Noah trusted in God and was delivered from disaster.
11: 7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
When Jesus preached the Gospel on Earth there were some who believed in their heart and some who believed because of the miracles they saw (John 2:23). The former form of faith was the better one. How do we know this? Because it does not rely on seeing miracles or signs, but it relies on the trust that God IS who He says He IS. (“…blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John 20:29)
When God warned Noah about the flood and told him to build the ark, the weather was fine. There was no visible flood approaching. In fact, prior to the flood, it had never rained on Earth:
2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 2:6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. (Genesis 2)
Plants and crops received water from mist that shot up from the ground. Today we call this a geyser (for more information on the Earth before the flood see here). So the idea of rain coming down from the sky in Noah’s day seemed outrageous. And someone preaching that God was going to bring down so much rain it would flood the world, would seem even crazier. Yet Noah clearly believed and had faith in God because he was moved by fear. Not fear that was God would punish Him, but fear as in respect for God’s authority and word.
So much so that he spent every day working on an ark while others were eating, drinking and carrying on with everyday life (Matthew 24). Noah knew God was displeased with the corruption of the world at that time. Violence was rampant and people became obsessed with evil. This was fueled by the illicit relations between angels and human women as covered in Genesis 6, which led to the Nephilim, half-human, half-fallen angelic hybrids who dominated and oppressed humans and spread their evil all over the nations. The human genetic code was being corrupted as part of Satan’s plan to prevent the birth of the prophesied Messiah. And thus God’s judgment was coming.
But to people in society who were not listening to God, everything seemed fine. Surely people saw Noah and wondered what on Earth was he doing making this big ship in preparation for this supposed flood. They may have even scoffed or laughed as they wondered why he was doing this. To them, everything was fine. They felt that they had complete control over their lives and world events and thus, why look to God? But Noah understood that we are not in control. God sits on the throne, hot a person. So he separated himself and followed God’s Will and purpose and by his actions gave the example of what the sinful would should have been doing: listening to God’s Word and following it. The ark represented being saved from judgment. But the building of the ark for 120 years represented a dedicated to surrender one’s will and put faith in the Creator. Despite the challenges and pressures of the world, Noah did this.
And so it should be with us today. As society moves away from God, questions the Bible and blaspheme Jesus Christ, we need to follow the mission The Lord has given us. Jesus Christ is going to return, but many laugh at the idea. God’s judgment is building as society goes deeper into sin, and yet many people feel the idea of the existence of God itself is as outrageous as a global flood. People say “where is Jesus?” and seek to disprove everything about the Bible. Militant atheism attacks God and mocks those who believe. And pop culture promotes and celebrates the most sinful behavior. A renewed interest in the occult, violence, greed and sexual immorality are now celebrated in the media and pop culture. All this serves to lull non-believers to sleep. The mind and heart do not think about God and thus do not worry about sin or God’s judgment.
But this was prophesied. Jesus Christ warned His disciples: “But as the days of [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:37-39).
As the world carries on with its behavior, God’s approaching judgment, the Great Tribulation, gets nearer. When the flood was coming, Noah did not just look out for himself, he spread the word. 2 Peter Chapter 2 says that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness.” Noah preached God’s Word to others to warn them so they could receive God’s mercy as well. And Christians, now more than ever need to heed The Lord’s warnings and take action. If you’re not sure of your mission for The Lord start with Acts 1 and 2. Be obedient and live a Christian lifestyle, read The Word and share The Gospel with love and compassion for others. Your actions and deeds should reflect your faith in God and His promises. Without faith “it is impossible to please Him” but for the faithful, eternal rewards await. People should see believers and notice that we are not following the world’s plan but following God’s. And just like Noah we will escape judgment and be saved. But in addition we can bring those we care about into God’s protection from the coming Judgment as well.
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