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Noah
September 3, 2011

In today's world it is not hard to imagine oneself living in a time of evil and great wickedness. One only needs to observe the world around them to see for themselves. From the youngest age children are exposed to the evils of our world. To the same measure, they are not exposed to what is good. In the modern age, a politician's yes means no and the no means yes. Programs developed by government to help citizens improve their lives seem to hurt these same citizens. We live in a time where the values of hard-work and self-reliance are supplanted by policies that reward lack of accomplishment and dependence. In our age, people who uphold the teachings of the Bible seem to be castigated as evil, while those who disregard the Bible seem to be viewed as good people. For each who view the modern world as a time of evil and great wickedness, there are those who see the modern age as a time of great enlightenment. So in the modern world, there are those who see much evil in the world, and there are those who see much good in the world. While we have the control over our own lives to determine how we respond to the world as we see it, we must be aware of the world around so that we can work out our own salvation. What we do in the modern world regardless of how we may see the present age, is our choice based on the principles of self-determination. We must choose if we see the world as evil, good, or even a mixture of both. How we act as part of our choice is the basis for how the rest of our life will play out. From the understanding that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction, to the urban saying of what goes around comes around, our choices today will impact our life from this point forward, and even one poor choice in an otherwise pristine life can destroy the individual. In this confusing modern age, where black and white is replaced with shades of gray, what is right and what is wrong can be confusing for an adults and children alike. What is it we can do to shield ourselves from this modern age? Let us start with some advice given by Jesus to his disciples.

Matthew 10:16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Jesus knew that the called out ones, the church, would be called to live in a world with values that directly threatened the spiritual existence of every Christian. In nature, wolves are predatory animals and hunt the weak when this option is available, and will even attack the strong, when this is the only source of food. Jesus knew that his people would live in a world where they are stalked as the prey. However with this, comes certain protections. A shepherd never sends his flock out to pasture in a manner where they are unprotected. The shepherd is there ready to protect as are herding animals. These basic protections are often enough to protect the sheep. Which sheep are most endangered? The sheep who wander off are most in danger, as are those who live on the fringe of the flock. Those who are middle grounded, are the most protected from the predatory habits of wolves. Jesus advises us to be wise as serpents. The story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden is a well-known part of the Bible. Even though the serpent represented evil, what we can learn from the encounter with Eve, was the serpent was able to articulate his position, and convince Eve to agree with the position. To do this, the serpent had to circumvent all objections that Eve presented. We must be able to do the same with the wolves that surround us. Instead of taking course of action as the serpent did that would lead to the death of Eve, we are to take a course of action that may result in the life of the wolf. To do this, we must develop the ability to articulate our position, and this needs to only be the teachings of the Bible, convincing those who disagree to agree with Bible teachings and doing this by circumventing and all objections that may be presented. We are told to this while being as harmless as doves. Doves can be mean to each other when they fight, and a fight among Christians can be pretty ugly. Paul and Peter did not get along. Two of Jesus' disciples were affectionately called the sons of thunder. When the fighting is aside, doves are loyal for a lifetime to their mates, and we must be loyal to each other as Christians. We may not always get along with each other and from time to time we might fight amongst ourselves, but we must always be loyal. For most, doves are seen as symbols of peace and eternity, and it is most helpful for us as we articulate our position, the teachings of the Bible to non-believers, that we be seen as a person of peace. Going back thousands of years in time, we might find a world with different levels of technologies and interests, but we would find a world filled with evil and wickedness. This was the world of Noah.

Genesis 6:4-5
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Even though Noah saw evil around him, he lived a life that was pleasing to God. Exactly how Noah lived a life that was pleasing to God we do not know. It would be fair to presume that Noah to the best of his knowledge obeyed God and lived a life that honored the laws of God. We know from Genesis chapter six that Noah found grace with God, was just, perfect in his generations, and a man who walked with God. Noah to the best of his understanding wanted to be on God's side. He walked with God during a time when the world ignored God. And it was because Noah walked with God, that God was able to use Noah as his servant during the most turbulent time the world at that time had ever known.

Genesis 6:13-22
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

Noah walked with God, and Noah did what God told him to do. Because Noah wanted to be on God's side and proved this through obedience, God was on Noah's side. For those of us who believe the Bible, we know that we are all related through Noah and Adam. In the modern age for those of us who believe, we lve all across the world. We speak different languages. We have different skin colors. By this time, our family histories are so diverse, it may be hard to fathom that we are all related. We are. As Christians, we are related through the Holy Spirit and are the family of God on earth. We are the called out ones, the church. As Noah walked with God, so must we, and what Noah did when God commanded him to do so, so must we. We don't know if Noah had a full understanding of the flood that would come. All that we know is that Noah obeyed. Comedians have used the Biblical account of Noah as a storyline for humor with the premise of imagine what it would be like to build an Ark on your driveway in today's world. Imagine the ridicule and scorn we would face. Imagine the hurtful feelings we may have. Imagine the family arguments that might occur. In spite of all of this, Noah walked with God and did all that God commanded him to do. in today's evil world we must do the same. And we will face ridicule and scorn. From time to time, we will have hurtful feelings. And there may even be the family arguments. In all of this, we must walk with God and do all that God commands us to do. In the end if we live our live as Noah lived his, we too will navigate through a troublesome time, the greatest the world has ever seen, and in the end we will effect what is symbolic to many in the final accounts of life on the ark.

Genesis 8:6-11
And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

On the other side of the great tribulation is coming a time of peace. The dove and olive branch are symbols of peace, and the story of Noah shows us that if we want to be on God's side, we will walk with God doing what God commands us to do, and God will then be on our side. The result of this is even through much tribulation, we will come to peace. From Noah we learn that even though we may live in a time of wickedness, if we obey God and do what is commanded of us, God will bring us through hardship to peace in the Kingdom of God.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
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