"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 (Hebrews 11:7)." "So the Lord said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.' But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:7-9).
IDEA: What seems in retrospect to be clean and neat may have been much more messy as it actually happened.
PURPOSE: To help people realize how messy a life of faith can be.
Do you like to do crossword puzzles?
Do you do them in ink or pencil?
When you see the solution to the puzzle printed out, does its appearance differ much from your effort to solve the puzzle?
I. When you read the summation of Noah's life by the writer to the Hebrews (11:7), it seems very clean and neat, but it was not that when it was taking place.
Back in Genesis 6:22 and then in 7:5 we have a neat summary: Noah did everything just as God commanded him. What did that actually involve?
What was involved in building an ark?
What was involved in getting the animals into the ark?
What was involved in getting together enough food for all living creatures in the ark?
In Genesis 7:24-8:1, the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days, but God remembered Noah and every living thing and all the animals that were with him in the ark.
150 days is a long cruise. The story teller in Genesis makes it sound as if God had forgotten Noah and the animals as they floated on the flood. It must have seemed that way to Noah. Yet what is summed up in a single sentence in Genesis (8:1) took weeks and months to come to pass.
II. The life of faith can be very messy.
God's purposes can often frustrate us because he seems to take so long to act.
When we are obedient to God, it may not be clean or easy or attractive.