Lesson 22 – Noah
Read Hebrews 11 - www.bible.com/bible/59/heb.11.esv

Our next person of faith is Noah. His story can be found in Genesis, from the end of chapter 5 through chapter 10. Noah’s faith was a faith against unknown and impossible odds.

Noah, according to God, was a righteous man. Though he was born too late to be able to meet Adam and Eve personally, he could well have heard the stories from his grandfather who was born before Adam died and so could have heard him tell the stories first hand.

Before Noah reached the age of 500, however, God told him that people around him had become so evil that God was going to judge the people for their wickedness. And after his three sons were born and had grown up to get married, God told Noah *how* that judgment would take place. He said there would be a flood of waters over all land, and Noah was to build a boat so he and his family and the animals could be saved.


To us, being told a flood is coming may not sound like that much of an act of faith to believe. But Noah had never seen rain in his life. No one on earth had! Water falling from the sky was unimaginable. So God had to also give Noah directions on how to build a boat that could float through this flood.

It may have taken Noah and his sons 50 or more years to build the ark and get it ready. Besides the actual construction, there was also the task of gathering enough food to feed them and the animals for a year. But during this time of construction, Noah was also busy with one more task – He preached to the people the words God had given him. They needed to repent now. They needed to turn from their sin immediately before God’s judgment came.

And yet, when the time came, and God told them to move into the ark for safety from the rain, people still only laughed at them. The animals came, called by God to enter the ark. And then came the day when God shut the door of the ark. For 7 days nothing happened.

When God asks us to do something that is unknown or even unusual, do we argue with Him that this doesn’t make sense? Do we ask Him to first explain it all so we can understand before we obey? When that rain started pounding on the boat’s roof and sides, how do you thing Noah and his family felt?

When the rains and floods came, then the people started to believe – but it was too late. The door to safety had been closed, and Noah couldn’t open the door. As the boat lifted and began to pitch about on the stormy waters, do you think they wanted out? Would you have gotten out if it had been you in that boat?

 Having faith in God when we cannot see or understand all that is happening around us is a wonderful faith to build. Noah built his faith for 120 years before the promised judgment came. How long are you willing to trust God to carry out His promises to you?