Sermon Central
-
Did Haman Use Wood From Noah's Ark To Build His Gallows?
Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 28, 2023 (message contributor)
We read in the Bible how, at the end of the Great Flood, the Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (which some identify as the Armenian Highlands). Since the Torah doesn’t ascribe any intrinsic holiness to Noah’s Ark, it is not at all surprising that once Noah left it, there isn’t any real discussion about what happened to it. Yet, throughout the ages, the location of Noah’s Ark has been a subject of fascination, with some even claiming to have found it.
While the Ark may not have survived until the present day, the Talmud and Midrash assert that it was still in existence thousands of years after the Great Flood.
In the Book of II Kings we read that Sennacherib, King of Assyria, dwelt in Nineveh after is armies were destroyed in the siege of Jerusalem: “He was prostrating himself in the temple of Nisroch, his god, and Adramelech and Sharezer, his sons, slew him with a sword, and they fled to the land of Ararat, and his son Esarhaddon reigned in his stead.”1
Expounding upon this, the Talmud explains that “Nisroch” is linked to the word neser, “beam,” and refers to a beam from Noah’s Ark.2 When Sennacherib found a beam from the Ark, he proclaimed, “This must be the great god that saved Noah from the Flood!” He then addressed the beam-deity and pledged, “If I go to war and am victorious, I will offer my two sons as a sacrifice before you!” His sons overheard this and decided to kill him.
Interestingly, Josephus, in his work Antiquities of the Jews, claimed to have known the whereabouts of Noah’s Ark and quoted earlier historians (including the 3rd century BCE Berosus the Chaldean) as saying that people would take parts of the Ark to use as amulets to ward off evil.3
A little less than 200 years after Sennacherib, during the story of Purim, Haman built a gallows “50 cubits high” (approximately 75 feet) with the intention of hanging Mordechai upon it. One tradition in the Midrash4 tells us that one of Haman’s children was the governor of the province where Noah’s Ark was located, and he provided Haman with a beam from the Ark, which was 50 cubits wide.
David sings in Psalms that God makes “a memorial for His wonders” so that people remember His miracles and sing His praise. The commentaries explain that this is why remnants of the Ark were preserved.
It was divinely orchestrated that Haman use wood from the Ark to build the gallows that he himself would ultimately be hung on. For the same wood that was used to save the remnants of humanity was once again used to save the Jewish people.
- Yehuda Shurpin, "What Happened to Noah's Ark?"
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
In The Book The God Chasers, Tommy Tenney ...
Contributed by Chip Monck on Feb 15, 2005
In the book The God Chasers, Tommy Tenney writes, "I don’t know about you, but I am tired of just being ‘another somebody’ to the lost around me. I have made a decision. I made up my mind and set my heart to declare, ‘I am going to pursue the presence of God in my life. I am going to get so close ...read more
-
A Friend Of Mine, Says A Writer Quoted In The ...
Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Nov 1, 2004
A friend of mine, says a writer quoted in the Sunday School Times, who had been a gangster and kidnaper for twelve years, met Jesus Christ in prison. Christ said, "I will come and live in you, and we will serve this sentence together"; and they did. Several years later he was discharged, and just ...read more
-
The Old Testament (Which Was Finished Over 400 ... PRO
Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Jan 16, 2007
The Old Testament (which was finished over 400 years before the birth of Jesus) contains at least 450 prophecies about the birth, life, and death of the Messiah. Peter Stoner (a professor of Science at Westmont College) decided to calculate the probability that one person could fulfill just ...read more
-
Unfortunately, Some People Assume They Must Get ... PRO
Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Jan 16, 2007
Unfortunately, some people assume they must get all their Bible teaching from some kind of religious “expert.” The idea is that Joe Average is bound to get it wrong if he tries to understand the Bible for himself, so he needs an expert to interpret it for him. Which reminds me of a story I ...read more
-
Buddhism Has A Story Similar To The Story Jesus ... PRO
Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Jan 16, 2007
Buddhism has a story similar to the story Jesus told about the Prodigal Son. In the story Jesus told, the father sees his wayward son, and runs to greet him. The prodigal says he no longer deserves to be considered a son, but the loving father throws a party for him and freely restores him to ...read more
Related Sermons
-
The Days Of Noah Series
Contributed by Mark Hall on Oct 19, 2014
The Final generation and the Days of Noah
-
What You Do Have?
Contributed by Charles Jones on Apr 21, 2019
Your Next Blessing May Just Be In Your House
-
The Sign Of Wine Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Feb 27, 2017
What was the purpose of "signs" in Jesus ministry? And what did this particular sign have to say to us?
-
Run It Up The Flagpole Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jan 3, 2016
Too many Christians are satisfied with doing their minimum requirement for God. They don't realize the blessings they miss out on because they've just done what they "had to do" as His child. What are they missing out on and how can they change?
-
Can You See This Sign? Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Apr 2, 2017
The blind saw Jesus, but the Pharisees couldn't. What were the differences in their blindnesses and what can we learn from the man born blind?
