In the Days of Noah 1 Peter 3:20

Peter the apostle told the “scattered” Christians that “Christ suffered once for sins” so that He might “bring us to God”. He also declared that Jesus “went and preached unto the spirits in prison”, and in chapter three and verse twenty of his letter, Peter likened Jesus' suffering to “the long-suffering of God” “in the days of Noah” where we read:

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

The verse begins, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah,...” Peter began with the words, “Which sometime” or “once, formerly, aforetime or at some time” “were disobedient” which means “not allowing one's self to be persuaded, refusing, withholding belief and obedience, unbelieving and not complying with”, “when once” or “whenever or as long as” “the long-suffering” or “patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance and slowness in avenging wrongs” “of God” which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “waited in” or “tarried, looked for, expected and awaited” “the days” which refers to “used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night, and the time in general” “of Noah” whose name means “rest” and was “the tenth in descent from Adam, second father of the human family”. During the days of Noah, God was patiently waiting for people to turn from their wicked ways unto Him.

The verse goes on to say, “...while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” Peter went on to say, “while the ark” which refers to “Noah's vessel built in the form of a wooden chest or box” “was a preparing” or “furnishing, equipping, preparing and making ready”, “wherein” which means “into, unto, to, towards and among” “few” or “little, small, light and slight”, “that is” which means “which is to say”, “eight souls” or “eight people who have the vital force which animates the body and shows itself in breathing” “were saved” which means “preserved from danger, brought safely through and kept from perishing” “by water” or “the waters of the deluge”. God was waiting patiently for people to turn to Him, and yet, only “eight souls” were “saved” from the destruction of the flood waters.

When we think through these words of Peter, we see the comparison of the “long-suffering” of God for the salvation of people in Noah's day to Jesus' patient “suffering” for people today. Jesus desires all people to be saved, and He willingly “suffered” death on the cross as “the just” for the “unjust”. Now, it is the responsibility of people to respond to His “suffering”. Patiently He waits, and if we have not received this precious gift, let us make Him wait no more.

Next time Peter shares about “baptism” which is “the answer of a good conscience toward God”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.