What’s the magic number in Genesis 7? As we read this chapter there is only one number that appears repeatedly. You guessed it! 7. It appears in the title. It appears in the number of animals God instructed Noah to put on board the boat that were approved for eating and sacrifice. It’s the number of days that took for the floods to begin after Noah and his family boarded the boat. What is the significance of the number 7 though? WHY 7?
How long did it take Noah to build the boat?
In Genesis 5 we know Noah is 500 years old by the time he has his 3 sons. We know that when he’s done with building the ship and aboard with all the animals and his family, he’s 600 years old. 7 days later the floods cover the Earth. I estimate a little less than 100 years. Do you think that is an accurate estimate? Do they say later?
While I don’t know why 7 is such a vital number or how long it actually took Noah to build his boat, I can say with certainty that God does not make idle threats. He warned Noah that he would destroy the earth and everything on it because of how we treated ourselves and each other. God was disgusted with humanity. Everything was destroyed. AND He kept his promise to Noah that he and his family would be saved. He also saved two of each animal. Mankind would begin again with who He favored.
Questions to think about:
- Would God be disgusted with humanity today?
- If God appeared to me today to say exactly what I needed to do to survive something that would consume the earth, would I listen?
- Am I someone God would favor to want to start the world over?
What did you think of Genesis 7? Do you know the significance of 7? Are you planning on seeing the movie Noah?
Until then,
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2 replies on “Genesis 7. God does not give idle threats.”
I think that God expected that humanity would be the way it is now. It’s why He sent Jesus for those of us who believe. We can’t save ourselves. We are just terrible. I’m going to have to go back and read Genesis. I’ve read it a million times but never really thought about the significance of 7 in detail.
I think we all have the potential to do better, but Jesus definitely is the reason why. Yeah … throughout Genesis, not just in Chapter 7, the number 7 appears quite a bit. Let me know what you find!