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The Biblical account of Noah and his ark is not for little children alone. The closer I examine this event and its surroundings the more impressed I become with its basic lessons for people of all ages.
The ark demonstrates that God cannot tolerate sin. This is clearly the entire background requiring the building of the ark:
And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. (Gen. 6:11)
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. (Gen. 6:13).
From the record of man’s first sin in Genesis 3 to the listing of the outcasts of Heaven in Revelation 22, the lesson is indelibly taught—the wrath of God is against sin. May we never be tempted to believe He has softened His attitude against transgression!
The ark demonstrates that God’s longsuffering is limited. God prefaced the announcement of the flood by declaring: “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever” (Gen. 6:3a). The stench of man’s wickedness had become unbearable. So it did also with Sodom and Gomorrah, likewise with Israel at Kadesh. There comes a time when longsuffering becomes a vice. As the cascading evils of this present time increase, one must wonder how much longer God’s longsuffering is to endure (2 Pet. 3:6–9).
The ark shows that God requires obedience. Noah’s faithful obedience was the key factor in the preservation of humanity (Gen. 6:8–9, 22). Obedience has always been the requirement of God. What is sin, but disobedience of Divine law? We must obey God (Mat. 7:21–23).
The ark shows that God rewards obedience. It was because of obedience that God gathered faithful Noah and his family into the haven of the ark (Gen. 7:1). As God’s deepest grief is caused by our sin, so His greatest joy is provoked by our obedience. God’s delight is so great in our obedience that He reserves for us an eternal, incorruptible, undefiled inheritance with Him (1 Pet. 1:3–4).
Upon these four truths hangs the eternal destiny of us all.
[Note: I wrote this article for, and it was published in the October 30, 1975, edition of the Granbury Gospel, weekly bulletin of the Granbury Church of Christ, Granbury, Texas, of which I was editor.
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
