“Make yourself an ark . . . and cover it inside and out with pitch.” –Genesis 6:14 (ESV)
Why Education Independence Is Building an Ark
This year, in 2026, Education Independence has decided to build. And we have decided to build an ark. As we explore this construction, what better place to look than at two of the arks found in scripture: Noah’s and Moses’s.
What were these two arks that we read about? What purpose did they play? Both of these stories illustrate preservation and deliverance.
As we make these comparisons, we examine and find value in recognizing patterns throughout Scripture. Scripture consistently reveals themes of preservation, faith, deliverance, and refuge.
Therefore, when we compare the narratives of Scripture to building an ark for Education Independence, we are not claiming to recreate Noah’s ark or Moses’s basket. Rather, we are echoing the patterns God has established in smaller spheres of life, using practical ways to testify to those enduring truths.
Noah and Moses: Two Arks, One Pattern of Preservation
In preparation for the impending floodwaters, Noah faithfully built the ark that God commanded. A large vessel capable of housing his family, an abundance of wildlife, and the protection needed for a year of floating on top of the waters.
“When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch.” –Exodus 2:3a (ESV)
In desperate response to Pharaoh’s execution orders of the male Israelite babies, Moses’s mother fashioned a basket from the reeds and placed him in it. This basket, just large enough for Moses to fit, floated on the river Nile to the unlikely safety of Pharaoh’s daughter.
Two arks. Two very different sizes. One powerful shared purpose.
What Tebah Means: The Hebrew Word Behind Both Arks
In Genesis 6, God commands Noah to build an ark for himself and his family to deliver them from the impending floodwaters and live on as humanity’s remnant. Similarly, in Exodus 2, Moses’s mother builds a basket to deliver her son from the tyrannical rule and command of Egypt’s Pharaoh.
Two men, chosen by God, to be instruments of His will and share in His covenant. Although these narratives are separated by over a thousand years, the parallels between them live hand in hand.
The Hebrew תֵּבָה, transliterated tebah, is the word used in both of these narratives for their respective “arks.” Throughout the twenty-eight appearances of the word, it consistently points to the vessel of refuge that delivers God’s people through judgment waters and into a new life and new mission.
When examining Noah’s ark, we’re given a dimensional blueprint that rivals modern cargo vessels and underlines divine foresight for both scale and stability. Although we’re not given this same blueprint in the case of Moses’s ark, one could surmise that its ratios were proportionally similar to offer the same protection and stability as Noah’s, over a thousand years earlier.
How the Ark Delivered God’s People Through Judgment and Into Covenant
Noah and his family entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood that would blot out from the face of the earth every creature. Both judgment and grace converge into this single vessel. Moses’s basket, cast into the same Nile River decreed by Pharaoh for Israelite sons to be killed in, would protect and deliver him as Israel’s future lawgiver.
After a year of floating atop the floodwaters, the ark delivers Noah and his family onto Mount Ararat, and God establishes his covenant with Noah and sets his bow in the sky as a reminder of that covenant. From his float on the river Nile to his parting of the Red Sea, Moses and the people of Israel are delivered to Mount Sinai, where God establishes his covenant with the nation and delivers the law to Moses and His people.
Why Education Independence Requires Building Before the Storm
In the March 2026 article, “Why Build | We Must Build an Ark,” we examined the design, responsibility, and hope of our ark-building, the understanding of why we are called to build, and why we have taken on this project. Now, as we begin construction on our ark, we must look more closely at what it will be for Education Independence. Our ark in its own small sphere, like that of Noah and Moses, must provide preservation and deliverance.
So, how do we apply this same principle as we build our own ark for Education Independence?
How Families Build an Ark for Education Independence: Covering Inside and Out
Like the biblical tebahs of Noah and Moses, our ark should be covered inside and out with pitch to keep it waterproof. This coating was not merely a practical waterproofing substance (likely natural bitumen, asphalt, or tar-like resin applied inside and out). Its deeper significance comes from the word itself: kopher, which shares the same root as “atonement” (kaphar/kipper), meaning to cover, to ransom, to make propitiation, or to provide a protective covering that holds back judgment. To keep the outside turmoil from coming in and to protect and preserve the precious cargo our ark is carrying. What do we use to do that? Unlike the natural bitumen used for the ancient arks, the ultimate covering for Christian families is not found in earthly structures themselves, but in the atoning work of Christ, which shapes how we build, protect, and steward our homes against the cultural, ideological, and moral “floodwaters” of our time.
We do this as parents who courageously embrace our God-given calling to lead, teach, and disciple our children, rather than outsourcing this sacred duty. We steward funding and resources privately within the family, free from secular strings that might compromise our convictions. And we pursue ideas anchored in unchanging biblical truth, refusing to be tossed by every shift in cultural or political winds. We apply this covering both inside our homes and outside in our choices.
Join the Education Independence Network: Building an Ark for the Next Generation
This multi-layered covering is intended, in faith, to create a resilient vessel that nurtures, protects, and faithfully stewards the next generation amid corrosive ideologies that erode faith and character. It prepares our children for faithful participation in the future, equipping them to engage and influence the culture redemptively.
When we stand on these truths and diligently coat our ark, we can trust that what God preserves through faithful hands, He will one day use for far greater purposes.
Will you join us in faithfully coating our ark?
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