The Ark survived because Jehovah Himself was within it, serving as the gyroscope that maintained its safety through the flood's turmoil.
Les Feldick teaches that the Ark was an enclosed rectangular box, pitched within and without, built to withstand the rigors of the flood rather than to sail. But its true security was the Lord's presence: Jehovah, God the Son in the Old Testament, invited Noah's family into the Ark and became the gyroscope that kept it safe throughout all the flood. God shut the door, and the waters of judgment never touched those inside.
Genesis 7:16 — The LORD shut Noah in — God's own act of preservation shows His presence was the Ark's true security.
Genesis 7:17 — The waters increased and bare up the Ark, showing the Ark was carried safely above the earth through the flood.
God commanded Noah to make an ark of gopher wood and to pitch it within and without with pitch (Genesis 6:14), and Noah did according to all that God commanded him (Genesis 6:22). In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened (Genesis 7:11). The waters increased and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth; the ark went upon the face of the waters (Genesis 7:17-18). The LORD shut Noah in (Genesis 7:16), and God remembered Noah, making a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged (Genesis 8:1). By faith Noah, being warned of God, prepared an ark to the saving of his house (Hebrews 11:7).
Les first corrects the popular picture: the Ark was not a little rowboat or a Sunday-school tub with animals peeking out — it was an enclosed rectangular box, and the Hebrew word 'ark' is also translated 'coffin' in other places. It was built not to sail but to withstand the awful rigors of the flood, and it would remain in the water for almost a year (Clips 2, 3, 5). The flood itself was far more than forty days of rain; the fountains of the great deep were broken up (Clips 2, 3). Two things made the Ark safe. First, God had it pitched within and without, and that pitch sealed out the waters of judgment — had the cracks leaked, the Ark would have sunk; instead the family within was kept in perfect safety (Clips 1, 7). Second and most importantly, the Lord Himself was in the Ark: Jehovah, God the Son in His Old Testament personality, became the gyroscope that maintained the safety of the Ark throughout all the flood, and God shut the door (Clip 4).
Les Feldick corrects the common Sunday-school picture of the Ark as a little round tub with a shed in the middle and animals sticking out. The Ark was an enclosed rectangular box — the same Hebrew word used for 'ark' is translated 'coffin' elsewhere — built not to sail across the sea but to withstand the awful rigors of the flood. Noah had to build it with real stability because it would be in the water for almost a year. God made sure it would be built in such a way that it would survive the awful events of the coming flood.
God commanded Noah to pitch the Ark within and without (Genesis 6:14). Les explains that the pitch sealed out the waters of judgment — if the cracks had leaked, the Ark would have sunk. Instead, the sealed Ark kept Noah's family in perfect safety. Les then makes the application to salvation: the believer enters God's ark of safety, and the waters of judgment will never touch him, just as the blood of Christ makes our salvation secure.
Les's central point is that the Ark survived because the Lord was in it. The word 'LORD' in the Old Testament refers to Jehovah, who is God the Son in His Old Testament personality. When Jehovah invited Noah and his family into the Ark, God must have been in the Ark as He made the invitation — and He became the gyroscope that maintained the safety of the Ark throughout all the flood. God shut the door, and after seven days of waiting with the door open, no one else responded. The old box did not float on some calm ocean; the Lord's presence preserved it through the turmoil.
Les stresses repeatedly that the flood was not just forty days of rain — it was far, far more. The secret is found in Genesis 7:11, where the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened. That is why the Ark had to be built with real stability: it was not floating on a calm ocean but had to survive the awful rigors of a worldwide catastrophe. This is also why Les says the Ark wasn't going anywhere — it was built to withstand, not to travel.
Noah’s Flood & The Middle East Oil Prophecy | Genesis Bible Study
All these things took place in just a short period of time, and the planet was now prepared for the great restoration of mankind. And it's the only logical way to realize that everything we have needed in our technological society, God provided. God has provided every bit of it. He's provided the great forest areas for our lumber. He's provided the farm areas for our grains and for our food.
Pitch Seals Out the Waters of Judgment
Les explains that the Ark's pitch sealed out the waters of judgment, keeping Noah's family in perfect safety; had the cracks leaked, the Ark would have sunk.
The Ark Was Built to Withstand the Flood's Rigors
Les corrects the image of the Ark as a little rowboat, showing it was an enclosed rectangular box built not to sail but to withstand the awful rigors of the flood; he points to Genesis 7:11 as the secret of the whole thing.
A Stable Box for Almost a Year in the Water
Les shows the flood was far more than forty days of rain, so the Ark had to be built with real stability to survive in the water for almost a year; the Hebrew word for ark is also translated 'coffin,' meaning a box.
Jehovah as the Ark's Gyroscope
Les identifies the Lord Jehovah — God the Son in His Old Testament personality — as the gyroscope that maintained the safety of the Ark throughout all the flood, and he notes that God shut the door.
Rectangular Box, Not a Sunday-School Boat
Les contrasts the familiar childhood picture of a little tub with a shed in the middle with the reality that the Ark was a rectangular box built to survive the awful events of the coming flood.
Noah's Obedience of Faith
Les connects the building of the Ark to Noah's faith in what God had said: warned of God, he moved with fear and prepared an ark to the saving of his house.
God In the Ark and the Door Shut
Les teaches that God must have been in the Ark as He made the invitation to come in, that the pitch made the Ark a place of safety, and that God waited seven more days with the door open before shutting it.
Genesis 6:14: Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
God's command to pitch the Ark within and without — the pitch Les identifies as sealing out the waters of judgment.
Genesis 7:11: In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
The breaking up of the fountains of the great deep shows the flood involved far more than forty days of rain.
Genesis 7:16: And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
The LORD shut Noah in, marking God's own presence and preservation of the Ark.
Genesis 7:17: 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.
The waters increased and bare up the Ark, lifting it above the earth — the Ark was carried safely through the flood.
Genesis 8:1: And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;
God remembered Noah and caused the waters to abate, ending the flood.
Hebrews 11:7: 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, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Noah's faith moved him to prepare the Ark to the saving of his house.
Les Feldick teaches that the Ark survived because Jehovah Himself was within it, acting as the gyroscope that maintained its safety through the flood. It was also an enclosed rectangular box, sealed with pitch and built with stability to withstand the rigors of the flood.
No. Les explains the Ark was an enclosed rectangular box built not to sail across the sea but to withstand the awful rigors of the flood. It wasn't going anywhere — it needed to survive, not travel.
Les teaches that the pitch sealed the Ark against the waters of judgment, keeping Noah's family in perfect safety. He connects this to the blood of Christ, which makes the believer's salvation secure — if we are not under the blood, we have no salvation.
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