MAN (3)

^[p. 36] MAN (3)

Genesis 5:32; Genesis 6:1 - 14; Genesis 7:1 - 24.

JT It was suggested that we read the verse in chapter 5 because it keeps Noah in the family that is delineated in that chapter; and it keeps him before us too according to the place that God had given him. It is sovereign selection of which he is proved to be worthy because his generations are given. It is the history of Noah, which refers to his generations. Then his sons are distinctly kept before us in the narrative, and his sons’ wives as well as his own wife. Noah is distinguished in that he is said to have prepared an ark for the saving of his house, which is an example for us, especially as to baptism. The word is that it is a like figure according to which baptism now saves us. Baptism in the New Testament is an answer to the idea of the flood; it has the thought of purification as well as immersion. Another thing to be kept before us is the emphasis on the word ‘Man’ in this narrative, written with a capital, as we shall all have noticed, so that the idea is very pronounced and intended to be so in our minds at this time.

RHS Is there a difference between the thought of ‘Man’ and the sons of God? Were the sons of God created before man, as suggested in Job?

JT Yes, that has to be kept in mind. Attention has been called to the recency of man’s creation as compared with that of other beings. But we see here that man is in mind, and his destruction comes in in view of the terrible wickedness that had developed in the family. There is also allusion to the fall of certain of the angelic family. That is something that, perhaps, we have not touched on very much, but it should be noticed at this time. The allusion is to certain angels that fell, having become apostate,

^[p. 37] and they never were recovered; there is no such thought as any recovery of such beings. Only man is recovered.

Ques They are numbered amongst the angels that kept not their first estate?

JT That is right.

TNW Are they the spirits that are in prison, heretofore disobedient?

JT Those would be the persons to whom Noah preached but the sons of God would refer to angels who left their first estate.

CAM With regard to the daughters of men, does not the enemy power seek to work out its terrible designs on the feminine side of things, as Satan at the beginning?

JT Yes, it does, which is a very solemn matter for us to consider.

AAT Would it correspond with spiritualism today? These sons of God were not men, but apparently beings that are supernatural, I suppose, and I was wondering if today there is anything like that?

JT The question that has been raised is as to the feminine side in this passage; there is no female side among the angels, it is only among men that you get that thought, or among the lower creatures on the earth. I do not know if I have made that clear but it is important that what has been referred to should not be passed over.

ANW The angels neither marry nor are given in marriage, we are told.

JT Just so.

AR You get in this chapter the place the Spirit has too: “My spirit shall not always plead with Man”.

JT We shall also come to that touching reference to the dove in the latter part of the narrative, the dove coming into the ark; but we will not touch ^[p. 38] on it immediately. We are now speaking of the corruption on the earth that is unfolded in this passage in Genesis 6. It is a terrible time today for corruption of this kind and everyone should be aware of it in order to stand against it.

CFE Do we see here the thought of departure?

JT We do, and I think we ought to keep it before us in the angelic side that is touched on here.

JHE The Lord says, “As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man”, Matthew 24:37. We can expect such conditions now.

JT Just so; the awful corruption.

TVD When the Lord was here and they came and asked Him about what Moses had said, that Moses had allowed a bill of divorcement, He answered that, ‘In the beginning it was not so’. He goes right back to the beginning, the way things had come from God at the outset. In the beginning God had created male and female and joined them as man and wife; but this ordering man had corrupted and is still corrupting.

JT That is so.

ABP Is it not particularly dangerous in our day because this kind of thing is more or less winked at by many prominent persons in the world? I thought the fact that the angels were involved in it here might set a sort of lead in the matter; and the fact that it is more or less winked at by persons in the world makes it very dangerous for our young people.

JT And so the Lord speaks of what was happening when the flood came; and this scripture shows the terribleness of the conditions that existed. When we come to the end of the Bible, to Revelation, there is much made of this terrible looseness, this corruption that is abroad amongst men, and we ought to be aware of it and set our faces against it in view of our young people.

^[p. 39] FSC Is this chapter in great moral contrast to the previous chapter?

JT Yes; the previous chapter is the family chapter.

