house into the ark. He was just telling him what
to build in chapter 6. And 120 years later, he picks
up chapter 7. But that's how those animals,
they come. That's how God's people, how
do they get there? They come. God calls them. So now verse
21, And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou
shalt gather it to thee. and it shall be food for thee
and for them." Now, here's Noah. Noah was given the responsibility
to be the provider. You gather the food that's going
to be for all that's within. And here we see the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the servant of Jehovah, the accomplisher
of God's work, the great food provider, the bread of life,
the manna, from heaven, the show bread, which was eaten by Aaron
and his sons. We eat of Christ by faith. This is what's happening. The
Lord right now is providing food for His people, right now. Here's
what we're doing. We're seeing Him in this ark.
We're beholding by faith salvation in the ark. And we're eating,
we're feasting on that. That's the meat the Lord said
that He had that was, you know, He had meat that No one provided
for him. He said, I have meat that you
know not of. And so here we are, we're provided our sustenance. Then verse 22, and thus did Noah. We could just say, and thus did
the Lord Jesus. According to all that God commanded
him, so did he. Noah did just exactly what the
Lord had commanded him to do. And again, do we not behold the
faithfulness of our Savior? He said in John 4.34, my meat
is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work. Noah for 120 years had the task
of building an ark. And the Lord Jesus Christ, He
did the work of the Father. Last verse of Scripture, John
6, verse 38 to 40. John chapter 6, verse 38. I came down, for I came down
from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that
sent me. And this is the Father's will
which has sent me, that of all which He had given me, I should
lose nothing. but should raise it up again
at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on
Him may have everlasting life. And I will raise Him up at the
last day." He went to Calvary. He came into this earth. He walked
before God faithfully. He went to the cross, the willing
Lamb, the sacrifice for sin of His people. made sin that we
might be made the righteousness of God in Him, bore the guilt
of His people, and finished the work. And now, right now, we're
reading and studying Him, that picture of Him, in that blessed
ark, seeing that our salvation is totally, by the grace of God,
being found in Christ, protected, pitched on the outside and the
inside. from the wrath of God that surely
do. We're worthy of that wrath. We're worthy of it. For by the
grace of God, God has been pleased to pass over us for he sees the
blood. I pray that God Almighty be honored
and God's people be blessed for Christ's sake. Amen.