Sunday Spice #5: Noah’s Long Term Faith

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews includes what many call the Hall of Fame or the Hall of Faith. Reference is made there of several Bible figures who lived by faith and pleased God by doing so. Some of those mentioned are Abel, Enoch, and Abraham; also Moses, Gideon, Sampson, and others. Not the least among a large arena of people who have lived by faith is the one and only Noah.

In today’s Sunday Spice, we are going to take a look at the idea of maintaining faith over a long period of time and doing so in the face of the many challenges that might develop. What exactly would a person of faith do if such predicaments were a part of their reality? We will put Noah in our field of vision and consider the encouragement we can glean from his long life of living by faith.

Hebrews 11 dedicates a single verse to Noah and his faith. Verse 7 says, “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.”

You may know that Noah lived a short life of 950 years. Right? He was almost as old as the oldest man, Mathusalah, who lived 969 years. It is estimated that the ark project that Noah undertook in obedience to God took the better part of 500 years. From the time he heard God say to build an ark, a gigantic boat, which would contain the many animals—until the time that God Himself would shut the door of the ark and flood the earth—that was about 500 years. Noah’s reverent fear of God kept him engaged in the construction which would eventually save his household.  The events Noah predicted, which included the flooding of the earth, were totally preposterous to the culture. They were too involved in their sinful lifestyles and wicked practices to take this man of God seriously.

Try to imagine with me staying focused for that long to accomplish a project that seemed insane. AND to keep warning the wicked people who could only express disdain for your efforts. 

Welcome to the life of Noah and the faith that he lived for centuries.  Not weeks, not months, not years. Centuries. Building a huge boat out in the middle of nowhere. The message Noah delivered to his generation was that water would be coming to float the boat and that it was a judgment from God upon the evils of mankind. As God put it.  “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them. ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

Every year no rain appeared and no one in the region volunteered to help with the ark construction and, if anything, a great deal of scorn was the status quo delivered to Noah and his family. Noah remained faithful, though, and held enough integrity in the eyes of his sons and his wife for them to stay equally focused on the mission at hand. He and his three sons and eventually their wives would board this ark for its one and only voyage—its maiden voyage.

Noah would leave behind a condemned people, condemned by their own disregard for God and His ways. The eight-member family would float to safety and start the planet’s population all over again.

Now, no one within the sound of my voice will live to be 950 years old. And I don’t know about you, but when I find myself complaining within the scope of a lifespan that for most is around 80 years and then compare that to the long-term faithfulness of Noah, I tend toward embarrassment that such a contrast provides me. I mean I claim to be a person of faith. I believe God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. I believe the Bible, and I try to anchor my life in its dictates and wisdom. But if too many days or months or years go by, I can get impatient and even protest. And I certainly don’t do well if I am scorned for my faith or for the righteous stands that have become important to a clear conscience.

I’m not discouraging our times of honest reflection with God, but the point is that sometimes you and I must learn to hold on to our faith for long periods of time with the kind of resolve that true faith itself calls us to embrace. It is not always pleasant but because I do believe the Bible, I know that in the long run there are rewards to be had, rewards only God can deliver within His purposes for me.

Some of the most practical advice to consider is something said long ago. “If you are at the end of your rope, tie a knot in the end and hang on.”

I’m Tammy Reneé, and this is Sunday Spice. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed are the people who take refuge in Him!