In today's passage we see the death of every animal and person who are not inside the ark.
"Every living thing that moved on land perished---birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind." (Genesis 7:21) The animal kingdom didn't fall from grace but it suffered the consequences of man's wickedness right along with man. You will recall from the creation account that God created land animals and man on the same day. We are inextricably linked together. What affects one affects the other.
It's sad to think about the animals perishing in the flood just because humans hated and rejected the Lord. It's easy for us to say that the rebellious humans chose their own fate by turning their backs on their Creator, but the animals were sinless. Why didn't the Lord somehow save the animals from the flood? Because the Lord knows what He's doing. There was a practical reason for reducing the animal kingdom down to a more basic level at this point in time. This is because the human race will be taken down to a more basic level by the flood. There won't be enough human beings on the earth to tend all the flocks that were in existence prior to the flood. Domesticated animals who are used to being provided for would die of starvation or from lack of shelter and medical care. The thought of so many innocent animals perishing in the flood breaks my heart, but it was a faster and more humane death than dying slowly from starvation or from lack of human care.
Another practical reason for reducing the animal population is that the wild animals would have gained the upper hand over man. Eight human beings would be no match for roving and hungry undomesticated creatures. The severe imbalance between the human race and the animal kingdom would throw the natural order of this world into chaos and would probably result in the end of mankind. The Lord created the world and everything in it in the proper proportions, and after the flood He intends to keep all creatures in the proper proportions.
"Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died." (Genesis 7:22) Noah didn't have to install fish tanks on the ark because the creatures who live in the waters survived, or at least enough of them did to continue their species. The Bible doesn't say that the river or sea creatures died; it says everything that lived on dry land died.
"Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth." (Genesis 7:23a) Birds aren't able to remain airborne for forty days and forty nights, much less for all the days it will take for the waters to subside. Due to the waters covering all the land, all the trees, and even the mountains, they have nowhere to land. Plus we don't know how severe the pelting rain was and whether anything would have been able to fly during it. There was no way for the birds to survive the flood, except for those birds on the ark with Noah.
"Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark." (Genesis 7:23b)
Our passage today contains a lot of death that would never had occurred if only man had honored his Maker, but the Lord doesn't conclude today's passage on a hopeless note. The ark contains everything necessary for a fresh start in a vastly changed world.
The Lord didn't have to save mankind. He could have concluded that the human race was a complete failure and always would be. Instead He has chosen to save the human race, not only physically, but spiritually as well. The Redeemer is still coming. In spite of all man's failures and mistakes, in spite of man's unworthiness, the Redeemer is coming. The righteous Son of God is going to give His life to save unrighteous man. Why did He think we were worth it when we so clearly deserve nothing? Because He loves us. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
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