Some of us may have gone through something that will forever change the way we live our lives. Maybe it was an accident that you still can’t understand how you walked away from. Perhaps there was a violent attack that happened at a location you usually frequent and you don’t know why you weren’t there that day. Maybe it’s a fire or natural disaster that you never imagined would happen at your home. Whatever it is, these brushes with death remind us how blessed and favored we are.
Noah’s story in the Bible is a perfect example of this. As a servant of God, Noah was favored in a world full of sin. Disappointed with man, God unleashed judgment upon the earth.
And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah. – Genesis 6:7
God told Noah that he was going to destroy people and earth because of the sins of mankind and to build an ark to house him and his family. Noah was then instructed to bring into the ark a male and female of all living animals and food for them and the animals.
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. -Genesis 6:19-21
Noah obeyed each of God’s instructions which were very clear, down to the size of the ark. The rain and floods went on for 40 days and Noah, his family, and the animals remained safe in the ark. After a dove Noah had sent out returned to the ark with an olive leaf Noah and his family left the ark.
Noah and his family were again blessed by God and encouraged to be fruitful and multiply. When God commanded them not to eat the flesh that still had blood nor kill their fellow man, they obeyed. Noah‘s family went on to prosper after making a covenant with God in which God promised to never destroy them, their descendants, or the animals using another flood.
We may all be wondering, what was it about Noah that made God favor him? Noah was obedient to God. He did not sin and anger God in the way that others did. We see his obedience even as he is instructed to build the ark and get the animals. It is this consistent obedience that won God’s favor.
We can all learn from Noah the importance of unwavering obedience. We never know how close we may be to tragedy and when we will call on God for grace and mercy. Living our lives like Noah means always abiding by God’s commandments and not being like the sinners that perished in the flood. It means not being in and out of our walk with God or wishy-washy with our faith. Did God save you from a horrific situation? Share in the comments below.
