Walking by Faith - Noah's Ark

Westhill Community Church

Sunday 10^th July 2022

Walking by Faith – Noah’s Ark

Reading: Gen 6: 1-22

The story of Noah is a familiar one to all, regardless of whether or not folk attended Sunday School when young. A quick search on Amazon books this week revealed at least twenty different Noah’s Ark story books for young children from a variety of publishers. There is much Bible content that people in the UK today know nothing about, but mention Noah’s Ark and almost everyone understands what you are talking about.

We think of the account of the Flood and Noah’s ark as a Bible story, recorded originally by the ancient Hebrews, and quite rightly so. But it may not be so well known that ancient legends of a great deluge destroying all but a small company of people, occur all over the world.

Even here in Britain, in Wales, there is a legend of a monster causing a huge flood, and two people – Dwyfan and Dwyfach – being the only human survivors, who then proceeded to repopulate Britain. They escaped in a floating vessel, and took with them a pair of each species of animal.

The Cree tribe in North America have a flood story, in which beavers, angry at being hunted, caused the waters to rise up until all the land was covered. One man escaped by constructing a raft of logs, taking many animals with him.

In the early 1990s an academic researcher explored flood legends amongst the ethnic groups in Vietnam. He collected over 300 different accounts, all telling a similar story of a catastrophic deluge that left only two survivors to repopulate the world.

I have mentioned just a few of the many legends that exist across the world. In most cases they differ markedly from the Genesis account we read from today. But broadly speaking there is general agreement on one thing: in ancient times a catastrophic flood destroyed human civilisation, and only a few survived by constructing a floating vessel.

But the Genesis account differs from all these other stories in one significant way. It is not portrayed as a legend or myth or a vaguely remembered oral tradition. The Bible sets the account of Noah very firmly and precisely in the context of human history, and this is accomplished by means of genealogies or family trees. Yes, these sections of the Old and New Testament, that often seem to us to be so tedious to read, provide an authenticity to the record that far surpasses most other ancient historical texts. 1^st Chronicles chapter 1 records one line of Abraham’s family tree in great detail, and its very existence shows that records were kept meticulously. If, like me, you have ever tried to construct your own family tree you will appreciate what the Hebrew scribes had to accomplish. Even with the records that are maintained today, trying to get accurate details of your second and third cousins, or your first cousins two or three times removed can be a major undertaking. 1^st Chronicles chapter 1, and similarly Genesis chapter 11, traces Noah’s descendants through one of his sons, Shem, to Arphaxad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah and Abram. Ten generations from Shem to Abraham – possibly eleven, since there is some uncertainty as to whether Shelah was Arphaxad’s son or grandson. I was interested by this, since ten generations is as far as I’ve been able to search back in my family tree. My male forebears on my mother’s side trace back to William Willis who lived in Yarm, Yorkshire in the late 1600s. He was my great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather. And Noah was Abraham’s great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather.

So you see, to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob the story of Noah was not a vague legend, or a fictional account written to convey some kind of spiritual message. No, for them Noah was family. His exploits would have been recited with excitement to children and children’s children. And his faith, particularly, would have been their example and inspiration.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews comments particularly on Noah’s faith, and what we can learn from it.

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
(Heb 11: 6,7)

This passage focuses on the need for faith as being one of the most important lessons to be learned from the generations that have gone before. So what does it teach us about faith, and what lessons does it draw particularly from the story of Noah?

1. Faith is REQUIRED to please God

Without faith it is impossible to please God.

There is a general principle that applies in every walk of life. Unless you believe in and are committed to the rules that apply you will never succeed. Unless you please the examiner by responding accurately to the questions asked you will never pass the exam or achieve the desired qualification. This afternoon is the men’s final of the Wimbledon tennis championship. In everything they do the players have to please the umpire. Unless they demonstrate to the umpire’s satisfaction that a ball they have hit has not landed out of bounds they will lose a point, and if they persist they will lose the match. It would be pointless them seeking to please just their own inclinations – perhaps to serve the ball in the opposite direction to the opposing player. They need to know precisely what the rules are and keep to them as best they can if they are to have any hope of winning. Why should we think that the way we live our lives is different? That actually it doesn’t matter what requirements the Creator may have put in place when He made us, that we can live without seeking to please Him without any adverse consequences? The story of Noah tells us that pleasing God is crucial if we are to avoid catastrophe. Jesus said:

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matt 24: 37-39)

Pleasing God is imperative for each one of us, and faith is essential in achieving this.

Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

There is no greater incentive to taking an action we are considering than the assurance of reward. The farmer sows the seed in the spring because he believes a harvest will come. The student devotes months, even years, to study in the belief that qualifications will be attained that will bring great benefit in the future. A fundamental principle of faith is the understanding that seeking God and pleasing Him will bring great reward. It is the very nature of God to bestow reward and blessing. The first encouragement that he gave to Adam and Eve was “be fruitful and multiply.” The consequences he puts before us first are always those of reward and blessing if we seek him and please him, and this is what should motivate us. He does not want our motivation to be fear of judgement, even though he makes it quite clear that this is what awaits those who go their own way.

3. Faith RECIEVES God’s word gladly

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.

When God speaks the wise listen and take heed. The foolish shrug their shoulders and say “we’ll wait and see what happens.” To those who are seeking God the very hearing of his word stirs up faith within, for as Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Satan knows this, and that is why he will do what he can to keep us from reading, studying and taking in God’s word. He will encourage us to occupy ourselves with a hundred other activities. Then when our focus is elsewhere he sows seeds of doubt. “Did God really say?” he said to Eve. And then followed up with, “God did not say.”

