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..."

Genesis 6:13-14, RSV 

 

One of the hardest things for men of any era to realize is that God will not tolerate wickedness indefinitely. It is true that He is long suffering and patient, but He is serious about sin and the warning has always been the same: Repent of your wickedness, or suffer the consequences.

 

One of the great lessons of the Flood is that God's patience with sin is limited, but that He will always rescue the righteous. That's where the ark came in. Just think about the ark for a moment: At 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall, it was likely the greatest structure ever built up until that time. Being so large, Noah couldn't hide what he was doing, so there was probably a lot of discussion in the neighborhood about what crazy old Noah was building in his back yard. The ark would have taken years and years to construct, so such discussion probably followed Noah around, all the time.

 

The point is this: The ark was conspicuous. The ark took a lot of time, thought and effort to build. No variance from God's building instructions would be tolerated. Therefore, Noah and his family had to be both dedicated to God and committed to their task. If our understanding of the sequence of events is correct, then all of Noah's children were born after God had told him to build the ark. That means that Noah and his wife would have raised children that knew of no time when their family was not busy with the preparations of building an ark.

 

It was probably hard on them all, but the moment the rains began, does anyone doubt that they were all glad that they had obeyed the LORD and built that ark? Does anyone doubt their joy in the fact that they had built the ark exactly as God had commanded? Does anyone think that after the rain started, that any of Noah's family wished that they hadn't wasted all that time with a lifetime of work on that silly old ark?

 

So what's the point?

 

The point is that God requires you to build an ark for your family, today. No, its not a 450 foot long boat, but if you are building it right it will be just as conspicuous, so you are going to have to be prepared to give an answer to those who ask you the reason for why you are building an ark. That ark will require commitment. That ark will require adherence to God's precise instructions. That ark will require a lifetime of work, and if you do it right, your children will know of no time in their lives when they and you were not working on that ark.

 

The point is that God is having you build that ark because there is going to come a storm someday that will absolutely destroy everyone who does not have an ark. That storm is called Judgment Day and it is coming just as surely as that flood came upon this earth during Noah's time. The good news, however, is this: After the storm comes Paradise!

 

Are you ready? Is your family? Better get busy on that ark!

 

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 7:21, NIV

 

Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.

Philippians 2:12-13, NIV 

 

Today is the 2nd day of the 120 challenge to study the Old Testament, with Genesis 5-8 being the text for today. May God richly bless you as you determine to build an ark for you and your family!