In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in.
The story of Noah’s ark is one of the most famous of all Bible stories. Even those who know little about the Bible have probably heard the story. To most, that is just what the above verses are, a story. Like many who view the Bible, Noah and the ark is just another “fable” told by religious people. However, if we believe the Bible to be God’s written truth to mankind, we have to realize that God is not just spinning a yarn, but is telling us about Himself, mankind and His eternal plan. In the above passage, in the story of Noah’s ark, we find some very key lessons in life:
#1 - God does not tolerate sin in the lives of mankind. This whole venture started because God’s patience with the evilness of man had run out. The lesson to learn is that God does have patience, but His patience is not forever (Genesis 6:1-4)
#2 - God is in control. You have to marvel that in this historical story, God is controlling the animal kingdom, the weather environment and the fate of mankind. We owe our moment by moment breath to God. He has control over everything. He didn’t just send any animals to Noah to fill the ark. He sent male and female animals. Animals “according to their kind” were sent to Noah.
#3 - God empowers those He chooses for the work He chooses them to do. Noah, as far as we know, did not go to engineering school. We don’t know anything about his technical skills. Up to this point we don’t know if he was a man of the ground or a man of the flocks. But, what we do know, is God gave him the skills and strength to build a ship that was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. That would be the biggest recorded ship until around the 1800s.
Where God calls us to do His work, He provides wisdom and strength to complete that work.
#4 - There is a lot to learn from the story of the flood and Noah’s ark. But, it is not a fable. It is a real story of God using a single man to save mankind from certain annihilation. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and God used Noah to provide grace to all mankind. That is the story of the Gospel message. God sent His Son, by His grace, to save all mankind. Noah is a type of Christ. The story of Noah and the ark is a story of God’s provision of grace to a wicked and evil mankind. It is not a fable.
No comments:
Post a Comment