Meaning of Genesis 6:20

Genesis 6:20 is a pivotal instruction given by God to Noah regarding the preservation of life during the impending global flood. It details the specific mandate for Noah to bring into the ark "two of every kind" of animal, encompassing birds, ground-dwelling creatures, and implicitly, all other forms of animal life. This directive underscores God's sovereign plan for salvation and the continuation of His creation, emphasizing that the ark was not merely a refuge for Noah's family, but a vessel of biological preservation, ensuring the biodiversity of the post-flood world. The verse highlights God's meticulous design and His profound care for the living creatures He made, demonstrating His commitment to renewal and the establishment of a new beginning.

Context and Background

This verse is situated within the narrative of the Great Flood, a cataclysmic event described in Genesis chapters 6-9. Prior to this instruction, Genesis 6:11-13 details the pervasive wickedness and corruption of humanity, which led God to resolve to destroy all life on earth. However, Noah found favor in God's eyes (Genesis 6:8), prompting God to reveal His plan to save Noah and his family, along with a remnant of the animal kingdom, through the construction of a great ark. Genesis 6:14-16 provides the detailed specifications for the ark itself, setting the stage for the instructions concerning the animals.

Key Themes and Messages

• Divine Providence and Preservation: The verse demonstrates God's active intervention to preserve life, even in the face of judgment. He orchestrates the survival of creation through Noah.
• Order and Design: God's instruction to bring "two of every kind" suggests a divine order and a systematic approach to preservation, ensuring that each species would have a representative pair for future propagation. This implies a recognition of distinct biological kinds.
• God's Sovereignty over Creation: The directive highlights God's ultimate authority over all living things. He commands them, and they are to come to Noah for salvation.
• The Ark as a Symbol of Salvation: The ark, and the animals within it, prefigure a broader theme of salvation that runs throughout Scripture, where God provides a means of deliverance from destruction.

Spiritual Significance and Application

Spiritually, this event can be viewed as a type or foreshadowing of Christ's redemptive work. Just as the ark preserved life from the floodwaters, Christ is our ark of salvation, preserving us from eternal judgment. The bringing of animals into the ark can also symbolize the inclusion of all nations and peoples under God's salvific plan, which extends beyond humanity to encompass the created order. Furthermore, it highlights the responsibility entrusted to humanity (represented by Noah) to care for and steward God's creation, a mandate reiterated in later biblical texts.

Relation to the Broader Biblical Narrative

Genesis 6:20 is foundational to the biblical account of creation's continuity. It establishes the post-flood lineage of all terrestrial life, connecting the pre-flood world to the world that followed. This verse is crucial for understanding the genealogies and the distribution of peoples and animals after the flood. It also sets a precedent for God's covenantal relationship with creation, which is further elaborated in Genesis 9, where God makes a covenant with Noah and all living creatures, promising never again to destroy the earth by flood.

Analogies

One analogy could be that of a seed bank or a zoo of last resort. Just as a seed bank preserves diverse plant species for future cultivation, Noah's ark served as a biological repository to ensure the repopulation of the earth. Similarly, a zoo, in its role of conservation, aims to protect and propagate endangered species; the ark was the ultimate, divinely ordained conservation effort. Another analogy might be a lifeboat carrying not just human survivors but also the genetic material necessary to rebuild a community and its ecosystem.

Relation to Other Verses

• Genesis 1:20-25, 28: These verses describe God's initial creation of birds, animals, and creatures, commanding them to multiply. Genesis 6:20 shows God's re-initiation of this command after the flood.
• Genesis 7:1-16: This chapter details the actual carrying out of God's instructions, with Noah bringing his family and the animals into the ark.
• Genesis 9:9-17: This passage records God's covenant with Noah and all living creatures, explicitly referencing the promise to never again bring a flood to destroy the earth, a promise made possible by the preservation of life commanded in Genesis 6:20.
• Matthew 24:37-39: Jesus likens the days of His coming to the days of Noah, highlighting that people were unaware of the impending judgment, just as they were "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware, until the flood came and swept them all away." This connects the flood narrative, and by extension the preservation of life, to eschatological themes.
• Revelation 7:9-10; 21:1-4: These passages speak of a redeemed humanity from "every nation, tribe, people, and language" and a new heaven and new earth where God dwells with His people, reflecting a renewed and redeemed creation.