COTR CG Leaders Week 10 Devotional

“Crazy Noah”: Salvation in a Rudderless Box

Poor Noah. I bet people thought he’d lost his mind.  I mean, who builds a 15,000-ton, rudderless, flat-bottomed rectangular box in an environment that had never seen rain or vast quantities of water? Only a madman or a faith-filled man obeying His God!

Noah’s ark brings to mind an endearing children’s Bible story with plush stuffed animals and a cute toy boat bobbing gently on sea water.  In reality, Noah’s “rudderless box” story is a bit “heavier.”  It underscores man’s depraved sin nature, God’s judgment of that nature, and mercifully, God’s gracious work to set man free.  Although ALL that God had initially created was good, including man, in Gen. 6:5-8, God now grieves deeply over man’s sin “gone-willfully-wild lifestyle,” and God regrets having made human beings.

Genesis 6:5-8 (NIV)

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

Troubling isn’t it, that “mankind” in general has frequently shown a tendency towards aberrant, destructive attitudes and behaviors rather than peaceful and “enlightened” ones?  We seem to have a knack for getting ourselves into bondage of one sort or another.

Today’s society, and even “the church” to a lesser degree, both encourage “self-love” and “self-care” as a necessity for emotional and mental fulfillment.  But despite claims that we are evolving into a more tolerant and noble human species, we seem, instead, to mirror our Old Testament ancestors to an alarming degree.  Jesus, for one, sees humans both then and now in the same light: needy sinners in bondage to sin and riddled with crippling, narcissistic tendencies to enthrone “self” in our lives, rather than encouraging and embracing “dying” to self as HE taught.

Jesus also believed that people, in general, don’t learn well from history. (Romans 15:4)

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

And also, in 1Cor. 10:11:

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.

It’s clear that people need reminding of truths about ourselves and about God. We tend to deny HIS TRUTHS and make up our own!  Speaking with His disciples in Matthew 24 verses 3-36 about His Second Coming, Jesus drew His disciples’ attention to various signs that will herald His return.  Then, in verse 37 Jesus makes a startling statement:  “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” ESV OR in the NASB: “For the coming of the Son of Man will be JUST LIKE the days of Noah.” (emphasis mine)

WHAT??!!  The near end of human history is much like the beginning?!! Hasn’t our society progressed and improved?? Surely, Jesus, you judge us TOO harshly?! Jesus says…NOPE.

Mankind, in general, you are NOT getting your act together. Instead, you are rapidly falling into more delusion and sin thereby becoming "less human" and more "demonic" in your heart intent and actions. (Read Matthew chapter 24)

We are not, as a society, generally, improving in character.  Our societal moral condition seems WORSE if you consider that humanity SHOULD have benefitted from 4-6,000 years of history to LEARN how NOT to live! Unfortunately, we have not learned from our own or our ancestors’ mistakes.  In Matthew 24:37 Jesus ties both OT and NT generations together in an ugly knot of human frailty and the propensity to believe we can cure ourselves of our biggest problem: SIN, and sin’s accompanying obsession with love of self.

So, WHAT DID “the days of Noah” look like and how are we in comparison? And, is there reason to BE concerned about the comparison?  Returning to Genesis 6: 5- (shown above) we see that The Lord “saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”  EVERY inclination…was ONLY evil ALL the time. GOLLY! God uses strong, definitive language to assess us!

Is HIS assessment true? Is it FAIR? But wait!! By WHOSE standard are we comparing ourselves? Hmm.  I believe that question opens the proverbial Pandora’s box of self “objectivity” that we tend to lack as sinners…  Sadly, both Noah’s generation and ours, lean towards thinking we KNOW ourselves better than GOD knows us- and that’s if we believe GOD IS! If we, then, further deny that God IS who HE says HE IS, then, we reject and disdain Him and declare OURSELVES GOD. And THAT step lands us in “delusion” land.  This denial-delusion mania of man shows up repeatedly throughout the breadth of time and scripture. 

 In Judges 21:25 God sadly testifies of His beloved Israel, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as THEY SAW FIT.” (emphasis mine) What is tremendously sad is that God speaks this truth knowing full well HE ARDENTLY DESIRED to BE Israel’s KING, but His PEOPLE would not have HIM. God is the rejected ONE. They wanted a HUMAN King. In their hearts, GOD was not KING, rather, man reigned. In his arrogance man deemed his wisdom and understanding to be, if not better, then at least equal to God’s. 

