Have you ever thought about how specific God is sometimes? We sometimes have problems with that, though. This devotion looks at the time God gave Noah really specific instructions on how to build the ark.
Nuggets
- Mankind had chosen to live their lives in direct opposition as to how
God wanted them to live their lives, and God decided He was going to
have a redo.
- God didn’t leave anything to chance.
- The whole purpose of the ark was to save lives.
Wouldn’t you love to have a dollar for every time you told your parents you were going to do it your way? I don’t know about you, but I would be a billionaire.
My parents luckily called it independence. Did your parents call it orneriness? The worst it was called was plain rebellion. Whatever it was called, we kicked and screamed and did the exact opposite than what we were told to do.
We are good at kicking and screaming when God gives us directions. Oh yes, He gives us very specific directions — sometimes right down to the width and length.
Let’s look at a time when God gave Noah some pointed instructions.
Let's Put It into Context
“Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside” (Gen. 6: 14 CSB)
Mankind had chosen to live their lives in direct opposition as to how God wanted them to live their lives. “When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved” (Gen. 6: 5-6 CSB).
God decided He was going to have a redo. He scheduled the day of destruction on His calendar. “And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years’” (Gen. 6: 3 CSB).
But all was not lost. “Noah, however, found favor with the Lord” (Gen. 6: 8 CSB). God found one man who still had faith in Him.
The message God told Noah was probably surprising, but God talking to Noah wasn’t. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6: 8 CSB). Noah was not your typical man of the time.
In fact, Noah was a minority. It doesn’t say if Noah was persecuted for His belief in God, but he was different from the world. Satan is always going to find a way for disciples to be ridiculed or tested.
So, God chose Noah to survive the destruction. “Then God said to Noah, ‘I have decided to put an end to every creature, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them; therefore I am going to destroy them along with the earth’” (Gen. 6: 13 CSB).
God knew exactly what He was going to do and how He was going to do it. He knew exactly what Noah needed to survive.
Noah didn’t have to sit around scratching his head wondering just what He needed. God told him in no uncertain terms.
God Left Nothing to Chance
“This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high” (This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. (Gen. 6: 15 CSB)
We have to remember that Noah had no clue as to what a boat was. He had never heard of a flood — because rain was a new concept.
Didn’t matter. One day, God says to him height, width, and depth. Do it.
Noah’s response was good plan.
No, we really don’t know what the ark looked like. Doesn’t matter.
What we do know is the ark was big enough to hold the animals, survived the storm, and did its job. God provided the specifications for what was
needed.
God didn’t — and doesn’t — leave anything to chance. He knows past, present, and future. He knew the number of animals that were going to be calling the ark home along with Noah.
Purpose of the Ark
The whole purpose of the ark was to save lives. That is the business God is
in — salvation. He sent His Son to die on a cross so that we could
accept the gift of salvation.
God always knows what is needed to save His creation — even if we don’t know or are too independent to follow His guidance.
God already had our lives planned out before we were born. We still have the choice to do what He says or not.
So, when God says something, do we listen? Usually not.
We decide we know what is best. We get scared about what God asks us to
do. We tell ourselves He couldn’t possibly know what is best because He
doesn’t know how we feel. We’re good at snow jobs, aren’t we?
For some of us, it boils down to we don’t want anyone else making the
decisions for us. We know how to get to where we are going. The control
must remain in our hands at all times. We know what is best for us.
The kicker is that God does know what is best for us. Remember, He has that plan for us. He wants the ending to be a happy one. And if we do follow
His specific instructions, we are much happier than if we go off on our
own. Hasn’t He proven that in the past?
Look at Noah. God knew what was coming when Noah didn’t. God wanted to save him, but Noah still had a choice. He could have said no.
But then Noah would have been deep sea diving without the wet suit – just like everyone else.
God will always provide for His saints. We just have to submit — even when it is beyond our understanding.
Making the Connections
Why can’t we get the picture? God knows best for us.
But we don’t. We keep on stressing independence and feeling miserable. We keep on kicking and screaming all the way. We keep trying to retain
control and make our own decisions.
You would think God would give up on us, but He doesn’t. He keeps on
revealing to us what is best for us, even if we are too dumb to listen.
God loves us and shows us the road that will lead to happiness. He knows exactly what His Will is for us, and it is best.
How Do We Apply This?
We’ve got to get over our dependence on ourselves. We have to submit to God’s will.
That is where the faith comes in to play. Remember, faith is the belief that
the doctrines stated in God’s Word are true, even if we do not
understand all aspects of them. Faith is a product of love. We have to
have faith to accept God’s love.
But right along with it is the trust. Trust is confidence that the promises of God are true.
Belief and confidence. We have know what we believe in and then be willing to stand up for those beliefs. Even when it takes 120 years to build a boat when it has never rained before. Even when everyone around us is
laughing at us for this hairbrained idea.
We apply this by growing our relationship with God. When He does ask us to do the impossible, we know we can because He will be doing it. He will
be calling all the shots and opening all the doors we need.
We are called to be first mate.
Gracious Lord. You would think we would learn You know best. You Will for our lives brings us far greater joy and contentment than the paths we
choose. Yet, we consistently refuse to listen to You. We go down the
paths of our own choosing. These paths lead us to nothing but
frustration and unhappiness. Forgive us. Show us where we should be.
Wait for us to see our errors. Love us back into Your Will. Amen.
“By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Heb. 11: 7 CSB).
What do you think?
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