HOW TO KEEP YOUR HEAD UP

HOW TO KEEP YOUR HEAD UP (in high waters). Gen. 6
Introduction – The Ark was the Salvation of a Family. Amazing, God
recognized the “righteousness” of one Man to the saving of a whole Family,
really a whole Nation and World because only Noah’s family survived the
flood. Noah is a Type of the Believer – Sealed for the Duration of the Trip –
If one can get out—All would drown, Ark would sink.
1. The Ark – Vs. 14
a. We see Noah toiling away, the great pre-flood carpenter, producing a
judgment-proof ark of salvation for a lost world.
b. We see in this, The Carpenter of Nazareth who provided a judgment-proof
righteousness and salvation for men.
c. The ark provided shelter from the storm and supply for all those who were
inside.
2. The Ark is Our Complete Salvation – Col 2:10 – “And ye are complete in -
him, which is the head of all principality and power:”
a. Noah wasn’t holding on but Noah was IN the Ark.
b. 2 Cor 5:17 – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
I. THE ARK WAS A PLACE OF SAFETY – Vs. 14
A. The Frame – “Make thee an ark of gopher wood…”
1. The Wood was Cut Down – Trees had to be cut down, so the Cross had to
be cut down.
2. The Wood was Constructed – The ark was made up of many beams, so is
the cross.
3. The Wood was a Coffin –Ark in the Hebrew language can mean an ark, a
chest or a coffin.
4. The Wood was Changeless – Gopher wood is Cypress wood – Cypress is
not liable to rot, nor to be injured by worms
5. But many of God’s People who have been to the Cross find
themselves, looking down.
B. The Food – Vs. 14 – “…rooms shalt thou make in the ark.”
1. Rooms – Gen 6:14-16 – Cells, nests, or small rooms, were built along the
sides of the three floors.
2. These Rooms stored the Animals and the Food for the Trip.
3. But many of God’s People who have been Fed physically, emotionally,
and spiritually find themselves, looking down.
C. The Finish – Vs. 14 – “…and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.”
1. Hebrew, koper (OT:3724)] - a material for covering or overlaying. It is
supposed to have been bitumen, asphalt, or it might be the chips of the
cypress, whose resinous timber could easily be converted into tar with
which to pitch the sides of the ark, and which, when smeared over and
become hardened, would make it perfectly water-tight.
2. He must pitch it within and without:
a. To shed off the rain.
b. To prevent the water from soaking in-within.
c. To take away the bad smell of the beasts when kept close. 4.
d. Point: Covered inside and out with Pitch (the same word in Hebrew is
atonement).
e. The Blood KEEPS us from the World and the World from us.
3. But many of God’s People who know the Finished Work of Calvary find
themselves, looking down.
II. THE ARK WAS A PLACE OF SUFFICIENCY – Vs. 15 – “Fashion”
A. Definition – Proper, fitting, measure, fitness, custom, manner, plan.
1. Salvation was not an afterthought with God. Eph 1:4 – “According as he
hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love:”
2. The Saviour was not an afterthought with God. 1 Peter 1:20 – “Who
verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest in these last times for you.”
B. Design – Vs. 15 – “…The length…the breadth…height”
1. “Length” – 300 cubits – Divine completeness x Divine Promises.
2. “Breadth” – 50 cubits – The Holy Spirit in Resurrection – Same width as
the Tabernacle Court.
3. “Height” – 30 cubits – The Blood of Christ – The Price of Blood – 30
pieces of silver that was Judas’ betrayal money.
4. Exact dimensions: Note, Those that work for God must take their
measures from him and carefully observe them. Note, further, It is fit that
he who appoints us our habitation should fix the bounds and limits of it.
5. Shaped so you couldn’t tell the Front from the Back. (Eternal Salvation).
6. But many of God’s People who know the Plans of God find themselves
looking down.
III. THE ARK WAS A PLACE OF SUMMONS – Vs. 16
A. The Door Was a Summons To Come In – Vs. 16 – “…and the door of the
ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories
shalt thou make it.”
1. The Singleness of the Door – Only One Door – John 10:9 – “I am the
door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out,
and find pasture.”
2. The Side of the Door – “in the side” – John 19:34 – “But one of the
soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood
and water.”
3. The Span of the Door – “…with lower, second, and third stories” – Many
believe the door “spanned” all three levels. If Jesus is God, the Typology
would have to prevail that this is so.
4. The Secret of the Door – “The door opened from TOP to bottom. It
opened like a Gangplank. Salvation is not Man opening up to God but
God opening up to Man.
a. God rent the Veil from TOP to bottom.
b. God opened the Red Sea from TOP to bottom.
5. But many of God’s People who know the Invitation of God find
themselves looking down.
B. The Window was a Summons to Come Up – Vs. 16 – “A window shalt
thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above…” The
Window is a type of One Mediator – A Summons to Pray in the Holy Ghost.
1. The Erection of the Window – “above” – It was probably in the roof. The
roof may have been flat. This was approximately eighteen inches in height
and extended completely around the ark under the roof. It was covered
during the rain with an awning (Gen. 8:13 – “mikceeh: OT 4372).
Illustrate. Drop a handkerchief over the Lid of the Pulpit.
2. The Enlightenment of the Window – It let light into the Ark.
3. The Encouragement of the Window – (some think) that through that
window he might behold the desolations to be made in the earth. He saw
where he could have been save for the grace of God.
4. The Exposure of the Window – It admitted Air – Ventilation
5. The Effect of the Window – It released the Birds – God had control of the
Door but Noah had control of the Window.
a. Raven: Picture of How the Natural Man is Led – Gen. 8:7
b. Dove: Picture of How the New Man is Led – Gen. 8:8
CONCLUSION – Noah and his companions were not to be looking down on the
scene of destruction beneath and around them, but up toward the Living God. It
was the same with Israel in the Wilderness. Israel must look up to the great
Jehovah and not be occupied with the difficulties and dangers of the wilderness.
Stephen couldn’t find a way out but he found a way UP. John couldn’t find a
way OVER but he found a way UP.
1. When the Waters get High, when you’ve come to the end of yourself and can’t
find a way OUT or OVER, there’s always a way UP.
2. But you couldn’t see the Window until you’d come in the Door! One Window
(Mediator).
3. Look where Noah was at…Gen. 8:6 – “…Noah opened the window.”…Meant
he had to go to the third level. Terrestrial, Celestial, and Glory. Often the
reason we live in the flesh instead of after God is due to the level of
Christianity we’re dwelling. “Praying in the Holy Ghost.”
4. “When you’re inside, and the world is falling apart around you, there isn’t
but one way to look, and that’s up.”
5. It’s not Safety or Sufficiency but the Summons to “Come Up Higher” that kept
their heads up in high waters.