Genesis Chapter 7: “The Waters Rose — But God Remembered Noah”
1. Entering the Ark: Faith in Action
“Then the Lord said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.’” (Genesis 7:1)
When God speaks again to Noah, the time of warning has ended. The time of obedient faith has begun.
St. John Chrysostom observes:
“God did not say, ‘Build an ark and see what happens.’ He said, ‘Enter,’ for He had already prepared salvation for the obedient.” (Homilies on Genesis XXIV.1)
Noah is commanded to bring his family and the animals — not only to save them, but to preserve the order of creation.
In this act, Noah becomes a second Adam — steward of the world to come.
St. Ambrose writes:
“The ark is the new paradise; as Adam was set over creation, so Noah is made its guardian, that through him the world might begin anew.” (Noah and the Ark 2.3)
2. The Seven and the Seven: Divine Order in Mercy
“Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate… and a pair of the animals that are not clean.” (Genesis 7:2)
This distinction between clean and unclean anticipates the later law of Moses.
Even before Sinai, God orders creation according to purity and sacrifice.
Seven is the number of covenant — perfection and sanctification.
St. Ephrem the Syrian comments:
“The sevenfold number shows that the ark was a place of worship. Noah entered not only to be saved, but to offer sacrifice for the world.” (Commentary on Genesis VII.1)
Indeed, after the Flood, Noah’s first act will be to build an altar and offer a sacrifice (Genesis 8:20).
Thus, the ark is not only a refuge but a sanctuary — a floating temple in which creation is consecrated anew.
3. The Seven Days of Waiting
“For in seven days I will send rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7:4)
Why seven days? The Fathers see this as both mercy and prophecy.
God gives a final week — a last call to repentance before judgment begins.
St. Augustine says:
“God’s delay is not forgetfulness but mercy, giving time for conversion.” (City of God XV.26)
Seven days also foreshadow the Sabbath of rest that will follow the flood — the beginning of a new creation.
As the old world perishes in forty days, so the new world will arise purified by water.
4. The Waters Begin
“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life… all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.” (Genesis 7:11)
The language here is cosmic and liturgical.
Creation, once ordered by the separation of waters in Genesis 1, now collapses back into chaos.
The “fountains of the deep” and the “windows of heaven” reverse creation’s boundaries — a de-creation, a symbolic undoing of the world corrupted by sin.
St. Basil interprets this as a divine purification, not destruction:
“The flood was not God’s hatred but His washing — He cleansed the earth as a physician cleanses a wound.” (Homilies on the Hexaemeron IX.3)
Forty days and nights will be the time of cleansing, just as Christ’s forty days in the desert will later signify purification and victory over evil.
5. The Rain of Judgment and Mercy
“The rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7:12)
Rain, in Scripture, is usually a blessing — a sign of life and fruitfulness.
But here it becomes a means of judgment and renewal.
The same element that gives life now destroys sin — an image the Fathers saw fulfilled in Baptism.
St. Peter writes:
“The ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you.” (1 Peter 3:20–21)
St. Ambrose adds:
“The flood is a figure of Baptism: sin perishes in the water, but righteousness is preserved.” (De Mysteriis 3.14)
Thus, even in wrath, God’s mercy triumphs.
The waters that drown the guilty also wash away guilt.
6. The Ark Lifted Up
“The waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.” (Genesis 7:17)
As the waters rise, the ark ascends — lifted by what destroys everything else.
This is the paradox of salvation: the very judgment that brings death becomes the means of deliverance.
St. Augustine notes:
“The flood lifted the ark, as the Cross lifted Christ. The same waters that drowned the world bore up the righteous.” (City of God XV.26)
Here the ark becomes a type of the Cross and of the Church:
The Cross, because through death comes life;
The Church, because amid the floods of history she remains afloat by grace.
7. The Universality of Judgment
“All flesh died that moved upon the earth… everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died.” (Genesis 7:21–22)
The universality of the Flood mirrors the universality of sin.
