What is the covenant sign of the Noahic covenant? The rainbow? The Ark is pertinent as well. When we consider the ark, Noah was faithful to build it for how many years? He was faithful in understanding how to build it, that it would float, that it would protect his family sufficiently. He did not think that there was a possibility that God couldn’t be taken at His word or that possibly the family would perish. As well, since the ark is a type of Christ all that were in it were in covenant:
20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), 1 Pe 3:20–21.
Consider Noah’s faithfulness and trust. Consider his son, Ham and his end result in light of the promise; consider Ishmael and Esau in the same light, the same promise. Consider however, that the faithful men of God did not waiver, nor did they respond in unfaithfulness even in light of some of these biblical truths.
17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ge 6:17–18.
4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” 5 And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ge 7:4–5.
13 On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark—14 they
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ge 7:13–14.
22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. 23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ge 7:22–24.
Consider that all ‘ark’s’ in scripture possessed divine interventions, providences, security and comfort, i.e. Noah’s ark, the ark that Moses was placed in and the ark of the covenant.
In the same light, considering the covenant sign, i.e. baptism, the same level of faith that Abraham and Noah had toward it, we in this age need to have the same level of faith towards it. Most don’t think like these faithful forefathers; part of that reason is that most of us are saturated w/ Arminianism, Scofieldism and synergy; the prevalent school of thought that we have been sandblasted with all our lives is dispensationalism, and becasue of this, much of our foundation on covenant is skewed greatly. They are little kinks in our thinking in this regard. It is difficult to undo this contrabiblical thinking. Studying ‘covenant’ is one way of repairing all of these false presuppositions. It is imperative to all Presbyterians to rethink the way we understand the signs as if will be the foundation for how we understand the sign as it is applied in regard to our children. Not physically so much as spiritually.