By Faith: Saved

1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with[a] humans forever, for they are mortal[b]; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

5 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. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 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.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

9 This is the account of Noah and his family.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress[c] wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.[d] 16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit[e] high all around.[f] Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

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7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

A warning can spare you a lot of grief. For example, a warning light on your car dashboard can alert you that your engine is about to overheat or that your oil level is low. Paying attention to the warning can save you lots of trouble if you act quickly. But if you don’t believe the warning, you might let things go till it’s too late.

Noah got a warning about a coming flood. God saw that human wickedness had become so great that all that people did was evil. The flood would take the world back to a time of beginning. Sin had undone God’s good creation (Genesis 1:31). Unless some way of escape was provided, death by drowning would be the inevitable result. “Build an ark,” said God. Noah believed God’s warning and did as he was told. That’s how he and his family were saved.

No doubt Noah’s neighbors had lots of laughs as he built the ark. A flood so big that it would cover all the dry land around? Never! Impossible! Noah’s faith and his ark-building probably seemed ridiculous.

But the flood came. And in the ark Noah and his family were saved. All others were lost. The Bible says that the next time God will cleanse the world of sin and sinners, it will be with fire (Revelation 8). Faith in God’s Son, Jesus, will be the only “ark” by which people can be saved. Make sure you are on board!

Father, thank you for your warning. Thank you for the ark. May people everywhere heed your warning and, with us, believe in Jesus and be saved. In his name, Amen.