Today you should read: Genesis 6
“Who built the ark? Noah! Noah!”
That’s the song I grew up singing to tell the story of Genesis 6 & 7. You might recognize it from your Sunday school days.
“In come the animals two by two…”
It sounds so pleasant and fun. Much better than the live nativity you may have just seen over the Christmas season. This is a full-blown aqua zoo! Such a happy scene.
The only problem with looking at it this way is… well… the Bible.
This scene may have been happy for Noah and his family because they enjoyed the salvation that the ark would bring, but to the rest of the world, this was God’s stern and righteous judgment on sin. No one else would be happy about this ark. They would eventually be left outside to face the wrath of God and be swept away in the flood. They weren’t “Singing in the Rain” with Gene Kelly.
Genesis 6 is a stark contrast to Genesis 1 & 2 when God created everything — including humans — and said that it was “good”. In this chapter, God is sorry for ever creating mankind.
Why?
There’s no better description than this: “The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.” (Genesis 6:5). The goodness of humanity was completely tainted because of sin. It’s like the old preacher mantra I’ve heard time and again: “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay.” Sin did just that. And the earth deserved God’s fierce wrath.
But God saw something in Noah worth preserving. Noah found favor in God’s eyes, and the Lord chose to redeem humanity by keeping him alive. He was a man after God’s heart, unlike the rest of his people. While the instructions for the ark were clear, the task was no easy one. It would take years to prepare this oversized yacht. Noah didn’t waver. In fact, Genesis 6:22 says that “he did all that God commanded him.”
This passage should cause great reflection for all of us. It shows God’s displeasure with sin. It shows God’s ability to use a humble, upright person in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation. My encouragement to you upon reading this chapter is simple: be Noah. Be the one that God can use. Be the upright person in our world of wickedness.
Pray today for a passion to make war against sin as you strive to be like Noah.
Posted by: Todd Thomas