Noah's Ark As a Floating Temple

Perhaps the rainy day has caused me to meditate upon Noah and his ark. But there are numerous parallels between the ark and temple worship.

In the Bible only the ark, the tabernacle, and the temple are given exact dimensions, according to a prearranged pattern given by the Lord. There is a similarity of an inner and outer covering for both Noah's ark and the Ark of the Covenant found in the tabernacle (and later in the temple) within the Holy of Holies. Noah was told to make rooms in the ark, and to "pitch it within and without with pitch" (Genesis 6:14). The Ark of the Covenant was overlaid "within and without" with pure gold (Exodus 25:10-11).

Each room in the temple has its unique purpose and the moving from room to room conveys a sense of moving or walking back to the presence of God. "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God" (v. 9).

The pitch covering the ark within and without is a special Hebrew word kaphar and it translates into the word atonement throughout the Old Testament. The concepts of creation, fall, and atonement are pillars in the plan of salvation and important temple concepts. The Atonement of Jesus Christ works from within and without to not only change behaviors, but also to change hearts.

The ark had a "window," which may have been something different than a window used today to view outside. The footnote for Genesis 6, verse 16 explains the Hebrew word tsohar, which literally means light brighter than noonday sun. Perhaps the Lord gives the brother of Jared a hint by saying, "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire" (Ether 2:23). The concept of receiving light and knowledge from God is another basic temple concept.

The ark also had lower, second, and third stories, representing the telestial, terrestrial, and celestial kingdoms. Ancient temples had areas representing each kingdom. The outer courtyard symbolized telestial glory, the Holy Place symbolized terrestrial glory, and the Holy of Holies symbolized celestial glory.

The repeated use of the number seven (in chapter seven) has ties to covenant making. The Hebrew word for seven (sheba) has a verb form of shaba, meaning to swear or make a covenant. The clean beasts were taken into the ark by sevens. The Lord said the rains would begin in seven days. And when a dove was released from the ark and returned again, it stayed seven days. An example of the interchangeable meaning of "seven" occurs when Abraham makes a covenant with Abimelech and he sets seven ewe lambs aside as a symbol of the oath and then digs a well named Beersheba, meaning well of the oath, or well of seven (Genesis 21:27-31).

When Noah sends forth the dove the scripture records,

"But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark" (Genesis 8:9).

The sole of the foot, the palm of the hand, and the hollow of the thigh are all the same word in Hebrew. The word is kaph. Some examples are when the Lord says, "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands" (Isaiah 49:16). And when Jacob wrestles with an angel and the messenger touches him in the hollow of the thigh (Genesis 32:25-32). This word is used in conjunction with covenant making. Interestingly, the word is translated as spoon in Numbers, chapter seven.

The dove is pulled into a place of refuge and safety as Noah puts forth his hand and pulls her in. The temple is a refuge from the storm for each of us (see Isaiah 4:6).

The imagery of the ark as a floating temple is expressed in the following verses,

"And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.

"And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth" (Genesis 7:16-17).

I am grateful we can go to the temple and enter into the new and everlasting covenant as male and female, husband and wife. As the Lord shuts us in, we are enclosed in a place of refuge and we leave the outside world behind for a while. We are then "lifted up" above the mundane and meaningless and taken to a higher spiritual plane.