Are We Living Like Noah?

We need some positiveness in our lives today. I don’t think I’ll get an argument from nearly anyone on that (there’s always that contrary one). It’s a crazy and strange world we live in today, isn’t it? We don’t have to be told that society has allowed right to become wrong and wrong to become right. We see it in far too many places. Good is evil and evil is good. We will, hopefully, be able to tell our grandchildren one day that we were witnesses to and survivors of this topsy turvy world. 

The Bible tells us that it’s been like this for a while, maybe not as blatant as it’s been the last couple of years. It’s all relative I suppose. We know there will be accountability. The prophet Isaiah states so in Isaiah 5:20:

“Woe to those who call

evil good

and good evil,

Who substitute darkness 

for light 

and light for darkness

Isaiah wrote those words over 2700 years ago, but he could have written them for us today. While alarmed, we are comforted by the words “Woe to those” because of our faith in Christ and that no evil goes unpunished. Solomon tells us in Proverbs 11:21 “Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.”

God gives us free will. But have you wondered over the last two years especially why evil had to show its ugly face that one day in the Garden of Eden?! Have you ever wondered why Eve would listen to that serpent, the devil, over the command God gave both of them: “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” You want to say “ding, ding, ding! Anybody home?” It changed everything and sin has since been an issue in this world. For each of us. The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This verse is not a “get out of jail” card - every action has a reaction. While God gives us grace, there are consequences. The reality for the human race is that God has given us the freedom to choose - how we use that freedom in our walk, whether for good or for bad, will not go unnoticed by our omniscient heavenly Father. 

The people during Noah’s time were anything but nice. They were evil. Genesis 6:5-6 tell us “When the LORD saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth.” God, therefore, had had enough of their sinfulness. But He walked and talked with Noah during that time. Noah believed in God. His faith propelled him to obey the Lord in all he did including the building of the Ark. Noah had 120 years to construct this huge boat. But so did the people around him. However, instead of setting their lives right - they had plenty of time - they never repented to God. One hundred twenty years later (plus the seven days it took for Noah, his family, and the animals to get on the Ark), the Great Flood occurred. The sinful yet unrepentant people perished. They had 120 years to repent……Noah and his family, on the other hand, got to see a rainbow that God had placed in the sky.

The other Sunday in my classroom, the lesson was on the Walls of Jericho. Jericho, a town estimated to have had about 10,000 people at the beginning of the 15th century, was not going to be controlled by Israel. Instead of believing in the Lord and the protection He would have provided them, the people of Jericho put their faith in the wall surrounding the city. Joshua spoke to the priests telling them what God had told him to do to bring down the walls of the fortified city. After marching around the city once each day for six days, the people would march around the city seven times on the seventh day and “the priests shall blow the trumpets.” (Joshua 6:4). The walls came down on that seventh day. God’s people obeyed Him. The people of the city perished except for Rahab and her family who believed in the Lord and helped protect the two men Joshua sent into Jericho originally to spy on the city. 

Joseph, one of twelve sons of Jacob, wasn’t exactly well-liked by his brothers. Out of jealousy, they threw him into a deep pit then sold him into slavery. He was brought out of slavery in Egypt, becoming the “overseer” of Potiphar’s house. The wife of Potiphar falsely accused him of a crime. Joseph was sent to prison where eventually he was put in charge of the prisoners. All this time God was with him. After God gave him the ability to interpret dreams, Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker. The cupbearer forgot to tell Pharaoh about Joseph until two years later when Pharaoh needed his dreams interpreted. God was still with him. Joseph told Pharaoh that his dreams meant seven years of feast followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh made Joseph governor of all of Egypt. Joseph would say later to his brothers in Genesis 50:19: “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”

These are but a few examples in the Bible that should spur us to trust in God now more than ever. Psalm 118:8 tells us that “it is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” Knowing this, what would we do today if God made a similar request of our lives like that of Noah, Rahab, or Joseph? In our watered-down Christian lives would we march around a city until the evil had fallen, crushed beyond repair, or would we complain that our legs were too tired? Would we repent of our sins, then pick up a hammer and help Noah or would we stand on the sidelines? Would we protect God’s people, sheltering them from harm? 

This is no time to walk away from the Lord! He will help us get through this period of time. Moses told God’s people in Deuteronomy 31:6:

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

The author of Psalm 118 tells us in verse 5:

“I called on the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

The Bible is our source for positiveness! Our all-powerful God has this! What we are going through is nothing new to Him! Can He depend on you to keep marching forward, helping others along the way? We are all in this together.