Genesis 8:1 “Then God remembered Noah, and every living
thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God
made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.”
God was very upset with Flesh (verse 6:13) and this flesh
was to be blamed for all violence in earth. Interestingly God involves the one
single person who had found grace in God’s eyes in the process of his own
salvation. Noah was already a righteous person and as a reward, God could have
given him the ark directly. But God decided Noah to toil with his family (6:14)
amidst the earth which was not just making fun of Noah, but was violent. The
reason is that Noah, his family and more importantly we should understand the
cost of salvation. If we read Genesis 5:63 and 7:11 we can see that Noah had
spent 100 years to make this ark in the middle of severe violence.
Righteousness and obedience for 600 years made Noah a worthy candidate for
salvation but we got it by grace.
But interestingly we get all the instructions from God. In
6:14-16 we read the precise instructions on how to construct the ark. God knows
better on how many animals to accommodate, how many days the wood should
contain everybody and how water would enter into the ark. Scientists confirm
that this size is the exact size for maximum strength, comfort and stability. God
even gave instructions on a single window and where the window should be
placed. This is how God wants us to overcome. The bible clearly instructs us
that Sin is terrible and large enough to drown us. If we have the right gear
and if we had put on Christ, we will be able to survive this condemnation. Christians
do not need to be geniuses to survive. In fact great winners in the Bible were
people who depend on Him for decision making.
Verse 7:16 says that the Lord shut him in. This shows the
final completion of safety being done by the Almighty Himself. All our efforts
in building a fortress, church or home will always be incomplete and there will
be leakages. In Psalms 127:1, we read the importance of God’s presence in our
daily chores. In everything we do or try, if we have Him along we are safe and
our actions mature. Especially in our spiritual warfare we need to depend on
Christ to seal us safely. Giving up our sinful nature because of any other
reason is never safe unless we have the love of Christ as the only reason for
repentance, ministry and all our steps towards Christlikeness. We can also read
this in verses 6:19,20 where Noah had to bring some animals and some would
themselves come. This is a communion or joint venture with God and us in
fulfilling His plans in the earth.
The ark is a symbol of Christ Himself as per many preachers.
We have to come into Jesus. We have to put on Jesus. He is the only opportunity
to salvation and the new life afterwards giving a fresh start. To come to
Christ and be saved, repentance is the only way. Similarly in 1 Peter 3:20, 21
we read that water had saved those who were in the ark. The same water that God
Himself had sent (Gen 6:17) makes those in Jesus float and be saved. The ones
that are not in Christ drown. The flood is compared with baptism by Peter. Baptism makes everybody else dead and those in
Christ live. The method of salvation is to come through testing and trouble.
The only comfort and the only stronghold that can withstand all the trouble in
the world is Christ Himself and trusting on anything else would be foolishness.
In 8:1 we read that God remembered with states that God did
not remember Noah until the right time came. We read this term “God remembered”
in many other instances like 19:29 when God remembered Abraham after destroying
Sodom and Gomorrah. A similar situation is found in Numbers 10:9. When God is
furious and when he is destroying, sin is so severe that there are no blessings
to those who are saved. All we have to do is to wait patiently in Christ. When
the other souls are being lost God is not happy enough to comfort us.
Reading 6:22 and 7:1 together, we see that Noah was seen
righteous because he did exactly what God wanted him to do. God sees a just man
to be righteous after his patience and exact obedience to God’s instructions. He
did not raise any question for 100 years in times of trouble. That is what a
person who walks with God (6:9) matures to. To be such a person, all we have to
do is live close with God.
Amen.
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