VCL But in some sense is this chapter not a chapter of victory? The evil is called attention to in all its corruptness, but it seems to throw into relief the greatness of what Noah did.

JT Quite so; so that he is singled out in the first section we read and his history is given. It says, “This is the history of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect amongst his generations: Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was full of violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth” (verses 9 - 12). And then again, in verse 14, “Make thyself an ark of gopher wood”; that is, Noah prepared an ark; God ordered him to do so to save his house. And attention is called to Noah because of his three sons; we noticed that they are mentioned at the end of chapter 5, and now they are called attention to again in chapter 6; in the midst of the corruption they are preserved. So that we can take comfort in this, that there are those that are preserved, and God helps us to preserve our children.

JTJr So we have baptism linked up with Noah in the New Testament, and also preaching. He is called a preacher of righteousness. This chapter would bring out both those thoughts, would you think?

JT It is good to bring that up, and the brethren are trying to keep up these matters. We are having our little preachings every Lord’s day, to say the least, and besides that we keep on with baptism as maintaining the households of the ^[p. 40] saints.

FHL Would you say that there are four men and four women here who are maintaining God’s thought as to man and woman? It is said of Lemech that he had two wives; but the eight persons who go through in the ark are maintaining the family idea of husband and wife.

JT Very good. It was in Cain’s family that the two wives appeared.

Ques Descendants of Noah’s three sons have come into the assembly, have they not?

JT Quite so, that is the idea, that they are carried down. And I believe that the division of the world at the present time can be marked out from the sons of Noah; and especially the areas from which the assembly is drawn; that is to say, the Japheth areas. Certain parts are noted as affording material for the assembly, and that should be understood by us.

JTJr Is it from Japheth that we get the beginnings of that part of the gentile world which includes our own position here and Britain with its outgoings?

JT Yes, that is right. There is hardly a thing for God in Asia, and in Africa very little. It is in the element from Japheth that you get the material for the assembly.

FHL And yet the idea of all men is carried through as seen in Acts 8, Acts 9 and Acts 10, would you not say?

JT Just so, the evangelisation of the eunuch would bring in Ham in chapter 8, and in chapter 9 we have Shem’s line in the incoming of Saul, and the incoming of the line of Japheth is seen in the house of Cornelius in chapter 10 through Peter’s ministry.

RWS Japheth was the elder, was he not, indicating that the assembly was the primary thought in God’s mind? In chapter 10 it speaks of Japheth the elder.

JT Exactly.

AAT At the end of Matthew the disciples are told to go into all the world and make disciples. Would that be broader than the Japheth world?

JT Oh, well, we must make allowance for God’s distinctions. It is true it says in Mark, “Go into all the world, and preach the glad tidings to all the creation”; Mark 16:15 that is quite right; but at the same time there are levitical principles governing these things as to where we are to go. You do not find in Scripture evangelisation towards Asia; you do not get it even in Paul.

JTJr That is, the Spirit came in immediately to guide them?

JT That is right, so that there are levitical principles governing the position.

GH In Romans 16 in Paul’s salutation he says, “Salute Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first-fruits of Asia for Christ”, Romans 16:5.

JT That does not refer to the continent of Asia; that is the province of Asia. It is the continent of Asia of which we have been speaking.

VCL Is there any parallel between the fewness of those that God carried through in the ark and the comparative numerical fewness of those that we can identify and have happy fellowship with today?

JT There must be some distinctive connection there, surely. The Spirit of God goes to the trouble of mentioning that it was eight souls, not seven, but eight.

JHE The Lord says, “Fear not, little flock”, Luke 12:32 does He not?

JT Just so, it is a word for us not to fear for “it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom”, Luke ^[p. 42] 12:32.

CHH Would that be the thought in “Let Reuben live, and not die; and let his men be few”? Deuteronomy 33:6.

JT Just so; the idea is that they are easily counted I think. We were speaking recently about being able to name one another. I think that is very comforting that we are to be friends, calling the friends by name. We can do this, we can go to the different localities and call the brethren by name. We are few, of course, but at the same time there is a goodly number taking account of what there is on earth — in this country, and in Australasia, and in Europe; there is a goodly number that God has on the earth and we can reckon them with pleasure, and find comfort in it.

