Let's start with Noah's ark. When God told Noah of the flood that was to come on the earth, he also gave Noah a plan of salvation: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house" (Hebrews 11:7, emphasis added). And again it is written that "the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water" (1 Peter 3:20). The ark was God's method to save Noah and his family from destruction.
God gave Noah very specific commands concerning how the ark was to be built; and one of them had to do with making the ark water tight. "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch" (Genesis 6:14, emphasis added). God commanded Noah to pitch the ark on the inside and on the outside. This is not an arbitrary law that God imposed on Noah for no reason. It has deep spiritual significance and great practical purpose.
The Hebrew verb "to pitch" that God used here is a very interesting word. The Hebrew verb כָּפַר (kaphar) means "to pitch"; but it also means "to make atonement". This is the same Hebrew verb that the Lord used when he said "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement (כָּפַר, kaphar) for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement (כָּפַר, kaphar) for the soul". The Noah's act of pitching the inside and outside of the ark is crucial typology of our Christian walk. In this allegory "pitching" and "atonement" are one and the same.
God expects us as Christians to follow Noah's example. We are to make atonement on the inside and on the outside. It seems that nowadays we are interested on only "pitching" the inside. How many times have we heard people say "It doesn't matter how I live. The Lord knows my heart." That is only pitching the inside; that is only atoning the inside. We can be as "holy" as we want to be on the inside; but we must also be holy on the outside. God commanded Noah to pitch both sides of the ark; and God expects us as Christians to be holy on the inside as well as the outside. Look at the scriptures:
- Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands [atoning outward], and a pure heart [atoning inward] (Psalm 24:3-4)
- Cleanse your hands, ye sinners [atoning outward]; and purify your hearts, ye double minded [atoning inward] (James 4:8).
- Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain [inward atoning], and washed my hands in innocency [outward atoning] (Psalm 73:13).
But God didn't just tell Noah to pitch the ark with any old sealer he wanted. God said to "pitch it within and without with pitch". The Hebrew noun for pitch is כֹּפֶר (kohper). It actually comes from the verb כָּפַר (kaphar) we discussed earlier; כֹּפֶר (kohper) not only means pitch, but also means something on the order of "a substitutionary payment."
Again, we must follow Noah's example. We must understand that "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). They are not suitable for ark-building at all. God's plan of salvation, the ark that will save us from sin, must be pitched inside and out with the substitutionary payment of the blood of Jesus Christ; "he is the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 2:2). Remember what God said in Leviticus 17:11? Just as an animal's blood made atonement upon the altar so Christ's blood made atonement for us on the cross. His death was the substitute for our sins; as Isaiah said, "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities" (53:5).
But how are we to pitch the ark of salvation with his blood? One part of God's plan of salvation for the modern church is baptism. Is it any coincidence that the Bible identifies Noah's ark with baptism? For it is written that "the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us...by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:20:21).
This verse says that Noah's ark is an similar picture ("like figure") of baptism. "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5); and again, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). And again, Peter commanded "Repent, and be baptized" (Acts 2:38). Noah was saved by grace but he had to build the ark; and we are saved by grace but "baptism doth also now save us" as Peter said.
We will talk more about the other two arks later. But we need to realize that Noah's ark is not some simple story that we were told as children. It is a rich analogy for salvation and holiness. God expects us to be baptized and God expects us to be holy on the inside and on the outside. He wants us to be covered with the atoning sacrifice of his Son's blood, watertight to a world of sin headed for destruction. ~CJK
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