The Faith of Noah Hebrews 11:7

The writer of Hebrews declared, “without faith it is impossible to please” God, and he added, “he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” . In chapter eleven and verse seven of Hebrews the writer shares about how “Noah...prepared an ark to the saving of his house” where we read:

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.

The verse begins, “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;”. The writer began with the words, “By faith” which means “through the conviction of the truth of anything and belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ which springs from trust in the same” “Noah” whose name means “rest” and was “the tenth in descent from Adam, second father of the human family”, “being warned” which means “was advised, consulted with, instructed, admonished and given command or adoration” “of God” which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “of things” which refers to “activities and actions” “not seen as yet” or “not discernible, perceived, discovered or experienced at that time”, “moved” which means “took action” “with fear” or “cautiously, circumspectly, in reverence and awe”, “prepared” or “furnished, equipped and made ready” “an ark” or “a wooden chest or box which was the vessel built in the box form” “to the saving” which means “the deliverance, preservation, safety and salvation” “of his house” which refers to “Noah's household and family”. “Noah” believed God concerning the rain and flood, and though he had never seen them, he obeyed God's warning by building the ark which saved he and his family. (See Genesis 6 for more details.)

The verse continues, “by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”. The writer added the words, “by the which” or “through and by means” “he condemned” which means “gave judgment against as to judge worthy of punishment” “the world” which refers to “the circle of the earth and its inhabitants”, “and became” or “came into existence and appeared as” “heir” which means “the one who receives by lot or portion allotted to him” “of the righteousness” or “the condition acceptable to God, integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness and correct thinking, feeling and acting” “which is by” that means “that is through and by means of” “faith” that means “the conviction of the truth of anything and belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ which springs from trust in the same”. It was by “faith” that “Noah” “gave judgment” upon the “world” surrounding him and “inherited” “the righteousness which is by faith”.

When we consider these words in Hebrews, we see how “Noah” exercised his “faith” in obedience to God's command. The world was to be destroyed by a flood, and God told Noah to build an ark which would preserve him, his family and the animals. Though people around him were unbelievers and ridiculed him for building the ark, Noah remained faithful to God's commission. Today we have another warning of destruction to come. People who do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord shall be eternally destroyed, and Jesus Christ came to save anyone who will believe and obey Him. Those who do shall enjoy everlasting life, but those who do not shall be as those who did not believe Noah and suffered destruction.

Next time the writer shares about the “faith” of “Abraham”, 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.