DP Is it not a fact that in Acts 16 the Spirit of God directed Paul towards Europe? Would the Spirit have in mind to draw the greater amount of material from that area?

JT That is a more reduced thought, but it is the same idea as Japheth; it is in his territory, only Europe is a reduced thought. The gospel was to go to Europe: the appeal in the vision to Paul was, “Pass over into Macedonia and help us”, Acts 16:9. It is a reduced thought, it is a question of grace, really, at that time. What we were talking about earlier was the whole realm of Japheth.

DP Yes; but I understand that the Spirit’s operations are mainly in Europe and its outgoings.

JT But that is not as large a sphere as Japheth; Japheth is a larger thought.

MG From the beginning it was said that Japheth was to be enlarged.

JT It was. And another thing that we should have in our minds is that we are not to be on racial lines. We have already spoken of racial lines but we should not have that in our minds too much because God is not thinking of what is racial exactly, He is thinking of material for the assembly.

JHE ^[p. 43] He is calling out from among the nations.

SCM It is out of every tongue, kindred, and nation, is it not?

JT Yes, quite.

SCM I was noticing that Japheth’s name means spreading, enlargement.

RWS There was not any spreading in this chapter; apparently during the hundred and twenty years of Noah’s preaching there was no one converted, but, of course, the ground was held and enlargement has come out later. Would it represent the patient continuance of a few going through a hundred and twenty years of crisis?

JT Yes; of course it comes out in Abraham who is the father of all believers, which is a great idea in the fatherly sense. We shall come to that in a later reading.

JTJr I suppose we are experiencing, in a small way, this spreading of the testimony in our city. If we have that in mind we should also be thinking of what is suitable in the way of proper meeting rooms.

JT We have been occupied with that for some time and I think that something will come out of it.

JTJr There is also need for considering personnel, that there might be persons in each of the meetings who can help to carry on in the way of testimony.

JT I have been told that it used to be asked by Mr. Stoney, when new meetings were being started, ‘Who are your elders?’ We need elders, persons that will look after things and see that things are done and that order is kept.

CHH Would chapter 5, being an account of families, be in accord with John’s teaching; whereas this, being more assembly teaching, would be Paul’s line, being a matter of the house and the ark?

JT Very good, I ^[p. 44] would think that.

RHS You were referring to setting up meetings; would that be suggested in Titus, where Paul says, “For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou mightest go on to set right what remained unordered, and establish elders in each city, as I had ordered thee”? Titus 1:5.

JT I think so; things are to be kept in order, too, and this calls for persons looking after things properly.

Ques Where do young brothers fit into elderhood?

JT They do not fit into it, they are not elders; an elder is an elder, the word means that he is not a young brother; but at the same time the young brother has responsibility and there is much to do. And so you find that is so in Acts 5 where Ananias and Sapphira are carried out by the young men. They looked after the burial of these two persons, which would indicate that Ananias and Sapphira were christians although they came under the judgment of God.

EAL Would you say that one of the most needful and important things in our localities is the matter of those who have experience with God, those who have been faithful in the course and have proven their dependence on God?

JT And so you have the idea of the twenty-four elders, and the four living creatures. I would connect the young brothers with the living creatures, and the elders are seen in the twenty-four; they look after things.

SCM John, in his epistle, writes to the fathers, the young men, and the children. They are to go on together, are they not?

JT The book of Revelation helps in regard to elders and young men. The living creatures would cover the idea of young men; life must be there if they are to have any place at all.

GH The fathers in John’s epistle would be like the elders?

JT Just so.

JTJr Paul’s ministry, as has been remarked, fits into this chapter; eldership and what governs the assembly (typified in the ark here) would fit in with what is going on in our cities.

DP Noah would have to cope with the spirit of evil that was then rampant, would he not?

JT Quite so.

ANW We have a word about Jehovah’s Spirit here: “My Spirit” (verse 3). Jehovah’s Spirit comes into view, pleading with men. Why does that appear just now?

