God Saved Noah

Genesis 6-9

There are two ways of looking at the flood in Genesis chapters 6-9. One way focuses on the evil and how God used the flood to punish the "evil doers". (as George Bush would call them) The other focuses on the fact that God saved Noah and his family. The general message is that God is very patient with man and wants everyone to be saved. "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:3,4) God wanted all in His creation to repent by hearing His truth preached. In this case, He gave them 120 years to listen to Noah's preaching and repent while they saw the Ark being built. "God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built." (1 Peter 3:20) "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

That is God! He is longsuffering with us, thankfully. He wants every person to come to Him. Whether in the days of Noah or the present day, God still calls on all men, everywhere to repent and come to Him. For 120 years, God called and the people didn't respond. That is patience! For 120 years, the Ark was being built as a visible sign of faith, but no one took Noah up on his invitation. (Hebrews 11:7) In the end, after all the preaching and all the waiting and all the building, God saved Noah and his family. He saved them from a world of sin; sure he saved their physical lives, but it means more than that.

Out of all the people on the earth, Noah found favor in God's eyes. (Gen 6:8) He was chosen to be a type of new Adam. It was through him and his family that the world would be repopulated. You and I are related through Noah. He is our common ancestor. Could God have just started over? Sure! But He loves His creation and works to redeem it for Himself. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:20 that the means by which God saved Noah was water. It was through water that God worked to redeem the world and through water that Noah was saved. It was through water that the earth was cleansed of its sinfulness and it was through water that a new birth for the world would occur.

In 1 Peter 3: 20, Peter uses the Greek word "dia" (translated "through") which is a preposition denoting the channel of an act. Water was the "dia" through which salvation came to Noah. Water was the "dia" through which God would remove the sinfulness of the world. Water was the "dia" through which He saved Noah.

So what does this have to do with you and me? Good question! Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:21 that this water (the water that saved Noah) was a symbol of something that saves us. This water that God used to save Noah and cleanse the world of its sin is said to be a symbol of baptism. He tells us that "only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also". (1 Peter 3:20, 21) God chose water as the "dia" through which to work in Noah's day as a symbol of the "dia" through which He would work in our day. He could have chosen any number of ways to destroy the wicked and save Noah, but he chose water. He used water for His purposes; it accomplished His work and Noah was saved and the earth was cleansed. Praise God for His power and wisdom.

God saved Noah and I am thankful for that. It gives me hope for the day and hope for the future. He demonstrated His patience with us and I need His patience, daily! He clearly showed us that He would not tolerate sinfulness forever and that He would provide a way for salvation. Also, you and I are Noah's kids. We are family and as such we should treat each other with love and respect. And lastly, God provided us with a picture of His salvation that was to come. Water, His water, the water that He created is an essential part of His plan for the redemption of man. Be careful what you say about His water and His plan. They both belong to Him and so did Noah, so do I and so do you. God is calling for each of us to get on the Ark. The 120 years just might be about over. Oh, and remember He shut the door!