In many different ways, the Old Testament can be seen as a road sign that points toward the coming of Christ. Christ can be seen in many of the people, practices, and stories that are told. In actuality, all of creation is meant to point toward the Sovereign God of the universe.
God did not create mankind, then sometime later come up with the idea to send Christ and to somehow use His creation to depict the work of Christ. Instead, it must be recognized that Christ was the first thought.
For instance, God could have created man to never eat, sleep, or drink water. God would not have found difficulty in creating man in such a way. This begs the question, “Why did God create man with these basic needs?”
Jesus is declared to be the bread of life, the fountain of living water, and the Christian’s place of rest. All of these analogies and more would not make sense if God had not created man with a need to eat, drink, and sleep.
However, God did create man with these basic needs. Therefore, man can understand Christ in a unique way – and remember, Christ is the main point. Thinking this way may be hard for the Christian, but it does not mean that it is wrong. The problem lies within a cultural mindset that man is in the middle, the focus, while God is in the background or a peripheral matter.
When God is at the center of man’s heart, thinking, and theology, it is not hard to grasp the realties that have been previously presented. Why don’t we look into the story of Noah and see some of the ways the story was meant to point us toward Christ.
“And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me” (KJV, Gen. 6:13)
In the story of Noah and the flood, God’s creation had strayed from God’s original intent. God created man in the Garden, and God created man good. Therefore, man did not yet know sin. Nevertheless, man was deceived, man sinned against God, and finally, man brought the curse of death upon all mankind.
In Genesis 6:13, God tells of the way that He had determined to pour out his wrath upon mankind and put an end to all flesh. In actuality, this thought of God was not necessarily new but was brought about by the fall. Nevertheless, the wickedness of man had grown in the earth, and this caused God’s hand to move.
The reality of man’s position before a holy God is that judgment must be the result of sinning against Him. Man cannot atone for his sin by any form of good works, confession, tears, etc. Due to man’s sin, both spiritual and physical death have been the overarching consequences.
“Make thee an ark of gopher wood…” (Gen. 6:14)
But what must be recognized is that, although man has sinned, God has made the way of escape. In the case of Noah, when God determined to punish mankind, God did not leave mankind hopeless; instead, He told Noah to make an ark.
The ark was God’s solution to spare humanity. In a much greater way, Jesus Christ can be seen as the ark of God. Every person who has ever lived – or ever will live – will find that he will be judged before the One Who knows all things and sees all things. Nobody will escape God’s judgment.
But it is the Judge Who has also made a way for man to be made right with Him. God the Father, from eternity past, set the plan in motion that the beloved Son would come to the earth and die for the sin of man so that man could be made right with God. God made an ark for humanity, and His name is Jesus Christ.
“But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark…” (Gen. 6:18)
God can be seen in Scripture as a covenant-making God. God desires that man would be near Him and that man would glorify Him. God also takes note of the fact that man needs help for this to come about. A covenant can be thought of as something like a contractual agreement. However, a covenant must be seen as something that is on a greater plain than a contractual agreement is.
It is especially true that covenants must be seen as the highest form of commitment, as it is God Who speaks in covenantal fashion. When God enters into a covenant, it must be seen as the strongest commitment that could ever be made from God to man.
God made a covenant with Noah, and Noah was to “come into the ark.” The language that is used speaks clearly of what is at stake in the Christian’s relationship with Christ. Paul can be of great help on this point.
The New Testament has much to say about the Christian’s union with Christ. We can read of the way that the Christian has died with Christ, has been buried with Christ, has been raised with Christ, has been baptized into Christ, is seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, has been crucified with Christ, has been united with Christ, is seen as having the righteousness of Christ, is a branch of the vine which is Christ Jesus, and so on.
For someone to miss the fact that the Christian is united with Christ, he must either be a recent convert (which is understandable) or not read his Bible. Paul liked to sum up the believer’s union with Christ in a simple way. He would say that the Christian is “in Christ.” It is in this “in Christ” wording that a Christian can see the importance of Noah’s ark.
When the people of Noah’s day went into the ark, they were spared from the wrath of God. We too can be spared from the wrath of God – not by entering an ark, but by being in Christ.
“In the selfsame day entered Noah… into the ark… and the Lord shut him in” (Gen. 7:15-16)
Finally, toward the end of the flood story, we have a glimpse of the work of God in Christ Jesus yet again. Despite what some may think, when someone enters into Christ, that same person gets shut in. God secures the believer’s salvation in Christ.
When Noah and his family entered into the ark to be spared from the wrath of God, God literally shut the door of the ark and would not allow the people to exit. God kept them safe and secure. It is also true that when someone turns to the Lord Jesus in saving faith and repentance, he will be kept by God throughout his life. God finishes what He starts.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You for the many ways that You have helped me along the way. I thank You for the ways that You have kept me close to You in the midst of the challenges of life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.