Hebrews 11:7

Hebrews 11:7 ESV

7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Noah did what God told him to do without hesitation

This is a good opportunity to revisit verse 1, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Noah was given an unfamiliar task that would have an unfamiliar result.

Let’s look at Genesis 6.

Noah built a boat that was 438 feet long, 73 feet wide, and 44 feet high. It was one and a half football fields and four stories tall. Navy engineers have stated that Noah’s Ark was built for stability. Quick point of application - When we do what God asks and we do it how God asks, stability is always the result. People believe that Noah lived in the Mesopatamia region, which means his home was likely landlocked. There were no large bodies of water. There were no large boats. There was no rain. There had never been a flood. In Genesis 6, God told Noah to build an ark and verse 22 says, “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.”

Here is an interesting side note. Noah had to gather two of every living thing. At the end of his instructions, God said, “Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Did you know that prior to the flood every living creature (animals and humans) were vegetarians? How do we know this? Genesis 9:3 says, Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.

An unfamiliar task with an unfamiliar result.

Noah spent 120 years building and I think we assume this was a family endeavor. Genesis 7 tells us that Noah was 600 when flood waters came upon the earth. Genesis 5 tells us that Noah was 500 when his boys were born. Noah had already been building the ark for 20 years before his kids arrived. Maybe he spent another 5-10 years building alone. He worked hard to obey the Lord while he was trying to be a good husband and father. He built the Ark while he led his family into God’s mission. He built the Ark while he looked for daughters-in-law that would accept their family mission.

Friends, this was not a small task. There would have been many challenges in the beginning stages that would continue throughout the project. Hebrews tells us that Noah did what God asked him to do with reverent fear and without hesitation.

Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Christians that do not walk in the good works they were created for are not biblical Christians. Nobody wants to be told they are lazy for the Lord, but sometimes we are lazy for the Lord.

I remember a conversation years ago I had with a person who was discontent with our church. They didn’t go to any Bible studies. They were serving in any ministry. They were feeling out of place. I told them that I knew the problem - they wanted to be the church without actually being the church.

Sometimes we need God to give us an unfamiliar task with an unfamiliar result, so we have an opportunity to obey without hesitation.

13% of Noah’s life was spent building an unfamiliar boat for an unfamiliar storm that would float in unfamiliar waters. Our equivalent is giving God ten years of our life to build something unfamiliar to us. Every believer has an ark to build!

Noah was busy communicating God’s judgment while he was preparing God’s redemption

Hebrews 11:7 ESV

7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Genesis 6:13–17 - And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.”

One commentator said, “The ark symbolized many of God’s future dealings with men. The Hebrew word for pitch has the same root that is used for atonement. The pitch kept the waters of judgment from entering the ark just as Christ’s atoning blood keeps judgment from the sinner.”

Noah’s “without hesitation” obedience was communicating God’s judgment. I doubt Noah woke up in the morning, got ready for the day, went to work and tried to be a silent gospel. We have to believe that Noah told people what was coming in the future and why he was building an ark. The faith required to cut down the first gopher tree by himself and start building was plenty of faith to tell people why he was doing it. Romans 10:14 says, How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” Peter called Noah a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5).

Noah inherited righteousness because his faith had hands and feet.

Friends, not only should our hands and feet be a preacher of righteousness, our mouths should be too. If our mouths are not preaching righteousness, we risk the chance that our hands and feet will communicate a righteousness not found in the Bible.

As I look around the room…

The faith required to give up an addiction. The faith required to come back to church after many years. The faith required to live without your spouse. The faith required to stay married. The faith required to walk through medical issues. The faith required to pray for lost family members. The faith required to trust God’s plan and provision. The faith required to believe this week will be a good week. This small amount of faith is all the faith you need to tell somebody about Jesus.

If there is nothing in your life that requires faith, I would ask the Lord to grow your faith. I would also search your heart and make sure you are a born-again child of God.

I am certain that Noah’s faith grew during the 120 years of building an ark. I am certain that he never set his life on “spiritual cruise control” because that would have prevented Noah from communicating God’s judgement while he was preparing God’s redemption.

How do we know if we might be on “spiritual cruise control”?

Do you regularly specifically confess your sin? Do you daily meditate on God’s Word? Do you pray? Are you excited to worship the Lord? When was the last time to invited a person to church? When was the last time you shared the gospel with an unbeliever?

Friends, Noah was a hard worker for the Lord that obeyed without hesitation. I think we have much to learn from Noah’s life and we should ask the Lord to reveal any spiritual laziness or spiritual cruise control patterns in our life, call them sim and confess them to the Lord.