Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.[1]
Noah pleases God
Genesis 6:11-22 ESV
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
How startling must have been the announcement of the threatened destruction! There was no outward indication of it. The course of nature and experience seemed against the probability of its occurrence. The public opinion of mankind would ridicule it. The whole world would be ranged against him. Yet, persuaded the communication was from God, through faith (Hebrews 11:7), he set about preparing the means for preserving himself and his family from the impending calamity.[2]
Hebrews 11:7 NRSV
By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith. [3]
No one had seen or anticipated judgment through a flood; Noah saw it by faith. Faith leads to works. Noah’s attitude and actions condemned the unbelieving, wicked world around him.[4]
Faith gives reality to things that cannot be seen. By this faith the Old Testament believers received a positive witness from God. In the generations before the flood, Abel, Enoch, and Noah all responded by faith to demonstrate obedience to God. Their faith pleased Him.[5]
TO BE A CHRISTIAN Anglican Catechism
Question #80
Should you be afraid of God’s judgment?
The unrepentant should fear God’s judgment, for “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness” (Romans 1:18). But if I am in Christ, I need not fear God’s judgment, for my Judge is my Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves me, died for my sins, and intercedes for me.[6]
We are ashamed, Lord, and we blush to lift up our faces before you. Our sins increase over our head, and our trespasses rise up to the heavens. To us belong shame and confusion, because we have sinned against you.
Who may stand in your sight when once you are angry? If we try to justify ourselves, our own mouths will condemn us. You, who are greater than our hearts, know all things. We ourselves know that we have sinned, Father, against heaven and before you, and are no more worthy to be called your children.
But there is forgiveness, mercy, and redemption with you. You will not despise a broken and contrite heart, though you are the High and Lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is holy. The ones who cover their sins will not prosper, yet those that confess and forsake them will find mercy.
Lord, we confess. Amen.
Come, We That Love the Lord
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1] 1 Peter 1:3-4 ESV
[2] Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 21.
[3] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Heb 11:7.
[4] Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1992), 707.
[5] Thomas D. Lea, “The General Letters,” in Holman Concise Bible Commentary, ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 625.
[6] TO BE A CHRISTIAN: An Anglican Catechism, 2020, The Anglican Church in North America.
