“All the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Numbers 14:21 ESV
Noah and the Ark is an account of the consequence of humanity’s sinful nature and God’s redeeming grace. Despite the realm of sin bent against God, He promised never to destroy the earth in a global flood again. Victory over the ramifications of our sin has been permanently won by Christ’s death on the cross. God’s grace and mercy make a way for us to be forgiven, continually sanctified, and homeward bound for eternity in heaven with Him. Obedience wasn’t an easy decision for Noah to execute. The account of Noah and the Ark inspires us to persevere when obedience is difficult.
A Summary of the Account of Noah and the Ark
“The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Genesis 6:5 NIV
God was deeply troubled by the rampant sin and violence in the world. The corruption had surpassed His ability to allow such corruption and injustice to continue in accordance with His just and holy character. Genesis 6 reads, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and earth.” (Genesis 6:11-13) God saw Noah was righteous, and before He flooded the entire earth, allowing humanity and every living creature to perish, to build an ark to save himself, his family, and two of every kind of creature on the earth.
Noah faithfully obeyed God down to every detail of the construction of the ark and the gathering of every species on earth. As promised, the earth flooded, and all other living creatures outside the ark perished. “As Christians, we believe that the Bible is 100 percent true,” Bobbie Schaeperkoetter explains, “God is able to do far more above what we know, expect, and even understand …He did it in Noah’s situation and He can do it in yours.” The flood is a tragic tale, one that brings scenes of modern tsunamis rushing to the front of my mind, begging my imagination to stretch a tragedy of that scope globally. The awful scene, however, did not remedy the sinful nature of humanity. “The Hebrew word translated ‘violence’ is a general term that ranges from international context to social injustice,” the NIV Application Commentary explains, “ It can be used regarding the behavior of individuals or groups and can be psychological.” These behaviors still run rampant in the world today. Noah and his family departed from the ark after the waters receded, and God dedicated the rainbow as a reminder of His promise never to flood the earth in its entirety again, despite humanity’s sinful nature.
Here Are 4 Hopeful Lessons from Noah and the Ark:
Lesson 1 from Noah's Ark: “We All Fall Short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
The glory of God is what God intended humans to be. Since the fall in the Garden of Eden via Adam and Eve, we’ve been perpetually stuck in a spin cycle of sin. God sent His only Son to earth out of love for us, and our inability to remedy the existence of sin in our lives. There’s no way, on earth, for us to shake it completely. And the consequence of our sin is death. The Old Testament points to our Savior, Jesus, who came to defeat death once, for all.
Noah’s Ark reminds us of our compassionate and forgiving God. Even though the Father knew we would end up drowning in the same sin that covered the earth in corruption before the flood, God promised not to destroy the earth again. Through Jesus, we are forgiven for our sins, and able to turn from strongholds of it- a heart change stronger than a powerful wall of water. One step at a time, we become more like Christ. Knowing this, we can choose to lend the same love, forgiveness, and compassion to others as He gives to us.
Lesson 2 from Noah's Ark: Trust God with the Impossible.
Noah built an enormous ark, following every meticulous step God gave him. Though it undoubtedly cost him his reputation, friendships, and possibly respect from his family …not to mention the physical pain and mental anguish of wondering if he heard God correctly …Noah demonstrated the powerful product of godly obedience. We so often forget we serve the God of miracles, the God of the impossible. We list our gratitudes, and then turn right around and lift up our worries concerning the same list! Genesis 5:32 says, “after Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” 500 years old?! Genesis 7:6 tells us Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood!
Noah leaned into God for his strength. It had to be hard, and surely seemed impossible at times, but it didn’t stop him from starting the task. “Noah did everything just as God commanded him,” Genesis 6:22 and 7:5 read. One step at a time, Noah completed the Lord’s instructions. In our own lives, we can embrace the truth that God’s mercies are new every morning. He meets us each new day, to walk through that day’s challenges, battles, triumphs, and tasks. One thing at a time. One day at a time, He leads us on the path of His will for our lives. Small steps of obedience in our lives may not end in a completed ark with every species paired, but the gravity of God’s work in our lives will have no less effect on those He’s placed in our paths. One obedient step at a time, we bring glory to Him as we love others for Jesus through the seemingly impossible things He asked us to do.
