Noah's Ark and the Temple

In our recent family scripture study of the story of Noah in Genesis, I couldn't help but see the parallels between Noah's ark, and the Holy Temple. Here are a few things that struck me:

1. The Lord tells Noah that he will establish his covenant with him.

Genesis 6:18

8 But with thee will I establish ^amy ^bcovenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.

2. The Lord gives Noah exact plans for the ark.

14 ¶ Make thee an ^aark of gopher wood; ^brooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

16 A ^awindow shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

3. The Lord tells Noah to bring every animal into the ark.

19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

20 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.

4. The Lord saves Noah's Family with the Ark.

Genesis 7

7 ¶ And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

In the temple today, the Lord uses the Holy Temple to accomplish many of the same things:

1. The Lord establishes his everlasting covenant with us.

2. He often has given exact plans for the building of temples through revelation.

3. Within temples we learn, among other things, of the creation of every living creature.

4. The Lord saves and seals families together forever in the Holy Temple.

After the flood, Noah offers sacrifice to the Lord and the Lord gives Noah a "token" (Genesis 9:13) that the Lord will never again destroy the world by flood. That token is the rainbow.

He is also given special promises concerning his posterity:

Genesis 9:7-9

7 And you, be ye ^afruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

8 ¶ And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 And I, behold, ^aI establish my ^bcovenant with you, and with your seed after you;

The creation (Garden of Eden), the ark, and the temple stories have multiple striking parallels.

There are very many other parallels that could be explored between the similarities of the ark and temple. The very name of the "ark" being one of them, "Ark of the Covenant." The ark itself may have been a kind of temple.

The bottom line is that just as there is safety in the ark, today there is safety in the temple. If you would like to be protected from the onslaught and flood of filth in the world, get you and your family into the temple. The temple of the Lord is a place of refuge and strength. If you keep the covenants you make there, the Lord will protect you and lead you and your family to safety, and joy.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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