For the Young
IF we look at a beautiful landscape in summertime from a hill-top, we often see dark shadows moving slowly over the fields. And then if we look from the fields below to the sky above, we see where those shadows come from. Great masses of white, fleecy clouds are floating through the sky. It is those clouds which make the shadows we see moving over the fields. And if we look carefully at one of these moving shadows we can find out a good deal about the cloud that makes it. We can tell whether it is a big cloud or a little one. We can tell whether it is round in its shape, and smooth in its edges, or whether it is rough in its edges, and irregular in its shape.
In the same way, if we are walking away from the sun, when it is setting in the western sky, we can see our own shadow cast upon the road before us. If we stand still, and some one draws the outline of our shadow on the ground that person, even if he had never seen us, would be able, from examining the shadow, to tell whether it was made by a person large or small, by a man or woman, a boy or a girl.
Now, the Bible, God's blessed book, is like such a landscape spread out around us. And when we come to read the Old Testament, we find many things in it that appear to us very much like shadows we often see in summer, moving over the fields as we gaze on them. The apostle Paul tells us of these Old Testament stories that they "were written for our learning." Rom. 15:4. And in another place he says they are "a shadow of heavenly things." Heb. 8:5. They are—"a shadow of things to come, but the body is Christ." Col. 2:17. He means by this that the principal persons whose histories we read in the Old Testament, and the leading events and incidents recorded there, were intended to teach us about the work that Jesus was to do for us when he should come into the world to be our Saviour. And now, I ask you to come with me, and let us take a good long ramble together through the field of the Old Testament, to study some of the shadows which are there, and try to learn what important lessons they teach us about Jesus.
The first of these, selected for our present subject is—"The Ark of Noah."
This is the earliest shadow of Christ that we find in the Bible. And when we come to examine this shadow, and draw as it were its outline, we see four things in it which seem to point to Jesus, and teach us very important lessons concerning him. We may begin by speaking of the—size—of the ark.
Noah, who built the ark, lived more than four thousand years ago. That was only a little over sixteen hundred years after Adam was created, and men began to live on the earth. But, in that comparatively short time, the people in the world had become very wicked. Noah and his family were the only persons in all the world who feared God. In consequence of their wickedness God had made up his mind to destroy every living creature in the world, except Noah and his family. And he determined to do this by bringing the deluge, or flood of water, on the earth. The object God had in view in doing this was to check the growth of wickedness, and teach men the dreadful nature of sin.
But, before doing this, God told Noah of his purpose. At the same time he gave him directions about an ark or vessel which he was to build, and in which he and his family were to be saved, while all the rest of the world was to be destroyed by the waters of the flood. The family of Noah consisted of eight persons. These were Noah and his wife, with his three sons and their wives. These eight persons were the only human beings, out of all the multitudes of people then living, who were to find shelter and safety in the ark. But, in addition to himself and his family, Noah was to take with him some of the birds of the air, of the cattle of the field, of the beasts of the forests, and of the creeping things of the earth, in order to keep them alive, and that they might fill the earth again when the flood was over.
What God said to Noah about this we read in Gen. 6:19, 20. "And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every kind shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee, they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive." A larger number of certain kinds of birds and animals were to be taken in. For in Gen. 7:2, 3, we read—"Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female; and of beasts that are not clean by twos, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and his female, to keep seed alive upon the face of the earth." The animals called clean here were such as were offered in sacrifice to God. The unclean birds and animals were those which were not allowed to be thus used.
We are not told, and therefore we do not know, how many different kinds of birds and beasts and insects were taken into the ark with Noah. But God just knew how many of them there would be, when he gave directions to Noah how large he was to make the ark. He never makes a mistake in doing anything. You know we have a number of oceans on our earth. There is the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Ocean, and so on. And when God made these oceans he knew exactly how much water was to be put into each of them, for the Bible tells us that "He measured the waters in the hollow of his hand." Is. 40:12. And so he knew how large to make the basin, or bed, which was to hold the water of each of the oceans. And in every case he has made it of the proper size. And God is quite as careful in making little things as he is in making big things. Here is a baby; look now at the baby's eyes. Each of them is a little ball—a wonderful ball, indeed,— not quite round, but rather longer one way than it is the other. And each eye has a little hole, or socket, as it is called, made for it, in the bony part of the baby's head. God has made millions on millions of eyes. And each of these has had a socket exactly fitted for it. The socket for each of your eyes, and each of my eyes, just fits it. It is neither too large nor too small. God does all things well. "His work is perfect." Deut. 32:4. And so when God told Noah about the size of the ark—its length—its width—you may be sure that he knew exactly how large it ought to be in order to have room enough for all who were to be sheltered in it from the coming flood.