Lesson 3 from Noah's Ark: God Cares for Us
“The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” Genesis 6:6
God does not rejoice at human suffering. He does not cause bad things to happen to us, but He is holy and just …He is God! He could not allow evil to continue unaccounted for in the way it had saturated humanity.
Paul wrote to the Philippians, “cast your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you.” God cares. He is concerned when we pray and deeply involved in the state of our hearts. My daughter has a bad habit of telling me what she thinks I want to hear …the good stuff, the positive reports. But her gauge is inaccurate. As her mom, I want to know all the bad, hard stuff, so I know how to go to battle for her in prayer. I care for her whole heart, as God cares for ours intently more so.
Genesis 6:8 reads, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of God.” Against all odds, we can put our hope in the Lord. We can pray for His favor in our lives. Amidst a world consumed in violence, God saw Noah. He called him faithful and righteous (v6:9). After the earth-consuming flood, Genesis 8:1 reads, “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” God sees us.
Lesson 4 from Noah's Ark: Our Hope Is in Christ, Alone
“The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” Genesis 8:21
The flood didn’t fix humanity. We are still sinful in nature, living under the curse which began at the fall in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Nevertheless, because of who God is, not who we are, He chose to have compassion on us. Not only did He promise never to destroy all living creatures, but He made a way for us to stand in His presence, fully forgiven and redeemed.
Jesus doesn’t pop onto the pages of Scripture at the nativity scene. He’s present in the entirety of it, as Scripture points to a problem only He could ever remedy for us. God’s love to send Jesus, and Jesus’ choice to sacrifice His life for us to glorify the Father, is beyond anything we deserve. We deserve the destruction and death our sin earns us. But God loved us too much to see us destitute and enslaved by sin. He made a way, through Jesus. There is no greater love than that of the Father, and of Jesus to lay His life down for us.
Lesson 5 from Noah's Ark: Look for Signs of Hope
“And God said, ‘This is a sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on earth.” Genesis 9:12-16
God is the author of impossible things and the curator of miracles, but He also comes incredibly close to us. The rainbow in Genesis 9 is a heartwarming reminder of His genuine love for us. “There is nothing in the Hebrew to suggest that the rainbow was something new,” Zondervan Bible Commentary explains, “but rather that a new meaning was given to it.” God is faithful to remind us of His presence. In Christ, we have the Living Word of God to reference in order to hear Him speak into our daily lives. We can see Him in creation, and in each other. All humanity was created in the image of God, beautifully diverse and individually wonderful and unique. God is faithful to place signs of hope in our daily lives. He promises, when we seek Him with all of our hearts, we will find Him.
The epic and well-known account of Noah and the Ark is a tragic telling of heartbreak and loss. A disaster on a scale unfathomable to us. Though used in Sunday schools with cartoon illustrations, the reality of what happened as the earth flooded is a leveling reminder of the powerful wrath of God, and His merciful covenant never to flood the earth in that way again. He has made a way, through Christ, for us to escape the sentence for sin. Everything He allows and does is meant to draw us to Him. His saving grace is available to all of us. Let the rainbow in the sky remind us we are all equally loved and cherished by our Father in heaven.
Sources
NIV Application Commentary.
NIV Study Bible, Copyright © 1985, 1995, 2002, 2008, 2011 by Zondervan.New International Bible Commentary. The International Bible Commentary.
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This article is part of our People from the Bible Series featuring the most well-known historical names and figures from Scripture. We have compiled these articles to help you study those whom God chose to set before us as examples in His Word. May their lives and walks with God strengthen your faith and encourage your soul.
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