Fireside: Even The Unclean

“Of beasts that are not clean… There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark,“
Genesis 7:8,9

When our world was still young, it was through.

Rather, God was through with it.

The Bible speaks of the world before the Flood that “the wickedness of man was great” and that their thought-life was “only evil continually.” People were “corrupt” and “the earth was filled with violence.” The Lord witnessed with His own eyes upon the actions of man and beast, and “behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.”

Humanity hit an all-time low. They had stretched God’s longsuffering beyond its boundaries, and God felt sorrow that He ever made them.

I wonder if God ever feels that way about this world, as He felt about that one?

Only one man found grace to be acceptable to God, and that was Noah. He was the ONLY man God warned of the ominous, universal judgment. And there was only one way he could escape it: Noah built a boat to save his house.

“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; by the which he condemned the world,”
Hebrews 11:7a

It only makes sense to act on what God reveals to you. It is also appropriate to want to save your family. With only so much room on the ark, Noah wanted to make sure his household got on.

As they began to load the boat with necessities, (food, clothing, tools, materials, writings) another voice came from Heaven to Noah to bring the animals, seven of each of the good, clean kind.

However, it was not just useful animals for Noah’s benefit that God accounted for. God Himself commanded one of the strangest orders ever to fall from His Throne:

“And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.”
Genesis 7:2b

Even the unclean had a place in God’s floorplan for the ark. They had some purpose for God’s plan for the new world, also. They were no good to eat, no good for acceptable sacrifice, some were no good to even touch! But God allowed them- no, He ordered a place for them– on the boat.

Talk about a zoo! There were creatures like porcupines, armadillos, snapping turtles, pythons, pigs, orangutangs, vultures, rats, mice, slugs, beetles, flies and worms. Who invited them? God did.

Noah’s ark is merely a picture of God’s great grace. I’m glad the unclean get a place in God’s salvation plan. While judgment is due on the world I’m living in, I know one thing: I’m not acceptable. I’m not useful. I’m not desirable in such a clean, choice environment as the “household of God.” (Ephesians 2:19)

But here I am! And to anyone who dares ask, “How did YOU get in HERE?” I can point to the invitation through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross with the rest of the unclean. Jesus said,