JT Does it not show, in regard to the blessed Spirit, that He is active here on earth? It gives a peculiar place to the Spirit. He is not mentioned much in this section, but He is here and He is mentioned in the first chapter also; and then undoubtedly He is in mind in the mention of the dove later on, showing the great place the Spirit has in these chapters.

CAM In referring to Noah’s preaching, it says that it was the Spirit of Christ that preached to these people, does it not?

JT Just so, Peter alludes to that.

CAM Do you not think that we should be encouraged with regard to the gospel in connection with the Spirit?

JT And the fewness of those secured too, for they are mentioned in that passage: “into which few, that is, eight souls, were saved”, 1 Peter 3:20. “Eight souls”; so that I think we should be encouraged in that with which we are going on. The Lord is helping us, I think; we are very small, of course, but still the Lord is helping us and it is in keeping with what we have here. There was very little done here although ^[p. 46] the Spirit of God was pleading. There was very little in the sense of results, but there were eight souls anyway.

JTJr However, the idea of building has gone on, has it not, in the recovery? Since the recovery of the truth it has been the building. Things have been built up locally amongst us and the Spirit has had His part in all that.

GH It says of Noah that he was moved with fear, and that he “prepared an ark for the saving of his house”, Hebrews 11:7. Is that an important feature today?

JT It is; the fear of God, that is the fear that made him prepare the ark for the saving of his house.

RWS How familiar he seems to be with the dove! Could I just read that passage in chapter eight? It says, “And he sent out the raven, which went forth going to and fro, until the waters were dried from the earth. And he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had become low on the ground. But the dove found no resting-place for the sole of her foot, and returned to him into the ark; for the waters were on the whole earth; and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her to him into the ark. And he waited yet other seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came to him at eventide; and behold, in her beak was an olive-leaf plucked off; and Noah knew that the waters had become low on the earth. And he waited yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove; but she returned no more to him”, Genesis 8:7 - 12.

JT That she returned no more, would, I suppose, point to the millennial day; then the Spirit will be free; — there will be no need of the assembly here as the habitation or sphere of the Spirit. The Spirit will be free to act. I think the allusion would be to the millennial day and the freedom the Spirit will ^[p. 47] have. The dove is not under restraint, there is no restraint there.

RWS So that the Spirit will be here in a certain sense, in the millennial day?

JT Quite so.

Rem The presence of Noah here in this chapter did not stop the evil; indeed it became worse. In fact, after reference to Noah in this chapter we read that God says, “The end of all flesh is come before me”.

JT Just so, and God is going to deal with it although He was showing that He was giving man a long opportunity, a hundred and twenty years; but the judgment was coming, it was inevitable. When Noah entered into the ark the flood came, it says.

Rem So that the saints while here are holding back the judgment, but in the end it will come.

JT Just so; it is a certainty, and the book of Revelation points to it. There is great importance attached to judgment, especially at the end of the Bible.

WWM In the street preachings we may have a sense that the Spirit of God is not operating among men generally. God says, “My Spirit shall not always plead with Man”, and the foot-note says, ‘plead in (or amongst) men’. But we preach in view of sending out the testimony and hoping to bring to light someone that is affected by it; but in general men in the mass are pretty much in the condition of which we read in this chapter.

JT That is so, there is very little interest. I believe in keeping largely to the meeting rooms because there is room for the Spirit in the meeting rooms; the brethren are there, the young people are there, and there is some room for the Spirit in the meeting room. Of course if we raise the question of the street preaching, it is good and well; and if young brothers are able to do it, let them do it;

^[p. 48] God will bless them. But I believe in the main in holding to the meeting rooms because the Spirit of God has something there that is more congenial to Him than in the street. There is some restriction, or whatever it may be, that is from God.

WWM So that if a person comes to the gospel preaching in the room it is more likely he would be helped there than anywhere else because the Spirit of God would be free there.

JT And the brethren can get round him and talk to him.