This was the measure after which it was to be made:—The length of it three hundred cubits, the breadth fifty cubits, and the height thirty cubits. We are not quite certain how much a cubit was, according to our measure. It is generally supposed that it was eighteen inches, or a foot and a half. Then, according to this measure, the length of the ark was four hundred and fifty feet, its breadth seventy-five feet, and its height forty-five feet. It was not intended for fast sailing, but for safe floating, and so it probably had not a sharpened bow and a rounded stern as our ships have. We may think of it as a great square wooden house, six times as long as it was broad. The square or block of a city street is generally about five hundred feet long, and sixty feet wide. An ordinary three-story house is about forty-five feet high. So we may think of the ark as a floating house, or vessel, nearly as long as one of our squares, half as wide again, and about as high as a three-story dwelling.
We may be sure, therefore, that it was large enough for the purpose for which it was intended. And so when Noah had finished the ark he carefully stowed away all the food for those who were to live in it for so long a time. And when every thing was ready the birds of the air came flying to the window of the ark. The cattle came,—horses, and cows, and camels, and sheep, and asses. And the wild beasts of the forest came,—the bears, and the lions, and the tigers, and the elephants. Noah did not have to seek them, neither did he muzzle or chain them, for God took away their fierceness, and even the lions were gentle as lambs. What a strange sight it must have been! See, there are those wild animals losing their fear of man, and moving along as quietly as we sometimes see the cows walking home from the pasture, when the milking time has come. Noah put them in the places he had prepared, and found there was room for them all. The ark was large enough to take in every living thing for which it was prepared.
And when we think of the size of the ark, we see how this shadow points us to Jesus. When he was in our world he said, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt, 11:28. Many burdened souls came to him then. And ever since then they have been coming to him. They are coming to him still. Let them come,
"Yes! whosoever will, O, let him freely come; And freely drink the stream of life, 'Tis Jesus bids him come."
Jesus is the true Ark, of which Noah's ark was only the type or shadow. And as that ark was large enough to take in all for whom it was intended, so is this Ark. No matter how many millions have already come to Jesus, "yet there is room." In every land, in every age, for all who feel their need of him, and who are willing to come, there is a warm welcome, and an abundance of room.
We may alter one word in the hymn we often sing, and say there is,
" Room in the arms of Jesus,
Room on his gentle breast, There by his love overshaded Sweetly our souls may rest."
And so when we think of the size of the ark we see how this shadow points us to Jesus.
In the next place when we think of the—supplies -with which the ark was furnished, we see another thing about this shadow in which it points to Christ.
We have seen already that the ark was to carry large numbers of living creatures. They were all to stay in the ark for about a year. A great quantity of food would be required for them, and a great variety. In the places where those different creatures have lived they had always found the food they needed prepared for them. God is so good that he provides for the wants of all the creatures he has made. This is what David teaches us, when he looks up to God, and says,—"Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing." Ps. 145:16. What a beautiful thought this is! It represents all living creatures in this world,— the birds of the air, the beasts of the field and the forest, and the creeping things of the earth, as making up a great family. God is in the midst of them as the Father of it. He holds in his almighty hand all the good things that any of his creatures may need for their life and comfort. And as he opens his bountiful hand, the wants of every member of his great family are supplied.
But when Noah had finished the ark there was no food for the animals who were to make their home within it for a year. God might have fed them by miracle every day. But he never works a miracle when it is not necessary. It was not necessary here. So God told Noah to take food enough into the ark for all the animals. In Gen. 6:21 he said to him,—"Take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them." What a strange list Noah must have had to make of the provisions that would be needed for that long voyage, not round the world, but over the world! No doubt God helped him to make that list, and told him what he was to take.
Nothing was overlooked, nothing forgotten. The ark was filled and all were in their places. The door was shut. The fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the ark went floating over a drowning world. Every living thing in the ark found the food that was needed to keep it alive and make it comfortable.
And here the ark was a shadow that points us to Jesus. It teaches us this great and precious truth, that when we come to Jesus as our friend and Saviour, we are sure to find all that we can need in him. David taught us this truth when he said,—"They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." Ps. 34:10. Our Saviour himself taught the same thing when he said,—"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things"—that is food, and raiment, and every thing necessary—"shall be added unto you." Matt, 6:33. And this was what St. Paul taught us when he said, —"My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Phil, 4:19. And what Jesus does for his people now, and has always been doing for them, in supplying all their wants, was beautifully taught in a shadowy kind of way by the ark, when we are told how well it was furnished with an abundance of all things that the health and comfort of its numerous passengers would require.
