It’s raining …again. That seems to be the story of our life, right? Open the floodgates of Heaven, let it rain? I’d be much more inclined to welcome the Reign with a cheerful spirit. You too?
Hey, I recently heard that there was no rain on the earth until the great flood of Noah’s time. How about that? I’m still digesting that, you know, working on that understanding thing, but that’s what I heard. Honestly, until Dr. Jeremiah told us that, I had never really thought about it. Oh, like you, many odd things run through my head, all at the same time, but whether it rained or not before the great flood definitely wasn’t one of them. But I’ve been rolling it around and checking it out. Every good Bible teacher will tell you to get into the Word and check it out. They will encourage you to be a studier of the Word, not just a reader. Dr. David Jeremiah is no exception.
Anyway, I’ve been pondering this rain thing, trying to work it out for myself. I’ve checked out God’s Word, Genesis, specifically and the internet (so it must be true – Bonjour!). The best I can tell is that there was no rain until the great flood. Of course, there is information to the contrary, you have to check the sources and come to your own conclusions. But this rain thing is fascinating to me. I’m no scientist so I’m not going to try to explain it, I struggled to spell the word, but think about the implications of a rainless earth prior to the flood. Talk about a little climate change going on!
All the more reason for folks to look at Noah like he had twelve heads. He’s building a boat – what for? They’re watching and wondering. Their hearts were hard so the only answer was that the man was crazy.
When we talk about following Jesus, do you think folks ever feel the same way about us? Do they look at us like they looked at Noah, twelve heads? Are they watching us and wondering? Do they think we’re crazy? Undoubtedly, some do. Just like those in Noah’s time they had never seen rain and they weren’t open to believing something they hadn’t seen, so they couldn’t possibly understand what it was and they certainly weren’t going to set store by it. Who needed a boat? They were landlocked! It’s the same way in our time. There are those who have never seen Jesus who aren’t open to believing in something they can’t see, and so they can’t possibly believe. They don’t need a Savior. They are heartlocked.
Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with him.
Genesis 6:9
Noah was a faithful man. Not a perfect man. A faithful man. It says he “consistently followed God’s will.” Do we stumble a little there? It says he “enjoyed a close relationship with him.” Do we stumble a little there? Can those same things be said about me? About us? (Remember, I’m not alone in this journey.) Will He say…
Beth was a faithful woman. Not a perfect woman. A faithful woman. She consistently followed My will and enjoyed a close relationship with me.
Uh-oh, looks like I’ve got some work to do. Fill in your name. Am I in good company? Shouldn’t that be our desire though?
By consistently following the Lord’s instruction and being in close relationship with Him, Noah set an example to all those around him. His faith was not influenced by the world, his faith influenced the world — there weren’t many but there were others on that boat. That’s exactly what we’re supposed to do too. We’re supposed to be different, if people don’t look at us as if we’re different, we need to check our faith. Our lives should be so radically different from the world that those who do not know Jesus notice the difference, maybe even think we’re a little crazy, a little extreme, a little fundamental, a little radical. So, how’s your faith?