As in the days of Noah

The Business of Ark Building

Bible reading:  Gen 6:14, Mat 24:37-39, 1 Pet 3:20-21, Luke 17:26, 1 Thess 5:2,3, Luke 21:36, Rev 3:10

Noah:

Gen 6:5-7

In the days of Noah, Satan made his move by corrupting the world and filling it with violence.  God was patient, but He saw that the wickedness increased on Earth.  Every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually.  It was the time for the Lord’s next move against Satan’s.  He repented making Man on the earth and it grieved Him in His heart.  What did He do to deserve such a grief?  He was the life giver and He was blessing Man with life and light and yet he fell to a sickening extent that it grieved Him.  Among all the tragedies of this universe, this is the grossest.  In His next move, God could destroy everything and wrap up Earth or allow wickedness to continue in front of His eyes as it was.  Then, He decided to destroy everything from the man to beast to creeping things to the birds of heaven. 

Hallelujah.  Noah found favor in the sight of Jehovah.  He was a righteous man, blameless in his generations; and He walked with God.  Walking with God is a wonderful thing and is a continual process.  This meant that Noah like his great-grandfather Enoch walked with God.  This was a perfect living, where God is acknowledged continually and His will is ruling over man's will.  The amazing thing about walking with God is receiving victory over death like Enoch who was translated without death by God.  Don’t you want to overcome the ultimate result of man’s fall i.e., death?  If you want to, then walk with God every moment, every hour and every day of your life.

Noah lived such a life that God became a winner.  He destroyed the evil part of the world, yet saved a handful to carry on with His plan.  Amen. Noah's generation was corrupt and was filled with violence.  God said that He was going to destroy the wicked people from the face of the earth.  But the good news was that He had a plan for saving his favored children.  He instructed Noah to build himself an ark of gopher wood.  The exact duration of the Noah’s Ark project is unknown, but, we know that it took 75 to 100 years for the Ark to get completed.  God gave adequate warning to Noah and enough time to complete the ark.  

Noah was a herald of righteousness (2 Pet 2:5) in his generation.  Surely people of his time must have noticed the things that were about Noah and the ongoing project which might have led to some curiosity in the people about the ark.  So, Noah as a man of righteousness would have given sufficient warning to the people about the impending judgment of God.  Yet, they didn't care much and they were eating and drinking and living a violent, corrupt and sinful life.  People would have mocked Noah and persecuted him for propounding a theory of an unimaginable thing like a flood that can disrupt their present sinful lives, even though they knew that their sinful lives deserved divine judgment. 

Gen 7:1-16

God invited Noah and his household to enter the ark.  There was a 7 day notice period after the entering and the commencement of flood.  The world around him would have seen Noah abandoning everything and entering the ark, yet none repented.  The door of the ark was open still during this period as the final preparations were going on for 7 days.  After a week, the springs of the great deep burst and the windows of the heaven opened.  And on the same day, Noah and his family entered the ark which he was built for about several decades against the mocking, against the evil generation, against all opposition of the devil and men.  Now, here is the awesome part, Jehovah shut the door behind Noah.  It reminds me of the shutting of the door for the 5 foolish virgins in the parable of ten virgins who didn’t have extra oil with them.  Once you entered the Ark, there is no way out because God had shut you inside.  And Jehovah, the evil generation with all its corruption and violence and the rising flood were outside.  Now, who can save the wicked people from the wrath of Jehovah?  The flood was a surprise for them since they never believed Noah, never cared for God and the theory of Ark would have seemed foolishness to them just like how the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is foolishness to the world today.  The moment Noah received the revelation of the coming destruction, he would have forsaken his everything that was in the world that was destined to be doomed, and he would have worked to build the ark full time along with his family that would save him in the future.

Today, we are just like in the days of Noah.  We are building the ark in one sense and have entered the ark in another, but the door is open still just like it was during 7 day notice period.  We are mocked and called fools for the sake of our Lord, but, we are building an ark and also have entered it.  Just like Noah, we have received an adequate warning and the time of the flood has been announced.  Like Noah, we know that the world which is full of violence and corruption is destined to be doomed, and it will be unwise on our part to put our faith in the world which will be destroyed anyway.  Nevertheless, you go into the world, learn your skills and have your training under the supervision of God and build the ark.  You have some extra money, give it to the workers of the Lord and in a way you are building the ark.  You serve the Lord with your first and best love, you are building the ark.  Use your gifts in the church, you are building the ark.

The Lord Jesus has instructed us clearly in Matt 24:37-39 about His second coming which would be like in the days of Noah when people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark.  The Lord’s second coming is His shutting the door of the ark from behind Noah.  No more chances after that; no more grace time.  It’s all over.  For Christians, the Lord has instructed to be vigilant and watchful of His coming which will be like a thief in the night.  His day will dawn upon us quickly, but we don’t have to be surprised if we are in the business of building the Ark, and our Ark is our Lord Jesus Christ.  For when the world will say Peace and security, then the sudden destruction will come upon them, they shall by no means escape (1 Thess 5:2-3).  

Watch out brothers and sisters, build your ark.  Don’t build boats, but build the Ark.  Ark is built in the church.  An individual boat cannot withstand the ferocity of the flood, but if we are in Jesus Christ our Ark, we will be saved.  Do not worry too much about the world which is full of violence and corruption and is destined to be doomed, but rather worry about the Ark.  Let the world worry about the peace and security, for you are safe in the Ark.  Hallelujah, this is the ultimate move of our beloved God, the Creator.  Amen.