But Jesus quoted God’s word to Satan, from Deut 8: 3: “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

We are living in days when the world around us dismisses the Word of God and derides those who take it seriously. The apostle Peter warned us long ago that these days would come.

You must understand that in the last days scoffers will come. … They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised?’ … But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly. (2 Peter 3: 2-7)

By God’s word, he said, the earth was created; by God’s word the flood destroyed the ancient world; and by that same word a day of judgement and destruction are coming soon.

The Genesis account of the Great Flood and the salvation of Noah’s family by hearing God’s word and taking it seriously are a lesson for us today, said Peter. And a most important part of that lesson is that God who kept his word the first time will also keep his word a second time. For there will be another time of judgement visited upon the world, this time far more devastating and final.

It may seem to us that that dreadful final day is remote and far off in time. That just comes from our limited human perspective, said Peter. In actual fact the reason that day has not already occurred is God’s patience and mercy, and his longing that all would reach out to him in faith to receive salvation.

Yes, Peter said, faith receives God’s word and takes it seriously, and this will inevitably transform your life. Which brings us to the next lesson from Hebrews 11: 6,7.

4. Faith RESPONDS decisively

By faith Noah, …, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.

True faith is not merely mental or verbal agreement. Just believing that the flood was coming but without taking decisive action would not have saved Noah or his family. Action was needed, and such action as would radically change his life. This was no hobby that he undertook, occupying perhaps an hour or so per day. This was a major industrial activity, occupying every waking hour. The size of the ark was immense: at least 450 feet in length. There is no evidence of any other vessel of this size being built anywhere in the world until well into the nineteenth century. It would have occupied Noah and his family, and almost certainly many hired workers, full-time for many years.

James says, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17). This is because faith is belief in God’s word; and God, when he speaks to us, calls us to respond. For Noah it was to build a boat and move into it at the appointed time. For Abram it was to leave home and go to a land God would lead him to. For Moses is was to leave his home in Midian and go to Egypt to confront Pharoah and secure the release of the people of Israel. For us it is to respond wholeheartedly to Jesus’ call to follow him and to go wherever he takes us to help others come to know him and follow him too. And an important part of this calling is to live lives that are righteous and blameless.

5. Faith REVEALS godlessness

By his faith he condemned the world.

In his second letter Peter tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness to his generation (2 Peter 2: 5). We are not told in what way he preached to others, but two things are immediately evident. Firstly, we read in our scripture reading that, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God” (Gen 6: 9). Noah’s lifestyle and behaviour stood in stark contrast to those he lived amongst, and would have been a persistent, challenging and nagging message to all. This would not have made him popular. When others are keen to cheat and you refuse to participate then you are preaching righteousness. When others want to lie and you insist on speaking the truth then you are preaching righteousness. And to those who persist in behaving unrighteously then your righteousness condemns them, even though you may speak no word of accusation or judgement.

And a second way Noah preached was through his obedience to God in building the Ark. We can only conjecture at the response of those he lived amongst. The incredulity, the jeers, the scoffing, the pity, the hostility. By credible estimates the building process lasted for years – perhaps 50 or more. And as the Ark took shape the warning message it portrayed would have increased in intensity. But, apart from his immediate family, it seems that nobody took Noah seriously.

Jesus called us to be salt and light in our generation, to expose and counteract the corruption and darkness that inevitably follow when people abandon God’s ways for their own. Again and again the Scriptures exhort us not to conform to the principles, ideologies and actions of people around us, that spring from unbelief rather than faith in God.

6. Faith RESULTS in a rich inheritance

By his faith he … became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

The outcome of faith in God is a rich inheritance. The saints of old set their minds and hearts on it. We are told that for this very reason Abraham, Isaac and Jacob continued to live in tents rather than houses.

By faith [Abraham] made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Heb 11: 9,10)

Noah became an heir of righteousness, as did all the others described in the Hebrews 11 gallery of faith. But they have not yet received that inheritance. Hebrews 11: 39,40 says

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

I sense that the church in this country in our day has focussed much less on this wonderful prospect that lies before God’s people than has been the case in previous generations. Undoubtedly in general life has become easier for our generation, and we now have so much to occupy ourselves with and enjoy. In contrast to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob we have tended to accumulate material things in our lives, to such an extent that maybe we are tempted to take our eyes off what God has in store for his people. This wasn’t the case for the New Testament church. Listen to what Peter wrote in his first letter.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (1 Peter 1: 3-6)

The prospect of this inheritance causes the child of God to greatly rejoice, says Peter. A few verses on he describes this as “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” A home prepared for us by Jesus himself, where there will no longer be any perishing, any spoiling, any fading.

I want to finish by reading the wonderful words of a song written by Paul Oakley more than 25 years ago as he contemplated what God has prepared for those who love him.

There's a place where the streets shine

With the glory of the Lamb.

There's a way, we can go there,

We can live there beyond time.

Because of You, because of You,

Because of Your love,

Because of Your blood.

No more pain, no more sadness,

No more suffering, no more tears.

No more sin, no more sickness,

No injustice, no more death.

Because of You, because of You,

Because of Your love,

Because of Your blood.

All our sins are washed away,

And we can live forever,

Now we have this hope,

Because of You.

Oh, we'll see You face to face,

And we will dance together

In the city of our God,

Because of You.

There is joy everlasting,

There is gladness, there is peace.

There is wine ever flowing,

There's a wedding, there's a feast.

That is our inheritance. May God fill our hearts with joy as we contemplate it this day. The apostle Paul wrote,

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:32)