Throughout history, God has warned mankind about the need to live according to His will and His commands. The Bible is replete with such verses. However these warnings are accompanied by an offer of grace, things that we can do to please God and be reconciled with Him despite our shortcomings.
In the beginning, God created the earth to be a place where humanity could flourish and fill the earth (Gen 1:28). Man learnt how to farm crops (Gen 4:2-3) and keep animals (Gen 4:4), play musical instruments (Gen 4:21), and craft tools using metals (Gen 4:22). There was food to eat, music to enjoy, and technology was advancing. Things seemed good, but as sin had entered the world, man continually devised evil thoughts in his heart (Gen 6:5). Evil became widespread on earth and violence was rampant (Gen 6:11). Killings took place (Gen 4:8) and it became common to hurt others. It got so bad that God was grieved in His heart (Gen 6:6) and became sorry for creating man (Gen 6:6). God then said that He would destroy man and beast whom He created from the face of the earth (Gen 6:7) through bringing floodwaters on the earth (Gen 6:17).
When one looks through the news nowadays, one can easily see some parallels with how man is living today compared to how man was living before the floodwaters. The news articles today showcasing enhancements in food generation, entertainment and technology are often accompanied by those of violence, wars, murders and other crimes. However, God offered a way out for the faithful before the flood waters filled the earth; the ark that Noah built. Today, He likewise offers redemption from sin and eternal salvation; through Jesus Christ. The thing is, will we heed the warnings and take up His offer of grace before it is too late?
Let’s take a closer look at what Noah did before the flood waters filled the earth. Noah was a just man who pleased God, and “found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen 6:8) God told Noah about His intention to destroy the corrupt earth and all corrupt flesh (Gen 6:12-13). God commanded Noah to make an ark of gopherwood, make rooms inside and cover it inside and outside with pitch (Gen 6:14). He gave Noah more specific instructions about the dimensions of the ark and what to bring inside the ark. Most of us know the rest of what happened later on and how Noah and his family, together with various animal species, were eventually saved from the floodwaters.
However let’s pause and think more deeply about the time when Noah and his family were building the ark. Noah was six hundred years old at the time the earth was flooded (Gen 7:6) and they did not have the benefit of modern cranes or electric drills during that time. One can imagine them soldiering on, sweating in the heat or shivering in the rain to haul wood and piece them together. Then there is the back-breaking work of applying the pitch to the inside and outside of the ark to make it waterproof. Neighbours or passers-by probably looked on with great curiosity and maybe even a degree of amusement, thinking to themselves “now why would someone go to this extent for something that we aren’t sure would happen”. We now know that Noah was completely driven by his faith in God and the need to obey God’s commands, and that the only way to be saved during that time was through the ark.
Fast forward to our present day – where we now know through God’s inspired word, the Bible, that the only way to be saved is through Jesus Christ (John 3:17-18) and being in the body of Christ: the church (1 Cor 12:27). Like how the ark was built, it was not an overnight affair. There was lots of hard work and preparation, there was sweat and tears, there were challenges in building up the body of Christ. There were also onlookers who teased or sought to disrupt. All through the old and new testament we read of how the church came to be. Certainly as members of Christ’s body today, we will not be immune to these things. However, as we do not know which hour the Son of Man will come again (Matt 24:42-44), we must soldier on with our mission.
The warnings in the Bible are clear. While God has promised that “…never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth…” (Gen 9:11), He has said that all must eventually appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Cor 5:10).
I leave you with these few verses to reflect upon: “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matt 24:37-39)
“Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:28-29)
Let us heed the warnings and take up God’s offer of grace.