ANW The Lord brings that out strikingly in Luke 15, that while the sheep is sought and found in the wilderness, the piece of money is in the house; and the woman says, “I have found the piece which I had lost”, Luke 15:9 which seems to have a direct allusion to the Spirit Himself.

JT It is an allusion, I am sure. It is a woman that sweeps the house; it is done with womanly care, and it is to find the lost piece.

TEH I have often heard it said that a young brother should start preaching in the open air first. Is that correct?

JT That is where I started, here in New York city. I would recommend to every young brother to go out in the street; but then let the preaching go on in the rooms too, because you get more power and protection in testimony in the rooms.

AR Is there salvation in our rooms?

JT Well, there is some protection, especially if the brothers and the sisters attend the meetings well and stay around after the preaching and talk to those that are there, to young people and others who need care.

Rem The persons who were saved in the ark not only came to Noah but they came into the ark; and I thought it should be the concern of the ^[p. 49] preachers, not only to win souls to Christ, but to seek to bring them into the assembly.

Ques Would you encourage persons to stay after the preaching? That is not forcing them, is it?

JT No; they have come there and you are assuming that they have come voluntarily and that there is some interest in them. That makes a great difference; you cannot assume that on the street.

ABP It was after the preaching that the Lord spoke with Simon in Luke 5. He was told to launch out into the deep after the preaching was over.

Ques Is it not a question of love for souls? If there is love for souls one would take every opportunity whether on the streets or elsewhere to try and bring them to Christ.

JT Oh, quite so; but then we are speaking about the meeting rooms, and we ought to look for some results. There is protection in some sense for those who come into the meeting rooms. These things are not to be spoken of lightly.

CHH It was necessary to be in the ark to take account of the animals. I suppose each of them would suggest some feature of God’s work which could only be seen in the ark.

JT Quite so, very good. Another thing that we have to realise is that there were no children amongst those that were saved. It was not a time for children at all, it was for full grown persons, for, whether in Noah’s house or in those of his sons, everyone was full-grown.

CFE Does that convey God’s thoughts manward?

JT That is right; in this particular phase of the testimony you look for full-grown persons.

VCL Methuselah apparently died in the very year of the flood; he was not carried over; but Noah, who had found favour with God, would set out the ^[p. 50] idea of the full knowledge of God in some distinct way.

JT He was a full grown man, the full idea of manhood is seen in Noah; it is a question too of his righteousness.

AEW The suggestion of his being perfect seems to be the first introduction of that thought in Scripture; “Noah was a just man, perfect amongst his generations”. I would like to understand a little more as to his character.

JT It is a question of having the senses exercised; a man is made perfect by the use of his senses, by learning to discern between good and evil. That is the idea. I think Noah was a man of that character; he had his senses exercised to discern between good and evil.

ANW There is a reference in the footnote about the word “generations” in verse 9: “This is the history of Noah. Noah was ... perfect amongst his generations”. The note says that “amongst his generations” refers to his contemporaries. He had a right setting in relation to his contemporaries, and walked with God in it.

CHH Is that why he is spoken of as the “eighth”? Is that according to generation? According to history he was the tenth, was he not? Why would Peter say that he was the eighth, or one of eight?

JT Oh, I think that it is that he was one of eight instead of being one of ten or twelve; there were only eight souls in his house.

Ques Were Noah’s sons converted?

JT I would take them to be converted, to represent the idea that they were saved in his house.

RHS I would like to ask you about Jehovah repenting, whether a similar feature is seen in Hosea where it speaks of Ephraim mixing himself with the peoples (chapter 7: 8). God proposes to bring judgment ^[p. 51] upon them; but then in chapter 11 He says: “My repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger ... for I am God, and not man”, Hosea 11:8. Does that suggest that as God, speaking reverently, He can change His mind?

JT Just so, He can change His mind. It says here that it grieved Him at His heart that they went on in such a course. The word ‘grief’ is used in connection with divine Persons, as with the Holy Spirit; we may grieve the Holy Spirit. So that God may change His mind. It grieved Him at His heart that He had made man. He said that He would destroy him, but nevertheless He kept on with the idea of man; He did not abandon His thought. Therefore a divine Person became Man so that the whole idea might be maintained.

