Genesis 6:17-22

The Announcement of the Flood

v. 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. The announcement is very definite: I am bringing the deluge of waters upon (or over) the earth. That is the punishment which the Lord had had in mind all the while, and this is about to be realized in that universal flood. The result would be the destruction of all flesh in which is the breath of life, of all beings that breathe with lungs: all such beings would have to yield up their spirit.

v. 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. Through Noah and his sons the Lord intended to propagate the human race after the Flood, with a new beginning, on the basis of the covenant which He was now making with him.

v. 19. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

v. 20. of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive. This was God's provision against the total extermination of the animals with the breath of life. A pair of every kind, at the instigation of God, came to the ark and was admitted by Noah. This was true of the larger mammals as well as of the birds and reptiles: they all were to be kept alive in the midst of the general destruction.

v. 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. The providence of God overlooked nothing that was necessary to keep Noah with his entire cargo of animals alive; an abundant supply of food was laid in.

v. 22. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. This was an evidence of Noah's faith, Hebrews 11:7. For as yet there was nothing to be seen of the Flood, and he was undoubtedly subjected to every form of ridicule. The essence of faith is trust in the Word of God in spite of all the attempts of the enemies to heap scorn upon His promises.