Noah’s Ark, the flood, what a great and dramatic Bible story. In the midst of a wicked generation God called Noah.
Build an Ark:
450 feet long
75 feet wide
45 feet high
You can imagine the difficulty of the task. One Architect group could guess the problems Noah would have. This problems included; the Cyprus wood supplier is not coming through, carpenters are off ill, subcontractors going bankrupt, pitch not arriving because of shipping problems, some animals were delivered to the wrong address.
This may be our reading with our current day problems inserted into Noah’s situation, but for sure he has to face challenges to complete such a massive project.
Noah is instructed to build this incredible ark. There are to be representations of all animal life except the fish. The clean animals are to come by 7’s. Get this ready because the rains will come for 40 days and 40 nights.
What a call. Noah will need to commit everything into building this ark. Every once of finance and time. It will take his 100% sacrifice. He must trust God at a time when no one else did.
Why God destroyed the earth.
This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. 11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. (Genesis 6:9-12)
Noah was the 10th generation from Adam. After Adam and Eve’s son Cain killed his brother Able his son Seth to carry on the family of righteous Abel. There was an intermarriage with descendants of Cain and evil dominated. There is a wickedness that permeated the earth.
There is a stark contrast between God’s holiness and the condition that prevailed on earth. It shows mans total depravity. It shows the human inclination to sin after the fall. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. (Genesis 6:11)
God looked down and saw all the people of the earth corrupt in their ways. There is a natural human inclination toward sin. God’s decision of the destroy the earth. It is full of violence. What God saw in humanity required drastic action. Man completely rebelled against God.
The reason God destroyed the earth is because of the total corruption he saw. He is going to blot out everything. He is going to erase the backboard. God’s nature is Holy and just. Man is responsible for this judgement.
The judgement at the flood corresponds to God sending someone to hell. God’s desire is for repentance, faith and for each one to have a right relationship with Him. That is why God created man for a right relationship with him.
Man’s wickedness ruined the relationship with God. The sin broke the fellowship between God and man. Compare the situation on earth in Noah’s day with our day. God is holy and just and must punish sin.
We see God’s grace in this. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:8) In contrast to wicked man is holy God. Mercy is a character of our God. He extends grace. There is favor for Noah and his family and God desires to spare them and the human race.
God found in Noah a man who could accomplish his purposes. God will continue to show his love and goodness to humankind and preserve life. God extended his grace. It will be a new beginning for the human race.
Noah’s call to faith. God found in Noah a man of faith. Noah was a righteous man who was willing to stand totally different from his evil and corrupt generation. And guess what God did with Noah the man of faith. God called him to a deeper step of faith.
Build this ark.
So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. (Genesis 6:14)
Can you imagine the ridicule that Noah received? Yes, you probably can if you are making a stand for Christ. You have a good idea since our generation runs in parallel with that of Noah. The generation of Noah was corrupt and did not respond favorably to one who wants to stand up and be counted.
You can be sure Noah felt the ridicule and persecution. That is why Noah secured himself a position in the faith, hall of fame in Hebrews 11.
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. (Hebrews 11:7)
Noah trusted God. There were no outward signs for Noah. He was walking by faith not by sight. For 120 years Noah was building this huge ark. The others around him were living as though God did not exist. Noah never questioned God. Noah stood alone.
Noah obeyed God.
Noah did everything just as God commanded him. 7 The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. 4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” 5 And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him. (Genesis 6:22-7:5)
Noah never questioned God. Noah obeyed God. Noah was obedient to God at a time when others were rebelling against God. There is a person God can use to accomplish his purposes. It is not about social status or intelligence. It is about obediently following the will of God.
Are you saying, God use me? You must take a step of faith and trust God with everything. Respond to God in obedience.
if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; (2 Peter 2:5)
Noah was preaching righteousness as he was building the ark. And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him (Genesis 7:5) There were 8 people saved. They responded to God’s invitation. By faith they believed God and received God’s grace.
Jesus said, as in the days of Noah, so in this day.
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:37-39)
The Lord’s return will come suddenly. God’s invitation is to respond in faith. Even as a generation mocks God you must stand up. Noah brought the animals on the ark. He still waited seven days before the rains came (Genesis 7:10).
Noah did everything just as God commanded him. God is true and faithful. Trust God.
