Tag: Noah’s ark

The Almighty Ark Architect

Genesis 6-8, Proverbs 5, Matthew 3

Devotion by Marcia Railton (IN)

I have always been fascinated by the account of the man who built the magnificent boat to save the animals and his family from the floodwaters that covered the earth. When it was time to choose a nursery theme for our first born – it didn’t take long to land upon the man with the full white beard surrounded by every animal imaginable as they made their way into the safety of the big gopher wood boat. What a great story to rock any infant to sleep.

Who is the main character in this classic Bible story found in Genesis 6-9? The boat builder extraordinaire, the floating zoo animal wrangler, the father of 3, a “preacher of righteousness” amongst unbelieving, corrupt and violent neighbors (2 Peter 2:5 and Genesis 6:11), the man who “found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). Yes, Noah is the man. “Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9) So, God chose Noah.

And because of the way Noah responded to God’s choosing and instruction, he earns himself a spot in the Faith Chapter of faithful witnesses. Hebrews 11:7 (ESV) 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 can find this verse in many English translations here – to see some potentially helpful variations on the wording such as: “motivated by godly fear” (CSB), and “By his faith, Noah showed that the world was wrong. And he became one of those who are made right with God through faith.” (ICB)

There is so much we can learn from this man of faith! As a wife and mom I am also very curious about his unnamed wife! What role did she play? What did she think of this all? How did she help, assuming she did? What might their conversations have sounded like as they lay in bed at the end of a hard work day, or on the 150th day of life on the rocking, animal-filled boat, or as they gazed at the very first rainbow in the sky (coming in chapter 9)?

And what about the wives of Noah’s 3 sons? Can you imagine marrying into the ONLY family that will be saved from the floodwaters? I am hoping for a chance to talk to Noah and his wife and their family during the Kingdom of God on the earth after it will be cleansed again – this time not by water but by fire.

As instrumental as Noah was in his role of man of faith and boat building, and as intrigued as I am by his family, there is actually one more character I will suggest as the MAIN character of the account of Noah and the Ark – and that is the One who saw, chose, directed, provided for and remembered Noah. While seeing the corruption, wickedness and violence of the world, God also saw the one faithful.

The Lord Almighty is the ark architect. God gave Noah all the details needed for him to successfully build a boat that would hold all the occupants (perhaps about 96,000 square feet of floor space). The boat would also weather the torrential flood and then the winds that would dry the earth while remaining water tight for over a year. Professional marine engineers today still marvel at the accurate dimensions and plans given so long ago by the ALL-Knowing God that would indeed be necessary to create such a floating vessel. Here’s one article written by one such engineer and architect. Can you imagine what sort of ark Noah might have tried creating if he hadn’t been given God’s accurate details? The joy of being God’s servant is that He provides what is needed to do the job He asks you to do, if you will listen and obey.

Once the ark was built and waterproofed (on the inside and out – what a task!) it was time to add the animals. I am sure God had a large hand in orchestrating or ordering this task as well, in one way or another. Even knowing all of the species to collect, and getting the correct number of each of the two genders, and tending to their needs and the food! No doubt Noah and his family had work to do, but Genesis 6:20 also indicates they would not be acting on their own: “two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive”.

God is also the one who shut the door of the ark, both saving those inside, and keeping the unrighteous out. He sent the rain to cleanse the earth of the corruption and then the wind to dry the land to prepare it once again for Noah, the animals and the generations to follow, including you and I and your favorite furry, scaly, or winged creatures that move along or over the earth.

Our God provides what we need to live righteous lives doing the jobs He has for us to do. Our God sees and saves. He alone is the creator of the master plan of salvation for the human race. In Genesis he saves through the work and faith of righteous Noah. He saves again many times throughout Scripture. As we read through the Bible this year watch for how He saves. In your own life, take note of how He sees and saves and provides over and over again. And, perhaps most importantly, keep watch, for He is saving again, through the promised return of His Son Jesus. Will you be ready? Don’t be one of the unbelievers when that door shuts!

Reflection Questions

  1. What do you admire about the characters of Genesis 6-8? What questions would you like to ask Noah, his family, and the Almighty Ark Architect (amongst His MANY other titles and jobs)?
  2. Reread Hebrews 11:7. What might God want to see you do, motivated by godly fear? Where do you see the world as being wrong? In what ways can you help show that the world is wrong? And how can you help show that there is a God who not only can save, but wants to save all those who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
  3. Consider the plans of God to save the world. Compare and contrast His plans to save through Noah and His plans to save through His Son Jesus. Thank Him!

