Learning from Noah

Jeremy Northrop

            One of the significant themes in the Bible concerns water being the line of demarcation. Water baptism can turn a sinner into a child of God (Galatians 3:26-27). Dipping in the water of the Jordan River cleansed Naaman of his leprosy (2Kings 5). Washing in the water at the laver made the priests of the Old Testament acceptable to serve before God (Exodus 30:20). One of the more significant changing events which required water was the flood during the time of Noah. The evil wicked world was cleansed through the great flood (2Peter 2:5, 3:5). Noah was noted to be a godly man during the time of wickedness which was so common on the Earth (Genesis 6:9). Interestingly, Noah was able to rear a godly family in an ungodly world. However, Noah was not perfect in the sense of being without sin. Noah was a man who made mistakes. There is so much about Noah which can apply to Christians trying to live holy today.

            Hebrews 11:7 records Noah as a person who walked with God, “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.” 2Corinthians 5:7 says Christians today are to be a people who walk by faith, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Noah is a great example of what it means to walk by faith. Because of what is written in 2Peter 3:5, there are some who have concluded that the world before the flood was one which did not see rain. Yet, God told Noah the earth would be flooded, commanded Noah to build an ark, and further told Noah to stock the ark with a certain amount of animals. Noah did it. There were no reservations, no questions, but simply complete obedience. This obedience is further seen in the specificity of the commands of God. God gave very specific plans regarding how the ark was to be built specifying the dimensions, type of wood, and the number of doors and windows which were to be in it. Noah obeyed to the most explicit detail. Today, Christians need to walk by faith and obey God in every way He expects to be obeyed.

            More than Noah’s obedience, Noah is a great example of what it means to rear a godly family. Genesis 7:7 says, “So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.” This was in compliance with the command of God in Genesis 7:1, “Then the Lord said to Noah, ‘Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.’” These eight souls were saved according to 1Peter 3:20. 2Peter 2:5 describes Noah as being a “preacher of righteousness.” Sadly, his preaching did not convert a lot of people. Genesis 6:5 says, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Yet, the preaching and teaching of Noah was able to save his own family. There are many today who might complain that evangelism today does not accomplish much. While there may be some truth to this, it is easily seen that evangelism today accomplishes more than Noah was able to accomplish. Besides all of this, Noah was able to convert the ones which mattered to him the most. He was able to convert his own family. It is a foolish thing to attempt to convert the world at the loss of one’s own family. Noah was able to take his family into the new world with him while the rest on the world had to suffer the consequences of sin.

            After the flood, the Bible tells of one of the mistakes of Noah. Genesis 9:21 says, “Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.” The sin of Noah drinking was bad enough. The text goes on to tell of the sin of one of his sons in the next verse, “And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.” Ham looked on the nakedness of his father (the idea is he lusted) and Shem and Japheth took a garment and backed up to Noah so that they did not have to see their father’s nakedness.

            This account tells of the consequences of sin to the future generations. Ham was described as the father of Canaan and Noah announced a curse on the land of Canaan in Genesis 9:25. The opposite held true for Shem and Japheth. Noah blessed the future generations of these sons (Genesis 9:26-27). The principle shown in these overall passages is the consequences of sin and blessings carry on to future generations. It is unreasonable for one to think the sin in which they are involved will only hurt themselves and no one else. It is wonderful that the blessings of one will affect others.

            Peter makes a comparison between the water which saved Noah and his family and the water which saves the sinner in baptism today:

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him (1Peter 3:18-22).