God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah ... “I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make for yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.”
—Genesis 6:12- 15
The story of Noah’s ark is a familiar one. In fact, most of us focus our attention on the ark without giving much of it to Noah. Noah only appears in a small section of Genesis, but he is one of the most important and courageous figures in the Bible.
Genesis 7 tells us that Noah was six hundred years old when God fulfilled His promise to destroy the earth. Before then, he spent years building the ark. The Bible doesn’t explicitly say so, but we can infer that Noah’s contemporaries wondered what he was doing. Many people probably laughed at him and called him foolish. They probably scoffed at the idea that God would really destroy the earth. After all, He had tolerated their wickedness for decades— perhaps centuries. He’d have no reason to destroy them now after all those generations.
Noah had every reason not to obey God. He didn’t see immediate fulfillment of what God said, and the evidence before him indicated he was a fool. Most Christians have felt this way at some time in their spiritual walks. God has promised them something or asked them to do something, yet their obedience only seems to bring trouble.
If you’re experiencing something like this now, study Noah’s example. He obeyed God despite evidence. Twice, we’re told he did “all that the Lord commanded him,” not missing a single detail. Because of his commitment, he and his family were saved, and Noah was remembered as an important biblical figure. It may be slow in coming, but your obedience will be rewarded.
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