Dear Almighty God, we thank You for your plan of salvation and how You save over and over again. Thank you for this account of Noah that shows Your love and provision for those who walk with You, even when surrounded by the wrong world who will face judgment and final death. We praise You for being All-knowing! There is nothing You don’t know – and You graciously let us know what we need to know to do Your will well. We marvel at Your knowledge, wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, love and just judgments. Help us walk with You all our days. Help us see the evil of the world for what it is and not be a part of it. Help us follow Your directions to complete the tasks You have for us. Help us with reverent fear be preachers of righteousness. Prepare us and our families, including those we can invite in, for Your perfect plan of salvation. In the precious name of Your Son Jesus we pray.

SGL.2026.CalendarDownload

Children’s Church and the Lions’ Den

OLD TESTAMENT: Daniel 6

POETRY: Psalm 136

NEW TESTAMENT: John 9

I am not going to try and convince you that working in the nursery is comparable to being thrown into a den of vicious, destructive predators. Children’s church is much, much worse than that. 

Today, I want to talk about the “mis-picturing” that can happen if we have grown up in the church. Quick: what image do you see when you think about Noah’s flood? For me, it was, for most of my childhood, an impossibly small ark floating on top of bright blue waters with impossibly large creatures sticking their heads out of the top of the ark with a rainbow above. Now: what is actually said about the flood and Noah? All life, besides those who got brought aboard the ark, were judged in rain from the sky and flood from the ground. It is darkness, judgement, sin, and death. When we teach this story to our youngest kids in nursery, there is a reason that we leave out these obviously darker parts of the story. 

In our reading today, we have another story that gets mispictured: Daniel, a young lad, is thrown into a den of lions because he believes in God, but the lions are more like kitty cats, and then he gets pulled out the next day and everyone forgives everyone and we move on. 

But, the story in scripture is much more important: Daniel, an old man who has been faithful, knows about a command from the King to stop praying, and in direct violation of this imperial edict with life and death hanging in the balance, he prays just the same, trusting in the God who got him this far to protect him from the lions, but even he doesn’t… Yet the lions, the ravenous king of beasts, the symbol of power of rulership, are shut up by the God who is above all. And when Daniel is rescued those who set him up are themselves thrown into the den and torn to shreds before they reach the ground. 

Notice, faith is not a practice that finds fulfillment because of a “great event” that happens once in youth, but is the choice of decades, of the daily decision to follow God in the most boring business of daily life. It is only in following in the mundane, that we are prepared to follow in the momentous, it is by praying daily in our normal life that we are ready to pray daily when the King says “stop or you die.” Daniel, knowing the King will be bound to kill him, fearlessly bucks the system of power, knowing God is bigger. But even if there is no rescue, Daniel trusts in the God of his fathers. Instead of the lions devouring Daniel, judgement is given to those who thought they would harm God’s man.

But why say more important? Shouldn’t we teach kids at age appropriate levels? Of course we should; the problem happens when we think we know, or, when I think I know the Bible and I don’t take seriously the call of this passage or others on our life. The story of the flood of Noah is about the seriousness of sin and about the totality of the judgment of God; if we think it’s about cute animals, rainbows, and God’s love, we miss the depth of the story. The story of Daniel and the Den of Lions is about the developed faith of a man who had been faithful and successful because of his trust in God and who would allow nothing, not even the threat of death, to come between him and his worship. It’s about overcoming the Imperial powers of this world not by swords and warfare but by turning our face to God and trusting in him. 

Starting today, I would encourage you to focus on picturing correctly the stories you read in scripture. God inspired them in the way he did so that we would learn from his actual words, rather than the interpretation of his words from our pastor, our teacher, or even our parents. Some people have given us better or worse interpretations, but nothing compares to reading God’s words ourselves, and understanding how God is speaking through the Bible to us today. 

-Jake Ballard

Questions:

  1. Is mis-picturing a problem for you? If you grew up in church, how much did your Sunday School help or hinder you from seeing the Bible as it really is? If you are new to faith or don’t yet believe, do you have any preconceived pictures of the Bible stories, or are they all fresh to you?
  2. Are there other stories that you can think of when mis-picturing might lead us to miss the important points of the story? 
  3. “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” If you read the opening chapters of Matthew and Luke, try and see if there are any mis-picturing in our understanding of Jesus at his nativity. Is Mary a scared unwed mother? Is Joseph a clueless, hapless husband? Is Jesus surrounded by wisemen and shepherds and camels and sheep and laying in the straw without making a sound? Think about the reality of stories, rather than our built up theological and social pictures around Jesus. 
sglcalendar2024Download