Scripture
Genesis 6:19~22
[19] And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
[20] Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
[21] As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.
[22] Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is 105th Lecture on Genesis.
Noah received the promise from God that He would save him from the judgment of the Great Flood. If Noah had not built the ark just because God promised to save him, could he have been saved from the Great Flood? Until the promise of God is accomplished, there are things you must do yourself. The promised given to Noah could be kept because Noah did “all that God had commanded him.”
God said in Exodus 20:6, “but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” If we love God and do His will, God the Father will surely and faithfully keep His promise. He does give His grace and blessing not only to you, but also to a thousand generations.
I wish for you to be able to love such a good Father God from the depth of your hearts. May the abundant grace and blessing come upon you and your family, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
Dear brothers and sisters.
After God the Father made the decision of the Judgment of Great Flood, He told Noah how to build the ark. And then, He also told him about animals that he had to keep alive.
He said in Genesis 6:19-20, “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.” For the sake of ‘preservation of species,’ God told him to bring male and female of every kind of animal into the ark.
However, God said in Genesis 7:2-3, “You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are not clean two, a male and his female; also of the birds of the sky, by sevens, male and female, to keep offspring alive on the face of all the earth.” Other than male and female for preservation of species, God specified some animals and told Noah to take them ‘by sevens, a male and his female, or by two, a male and his female.’ It means God had another purpose than the preservation of species. But I will explain this other purpose a little later.
What we should learn in this lecture is how Noah could bring so many animals into the ark. According to an encyclopedia, there are about 29,400 species of animals, which include mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Even if the species before the Flood was not the same, we can easily guess that the number must have been enormous.
Then, how could Noah and his sons bring all these animals into the ark without missing any species? Did Noah and his sons go around to pick every one of them and bring them into the ark? No way!
Animals back then, of course, were meeker than those of today; they could be picked up if need. Even so, it wouldn’t be an easy task to pick up so many kinds of animals and bring them into the ark.
Then, how could they manage it and bring all species by two, male and his female, or by seven into the ark? The truth is that it was only possible because the original voice of God was sent out. As God the Creator gave out the original voice, those ‘selected animals’ obeyed the voice and came to the ark on their own.
The ‘selected animals’ refer to those with less evil attributes in their own species. For example, among lions, there are ferocious lions, and relatively meek lions. God had the meek lions hear the original voice, and made them come to the ark.
To understand how it was possible, you must understand the works of God’s creation. God the Father created everything with the ‘Word’. This ‘Word’ is the original voice that He gave out. Genesis 1:3 says, “Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.” As God spoke with the original voice, “Let there be light”, light was created.
Since everything in the universe was created by the original voice, everything responds to the original voice of God the Creator. Not only living things, but even the non-living things also recognize God’s original voice and obey it. They are ‘programmed’ to automatically respond to the original voice.
There are devices with ‘voice recognition technology.’ These devices respond only to the voice of a specific person, and among other things they operate by that voice, say, to open doors. Likewise, everything in the universe was created by the original voice, and all things instinctively obey the original voice.
Those animals that came to the ark in the days of Noah heard God’s original voice, and they obeyed. Now, here is another important thing. Before the beginning, when God existed alone in the universe, He existed as the sound that was contained in the light. This light is the original light of creation, and the sound is the original voice of creation.
In this light are all kinds of spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and power that are given out through the original voice. Therefore, the original light and voice are eventually as one, and they co-exist all the time. The original voice is given out from the original light, and where the original voice is given out, the original light also comes.
By the way, when God gave out the original voice to create all things, He first surrounded them with the original light. Therefore, all the creatures remember the original light along with the original voice. That is, along with the original voice, the original light was also input into all things.
Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Here, ‘His eternal power and divine nature in what has been made’ refers to the original light. During the work of Creation, the original light was input into all things when God gave out the original voice.
As you can see, everything in the universe was created with the original voice and all was surrounded by the original light. Therefore, everything obeys the original voice 100% once the same condition is set identical to the time of Creation.
By the way, before the Judgment of Great Flood, the original light that God surrounded the earth with was still around the earth. Of course, after Adam settled down on the earth, the population grew, and the sin and evil became rampant on the earth, and thus the original light was gradually withdrawn. Yet, a little portion of the original light still remained before the Flood. And when God gave out the original voice to the selected animals, they obeyed 100%.
However, the original light was then completely withdrawn as the Flood began. Say, right after you wax the floor, in the beginning it shines brightly. As time goes by however, the wax becomes faded as people frequently walk on the floor. Eventually, the wax is gone, and you can see the bare floor revealed. The original light surrounded the earth in much the same way, but as the wickedness of man became greater, the light became more faint.
Many consequences took place on this earth. I will explain about these consequences when we get to the end of the Flood.
What you should remember is that, before the Flood, the original light still covered the earth, and so the creatures obeyed 100% when God gave out the original voice. In other words, those animals that God selected to preserve their species were led by instinct through the original voice and brought to the ark.
Dear brothers and sisters.
Our Lord Jesus also gave out the original voice. Jesus exists in the form of God. And when God the Father was manifesting the work of Creation, His Holy Son, Jesus, was also with Him. Regarding this, John 1:2-3 says, “He (the Holy Son, Jesus) was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” And so, in many parts of the four Gospels, we can find that creatures obeyed the word of Jesus.
For example, Luke 8:24 says, “He (Jesus) got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.” As our Jesus commanded with the original voice of creation, the wind and the surging waves, which are non-living things, recognized the voice and immediately obeyed.