Now let us look at the way in which those who are loving and serving Jesus always find him ready to help them, and to do for them whatever they really need.
"Answers to Prayer."—The Rev. Newman Hall, of Surrey Chapel, London, gives this instance of answer to prayer. It occurred in his own experience. The superintendent of his Sunday-school felt a strong desire, one Saturday evening, to call on a member of his Bible-class, to inquire if he needed anything. He had never visited him before, and could not account for the desire he felt to do so then. He found his young friend very ill. The mother and sister seemed to be in very comfortable circumstances; but still he ventured to ask them if he could help them in any way. They burst into tears, and said that the sick young man—their son and brother—had been asking for food, and they had none to give him. When the teacher knocked at the door they were both on their knees asking God to send them the help they so much needed. Their difficulty was met at once, and so the promise was fulfilled in which God says, —"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 65:24.
Here is another illustration of the same kind: —A poor widow was very anxious about her rent, which she had no money to pay. She was sitting thinking what was to be done, when she heard a low voice coming from the next room mingled with sobs. She went to the door and listened. It was her little son George, who had lately given his heart to Jesus, and become a Christian. He was thanking God for giving him such a dear, good mother. Then he told the Lord how much his mother was distressed because she had no money to pay her rent; and then he finished his prayer in this simple way:— "O, Lord, pay mother's rent. Please do for Jesus' sake. Amen."
She said nothing, but went away. The next day a lady came, who had heard of her troubles, and gave her money enough to pay her rent.
" Everything in Jesus."—A Christian lady was in the habit of visiting some poor colored people, reading the Bible to them, and trying to lead them to Jesus. Among them was a poor old woman, whose mind seemed as dark as her skin. "When I talked to her about Jesus," says the lady, "she used to say, 'It's no use, Missus, I nebber can find him. De Lord Jesus, don't want dis poor ole darkey.'"
" But one day when I opened her door her face was so bright that I knew she had 'found him.'
"Well, auntie," I said, "you feel better to-day, don't you? "
"'Oh! yes, honey, bless your heart, chile! I've found him. Jesus dun come to dis ole darkey sinner. I doesn't want nuffin now.' Here was a poor old creature with nothing in the world to call her own; without food or clothing, but what was given her in charity, yet feeling that she was made 'rich in Christ Jesus.' 'She found Jesus, and doesn't want nuffin now.' She felt that she had 'every thing in Jesus.'" And when we think of the ark, with its plentiful supply for the wants of all on board, we see how, in this respect, it was a shadow pointing to Jesus.
But let us take another look at the ark, and when we see how all who entered it found—safety —in it, we see another thing in which it was a shadow, or type of Christ.
It was a long and dangerous voyage which the ark was to make. It had to go floating on its way, over a flood of water that was sent to drown a wicked world. Outside of the ark we are told that nothing was left alive. Gen. vii:
21, 22. We can easily understand what great dangers must have surrounded the ark while all this was going on. The rain came pouring steadily down without interruption for forty days and forty nights. How heavy this rain was we may imagine when it is said, that "the windows of heaven were opened." Gen. vii: 11. How swollen the rivers must have been! and how wildly their waters must have gone sweeping over their banks and rushing over the land! And in addition to this we are told that "the fountains of the great deep were broken up." Gen. vii: 11. The meaning of this seems to be, that the waters of the great oceans broke loose from their appointed beds and went roaring and surging over the earth. What a fearful time that must have been! How wildly those rising floods must have swept all before them! And when to the sound of those mighty waters there was added the loud roaring of the terrified beasts and cattle, and the wild cries and shrieks of the drowning multitudes, we can form some faint idea of the alarming dangers that must have surrounded the ark. And yet no accident happened to it. It went floating steadily over those heaving and troubled waters, and all within it were in peace and safety. No evil came to one of its many passengers. The Lord God Almighty spread his wings over it to protect it. He kept that ark and all it contained in the hollow of his hand, and so they all found safety there. They passed through that long voyage without injury of any kind. And when the storm was over, and the waters had gone back to their place, the dry land of the renewed earth appeared. And then as the inmates of the ark came out into the bright sunshine once more, and the rainbow of God's promise was seen stretching its beautiful arch over them it seems as if every man, and woman, and beast, and bird, and creeping thing as they went forth rejoicing must have been ready to say, either by word, look or action, "we found safety in the ark."
