Bible Character Spotlight: Noah



Water is an interesting substance. It is essential for life on this planet. We humans use it for a variety of things from drinking to cleaning to recreation. It has been one of the most vital things for our existence, but ironically, it has also been one of the most dangerous things that we’ve encountered in this world. One need only look to the stories of flooding caused by great tsunamis or as a result of large storms to see the kind of destruction and death that water can cause. There is no wonder that ancient flood stories are so common. People from virtually every region of the world have stories about great floods that came and nearly destroyed the world, or at least their part of it. Without question, the most well-known of all these stories is the Biblical account, and the star of that story is Noah.

Noah’s story was even the subject of a movie in 2014. Of course, no one should ever look to Hollywood for Biblical accuracy. That movie took a wealth of liberties with the story. One major problem with it was how it mulled over the reason God sent the flood. In the movie, God’s reasoning was somewhat ambiguous. In the Bible, there was no confusion. God was going to take that action because of one thing – wickedness. The Bible is clear on how sinful humans were at the time.
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
Noah’s story takes place many generations after the time of Adam. Just look how far humanity had fallen in that time. Humans went from eating a fruit against God’s will to allowing sin to become the centerpiece of their existences. Imagine how God must have felt to see his creation fall so far. He created us out of love and we repaid that by rejecting him and everything he desired for us. We don’t have to wonder too much about how he felt. The Bible tells us.
The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. – Genesis 6:6
There is some debate about what it means when the Bible says that God regretted making humanity. Some take the statement as its presented meaning that God saw his creation of humanity as a mistake. Others would argue that God is omnipotent and does not make mistakes, so regret for him is not quite what it would be for humanity. Either way, his feelings about humanity were so dire that for a moment he considered wiping all life from the planet. That’s where Noah comes into the picture. He was literally the only thing that saved us from extinction. He pleased God. He was the one person that stood out to God. In a sea of sin, he was the island of righteousness.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.  This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. -- Genesis 6:8-9
God could have snapped his figurative fingers and destroyed everyone on the planet but Noah, but that’s not how He operates. Destruction was humanity’s destiny because of the ways and actions of people. God set it up so that salvation would also depend on the actions of a man. He gave Noah the command to create a great ship called an ark to carry him, his family, and two of all animals on the Earth. God literally gave Noah the responsibility of creating the salvation for life on Earth. That’s a heavy burden and creating the ark had to be an arduous task. Any one of us might have questioned God if given such a task, but Noah did not. He simply did what God commanded and, as a result, humanity still exists to this day.

Noah’s story demonstrates to us just how important it is for us to obey God and strive to live righteous lives. Yes, if we believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ we will be rewarded with everlasting life in Heaven, but as Noah showed, living according to God’s will doesn’t have to be limited to simply saving oneself. Living a righteous life and obeying God’s commands can save your family, your friends, and everyone that comes after you. If you live in a way that rightly represents God and brings other people to him, those people will be saved from destruction the same way Noah’s righteousness saved his family and every human that came after.

We must remain vigilant. Jesus spoke of another event to come that he compared to the great flood.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 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; 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 24:36-39
One day, which no one but the Father knows, the world will be judged again. If you are truly a Believer, you have nothing to fear. The real question is will you only save yourself, or will you be like Noah and live in a way that saves multitudes.


Chris Lawyer


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