January 9, 2013
Central Truth
God can better use us and bless us when we live righteously.
Then the LORD said to Noah, "Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time." (Genesis 7:1)
1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, 1 7:2 Or seven of each kind of clean animal the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3 and seven pairs 2 7:3 Or seven of each kind of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing 3 7:4 Hebrew all existence; also verse 23 that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” 5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14 they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in.
17 The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20 The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits 4 7:20 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.
When God asked Noah to build and enter the ark, Noah had to leave everything that was comfortable and normal and enter a life that was difficult and confining. Not only did God command Noah to jump on a boat with a bunch of animals, but also with his immediate family. I love my family, but being on a boat with them for 150 days might be difficult. God didn't make it easy for Noah. Being righteous was not a walk in the park.
I can relate to some of the feelings that Noah was probably feeling during this time. Three years ago, I stepped out in faith and moved to Dallas. God had been calling me out of a life that was characterized by selfishness, drunkenness, and immaturity -- a life that was NOT righteous. So, within a matter of weeks, I said goodbye to all of my family and friends to move to a city where I knew only four people. I threw some belongings in the back of my old GMC and made my way to a future of uncertainty and unfamiliarity. As I drove, I wondered why God called me to make this step. I doubted my abilities, I questioned His judgment, and I feared failure. I'm sure Noah had similar feelings.
As I grew in my faith, I began to realize that God had much bigger plans for my life than what I was doing in California. I found that He began to entrust me with more as I began to model my life after Christ. Many of these things that He trusts me to do are not easy. They often seem unachievable for someone like me.
Noah probably felt that God was leading him down a path of uncertainty. I'm sure he had doubts and fears of failure, yet he trusted God's will so God blessed him and made him the father of nations because of that! We may not have the opportunity to be the father of nations today, but we can certainly be used by God in a very impacting way if we choose to live righteously.
1. What does living righteously mean to you?
2. Do you trust God enough to step out in faith and "build an ark" or take on the tasks He is calling you to do? If not, what's holding you back?
3. What other people in Scripture lived righteously? What do you need to do today to live like that?