Pastor Mike continued his series on faith and this week he spoke about Noah. I’ve heard and read the story of Noah’s ark at least 100 times throughout my life. I’ve even watched the silly move, “Evan Almighty.” I don’t believe, however, I have ever taken the time to consider the amount of faith Noah had in God.
Before I dive in, take a moment to do an internet search on a “life size replica of Noah’s ark.” I’ve included a picture here. You can see additional pictures of other replicas as well as pictures of the inside of these arks on the internet. Now that you have an idea of just how big this ark was, let’s consider Noah’s faith.
First, it is estimated it took Noah about 100 years to build the ark. I don’t know about you, but I would have been burned out after the first 25 or 30 years. Think about what it took to build this vessel. There were no lumber yards Noah could go to and purchase precut wood in the quantity he needed much less have it delivered to his home! And from the pictures, the ark took a lot of wood to build! So, Noah, and presumably his sons, had to go to where the trees grew and cut them down – by hand! Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe chain saws had been invented yet.
We know from Genesis Noah was 600 years old when the flood came. That means he was chopping wood and building an ark when he was 500 years old! Even with modern day conveniences, my husband and I buy our firewood precut rather than chopping it ourselves.
Noah did not have a saw table to cut the wood, a planer to smooth and shape it. He couldn’t just run down the street to buy nails and glue. God told him to waterproof the ark with tar. Imagine making that much tar and applying it to a boat of that size!
Besides the materials, the work, and the time it took to build the ark, Noah most certainly had to contend with social ridicule. What he was doing was crazy! There had never been a flood before and here was Noah building a massive boat on dry ground. I would think he was the laughing stock of the town and probably of the region in which he lived.
Have you done, seen, or heard of someone doing something that seems so out in left field that friends and family alienate them? Noah must have had days of discouragement. Discouragement from the ridicule – he was, after all, still human; discouragement from the difficulties associated with building something that had never been built before – the only blueprints he had was what God had told him; discouragement and a heavy heart being fully aware of what God was planning to do – wipe out all living things on the earth. The only people that would be left were Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives. They would have to rebuild their world from scratch once they were able to leave the ark – more than a year after the rains began.
Remember when your mom or dad said to you, “If your friend jumps off a bridge would you?” God asked Noah to jump off the proverbial bridge when He told him to build the ark. Noah listened and obeyed. Why? Because Noah trusted God. We are told “Noah walked with God.” (Gen 6:9). Noah as a faithful servant had known God’s protection, provision, and His love. He respected God and loved Him therefore he obeyed Him even though what God asked appeared to everyone else as a ‘fool’s errand.’ To Noah, it was better to be mocked by man than rejected by God.
Just for today, would you have the faith in God Noah had remembering it is better to be mocked by man than rejected by God?
Until next Sunday, may God be with you! – PSG –
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