In Matthew 17, there is a record that the fish in the Sea of Galilee obeyed. Jesus told Peter how to prepare money and pay the tax. Jesus said in Matthew 17:27, “Go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me” What was the result? Right after Jesus said this, the fish in the Galilee Lake would obey; a fish would find a shekel on the floor of the Lake, put it into its mouth, and get ready to be hooked.
Additionally, there was a case that Jesus healed the sick with original voice. In Matthew 8, He healed a Centurion’s paralyzed servant with His word, and in Matthew 15, with His word He healed a Canaanite woman’s daughter who was demon-possessed. The work of original voice is immediate like this, and it takes place transcending space and time.
Psalm 19:4 says, “Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world.”
And Isaiah 55:11 says, “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” Even today, still God desires to manifest the work of original voice for those who seek after His heart.
Those who possess true faith like the centurion and the Canaanite woman can experience the work of original voice. With the original voice, things become possible, which are impossible with a man’s thought; the work of re-creation can also take place, which is similar to the work of something being created from nothing. I wish for you to be able to experience the work of original voice with true faith.
Various problems including diseases can be resolved by the original voice. Now then, I do believe that our congregation that is longing for the spirit will desire to have their spirit and soul changed and renewed with the original voice. With the original voice, the bitter root of evil can be pulled out, and the strong frameworks can be melted down.
Therefore, I urge you to have the humble heart first like the centurion and the Canaanite woman, if you truly wish to come into the rock of faith and into spirit. And don’t ever give up, but ask by faith till the very end. May many of you come into spirit and whole spirit in the middle of this rapid flow of spirit, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
Now, Genesis 6:21-22 says, “”As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.” Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.” After God the Father told Noah to load the animals that should survive, He also told him to prepare the food as well.
At this time, Noah had no idea how long the flood would last and how long he would have to stay inside the ark. He didn’t even know how many animals would be on board, and how much food he should prepare for the animals. But, he obeyed the word of God. He didn’t count the number of animals, or the days to prepare the food. Where he should build the ark, and how fast he should work; Noah didn’t decide these as he pleased either. He only communicated with God the Father, and prepared things as he was inspired in his heart.
If you use fleshly thought, you may say, “How could Noah prepare and store such an enormous amount of food?” You may wonder because it’s impossible to find answer. Since fleshly thoughts only remain inside the boundary of fleshly limits, you cannot understand the work of God who has no limit. Noah didn’t use any fleshly thoughts; when God told him to gather the food, he did so, and when God told him to build an ark, he did so.
Because he had a heart to obey just any word of God, all things went prosperously, and he experienced the work of ‘Jehovah-jireh.’ That is, God the Father made all things work for the good, and it was not difficult to build the ark. And so, Genesis 6:22 says, “…according to all that God had commanded him, so he did.”
By the way, you should aware that the civilization was very well developed in those days. The life of the people in those days was not primitive. They had quite a substantial level of knowledge and wisdom. The level of their knowledge in Physics and Mathematics was quite high. Therefore, although not quite the same as today’s levels, they possessed mechanical devices with which they could use to build such a huge ark.
I’m not saying Noah obeyed God because he had such knowledge and wisdom. Noah didn’t say ‘Amen’ because he had confidence in his own wisdom. Only because he believed in God the Almighty, from the depth of his heart to perfectly trust in Him, he said, ‘Amen!’
It didn’t take just a couple of months till Noah finished the construction of the ark. It took a very long period of time. Yet, Noah didn’t become nervous. He didn’t think whether it would end today or tomorrow; as God the Father led him, he only followed the inspiration and obeyed God.
Normal people can also wait after they are given a promise. A year or two passes by, and then they say, “It isn’t coming true.” Then they get disappointed. But it was not the case with Noah. Since he always communicated with God the Father, he believed God would as He said. Be believed that the word of God would be surely accomplished. And so, it was possible for him to prepare and do all things; he could endure the long period of time.
God supervises, manages and gives very minute details to lead and guide those who are ready to obey. And so, those who obey become happy, and it also pleases God the Father. On the contrary, chances are that those who are not ready to obey walk their way as they please and then they face difficulty even though blessings are delivered into their hands.
For instance, some people make all the plans using their knowledge and experience as they run their business. And then they come before God, and pray. “Please lead my way!” Even though God tries to lead their ways, they eventually walk their way just as they planned in their minds. If God’s guidance doesn’t seem to agree with their knowledge and thoughts, they just walk their way thinking it’s better than God’s.
Here is another case. Some interpret the word of God as they please and walk the wrong way, but they think they obey the word of God. Although I clearly explain to them what the will of God is, they don’t accept it; they rather try to convince others of their opinion and idea. What will happen to them? I explain to them so that they can realize, but chances are that most of them do just as they please.
It is so easy to obey the word of God if you don’t have your own thought, idea, or a frame of knowledge. If you stick to this ‘SELF,’ however, it is difficult to obey. Although you say you are obeying, it turns out to be disobedience, and you don’t even realize your disobedience.
Dear brothers and sisters.
As you make perfect obedience, it is not true either that your experience or knowledge itself is useless. The ultimate and primary factor that helped Noah to build the ark was, first off, his faith to rely on God, and yet he was also able to use a good deal of knowledge and skill. Likewise, as you do a certain work, you will face situations where you must basically possess knowledge, experience, skill, or talent.
