By Kathy L McFarland
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)
Hebrews 11 is richly laced with deep teachings of God, to help you know how to receive full benefit of faith. Through your study of the faith of Abel, you learned that your faith should be confident that you are both worthy and knowledgeable to offer acceptable works to the Lord as He leads you. The faith of Enoch should remind you that a stance against the wickedness of these terrible times is a reflection of your own faith. Also important was the teaching that God can supernaturally translate a life into the places He wills, without regard to the normal laws of Creation that are seen and understood by man.
In both of our previous studies of faith, we have learned that we should have great conviction that we can please the LORD God by coming to Him, knowing Him through our diligent study of His Word, and believing that He will reward us for our efforts. Hebrews 11 was written for you to know deep faith. Young Christians read the words and find hope and peace. Mature Christians discover deeper teachings to help them fully mature their faith to a place that can complete perfect works for the Lord.
The hidden gems of deep faith issues will come to the surface in our study of the Faith of Noah. Like you, he lived in a time where great wickedness was seeping into every crevice of the world. There was all manner of profane and lewd behaviors, and the disobedience to the LORD God’s Will and Ways was out of control.
Remember, by the time of Enoch, the “Way of Cain” was fully developed into making disobedient and disrespectful, wicked people against God. Enoch saw the behavior swirling around him, and had watched the evil gain hold. At one point, God spoke through Enoch and warned the people of not only the Way of Cain, but also of the future disobedience that would come from its expression, to include the error of Balaam and the gainsaying of Core.
Noah was born in the mess of times. Interestingly, we find a connection to Cain and Abel’s time upon the time of the birth of the baby boy to Lamech and his wife. Lamech chose the name “Noach” which means “rest:”
Genesis 5:29
“…this [same] shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.” (Genesis 5:29)
Two generations after Enoch, the “Way of Cain” was permeating mankind. Again, Noah’s world was connected to the past, as the nastiness of profane people spread throughout his own time.
Genesis 6:5
”And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)
In the next lesson, we are going to discover how really bad it was in the time of Noah. In fact, we’re going to tackle a piece of Scripture that has caused many to speculate and debate a bizarre event involving “giants” that possibly brought mankind to this place of utter wickedness. We’re going to learn the possible identity of the Daughters of Men and Sons of God, along with a little bit of creation and a little bit of evolution thrown in to make sense out of it all!
As you study and learn about the faith of Noah, it is important that you realize that his times differed little from your time today. If you are able to keep that realization close to your heart, the faith of Noah will begin to shine in your own, and you will know the Lord’s expectations for your walk in these times. Recognize the symptoms of past generations who were guided by carnal desires and wicked lusts, and consider your own time and place. It is this connection that will make you know how crucial it is to develop your faith fully in these dangerous times!
