The Bible tells us in Genesis 6:5-8 “…that the wickedness of man was great on the earth…and the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth and He was grieved in His heart. And the LORD said, I will blot out man whom I have created… But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” Noah, whose name means, “rest” went to work for the next 120 years building an enormous ark in obedience to God’s instructions. Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth were all born after ark construction began, and ark building and preparations for the flood were the only way of life they knew.
Upon completion of the ark, God brought the animals in through the one and only door and “then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Come into the ark, you and all your household…'” After the flood waters covered the whole earth, Genesis 8:2 tells us, “the water receded steadily from the earth,… And in the 7th month, on the 17th day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.” After 377 days aboard the ark, “God spoke to Noah saying, ‘Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you…” (Gen. 8:15-17.)
The ark rested on Mt. Ararat. Rest usually means ‘taking a break from some activity’ or in music, ‘not singing or playing a note.’ But it also can mean finished, as in a courtroom, ‘the defense rests their case.’ The ark’s mission or function of saving Noah and the animals was finished when it rested on Mt. Ararat.
When every living thing came out of the ark, God commanded them to breed abundantly and be fruitful and multiply on the earth. So they all spread out to cover the earth from the area around Mt. Ararat. It is interesting to note that modern GPS technology has determined that the geographical center of the earth is in Turkey at 41 degrees north and 35 degrees east (purple dot), not far from where the ark rested on Mt. Ararat. Considering changes to the earth that have likely taking place since the days of Noah and the ark, I believe the ark’s resting place was the geographic center of the earth at that time.
There are amazing parallels between God’s ark that He used to save Noah, his family and the selected animals, and God’s Son, Jesus who died to save mankind. God told Noah to Come into the ark, where all who entered were safe and then later to Go out of the ark and be fruitful. In John 10:7-9, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep… if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” Jesus also said, “Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28. He later said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
It has been previously noted that the ark came to rest on the 17th day of the 7th month. The Jewish calendar originally began with the month of Tishrei, with the 1st day of Tishrei marking the beginning of God’s creation. It is called Rosh Hashanah, which means, ‘the head of the year,’ and is often referred to as the Jewish New Year. The 7th month, as you can see on the chart, is Nisan; so that the ark rested on Mt. Ararat on the 17th day of Nisan. As Moses and the Israelites were preparing to leave Egypt, the blood of a lamb was applied over the door posts so that death would pass over that house; and thus began the observance of Passover as a remembrance of being saved by the blood. Because this was such an important day, “… the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ‘This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.'” Exodus 12:1-2. That month was Nisan and God changed the calendar that day to make Nisan the 1st month of the year instead of Tishrei. A bit confusing, I know, but now we fast forward to the Passover remembrance that Jesus had with His disciples in the month of Nisan. Just as the ark rested or finished God’s plan of redemption, when Jesus died on the cross, He proclaimed, “It is finished,” meaning He completed God’s plan of redemption. Jesus triumphantly rose from the tomb in victory over death on the same day of the year as the ark, the 17th day of Nisan. God’s ark saved the world then and God’s Son saves the world now!
