Genesis 8:4

THE ARK OF SAFETY

‘And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.’

Genesis 8:4

The history of the Deluge is alleged in the New Testament as a type of the deep waters of sin, in which a lost world is perishing, and from which there is no escape but in that ark which God hath prepared for us. The eight souls saved from the Deluge are types of that little flock which rides safely and triumphantly, though the floods lift up their waves and the billows break over them. And their safety is assured to them, because they are in Christ.

I. At the root of all Christianity lies that deep mysterious truth, the spiritual union of the Redeemer with those whom He redeemed.—To this truth most emphatically witnesses all the New Testament teaching about the ark as a symbol and a prophecy. For (a) the ark is a figure of Christ. The ark floated over the waste of waters as Christ dwelt and toiled and suffered in the wilderness of this world and amid the waters of affliction. (b) The ark is a figure of the redeemed of Christ. The Church, which is Christ’s body, is also the ark of refuge from the wrath of God. This life is still to the Church a conflict, a trial, a pilgrimage, a voyage. The crown shall be at the resurrection of the just.

II. The practical thoughts to which this subject leads us differ but little from the doctrinal.—Is not the substance and the end of all—safety in Christ, rest in Christ, and at last glory in Christ? Those only who have rested in the Ark will rest upon Mount Ararat. The life of the Christian is begun on earth; it is perfected in heaven. When the voyage is over, the Saviour, who has been to us the Ark upon the waters, shall be to us, in the eternal mountains of the Lord, rest and peace and light and glory.

Bp. Harold Browne.

Illustration

‘The Ark a Type of Christ. The ark was a refuge from coming doom. So Christ. It was also a Divinely appointed refuge. God was its architect, and it was built according to Divine conception. So is the plan of human redemption and salvation. The Ark was made of earthly material. It was not something sent down fully prepared from heaven, but was built from the trees of the forest. Christ was the Son of God, but He was also the Son of man. The Ark had but one door of access. Through Christ alone man finds salvation. “I am the door.” The hope of the human race floated in the Ark. Had the waters engulphed it, the race of man would have perished on the earth. So the hope of man’s eternal future is in Christ Jesus.’