Hebrews Chapter Eleven, Noah's Faith

 

Hebrews 11:7 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.

 

Thus far we have arrived at Noah. Abel, Enoch, and now Noah are treated as real, historical figures in Scripture, not quasi-mythological figures, whose purpose in the Bible is to impart allegorical lessons. Many sincere Christians have given tacit assent, that when dealing with the historicity of the Bible, it begins in Genesis chapter 12 at best, with some further mythology mingled with reality, such as Sodom and Gomorrah.

But Noah is a real personage; what he accomplished by faith was to build the ark of God’s design, saving his family, condemning the antediluvian world, and sharply ending 1600 years of time prior to the Flood. If we accept BC and AD, one might further posit that the Flood (a type of judgment that will come upon the whole world in the Day of the Lord) separated historical narratives rather dramatically, too.

 

We are informed that Noah was divinely warned, and that by faith, or by placing trust in the Originator of the message imparted, constructed the ark. Peter relates that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, 2 Peter 2:5. Noah’s message, like Enoch’s, was one of impending doom for the ungodly if they did not turn from the error of their ways. Noah was charged with the responsibility of discharging his ministry, to add the guilt of understanding to the sin of licentious living for the people of his time. Paul witnessed to the same ministry, calling to mind his innocence when it came to the choices men around him made. “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men,” Acts 20:26. Why? “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God,” verse 27.

 

This ministry is one God calls every saint to perform. In the time of Israel’s exile, Ezekiel was made the watchman in Babylon. “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: when I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give them no warning nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand,” Ezekiel 3:17, 18.

 

While it is clear from history that Noah’s preaching availed nothing in terms of persuading men to join him in the ark. History attests that only he and his immediate family, eight persons in all, entered and were spared the Deluge. But that does not mean Noah was unsuccessful in his endeavor. Remember the words of Paul, and God’s warning to Ezekiel. Paul did not say, “Because I have shared the whole counsel of God, every man I spoke with will be saved now.” He simply divulged that he did not shun to share all God shared with him. After Paul preached, every man was responsible for his own choices concerning the truth imparted. Paul’s ministry, when viewed from that perspective, was highly successful. God spoke, and in faith Paul obeyed. That is ultimately all God requires of us: from faith to obey Him. Ezekiel was no different. Notice how God even intimates in the negative that the very real chance of his preaching being ignored and resulting still in the death of the sinner. The point wasn’t that Ezekiel needed to convert the sinner to a right way of viewing God and sin; rather, Ezekiel needed to be converted to viewing God’s word as the only right and sane choice. Ezekiel would obey, believing God’s word to be true, and that was accounted to the prophet for righteousness. What came after for those who heard Ezekiel was not the prophet’s concern, at least in terms of discharging his ministry.

 

James writes, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin,” James 4:17. What greater good can there be then to share the gospel of God’s salvation with the lost? We have a culture adrift in the sinking sands of dead, formal religion and an obfuscating spirituality that explains spiritual matters by saying that there is nothing to explain. Everything is personal, intuitive, and subjective. The blind are led by the blind. We know the veil is taken away in Christ, so if we want to bring the remedy to them, that they may see, they need Jesus Christ.

 

So, how did Noah’s actions condemn the world? Noah was moved (energized, animated) with godly fear. He was reverent, in awe of the One who spoke to him. The first recorded thing God told Noah was this: “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth,” Genesis 6:13. The remainder of the chapter is explanatory, as God relates to Noah what he ought to be doing. The result was, “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did,” Genesis 6:22. God explained the problem: mankind was only evil all the time, and the earth was corrupted with the violence of their doings. He shared His judgment: that He would flood the earth and destroy all that breathes on dry land and do away with the evil generation that had gone so far afield. He finally provided His salvation: Noah would build an ark as God commanded, how He commanded, for the salvation of his family, and the animal kingdom meant to be under human custodianship. Noah obeyed, the Flood came, and the wicked he had preached to were wiped off the face of the earth. Peter likens the event to a cleansing akin to Christian baptism, for both the removal of filth and the answer of a good conscience toward God, 1 Peter 3:20, 21. Noah became heir to the righteousness God imputes upon those who believe. Though this faith did not disseminate to all of his sons, and though the Flood did not, and could not, rid humanity of its sin nature, this was not the point for Noah. He was commanded to obey, and from the place of faith he did so. And it was accounted to him as righteousness, of which he became an heir.