Only those within the ark — those united by faith and obedience — are saved.
St. John Chrysostom says:
“The waters were not sent against one people, but against all, that you may know how far the disease had spread.” (Homilies on Genesis XXIV.3)
Yet God’s justice is never arbitrary.
The destruction of the old world prepares the birth of the new.
The death of the sinner opens the way to the life of the redeemed.
8. The Eight Souls Saved
“Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.” (Genesis 7:23)
Eight persons are saved — Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives.
The Fathers loved this number: eight signifies the new creation, the day of resurrection.
Christ rose on the first day of the week, which is also the eighth — the beginning of eternity.
St. Augustine writes:
“The number eight prefigures the resurrection, for the old world ended in seven days, but the new begins on the eighth — the day of Christ’s triumph.” (Sermon 243)
Thus, the eight saved in the ark represent all who will rise in Christ — the new humanity reborn in the waters of Baptism.
9. The Waters Prevail — and Obedience Endures
“The waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.” (Genesis 7:24)
One hundred fifty days — five months — the period of endurance.
God’s deliverance is certain, but not immediate.
Noah waits within the ark, trusting the unseen.
St. Ephrem remarks:
“Though the ark was tossed by waves, Noah’s heart was at peace, for he trusted in the promise of God.” (Commentary on Genesis VII.5)
Faith often requires waiting within the ark — enduring the storm, the silence, the darkness — confident that the same God who commanded the waters will command them to cease.
10. The Theology of the Flood
The Fathers saw in the Flood a complete theology of salvation:
| Symbol | Fulfillment |
| The Flood | Judgment and purification from sin |
| The Ark | The Church, the Body of Christ |
| The Wood of the Ark | The Cross |
| The Waters | Baptism, death to sin and new birth |
| The Eight Souls | The resurrection and new creation |
| Noah | Christ, the righteous one through whom the world is saved |
St. Ambrose summarizes:
“As one family was saved in the ark, so one Church is saved in Christ. As the waters cleansed the earth, so Baptism cleanses the soul. And as the dove brought peace, so the Holy Spirit brings reconciliation.” (Noah and the Ark 4.5)
11. The Moral Lesson: The Ark of the Soul
Every Christian must also build an ark within his heart.
The Fathers called this the interior ark — a life sealed by prayer, humility, and obedience.
St. Caesarius of Arles teaches:
“Let your soul be like Noah’s ark. Let faith be the wood that will not sink, hope the pitch that seals, and love the sail that catches the breath of the Spirit.” (Sermon 53)
To enter the ark is to live in grace, to remain steadfast in the Church, and to trust in Christ amid the rising tides of the world.
12. Christ the New Noah
Just as Noah brought his family through the waters to a renewed world, so Christ brings His Church through the waters of death to eternal life.
Noah obeyed; Christ obeyed perfectly.
Noah built the ark; Christ built His Church.
Noah’s ark carried a remnant; Christ’s Cross saves the whole world.
St. Augustine again:
“The ark, made of mortal wood, bore the seed of life through the flood. The wood of the Cross bears us to the kingdom.” (Sermon 11 on the New Testament)
Thus, Genesis 7 is not merely about judgment, but about the triumph of mercy through obedience and faith.
13. Living the Mystery Today
Enter the Ark — the Church. Salvation is found in Christ and His Body.
Seal yourself with the pitch of grace. Confession and prayer guard against the waters of sin.
Trust amid the flood. When the world is dark and chaotic, God’s plan is still unfolding.
Remember the eight souls. Our destiny is resurrection — the eighth day of eternal rest.
14. Closing Prayer
Lord of the Covenant,
You saved Noah and his family from the flood,
and through the waters of Baptism You have saved us from sin.
Grant that we may dwell securely within the ark of Your Church,
sealed by faith, strengthened by hope,
and lifted above the storms of this passing world.
When the floods of trial rise,
keep our hearts fixed on the promise of new creation,
through Jesus Christ, the New Noah and the Lord of Life. Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 