Noah’s Ark / Edward Hicks, 1846

The story of Noah in the Bible marks a turning point. From creation to Noah, the Bible mostly records only genealogical data: a man’s name, the name of his son, and how long he lived. Some men rate a brief description. Noah’s faith gets three chapters in Genesis. Isaiah and Ezekiel both mention him.

In the New Testament, Jesus mentions Noah a couple of times. He appears in the faith hall of fame in Hebrews 11, where it says that by faith, Noah condemned the world. Peter calls him a “preacher of righteousness.”

Most of us know something of the story of Noah and the ark, but how much attention do we pay to Noah himself?

World genealogy in Genesis 5

Construction of the ark, from the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493)

Genesis 5 records ten generations of people starting with Adam and ending with Noah. The three chapters describing Noah’s faith (and one moment of weakness) immediately follow.

Genesis 5:3 says that Adam “became the father of a son in his own likeness. . . ” and named him Seth. Adam had been created in God’s image, but he chose to obey the suggestions of the serpent instead of God’s command. As a sinner, he bore a marred image of God. And he passed that sinful image to Seth and the generations that followed. Cain’s sinful family (in Genesis 4) also lived at the same time.

From then on, the account follows a pattern: Seth [or some other name] lived for [number] years and became the father of [another name]. Then [first name] lived [number] years after he became the father of [second name] and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of [first name] were [number] years, and he died.

All the while, Adam’s sin was at work in the world. So were apparently fallen angelic beings (mentioned at the beginning of Genesis 6). Everything got worse and worse.

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, broke the pattern. After a much shorter lifespan than anyone else, Genesis 5:22 does not conclude, “and he died.” It says, “Then Enoch walked with God,” and in verse 24,” Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” That must have gotten some attention.

His grandson Lamech, Noah’s father, also broke the pattern. He spoke a word of prophecy over Noah, the only recorded words in the entire chapter. Lamech set the stage for a dramatic story of judgment and grace.

120 years of impending doom

Noah’s flood / William de Brailes, ca. 1250

The human race became so wicked that God regretted making it. Apparently, those “sons of God” corrupted all flesh, not just humanity. Genesis 6:3 says, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

That span of time can’t mean the span of an individual’s life. From the flood to Jacob, people routinely lived longer than 120 years. After that, most people didn’t live nearly that long. So the figure of 120 years must refer to the length of time from God’s decision to the beginning of the flood. During that time, by faith, Noah built the ark.

And here is the grace: God made a promise to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15 that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. Nothing of the kind had happened. God had to keep someone alive so he could fulfill his promise to Adam. And instead of letting judgment fall without warning, he set a time of 120 years during which people could repent. Noah’s faith shone like a beacon during that time.

Never does it say, by the way, that Noah’s sons or their wives were righteous. Salvation came through one man Noah in Genesis as surely as it did through the one man Jesus in the New Testament.

Noah’s faith and the ark

The Subsiding Waters of the Deluge / Thomas Cole, 1829

Genesis 6:9 records that “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time. Noah walked with God.”

Enoch had walked with God, but never before did God declare anyone righteous and blameless. Noah became God’s chosen instrument to save a remnant of the human race. Unlike Enoch, the description of Noah in the Bible shows how he worked out his faith while living in a doomed society.

For 120 years, Noah labored to build the ark, a very large chest, and bring animals to it. The Bible doesn’t record a syllable Noah spoke to anyone until after the flood, but who can believe that he never talked to anyone during that time?

He must have explained to anyone who asked what he was doing and why. In our own day and throughout recorded history, some people have heard the gospel and believed, while others scoffed. So must people have responded to Noah’s faith and words in his time.

Those who believed, if they didn’t die before the flood, all drowned. But as soon as they believed, their names were entered in the book of life. They died to salvation, while the unrepentant died to damnation.

The story of Noah in the Bible twice records that he did everything the Lord commanded. Faith acts. Faith obeys. God told Noah he would send a flood and all flesh not protected by the ark would perish. Noah labored 120 years believing God would do as he said, even though nothing of the kind had ever happened before.

Then, Noah and the animals entered the ark. Seven days later the flood began. Seven more days for scoffers to repent.

The New Testament view of Noah’s faith

Landscape with Noah / Joseph Anton Koch, ca. 1803

Jesus used Noah as an illustration of the suddenness of his second coming. People who don’t believe the warnings will be going about their ordinary business when destruction comes.

2 Peter 2:5 calls Noah a preacher of righteousness, even though the Bible never records a word he ever said. But remember: St. Francis of Assisi is supposed to have said, “preach the word at all times, and if necessary, use words.” It’s hard to imagine how words would never be necessary, but unless the preacher’s life matches his words, they have no effect.

Hebrews 11:7 highlights Noah’s faith. God warned him of a coming flood and gave him a hard task to perform. Noah prepared the ark in reverence. In doing so, he brought salvation to his household. And condemnation to the world. Anyone could have repented once they understood what he was doing. Scoffers refused. The indifferent couldn’t be bothered. Their condemnation is just.

Today, everyone faces the same choice. We have multiple warnings that Jesus will return—and that we’re not taking proper care of the world in the meantime. How will we respond to the warnings? How will we respond to the hostility and indifference directed towards God that will end in death and destruction?