NOAH: FAMILY IN THE ARK (GENESIS 7:1-7).
The Very. Rev. Michael Mukhwana
I salute you in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Today, we focus on Noah’s family, drawing lessons from his life and the implications for God’s intervention or remedy. To get the right perspective, it is important that one reads the preceding chapter. In
6:6 the Bible records that, “The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created from the surface of the earth…”
This however doesn’t mean that God regretted creating humanity, neither was He admitting that He had made a mistake (cp. 1Sam 15:29). Instead, he was expressing sorrow for what the people had done to themselves, as a parent might express sorrow over a rebellious child.
God was sorry that the people chose sin and death instead of a relationship with Him; and the people’s sin grieved God. Our sins break God’s heart as much as sin did in Noah’s day.
Noah, however, pleased God, although he was far from perfect. We can follow Noah’s example and find ‘favor in the eyes of the Lord’ in spite of the sin that surrounds us. To say that Noah was righteous and blameless doesn’t mean that he never sinned (the Bible records one
of his sins in Gen. 9:20ff). Rather it means that he wholeheartedly loved and obeyed God. For a lifetime he walked step by step in faith as a living example to his generation.
Like Noah, we live in a world filled with evil, and we are challenged by the gospel to influence the people with whom we make contact throughout our lives. In 6:18 God makes a covenant with Noah, in which He promises to preserve Noah and his entire household.
God did not choose Noah randomly. He knows whom He can count on to get things done and it is not necessarily the one with the most skill, talent, or social standing. Rather it’s the one who daily walks with Him, the one who hears His voice and follows His lead. Noah was
just such a man. Even now, God looks for righteous leaders who can help Him change the world, and this mission starts in the family. Leaders across the spectrum, who can give up everything as Noah did, in order to start over, because sacrifice always precedes success. He had to give up to go up! We can by God’s grace walk in Noah’s footsteps as we lead our families, organizations, departments, Churches, institutions unto righteousness, and break away from the strong emerging secular culture with its liberal agenda.
The Very Rev. Canon Michael Mukhwana
PROVOST