Fast forward to early church days as well as now in 2019, we still see humans struggling with this same self- enthronement tendency and rebellion towards GOD. We've not changed. We lean towards denying God, His Word or at least minimizing its importance when weighed against our personal, subjective experiences and opinions. (Romans 1:18-24, Ephesians 4:17-20) In suppressing God’s truth and substituting it with our own, our minds and hearts grow darker, hardened and more futile. We effectively end up “searing” or cauterizing our hearts, rendering them less able to hear from God’s Holy Spirit when we repeatedly deny and reject HIS truth. (1 Tim 4:1-2)

As our self-rooted willfulness implodes, we become less concerned about others and more obsessed with satisfying ourselves on every level of want: desire for money and “stuff” overrules gratefulness and generosity and concern for others’ well-being; we become lovers of pleasure no matter the cost to our souls. We love things and disregard people. Those with a “religious” bent will LOVE LEARNING, but ignoring Jesus’ call to sacrificially ACT ON what we learn, we become bloated with knowledge that’s devoid of intimately KNOWING JESUS. (2Tim. 3:6-7)

Mockers, too, have mocked GOD throughout Biblical history and continue to mock Him, His Word, His ultimate authority. And so, it will be in the latter days as man becomes more brazen and emboldened to speak against God and His believing people. (2 Peter 3:3-7)

Our collective rebellion runs faster, harder and with more intensity, not less.  Jesus’ long, detailed description in Matthew 24 of last day warnings is food for deep reflection. Humankind, as the Second Coming of Christ approaches, will become MONSTROUSLY evil and hardened. EVIL will beget more evil.  This devotional cannot thoroughly address the signs of Jesus' Second Coming now, but it bears reading and praying over.  Our days are certainly looking more and more like Noah’s.

In Matthew 24 I believe Jesus is lovingly reminding His disciples, both past and present, of what’s at stake if we don’t repent of human arrogance and pride and believe HIM and HIS TRUTH rather than stubbornly clinging to our perspective tainted by sin and self-obsession.  We will be "swept away" in the literal turmoil of pride, self-deceit, and rebellion against God. The "days of Noah" are looking more and more like OUR days…

Where will we anchor ourselves in these "latter" days when God, His Word and His purposes are suppressed, belittled, demeaned, denied and neglected? Will we shelter WITHIN the safety of GOD’S loving provision of salvation and HIS TRUTHS, or will we deny HIM and HIS TRUTH, thereby effectively drowning ourselves in the deluge of Satan’s lies and subtle half-truths?

Noah’s Ark held those who believed GOD over their own understanding.  Noah and family were trusting, faith-filled, IMPERFECT sinners, who, by God’s grace, responded in faith to HIS INVITATION to trust HIM and obey.  I would imagine God’s call to build a monstrously huge boat where there existed no large mass of water took faith. The rain was not a tangible reality. Imagine the ridicule Noah and his family faced from his neighbors and friends and curious onlookers as they hammered, sawed, and applied pitch for 120 years.

God extended grace to people in Noah’s time for 120 years after the initial warning to repent, believe and trust Him.  Noah’s construction project stood as a visual testimony of both God’s judgment on their sin as well as an invitation to trust and believe Him regardless of whether they totally grasped His ways or not. GOD GAVE THEM A LONG WHILE TO REPENT.  That ark door stood “open” to all who would repent and believe God rather than trust themselves and their limited human understanding.

We still have that same offer of hope, peace, and salvation today, only now, our “ark” of Salvation is JESUS CHRIST. Our God, THE LORD GOD, stands at the door of salvation, waiting. HE is as good as HIS WORD. HIS promises are NEVER void. What HE says HE will do, HE DOES DO.

His grace is there for you and me as we trust HIM and HIS WORD over what the world and media say, over what our circumstances scream; no matter what pain and torment we’ve experienced in life or what fears we face now, God's love, mercy, power, and forgiveness are MORE than sufficient to heal us. The hope, peace and abundant life we ALL crave….All can be found in Him.

Ponder where you and your loved ones want to be found…IN THE ARK OF SALVATION or scrambling outside it.  Then, imagine the rain.

Pondering, praying and seeking JESUS with you,

Your sister in Him,

Mary Kaye Abbott