One day as God looked over the entire earth, only one man found favor with Him. His name was Noah and this is his story.
We tend to exaggerate every now and then, don’t we? But the Lord doesn’t. In the days of Noah, He could only find one righteous person.
This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. Genesis 6:9
Evil and wickedness dominated the entire human population. Everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.
So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. Genesis 6:6
God was ready to destroy everyone and everything. The morality of that day was at an all-time low. Jesus even referred to partying and revelry of the last days like the days of Noah.
And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” Genesis 6:7
People have tried to estimate the population of the earth during those days. The number I have read varies between just under a billion to billions of people.
If It Wasn’t for Noah and His Story
Think about it, if not for Noah and his story, you and I would not exist today. But because of just one righteous man among billions of evildoers, the human race lives on.
Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. Genesis 6:11-12
We can thank Noah because of his life story. Some people have difficulty staying focused on God when amid evil. Even surrounded by evil, Noah heard the voice of the Lord.
So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth! Genesis 6:13
After He revealed His intentions to Noah, the Lord instructed him to build an ark. Thus making a way of escape for the only righteous man on earth and his family.
Noah Made all the Preparations
- Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out.
- Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior.
- Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
- Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat.
- Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper. Genesis 6:14-16
His instructions also included the preservation of animals by bringing a male and a female of each. God would take care of getting them to the ark. Plus he would need plenty of food.
Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals. Genesis 6:20-21
So Noah worked on the ark for around 100 years give or take. He did everything God asked him to do. The time came for them to board the ark. But first God issued a final countdown.
God’s Countdown
Seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created. Genesis 7:4
The inhabitants of the earth had never experienced rain before. That might have been one reason why none of the people took stock of what Noah had to say.
They should have known, however, something was up when the animals walked toward the ship’s open door. They came just like God said they would.
Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes. A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Genesis 6:15-16
God’s countdown came to its final minutes. Noah and all the passengers took their places in this huge vessel. People probably made fun, others laughed saying good ridden. Then it happened.
Then the Lord closed the door behind them. Genesis 6:16
Underground waters erupted from the earth along with forty days and nights of rain pouring from the sky. Finally, water covered the entire earth and everything that breathed died.
God wiped out every living thing on the earth—people, livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and the birds of the sky. All were destroyed. The only people who survived were Noah and those with him in the boat. Genesis 6:23
Look What One Man Did
At the beginning of Genesis, God created man and then his wife. He disobeyed God and because of his disobedience, sin became the nature of everyone.
So one man brought sin into the world. In the story of Noah, one man saved the human race. But he still had his sinful nature.
Fortunately, the story didn’t end with Adam or Noah. Jesus came onto the scene. Where Noah ended, Jesus continued the story. Through Him, He made redemption available to all mankind.
God will destroy the earth one more time but not with water. Man’s sinful nature will come to an end. And all who have called upon the name of Jesus will spend eternity with Him forever.
Lord, we are thankful for Noah but we are glad he wasn’t the end of the story. Thank you for the availability of redemption of our sins through the blood of Jesus.
Check out these other posts out of the Book of Genesis.
- How To Trust God When You’ve Had More Than Enough
- How Easily We Get Stuck In A Detour In Life
- Put your trust in the Lord
- And The Two Shall Become One Flesh
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Republished with permission from Blogs.crossmap.com, featuring inspiring Bible verses about The Story Of Noah In The Bible.
