by Rebekah Harvey

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. … 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

In this week’s Simple Truth Bible Study we talked about Noah and how he believed the divine warning that was given to him by God. Noah put his faith into action and carefully followed the instructions that the Lord had given him for completing this enormous task. We see details in Genesis about the dimensions of the ark, about the animals he was to take with him once it was completed, but we don’t see what was happening in his life during this time. We can find out some important things about him though, Genesis 6:8 ”But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, today we are saved by grace through faith, read Ephesians 2:8-9. These verses in Genesis also tell us that Noah walked with God. He lived in an evil time, it was such an evil time that God was sorry that He had even made man, His heart was grieved by all the wickedness that had polluted the earth. He decided that He would bring judgment on the earth because of the great evil of sin.

Jesus warned that a time of great evil, corruption and sin would come upon the earth again. Luke 17:26 “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 “They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” The world today shows all the signs of great evil, sin and corruption. Noah was a preacher of righteousness in his evil days, I challenge you to share the Gospel with those around you that need to experience the salvation of grace through faith that is available to each of us.

Our faith pleases God. Our faith helps us understand the things of God. Noah’s story is an encouragement of hope, he lived in evil times and he faithfully obeyed what God had planned for him. We can receive hope and encouragement from this man’s story not to give up, and that God is faithful even when times are desperately wicked.