Just as God had commanded him

 Read Genesis 6

This story has two themes.  Humankind rebelled against God and all that is Good and a remnant was faithful. There were a faithful few, at least there was Noah and God’s favor extended to Noah’s family.

The human heart sought after its own desires.  It sought self-gratification and relied on its own understanding.  Evil prevailed among the people of the world.

God decided to put an end to this evil that thrived upon the world.  He would bring an end to humankind and all over which he had given humans stewardship.  Both men and the lives of the creatures entrusted to him would be put to an end.

God saw the evil that had manifested itself in every human heart and was saddened at what his creation had become.

Noah was a bright spot in this dark world. 

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

God told Noah that he would bring a flood upon the earth.  Noah surely had no idea what  a flood was, but whatever it was it was coming and God told him to build a huge ship and stock it with provisions for all aboard.

All aboard would include animals as well—paired for the furtherance of the species. This would require a huge ship.  Noah couldn’t just hook up the trailer and get something at the Bass Pro Shop.  God told him to build this huge ship.

Most of us don’t use cubits in measuring things these days, so just how large was this cruise ship going to be?

The length was 510 feet.  That’s over one and one-half football fields in length.  Today, we see cruise ships that are 1000 feet long, but the ark was built from wood and without a modern shipyard.

The height was 50 feet.  That’s as tall as a modern 4 story house.  It only had 3 decks so these decks had high ceilings. 

The ship was almost twice as wide as it was tall.  By modern standards, it could have held 450 40-foot containers.  Today we see container ships that haul much more with containers stacked high above deck but imagine the storage capacity of this ancient ship that would be made only by human hands.

I have spent some time aboard ship and know a little more than the average bear about loading and unloading them for amphibious operations, including the supply and logistics behind them.  But I had never thought too much about those container ships.  I found that in 2020 it cost $1500 to ship one container from China to the United States.  It seems like a lot, but considering the time and distance, I guess it was the market price.  Today it cost $20,000 to ship the same container.  It’s no wonder the Dollar Tree is now the Dollar and a Quarter Tree.

We are reading Genesis 6 but the world economy is starting to look like Revelation 6—a pint of wheat for a day’s wage.  Let’s get back to the ark.

Modern estimates put the lumber used for construction at approximately 3.1 million board feet.  A board foot is a 1-foot by 1-foot by 1-inch piece of lumber.  To give you some perspective, 3.1 million board feet would mean you could lay lumber from here to Memphis, make a quick stop at Graceland, and have enough lumber to get out of the city on the east side.

And it had a huge door on it.  Most conceptualize a gangway sort of ramp that acted as a door.  What was not given by God was the mechanism that would be required to shut this huge door.  There was no introduction to hydraulics or mechanics or even pneumatic devices.  We will see how the door was closed in the next chapter.

It was the biggest ship of its time and perhaps still the biggest wooden ship ever built.  This was not only a huge ship. It was a huge undertaking.

God did not put out a ship-building contract among major shipbuilders and wait for the bids to come in. God told Noah what he was to do. This impossible task was all on Noah.

Imagine God telling us to do this today.  OK, the guys would get excited because they had a God-given excuse to buy loads of new tools, but eventually, the magnitude of the task would set in.

God is telling me to do the impossible

So, what was Noah’s response to being told to do what had never been done before and what might take 100 years? 

It had never rained.  Noah had never seen a flood. God told Noah to build this huge ship and fill it with every kind of animal and enough food for all on board.

What did Noah do?

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

There is a meme going around that reads Noah was a conspiracy theorist until it began to rain. Imagine the ridicule of the general population as Noah pursued what had to be a senseless, if not insane task.

Noah’s God—if there even was such a being—was surely just tormenting Noah.

C’mon man, walk away from the ship-building madness and enjoy life.  Come and gratify every desire of your human heart.  You are crazy to continue this madness.

That would have been the friendly banter, but surely there was something with hate and disdain for actions that went contrary to the narrative of the world. But Noah…

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

It is good that we see Noah’s faithfulness to God.  It’s good that we have this incredible story of a man who in spite of the many unknowns in what God commanded him to do, just did what God told him to do.

Today, very large undertakings are accompanied by an estimate of supportability.  Can we do what we need to do?  How much will it cost? What are the material and labor requirements?  What are the long lead time items? Will we have public support? What are the consequences of failure? What are the consequences of success?

But Noah…

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

It’s good to know the story.  We get more details in the chapters ahead, but are there lessons for us now?  Is there any insight for today?

The straightforward message is if God commands you to do something, then do it.  Just do it. You know the verse.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart…

If God commands you to do something of impossible magnitude, consider that you may have found favor with the Lord.  Perhaps we should see God’s favor when he asks the impossible of us.

Most of us won’t be called to ship-building, but we might be called to cook or teach or shepherd a group of believers.  We might be called to evangelism.  Some would rather build a ship from scratch than talk to their neighbors about the love of God.

Some may be called to witness to someone who is lost in the world.  We might be called to encourage other believers by our testimonies. 

You might be called to preach.  You might be called to be on a planning committee.  You might be called by the Spirit that lives within you to do something that is out of your comfort zone.

Your human nature might try to talk you out of it.

You do enough already.

Don’t fall for that.  It’s a trap.  The next thing you know you will be living fully for God.

You don’t have time.

Somebody else could do a better job.

Why me, Lord?

Is that really God speaking to me or is it those jalapenos from last night?

If God is calling you to do something, be Noah, not Moses.  Don’t try to talk God out of it.  Just do it, even if it is more than you think you can handle.

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

When you feel the Spirit within you calling you to something impossible—you know it is God’s Spirit because his sheep know his voice—then consider that you have found God’s favor in the impossible task set before you.

What does the impossible look like today?  God is calling you to do something that you can’t work into your day, but he has charged you to make it the most important thing in your day.

What will we do?

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

What will we do?

Are we ready to do everything just as God has commanded us?

Amen.