Verse 1-5, "Then the Lord said to Noah, 'Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.' And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him." Even though Noah had never seen rain and had no reason to believe there would be a flood, he believed God, and acted out of obedience to build the ark just as God told him to. Notice that he did ALL that God commanded him to, not just the things that lined up with his own will. Many Christians today think they can pick and choose what they want to obey. With God, it is all or nothing. Don't even set out to follow Him if you aren't ready to lay down your entire life as a living sacrifice. In Luke 9:23-24, Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." Matthew 10:38, "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me."
Noah was willing to leave behind his life and get on a boat with a bunch of animals because he was dead to himself and trusted God. We don't always see what's coming, but God knows, and we can trust Him. To be a disciple, we must walk by faith and quit clinging to only what we can see. Hebrews 11:1-2, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony." We too can have a good testimony when we walk by faith according to the Spirit. When we walk without faith, we are walking in the flesh, and cannot please God. Not only that, but the carnal mind, that is faithless, is hatred toward God. Romans 8:5-8, "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
God is just, and is not going to accept all other ways to salvation. There is only one way and all others will be judged. I'm sure there were many in Noah's day that thought they had it figured out, but they died just like the rest. The only ones who were saved from the wrath were the ones who obeyed God. Verse 23, "So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive." We know that there is a coming wrath, and there is a way to escape it. If there wasn't, the Bible wouldn't specifically tell us to pray that we could escape. We need to be watchful and not get sucked into the cares of this life and miss our opportunity, because this wrath will take the whole earth by surprise, similar to the flood. Luke 21:34-36, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
gen.7.23.nkjv So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.
ReplyDeleteGod destroyed every living thing on the earth. Noah and those who were with him in the ark were the only ones who remained alive. Like the flood and sodom and gomorrah, God will bring vengeance down on the earth once more. We need to watch and be ready for the coming of Jesus Christ. We can't just think that we will be safe from God's rath because we are good people or pretending and trying to deceive ourselves that there is no God. No matter what we believe there will be a judgement day. Like Noah we need to get ready for Jesus.
gen.7.23.nkjv So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.
ReplyDeleteGod destroyed every living thing on the earth. Noah and those who were with him in the ark were the only ones who remained alive. Like the flood and sodom and gomorrah, God will bring vengeance down on the earth once more. We need to watch and be ready for the coming of Jesus Christ. We can't just think that we will be safe from God's rath because we are good people or pretending and trying to deceive ourselves that there is no God. No matter what we believe there will be a judgement day. Like Noah we need to get ready for Jesus.
"Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him." The Lord spared Noah and his family because of their righteousness in a wicked and evil world. They trusted the Lord and put their faith in Him. Again, this is a picture of the rapture in that God will spare the true flock from His wrath. 1 Thessalonians 5:9-"For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." Noah did all that the Lord commanded him to do and obeyed Him.
ReplyDelete"And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive." God eventually did what He said He was going to do and flooded the whole earth. He shut Noah and his family and all the animals into the ark. When God says something will come to pass, it will eventually come to pass just as He said it would. For instance, the rapture will come to pass at an hour we don't expect, but it will happen eventually. God does not lie. Many people who are living in sin who don't believe God will one day have to give an account for what they have done, and whether they like it or not, the rapture will come to pass.