And what a beautiful shadow the ark was of Jesus in this respect! All who flee to him for refuge find safety. He says himself,—"Look unto me, all ye ends of the earth, and be ye saved." Isaiah 45:22. It is surprising how much is said in the Bible about salvation, but it is always spoken of as "the salvation which is in Christ Jesus." 2. Tim. 2:10. He is called "the God of our salvation." Ps. 65:5,—"the captain of our salvation,"—Heb. 2:10,—"the author of eternal salvation." Heb. 5:9. As the ark carried Noah and his family through the dangers of the flood, and landed them safely on the shores of the renewed earth, so Jesus—our Ark—will carry all his people through the storms and dangers of this life, and land them safely on the shores of the heavenly world.
At the close of his life in this world, Jesus said to his Father in heaven, — "Those that Thou gavest me I have kept; and none of them is lost." John 17:12. And of all his people he says,—"My sheep shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hands." John 10:28. It was not the wooden ark, but Jesus in the ark that saved Noah from the dangers of the flood. He saved Jonah when he was far down in the depths of the sea. He saved Daniel in the den of lions, and his three friends from the burning, fiery furnace. And the apostle Paul assures us that "He is able to save unto the uttermost, all that come unto God through him." Heb. 7:25.
It is surprising how much the Bible says about the safety of those who come to Jesus as their ark. In one place he is spoken of as "the eternal God," who makes himself a "refuge" for his people, and puts underneath them his "everlasting arms." And then it is said,—"The beloved of the Lord"—this is the tender and affectionate way in which Jesus speaks of his people—"The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him." Deut. 33:27, 28. We all know how well the eye is protected in its place in the head. The moment anything dangerous comes near it, the lid shuts down upon it, and it is safe. And Jesus uses this as an illustration of the safety that his people find in him. He says that he will keep them as safely as the apple of the eye is kept. Deut. 32:10. In another place he says that if anybody touches one of his people he will feel it as quickly as we should if a person attempted to touch that most tender of all parts of the body—the eye. Zech. 2:8. Suppose you have a precious jewel, which you are afraid of losing, and which you wish to keep in perfect safety. You open your hand. You put your jewel in the palm of your hand, and then shut it up. How safe it is there! And Jesus uses this as an illustration of the safety which his people shall find in him. He promises to keep them in the shadow, or the hollow of his hand. Is. 49:2. But even if you held that jewel in the palm of your hand, it would not be perfectly safe there. Some one stronger that you might appear and compel you to open your hand, and take your jewel from you. Or if this should not take place, by and by, you might get tired and fall asleep. Then your hand would open, and your jewel might drop out. But when Jesus holds us in his almighty hand neither of these things can happen to us. None can make him loose his hold on us. And then he never grows weary, never slumbers, or sleeps; and so those whom he holds in the hollow of his hand find perfect safety there. And thus, when we remember how safely the ark carried all who were in it through the dangers of the deluge, we see what a beautiful shadow it was of Jesus—the ark of his people—and of the safety they find in him.
Now let us take one more look at the ark. Let us see how it was that the blessings found in the ark were secured. And in this respect, too, we shall find that it was finished and furnished: God said to Noah,—"Come thou and all thy house into the ark" Gen. 7:1. And in the 16th verse of the same chapter it is said,—"and the Lord shut him in.'' Noah did what God told him to do, and believed what God said to him, and in this way he was saved. This was what secured to him a share of the blessings found in the ark. Noah would not have been saved unless he had really gone into the ark as God told him to do. It was being in the ark that saved him. And all who were drowned by the flood were drowned because they were not in the ark. Noah was not saved because he had spent a hundred and twenty years in working on the ark. He was not saved because the ark was finished and furnished. He was not saved because he stood without on the platform very near the door. God said to him—"Come into the ark.'' He went in and stayed there and that saved him.
And it is just the same with us. We cannot be saved simply because Christ has died. We must have faith in him as our Saviour. Jesus says,—"Come unto me—and I will give you rest." Matt, 11:28. He says,—"Look unto me, and be ye saved." Is. 45: 22. This means "look unto me and ye shall be saved." Coming to Jesus and believing in Jesus mean expecting to be saved because of what he did and suffered for us. The best illustration of it that we can have is Noah going into the ark when God told him. Believing in Jesus is with us exactly what going into the ark was with Noah. If we do this we shall certainly be saved. If we refuse or neglect to do this we must certainly be lost; for it is written,—"There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12.
