“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.” (Hebrews 11:1-2 NKJV)
“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Hebrews 11:7 NJKV)
“Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11 BSB)
“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.” (2 Peter 2:1-11 NKJV)
The flood, like so many of the Old Testament accounts is so easily misunderstood as an angry act of God In which He somehow got sadistic pleasure out of wiping out sinful people. The thing that is so often overlooked is the degree of wickedness in the earth that forced such severe acts. It is also overlooked just how long God waited, and the degree of opportunity that He gave for repentance, before He was finally forced to take decisive action. In His foreknowledge, the Father knew the exact moment in which waiting any longer would make salvation too late, and acted at the precisely accurate last minute. Noah is a perfect example of our Good, Loving Father’s patience as He gave Noah 120 years to warn people of the coming judgement.
It has always been the Father’s desire to seek and save the lost. He has always gone far above and beyond to give everyone every possible opportunity to accept His salvation. He wants everyone to win their race of life for all of eternity. With the flood He waited until Noah was the last righteous man on earth before He sealed him in the arc with his family. The Father waited until the last possible person other than Noah had hardened his or her heart beyond repentance. Had He waited any longer He would have risked losing Noah which would have closed the way for Jesus to come to the earth and complete the plan of redemption.
The Father loves us so much that He has always been willing to set aside His benefit for ours. If He was so mad at us then why did He initiate the plan of salvation when we were in the midst of rebellion? If it was ever His desire to wipe us out, then why did He freely sacrifice His Son for us? God never has, and never will, get any pleasure out of the death of His enemies. Noah left us a powerful testimony of just how much pain our Heavenly Father is willing to endure on our behalf as He goes to such great lengths to save us!
Race Tips From Noah:
- My Coach has only my best in mind
- Every detail of my training protocols and procedures are designed specifically to ensure victory
- The level of commitment that I put into preparation will determine the level of preparedness that I have at race time
- The purpose of my race goes far beyond myself.
Keep these things in mind as we consider…
… Eric’s Life Lesson # 179: “I will run a victorious “life-race” if I will learn the “life-lessons” of those witnesses who gave testimony of how to win the race.” Part 5: Noah