based on the LGG Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w1d4
Read Genesis 6:11-14 and 17-22 or KJV; SOAP: Genesis 8:1
Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. 12 God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. 13 So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!
14 “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior.
Genesis 6:11-14, 17-22 NLT“Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. 18 But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. 20 Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. 21 And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”
But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede.
Genesis 8:1 NLT (KJV)
I recently went with a friend to the “Sights and Sounds” production of Noah, so it is very fresh in my mind, making today’s portion of the journey a bit more 3-D in my mind’s eye. Watching it play out on the big screen certainly made me realize, at least in some small way, the depth of courage, faith, and work it must have taken for Noah and his family to actually live through the reality of it…not to mention the fear and agony of knowing the earth would be destroyed and all life with it. The unknown factors, such as whether the boat would truly keep them safe, and what would happen afterwards, not to mention the thought of being trapped on an enclosed vessel for that long, would have been added concerns, at least for me. Reading the story on the pages of Scripture has never been less than a marvel, but seeing it portrayed in the theater, was an impressive revelation to Noah’s complete trust in God, his commitment to this strange call of God, and his family’s commitment to work with him and follow Noah’s lead despite the unknowns.
While the theatrical production embellished the story for effect, the reality is we only know the short version of what God tells us in His Word, where we see God’s utter disappointment in humans and what they had become and what they had done to His once tranquil and beautiful creation. Adam and Eve’s sinful choice to trade life for death had indeed brought about death and destruction, except for Noah and his family, because Noah had found grace in the eyes of the Lord. As I poured these words out on the pages of my journal, I couldn’t help but thank God for the grace He has shown to me/us, through the righteousness of Christ alone, and the salvation extended to all who abide in Him.
In the show about Noah, there were a few scenes where he would warn others about what was coming. He pleaded with them to listen, so that they would not perish. Whether or not this is how it actually happened, in the years it took to build the ark, possibly 120 years, Noah certainly had the time to “preach righteousness1” Gotquestions.org points out an interesting and convicting truth, saying: “In addition to Noah’s proclamations to the unbelieving world of his day was his “wordless preaching.” In the very construction of the ark, Noah bore witness to righteousness. Every hammer blow, every pounding of a nail was a call to repentance and a declaration that judgment was coming.
May our hearts be burdened for those who are lost and in danger of perishing. May God find us faithfully sharing His message of love and gift of grace, and bearing witness to righteousness – so that no one will perish.2
Friends, as Noah’s family entered into the Ark, trusting God to save them, we must enter into a relationship with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. When we do this, we receive the promise of eternal life, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us, enabling us to abide (live in) Christ. Because of this act of love and grace, when this earth is again destroyed,3 those who are found “in” Christ will be saved from the destruction to live with God for eternity. 4
The More We Know
Jesus called out the fact that Noah’s contemporaries ignored the message that would have saved them. At the same time, the Lord warned us of making the same mistake: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26–27).
The point of Peter referencing Noah and others like him in his second epistle is that, if God did not spare the ancient world who rejected Noah’s warnings, how much less can He be expected to spare those who dismiss His calls to repentance today?
Gotquestions.org
Me From the Inside Out 