This is one of the most important of all things for us to know. It is very hard to make people understand it. Let us look at one or two illustrations that may help us in trying to understand it.
The first illustration is a story told about an English nobleman. His name was Lord Congleton. He was a friend of the Earl of Shaftesbury, and a very earnest Christian man. He had a large number of people on his estate who were very poor. He tried in many ways to do them good, but found it hard to get them to believe the Bible and become Christians. This caused him great sorrow. He thought over the matter a long time. He said to himself,—" What shall I do to show these people how they may be saved, and secure for themselves a share in all the blessings of the gospel?" And this, you see, is the very point we are now considering.
At last he hit upon a very singular plan, and at once carried it out. He made up his mind to give public notice that on a particular day, from nine o'clock in the morning to twelve o'clock at noon, he would be in his office, with his steward; and that if any of his tenants, or the people who lived on his grounds, were troubled by debts which they could not pay, if they would bring their bills with them, and tell how much they owed, they should have their debts paid, and get a receipt in full given them for the same. This notice was written out, signed by his lordship's own name, and posted up in different places. People read it, and talked about it, and wondered over it, but could not tell what to make of it.
At last the day appointed came. At nine o'clock precisely his lordship's carriage drove up to his office. He got out and entered the office, and sat there with his steward. A crowd of people gathered outside, and talked freely about this strange offer. "It's all a hoax," said one man. "I don't believe a word of it."
"But there's his lordship's own signature," replied another, "and he never tries to hoax people. He always means what he says."
"There must be a mistake about it somewhere," said another. "I'm not going to be made a fool of in this way."
And thus they talked on, but no one went in. About eleven o'clock an old man who lived with his wife in the poor-house, came along. He owed some money which he could not pay, but which he greatly desired to have paid up I before he died. He had heard of this offer, and made up his mind to accept it. Some of his friends tried to persuade him not to go. But he pointed to the written notice posted against the wall. "I know," said he, " that that's his lordship's name, and I'm sure he would never put his name to anything intended to deceive."
So he went in. "Please your lordship here's the bill for what I owe. I am living it's true in the poor-house; but I can't die happy while I'm in debt."
"And why should I pay your debts?" asked Lord Congleton.
"I can't tell, please your lordship," said the old man. "But I saw the promise signed by your lordship's own name. I had faith in your promise, and so I came."
"Right," said his lordship. "Steward, write him a check for his debts." The man received it. He examined it. He saw it was all right, and then said:
"Thank your lordship a thousand times for your kindness. Now I'll go out and tell my friends."
"No, no," said Lord Congleton. "They've got the same promise that you had. If they believe my promise and come in, they shall have all that was promised. If they can't trust my word they can have nothing."
He waited in the office till the clock struck twelve. Then he went out. Waving overhead the check that had been given to him, he exclaimed, "I've got all that was promised. Three cheers for Lord Congleton. Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!"
Just then his lordship came out and stepped into his carriage. Then there was a rush of men towards him, with bills in their hands crying,— "Please your lordship here's my bill—and mine —and mine." But he quietly waved his hand, and said,—"My friends, if you had believed my promise, and brought your bills in time they would all have been paid. But you would not trust me; and I can do nothing for you now."
Here is one other illustration from a laboring man:—A minister of the gospel had a man belonging to his congregation who worked in a coal mine. He was a happy Christian. In talking with him one day the minister asked him why he hoped to be saved.
"You know, sir, I'm no scholar," said the honest miner; "but I'll tell you the best way I can why I feel so happy. It's not what I do, but what Christ has done for me that I am trusting in. You've been down in the shaft of the mine. Now, for a long time I hoped to be saved, because I was trying to do what was right. But that never made me happy. I felt all the while as if I was down at the bottom of the shaft, and couldn't get out of the pit. But at last it seemed as if God said to me; ' Stop trying to lift yourself out of the shaft. When the bucket comes down just get into it, and trust to the men at the windlass to draw you out.' And so I don't try to lift myself out any more; but I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and leave it all to him. I used to try to do right in order that I might be saved. Now I know that Jesus has saved me, and I try to do right because I love him."
And so when we think of the size of the ark —of the supplies with which it was finished—of the safety found in it—and of the way in which the enjoyment of these blessings was secured—we see what a beautiful shadow the ark was of the greater blessings that are offered to us in Jesus our glorious Saviour. And looking to him as the substance of this shadow, we may each of us say:
"Behold! the Ark of God! Behold, the open door! Hasten to gain that dear abode, And rove my soul, no more!"
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