When Noah and his family got onto their ark...?

Noah was a filthy sailor, by default he had all the venereal diseases.

Decades passed, and the ark gradually assumed its final shape. As Noah neared his 600th year, he dealt with losses. His father, Lamech, died.* Five years later, Lamech’s father, Noah’s grandfather Methuselah, died at the age of 969—ending the longest human life in the Bible record. (Genesis 5:27) Both Methuselah and Lamech had been contemporaries of the first man, Adam.

In that same year, the patriarch Noah received a new message from Jehovah God: “Go, you and all your household, into the ark.” At the same time, God told Noah to take all the varieties of animals into the ark—by sevens in the case of the clean ones, fit for sacrificial use, and the rest by twos.—Genesis 7:1-3.

It must have been an unforgettable sight. From the horizon they streamed in by the hundreds—walking, flying, crawling, waddling, lumbering—all in a dizzying variety of sizes, shapes, and dispositions. We need not imagine poor Noah trying to corral, wrangle, or somehow cajole all those wild animals into entering the confined space of the ark. The account says that “they went in . . . to Noah inside the ark.”—Genesis 7:9.

Some skeptics might ask: ‘How could such a thing happen? And how could all those animals coexist peacefully in a confined space?’ Consider this: Is it really beyond the power of the Creator of the universe to control his animal creations, even render them tame and docile if needed? Remember, Jehovah is the God who parted the Red Sea and made the sun stand still. Could he not carry out every event described in Noah’s account? Of course he could, and he did!

Granted, God could have chosen to save his animal creations in some other way. However, he wisely chose a way that reminds us of the trust that he originally placed in humans to take care of all the living things on this earth. (Genesis 1:28) Many parents today thus use Noah’s story to teach their children that Jehovah values the people and the animals he has created.

Jehovah told Noah that the Deluge would come in a week. It must have been a hectic time for the family. Imagine the work of getting all the animals and their foodstuffs placed in an orderly fashion and hauling the family’s belongings aboard. Noah’s wife and the wives of Shem, Ham, and Japheth may have been especially concerned about making a livable home aboard that ark.

What of the community? They still “took no note”—even in the face of all the evidence that Jehovah was blessing Noah and his endeavors. They could not help but notice the animals streaming into the ark. But we should not be surprised at their apathy. People today take no note of the overwhelming evidence that we are now living in the final days of this world system of things. And as the apostle Peter foretold, ridiculers have come with their ridicule, mocking those who heed God’s warning. (2 Peter 3:3-6) Likewise, people surely ridiculed Noah and his family.

When did the ridicule end? The account tells us that once Noah brought his family and the animals inside the ark, “Jehovah shut the door behind him.” If any ridiculers were nearby, that divine action no doubt silenced them. If not, the rain surely did—for down it came! And it kept coming and coming and coming—flooding the world, just as Jehovah had said it would.—Genesis 7:16-21.

Did Jehovah take delight in the death of those wicked people? No! (Ezekiel 33:11) On the contrary, he had given them every opportunity to change their ways and do right. Could they have done so? Noah’s life course answered that question. By walking with Jehovah, obeying his God in all things, Noah showed that survival was possible. In that sense, his faith condemned the world of his day; it cast the wickedness of his generation in a clear light. His faith kept him and his family safe. If you imitate the faith of Noah, you may likewise do yourself and those you love a world of good. Like Noah, you can walk with Jehovah God as your friend. And the friendship can last forever!

Whichever the case, by the end of the boat ride they all had it.

LOL