“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his household; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)
This verse informs us that righteousness is an inheritance that successive generations obtain by personal faith in God. “The long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.” (1 Peter 3:20)
Our long-suffering God still waits patiently for those who will come to Christ, who is the one and only door to salvation. That door to salvation is still open … but how much longer before God closes it?
No one knows. World events are building to a long-ago prophesied climax. Jerusalem is now fast becoming “a burdensome stone” that “all [the] people of the earth” will gather against (Zechariah 12:3).
Will the United Nations Organization soon describe the Jerusalem problem as a heavy stone around the world’s neck that must be removed? I think so. Here are seven things that Noah did in his day that you and I can do in the days that are leading up to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Noah built for his family’s future.
A New World would emerge after the Flood, and Noah and his family would stand on it after being transported to it from the world that God had judged. The good news is that never again will God destroy the world by a flood; the bad news is that He will destroy it by fire. (Genesis 9:15; 2 Peter 3:7)
2. Noah built something unique.
The ark was unprecedented because no boat had been built, and it had never rained. Building what God has put into our hearts to build doesn’t mean just expecting the unexpected but preparing for the unprecedented.
3. Noah built with a sense of urgency.
“Being warned by God of things to come, moved with fear…”
The Greek word translated “fear” in this verse means “reverent apprehension”, “circumspection”. Noah was not terrified by what God told him; he was smart enough to heed the warning and be motivated by it to save his family.
4. Noah built strictly according to revelation knowledge.
This allowed for only one way into the ark and no steering system. After seven days “the Lord shut him in”. Noah didn’t close the door. God did! We don’t need to know the day or the hour of Christ’s return; we have to be in Christ and ready to rise to meet him.
5. Noah involved his whole family in the project.
They shared their father’s vision and worked together to make it happen. Pastors will tell you that the most faithful workers are members of his family. Now is not the time to “do your own thing” but to join with his family as a church member in the building beside them.
6. Noah built a strong and visible witness to an unbelieving world.
The family’s work of faith condemned the watching, mocking world. Likewise, the scorn of those around you will turn to unimaginable grief when they miss out and later appear before Almighty God to be judged for their sins. The justice of that judgement will be clear to all from reminders of their rejection of God’s warnings to them through you and your family.
Whatever scorn they heap on you now will be nothing compared to the ignominy of their fate at the Judgement when God sentences them to the Second Death — the death beyond physical death.
7. Noah and his family at last together entered into what they had built and were saved together from the storms and the Flood he had warned them about.
The same flood that drowned the world raised Noah and his family above the judgement. The best reward for parents will not be only entering into the joy of their Lord but also entering into it with their loved ones. Something better than heaven will be salvation for your entire family in heaven. Something worse than hell will be the loss of your family because you did not warn them — and involve them — by preparing them for the Great Event: the long-awaited Return of Jesus Christ for his waiting Church.
“Come, you and all your household, into the ark…” (Genesis 7:1)