Patience of Noah.

Genesis 6:1 - 9:17; We all know the story...most of us heard it several times as children.

Noah's Ark and the Flood - summarized.

God saw how great the wickedness on earth had become, he then decided to take mankind from the face of the earth with a great flood. However, there was one righteous man among all the people of that time. Noah, found favor in God's eyes. God told Noah to build an ark for him, his family, and sets of every animal on the earth, in preparation for the global flood that would destroy every living thing on earth.

Noah obeyed all God had commanded him to do.

Once entering the ark, rain fell on the earth for forty days and nights. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days, and every living thing on the face of the earth was destroyed. As the waters left, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The occupants of the ark stayed in the giant boat for nearly eight more months while the earth dried out.

Finally after over a year, God invited Noah to come out of the ark.
As soon as Noah left the vessel, he built an altar and worshiped the Lord. God was pleased and promised never to flood the world again. As a sign of this covenant, God set a rainbow in the clouds every time it rains.

Noah, obviously a man of God: He was (other than Enoch, who walked with God) the first biblical character to have a close relationship with God.
Noah, obviously had a solid record of listening to the direction of his heavenly Father, and of obeying those guidances (otherwise he would have never been the one spared from the flood event).
Lastly, Noah, obviously was a man of patience. It took Noah approxiamtly 35,800 days to construct the ark. Can you imagine? Day after day, building a giant boat in front of all your neihbors during a drought? I have little doubt that Noah had loads of patience.

The thing that is most astounding to me is Noah's endurance in his patience:
  +      35,000 + days to build the ark
  +     40 days and nights of rain
  +     150 days of floating around in the ocean
  +     40 days resting on the mountain before releasing a raven, then the dove (which returns)
  +     7 more days before releasing the dove a second time (which returns with a fig leaf)
  +     7 more days before releasing the dove a third time (which this time does not return)
  +     90 days beforing seeing dry land all about

                 This is were I am MOST impressed.
  +      58 more days till God spoke to him saying, "Go out of the ark".



Why am I impressed with the last 58 days of patience? Because, it followed Noah's seeing with his own eyes that the ground was dry and worthy of habitation.
It always seems easiest to follow His commands and guidances when: it is something different and out of the ordinary (examples: building a boat in the middle of the dessert, or going on a mission trip to Timbuktu), or when we see where we are headed or for the reason we are doing what we are (examples: when the boat is surrounded by water, when we are unable to catch our breath without His strength, or when His plan matches our plan).
Noah obeyed in both of these scenarios...but more than all that, he obeyed when his human instinct pointed toward it not mattering (examples: staying in a boat with smelly animals, their previously ingested matter, and relatives that you have been with for about a year. Also, giving even when no-one sees you, offering a helping hand even when no-one else will, moving for money or other reasons when you are where you are suppose to be, praying even when you don't want to, the list goes on and on).


Today was the first time this ever stuck out to me in my reading of this portion of scripture. It opened my eyes, and it shook me up a bit. I hope that it does the same for you.
Thank you for letting me share.

-Do you believe in Noah's Ark and the Flood? Join the ongoing discussion -