Monday, 29 October 2007 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Noah

God said to Noah, "Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out." Genesis 6:14

I love the story of Noah. It's about an adventure of faith. A tale whose main character is mental enough to follow some of the weirdest instructions God's ever given to a man...

"Build an ark."

Think about it.

Noah lived hundreds of miles from the sea. In a desert.

Noah had probably never even seen a ship!

Tuesday, 30 October 2007 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Noah

"The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high." Genesis 6:15

Noah built in his back garden an ark roughly equivalent to half the size of the Titanic!*

The Titanic took 14,000 workers 3 years to build. The ark took 4 workers (Noah and his 3 sons)... who knows how many years?! My guess is a couple of decades.

Imagine the ridicule Noah got from his neighbours for that length of time... but he kept building. Kept trusting God.

*The Titanic was double the length, double the height and 18 feet wider

Wednesday, 31 October 2007 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Noah

"Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks." Genesis 6:16

Really, it's a blatant misconception to say Noah built a ship. He didn't. He built a box.

It had no sails or rudder. No way to steer it. All it was designed to do was float.

Once in the ark Noah was going to be fully reliant on God. That's what faith is about: full reliance (or trust) in God.

Thursday, 01 November 2007 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Noah

Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Genesis 6:22

This phrase is repeated twice in this story and implied at many other turns. In a world where we are told people were corrupt and violent (see verse 11) and that they actually preferred to do evil (verse 5), Noah stood out.

Noah was different because he trusted and obeyed God. How much do you trust and obey God?

How much do you stand out?

Friday, 02 November 2007 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Noah

Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the arki to escape the waters of the flood... And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth. Genesis 7:7 & 7:10

Noah and his family entered the ark, and then waited seven days.

Seven whole days!!! Let that sink in for a moment. Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday. Friday. Saturday. All spent in a boat in the middle of a desert.

"Where's the rain Noah?"

And Sunday... the rain came.* Man, that's faith.

Saturday, 03 November 2007 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Noah

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth." Genesis 9:1

Noah and his family (and the animals) spend over a year in the ark before God tells them they can finally leave.* Shortly after they step out on to dry land God speaks this familiar command over them, repeating the command he gave to Adam and Eve. 

Noah, it's a new start.

A new creation.

Let's go start again... 

FOOTNOTE:
* See Gen 7:11 in comparison to Gen 8:14.

Sunday, 04 November 2007 00:00  |  Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Noah

God declared, "I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." Genesis 9:13

Next time you see a rainbow what are you going to think about?

Noah's faith? God's faithfulness? Building an ark in your back garden? Paying more attention in your wood-work class? Working out how Noah fitted all those animals in the ark?

Often we think that faith is the dull option. I'm going to think about how it's the more exciting option.