ABP It says that Jehovah shut Noah into the ark. Is there some point in connection with that?

JT It shows how wonderfully God is concerned about this man Noah, how much He thought of him. He Himself shut him in; He made sure that he was protected. It is very beautiful I think to get that touch of God’s interest in His people, in this case of Noah and his house.

ABP Would the same feelings enter into the sealing of the Spirit?

JT Pretty much. You get first the anointing, then the sealing, then the earnest of the Spirit; there are those three things. God shutting Noah into the ark Himself showed the gracious consideration He had for him.

FHL Does the pitch put within and without carry the thought of atonement, which would be in line with the counsels of God?

JT That is good. The pitch would make it secure from leakage; security was assured to Noah.

WWM As we look at the degraded position of mankind today with such low morality among men,

^[p. 52] should it not be a great encouragement to us that after God had spoken of repenting that He had made man, it says, “But Noah found favour in the eyes of Jehovah”? That would mean that God finds pleasure in those that are responding to His love, moving in the right way.

JT Noah, I would say, was qualifying for headship. A great matter was put into his hands and he was qualifying for it. He found favour in the eyes of the Lord.

AJB Would there be any reference to Noah’s headship in the fact that it says of the creatures, “And they went to Noah”? And then again, “They that came, came male and female”. Is there something of the attractiveness of Christ there; or would it suggest attractiveness in the saints?

JT I think the attractiveness is in Noah, really. They came to him: “And they went to Noah, into the ark, two and two of all flesh”; and again, “They that came, came male and female of all flesh”. They came, showing that he was attractive. I think that is what is meant, that he is qualifying for headship. The thought runs right through the chapter.

JC Would Noah and his family be a type of the whole christian company being carried through the waters of death?

JT Very likely, I would say that.

JC What about the smallness of the company of only eight souls as compared with the great work of christianity today? I suppose there are comparatively few, as compared to all in the world, who will be carried through the waters of judgment. But what about the animals? What do they represent?

JT They represent something of God I would think; these creatures that came into the ark would represent some feature of the work of God. We just have to accept the smallness of things. We have been going on with these little meetings for some ^[p. 53] fifty years, or so, in this city, and there is very little result; but still there has been result. There are still brethren coming into fellowship, coming into the assembly, and that is worth while. And these creatures represent life in some sense, what the work of God is in some sense.

SW Does it not stimulate us to know that the assembly is going through? And would you say a word about the dimensions of the ark? It was not left to Noah to say what they were to be.

JT It was quite a large vessel, three hundred cubits, about four hundred and fifty feet I would say, showing how large the divine thoughts were, that there should be abundant salvation, plenty of room, not only for the men but for the animals as well.

SW Here we have only three dimensions, length, breadth, and height, but in Ephesians we have the fourth dimension.

JT Three would be the proper creational dimension; four is beyond that, it is an extra dimension; the fourth dimension is scientifically known to be that.

DP Noah did not appear to have a pattern for the ark?

JT God gave him the pattern. It is like the tabernacle, it was God-given.

WWM There was only one window in the ark, apparently, and that was at the top, so they had to be looking up all the time.

JT Quite so, and it is good experience to be looking up. The Psalms, the Songs of degrees, speak about this very thing.

LW Would the pitch be in evidence today?

JT Yes; it is to keep out evil, to protect us from what is bad; it prevents leakage and the intrusion of what would damage us. The thing ^[p. 54] is intact.

SCM Our households are to be kept in the same way, just as Moses was safe in the ark of reeds?

JT Just so, it keeps out the evil from our families.

Ques Is the ark also a type of the Lord Jesus? We were quoting from Peter, “which figure also now saves you, even baptism”, 1 Peter 3:21. We have been saying that the ark is a type of the assembly, which I think I see, but is it not also a type of Christ? This passage deals with the judgment of God and no one could bear it but He alone.

JT Quite so, it could be used in that sense; but it is more accurate to speak of it as the assembly or the house of God where there is protection for souls.

AR You have referred to it as to those that were saved at the end of Acts 2, those that were added to the assembly.

