An Article of Faith

Not long after the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3), God sent a global flood as judgment for mankind’s sin:
“The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and He saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the LORD was sorry He had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke His heart. And the LORD said, ‘I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing – all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.’ But Noah found favor with the LORD. ... Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God” (Gen. 6:5-9 NLT).
Noah lived at a time when the whole earth was filled with violence and corruption. Yet Noah did not allow the evil standards of his day to rob him of fellowship with God. He stood out as the only one who “walked with God” (Gen. 6:9), as was true of his great-grandfather Enoch (Gen. 5:22). Noah was a just or righteous man (Gen. 6:9). The Lord singled out Noah from among all his contemporaries and chose him as the man to accomplish a great work.
When God saw the wickedness that prevailed in the world (Gen. 6:5), He disclosed to Noah His intention to destroy the world by a flood. He instructed Noah to build an ark in which he and his family would survive the catastrophe. Noah believed God and obeyed Him and “according to all that God commanded him, so he did” (Gen. 6:22). He is therefore listed among the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:7.
With unswerving confidence in the Word of God, Noah started building the ark. For 120 years the construction continued. During this time of grace, Noah continued to preach God’s judgment and mercy, warning the ungodly of their approaching doom (2 Pet. 2:5). He preached for 120 years, however, without any converts (1 Pet. 3:20). People continued in their evil ways and turned deaf ears to his pleadings and warnings until they were overtaken by The Flood.
When the ark was ready, Noah entered in with all kinds of animals “and the Lord shut him in” (Gen. 7:16), cut off completely from the rest of mankind. Noah was grateful to the Lord who had delivered him from the Flood. After the Flood he built an altar to God (Gen. 8:20) and made a sacrifice, which was accepted graciously (Gen. 8:21). The Lord promised Noah and his descendants that He would never destroy the world again with a flood (Gen. 9:15). The Lord made an everlasting covenant with Noah and his descendants, establishing the rainbow as the sign of His promise (Gen. 9:12–17).
In the gospels of the New Testament, the account of Noah and the Flood is used as a symbol of the end times. Warning His hearers about the suddenness of His return, Jesus referred to the sudden catastrophe that fell upon unbelievers at the time of the Flood:
“When the Son of Man returns,” warns Jesus, “it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 24:37-39(NLT).
“All aboard?”

Jessie J. Charpentier Sr. is pastor of Jenkins Memorial Baptist Church in St. Martinville.