Faith’s Hall Of Fame: Noah

Faith’s Hall Of Fame: Noah

Hebrews 11:7

“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

One thing that you will notice as we discuss, the great men and women of faith is that they all share a common trait. They understood what the fear of the Lord meant.

All throughout the Bible, we are warned to fear God. Fear has many elements to it but the word used in Hebrews 11:7 conveys the exact intended meaning of what the fear of the Lord is. There is an overwhelming feeling of awe and reverence whenever a godly person is in the presence of God.

John fell at His feet as though he were dead. Isaiah cried “Woe is me! I am undone!” Moses removed his sandals from his feet. Peter told Jesus to “depart from him” and “amazement seized him.”

Noah, like Enoch before him, “walked” with God. He knew God and trusted Him so his response is the model for all of us to follow. Noah didn’t hesitate or negotiate. He obeyed exactly what God told him to do, down to the measurements and materials. He did this even though there were no rain clouds, no hint of rain and not a single drop in the sky.

Noah obeyed without question or argument even though he had probably never seen rain before. Can you imagine working on a project for 75-100 years, never seeing a single indication that it was ever going to actually happen, based simply on the Word of God?

That’s what faith is. The true mark of deep godly faith and the fear of God is taking God’s Word seriously without alteration or delay; believing without seeing, knowing without evidence, hoping without affirmation and trusting in what God has said even when it seems impossible.

“Faith is believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” – Philip Yancey