Genesis 6:13-22
The Ark Prepared (Hebrew 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20)
13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.
17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.
19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
Faith like that of Noah saves us from destruction. When judgment loomed upon the whole world because sin had taken over and corrupted mankind and turned them from the loving image of God to violence and destruction of one another in rejection and disobedience of God’s word, Noah was tasked to trust the LORD and he did. He dispense everything that he was told without doubt or questioning as some portray Noah in this day. He accepted the fact that sin had corrupted God’s good creation and that accountability demanded divine justice. This faithful but imperfect man of God heard and trusted with action as he walked with God to build an enormous ark while facing the disbelief of all around them (Luke 17:27). Hebrews 11:7 tells us that he was moved with godly fear to save his family and condemn the world and became the heir of righteousness according to faith. He feared judgment, he trusted God’s warning, and his faith saved him from the wages of sin. We read also that he preached the righteousness of the LORD’s word that brought the flood on the ungodly (2 Peter 2:5) and so was delivered from sin’s penalty just as it foreshadowed the saving grace of God in Christ in whom we are baptized into (1 Peter 3:20-21) as our ark of deliverance by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). The ark itself was such a perfect seaworthy design given by God that modern tankers still imitate its dimensions to stay afloat; likewise we find that grace through faith still delivers us from the flood of judgment which is coming on all flesh. All who find refuge in the righteousness of Jesus Christ will be rescued and delivered from the consequences of our sin which is both inherited from Adam (Romans 5:12, 14, 17-18, 19) and which we daily commit ourselves (1 John 1:8-10). We therefore call out the warning of judgment with the deliverance from eternal punishment by faith in the work of God in His Son who delivers us (2 Corinthians 1:9-10, 2 Peter 2:9) by an everlasting promise because we trust Him and follow as best we can in willing obedience after we pass through the flood as baptized into Christ and in His righteousness alone. Like Noah, we too do all God commands us in the gospel to trust and obey with faith in His work and promise to deliver even if the world around us continues to ignore the warnings of coming destruction and a fiery judgment (2 Peter 3:6-7) reserved from those continuing in ungodliness. We stay the course of faith because the one who promises all has changed and sealed us as His (1 Peter 1:23, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30), come into us and we into Him, and are led forward to the day when sin is vanquished with death (1 Corinthians 15:25, 52, 54, 56) and we find ourselves with the Lord in His presence forevermore. May we be faithful to build the ark of faith to safely weather the storm and proclaim His deliverance from destruction as the Day draws near. Yes, faith in Christ delivers us from a certain destruction of the wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10) to come, for just as Faith delivered Noah through the flood, so are we delivered from judgment in the final day by saving faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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