Noah

                                                                                                                           

Aloha Dearest Family,

                Last month we learned about the type of people to watch and observe. Today we will examine a man who we should not only observe but, imitate and learn from. The record of Noah is so large I am hard-pressed to condense it into a one page sharing so I will just touch on many of the highlights of this incredible story.

                The story starts in Genesis 6 where God tells us about the state of mankind almost 900 years after Adam. At this point in history, man had become exceedingly wicked in all of the imaginations of his heart. 

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” 

Mankind had sunk to such a point to where his destruction was imminent. It is very important to realize that in Genesis 3:15 God foretold of a redeemer, the “seed of the woman” who would be born and reverse the horrible consequences of Adam’s disobedience. This was Jesus Christ. But with man’s destruction at hand, God’s promise now seemed to be in jeopardy.  But one man would be called upon to save the entire human race from extermination - Noah.

                God says of Noah, 

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”  

This last detail is vital to the task that would be entrusted to him. God would now give to Noah detailed dimensions for a vessel, an ark, that he would be commissioned to build. This ship would be the means by which he and his family would survive the flood–along with pairs of all the animals in the world. Wow!  This commission is almost beyond imagination in its scope. But Noah is obedient to every detail of God’s instructions. 

“Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” (Genesis 6:22)

                Here are some facts about the Noah and the flood:

                -When completed the ark would have 3 levels, stalls and nests for all the animals and be longer then 1 and a quarter football fields. It wouldn’t be until the late 1800s that a ship of this size would be built.

                -Noah is instructed to take two of every unclean animal and 7 pairs of every clean animal. (For examples of clean and unclean animals see Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14).

                -Noah was 600 years old when he, his family and the animals entered the ark. The door to the ark is closed by God so no one could open it again until it was all over. They wouldn’t exit the ark for more than a year.

                -The day that they entered the ark it begins to rain for 40 days and forty nights. This wasn’t like any other storm. Genesis 7:11 says “..all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” The waters cover the mountains and all life living on the earth dies. The ark floats for 150 days after the rain stops.

                -After 5 months the ark comes to rest upon the mountains of Ararat and the waters begin to recede until all the land was dry.

                -The first thing Noah does when he exits the ark is to build an altar and make offerings to God from the clean animals that he had taken. And for the first time in a long time God smelled a sweet savor (Genesis 8:21). It was the smell of thankfulness to God for all His blessings. Thankfulness to the one who was the true sustainer of life - God Almighty.

-God then makes a covenant with Noah and blesses Noah and his family and renews Adam and Eve’s first commandment, to “be fruitful and multiply”’ upon the earth; which they do.

The question one may ask is, “How could one man accomplish such an astounding feat as Noah was expected to pull off?” Working alone it is unlikely he would have succeeded. Do you think God worked with Noah in every last detail of this task? The Word says that Noah walked with God. So it is more than understandable that God was able to help him in providing supplies, tools, manpower, and the astounding amount of food and water needed  to sustain Noah, his family and all the animals for an entire year. God and Noah accomplished this seemingly impossible task together. In reality, Noah needed God to help him with the mind boggling logistics of this project but God also needed Noah to obey all that he commanded him to do. And don’t forget that God brought the animals to him (Genesis 6:20). “If you build it, they will come.” The lesson we should take from this record should be, when God commissions us for a task (which He has), God will help us and also provide the means for us to accomplish it. In short, God becomes your partner. And what a fantastic partner to have!

                And of Noah, few men in history have accomplished so much for the survival of so many. What a man! Now everyone’s family tree to the beginning has to go through Noah.

                                                                                Love Always, Ray