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God gave Noah specific instructions on building the ark. He told him how big it was supposed to be (300 x 50 x 30 cubits). He told him how many stories to make it (3 Stories). He even told him what to make it out of (Make it out of gopher wood) and where to find the wood (at the local Lowe’s Home Improvement). Just kidding– about the last one.
But it didn’t end there, God also told Noah to get food for himself and the animals. It wouldn’t do for the dinosaurs to be eating the chickens, you know, so there had to be enough feed and the right kinds of feed to take care of the people there for the year that they would be on the boat. (And one wonders if the food was running out when Noah sent out the dove and the raven?)
Did you ever stop to think what Noah’s life must have been like during the 100 years he was building the Ark? Sure, he was building– hewing logs (unless there was someone that already did have a shop setup), nailing wood, building a boat he’d never seen before– preaching and still walking with God… but what about his day job? I mean, he had to provide for his family (his wife and his son’s wives) so he must have done something to get food– I’m sure no one was paying him to build the ark even if he advertised it as the first floating zoo.
Noah built one door and one window– symbolizing only one way to salvation: getting on that boat. God was the one that opened and closed that door.
And then there are the details about the animals. Contrary to what Sears and those baby showers you’ve been to want you to believe, it wasn’t just two of every kind of animal. It was two of every kind of unclean animal. Of the clean animals and birds, Noah was to take seven. Don’t believe me? Check out Genesis 7:2-3. And before someone says “How did Noah what an unclean animal was?” keep in mind that Moses who did know the difference between clean and unclean edited the book of Genesis.
God then brings the animals to board the Ark. Anyone who’s seen the movie Babe or watched a parade knows that animals walking together, two by two, into a boat had to be quite the sight. Could you imagine the hecklers? How could they explain this?
And yet they must have, for no one else came forward to believe.
God then tells Noah what would happen. He exalts Noah’s righteousness– in fact, Noah’s in quite the elite crowd:
- Gen 6:9 – Noah was a just man, perfect in his generation, and walked with God.
- Gen 7:1 – God tells Noah to come into the Ark because He has seen that he is righteous.
- Gen 8:21 – God took the curse off the ground because of Noah – specifically his obedience and his sacrifice.
- Gen 9:17 – God forms a covenant with Noah
- Isa 54:9 – God compares His promise to Israel with His promise to Noah
- Eze 14:14:20 – God talks about how if He punishes Israel, the righteous three (Noah, Job, and Daniel) would only be able to save themselves.
- Heb 11:7 – Noah’s obedience showed his faith in righteousness
Noah was one of the most unsuccessful preachers ever. 100 years of preaching and no one entered the boat but him, his wife, his sons, and their wives. People were offered many opportunities to repent. God was preaching his patience through Noah (1 Pet 3:18-20). God was showing that regardless of how ungodly the people were, they still had a chance. Noah remained faithful to what God called him to do.
The Third Step to Being Prepared: Don’t second guess the mission– just do it!
How do we respond to a task where we don’t see the immediate benefit? What’s our reaction to God’s call? Sometimes we want to be a part of something that has the results that we’re expecting. We want a lot of people to come forward. We want to see that person get well. But we have to remember that our job is to faithfully do what we know is God’s will and trust Him to do the rest.
