Isaiah Chapter 54: Verses 9-13 (NIV)
“To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
“Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
your foundations with lapis lazuli.
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.
All your children will be taught by the Lord,
and great will be their peace.
Matthew Chapter 27: Verses 37-39 (NIV)
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.
Genesis Chapter 6: verse 9 (NIV)
This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
2 Peter Chapter 2: Verse 5 (NIV)
if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
The phrase that stuck out for me today was “like in the days of Noah,” and reminded me too that Jesus also spoke of the days of Noah when He spoke about the end times. And that got me thinking, what was it like for Noah in those days? We don’t really think about that when considering the story of the flood. So what do we know about Noah? We know that in spite of all that was going on in the world around him at the time, he walked faithfully with God. He was obedient to God’s instructions when building the ark, and it wasn’t completed in a short time. Yet in all that time he must have been subject to ridicule as the people lived life as they pleased, never giving a thought for God. We are also told by Peter that Noah was known as a “preacher of righteousness”, so in spite of being in the minority, and being ridiculed, he was also faithful in telling people about how they should be living and following God. Isaiah talks about being lashed by storms and afflicted and I’m sure that’s how it must have felt at times for Noah. Yet Isaiah also speaks of how God can bring comfort, and making things the way He always intended, ensuring that the younger generations who come later are taught in the ways of God.
I feel very much that Isaiah’s description fits the situation that the wider church finds herself in today. People for the most part are not interested in the things of God, and those who do are more open to ridicule than in years past. In a so called “Christian country” like the UK of today, we may well feel like we are in the minority. But are we willing to be as faithful and obedient as Noah, and willing to speak out as God directs – even if we feel like we are being lashed by storms, as described in Isaiah. The current situation in the Middle East and the growing hostility towards Israel suggests that we are very much in the end times. We won’t know when the coming of the Son of Man will be, as Noah didn’t know when the flood would finally come. But he laboured for God faithfully until it did, and so must we. God will make everything right in His time.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for the example of Noah’s faithfulness and in turn Your faithfulness to him. I’m grateful for the encouragement and support of other believers as a reminder that we are not the only ones who follow You. Nevertheless, help me to follow Noah’s example even when I feel in the minority. I know that You will indeed make all things right in Your time as You have promised. Amen.