JHE So salvation is in the assembly, in that sense, where our children are protected and cared for from the evil of the world around.

JT It says the Lord added to the assembly “those that were to be saved”, Acts 2:47.

ABP Would the features of life which go through in the ark for the filling out of the new world suggest that in the assembly at the present time the whole truth of God is being preserved; so that Israel will come into possession of what has been held intact?

JT That is very good; there is much truth in that to be looked into, what is carried over in view of the millennial day.

Ques Noah was to take the creatures into the ark, it says in verse 19, “to keep them alive with thee”, Genesis 6:19. I was thinking that is really what Paul did in the shipwreck. The souls were given to him and he has kept them alive, would you say?

JT Yes, I would.

GH ^[p. 55] It is beautiful how God takes such care of His servants. It says about Noah that “Jehovah shut him in”; and in connection with Moses that Jehovah Himself buried Moses. He took care of him Himself.

JT Very good; He buried Moses and He shut Noah in. And He is acting for us now too, for young people especially.

VCL While nothing is said about the faith of Noah’s sons and daughters, nevertheless God told Noah to take them with him into the ark. Everything depended upon Noah.

JT That is so.

AR Do we get a happy result in chapter 8? It says, “And Noah built an altar to Jehovah; and took of every clean animal, and of all clean fowl, and offered up burnt-offerings on the altar. And Jehovah smelled the sweet odour”, Genesis 8:20 - 21.

JT It shows that Noah went all the way with what was to be done. It would seem that he went beyond what he was directed to do.

Rem In this chapter it says, “The end of all flesh is come before me”. I was wondering if baptism is the way we come to it; that is, we bring in baptism into our houses and maintain the truth of it in ourselves.

JT That is right.

ABP Are we to understand that this all flows out of the faithfulness of one man? Is the point in our reading tonight to emphasize the possibilities there are if one person is walking according to the will of God?

JT Yes; how much is made of Noah in the prophets! Much is made of him, and of Job and of Daniel, but we are told that they can only save themselves under certain conditions, showing that as members of the household we have to take heed to ourselves under these conditions. You cannot rely ^[p. 56] on the righteousness of a father or a mother, you have to take heed to yourself. The prophets teach us on these points.

ABP But would not our scripture this evening encourage every householder to act in faith for the preservation of his house? Would not each of us who are householders be stimulated by this principle to hold our households?

JT Yes indeed; but another thing I am referring to is what these men are in themselves: Job, Noah and Daniel. When things were not right one of these men could save the testimony himself; the testimony is bound up with himself. According to Ezekiel 14, the prophet looks after himself and looks after the testimony. Even if his house is not right the prophet looks after the testimony.

AD At the beginning of chapter 8 it says, “And God remembered Noah, and all the animals, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark”, Genesis 8:1. He was the faithful one; it does not mention his sons or his sons’ wives.

JT It is just what we have been saying, that one man can stand for the testimony; one prophet such as Noah or Job or Daniel can preserve the testimony even if his house is not right.

Rem David said, “Although my house be not so”; 2 Samuel 23:5 he would serve Jehovah.

JT Just so.

ANW Perhaps that is conveyed in the statement at the end of verse 23, “And Noah alone remained, and what was with him in the ark”. It is interesting the way that is put, “what was with him in the ark”. He stands, and whatever is linked with him is preserved..

JT That is one point I thought that we should not leave out, as to what can be done by one man, even though his house is not right, only himself.

^[p. 57] There are such cases as that. One man can preserve the testimony.

SW Would not this chapter show too the God-given ability to man to carry out and maintain instructions given him?

JT It would. God says to him, “Thee have I seen”; God has His eye on Noah.

Ques In view of what you have been saying as to one man, it has been said in times past that if a man did not have his household right he was disqualified to exercise oversight in the assembly. Is that right?

JT That is true too; at the same time though his house be not right, he can preserve the thing himself. That is what the prophets teach, that certain righteous persons can preserve the testimony themselves even if their families may not be preserved, showing the value of a godly man, a righteous man. That is the point of it.