Preschool
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Noah’s Ark
Memory Verses
Primary
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Junior
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Background Scripture: Genesis 6
Lesson Scripture: Genesis 6:12-22; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20
Introduction
We not only desire safety and security—we need them. In an ever-changing world, where are they? Physical safety and security in this present world are quite limited. All that we have can be taken away in a moment of time.
There is unlimited security and safety in serving God, doing his will, and allowing his Spirit to live and move with us. There is no need to fear when we are in the safety of God’s will. The only place to find real security is in the Rock, Christ Jesus.
Key Verse
And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation (Gen. 7:1).
Lesson Scripture
Genesis 6:12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.
22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Hebrews 11:7 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.
1 Peter 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Studying the Lesson
Noah’s building of the ark is a clear example of faith. Rain had never fallen on the earth, but in spite of this, Noah started construction and continued until it was completed. It didn’t rain until the ark was finished, the provisions had been loaded, the animals had come into the ark, and seven days had passed. Noah likely did not fully comprehend the scope of what he and his family were being saved from until the rain began to fall and the fountains were opened.
Second Peter 2:5 states that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Did people get so used to his message that eventually no one paid attention? No doubt everyone who passed by heard about the coming destruction. Did he grow weary with the arduous work of preaching together with building the ark? We do not read that Noah grew weary with his labors, but we do read that through faith he persevered to the saving of his household.
Hebrews 11:7 tells us that Noah condemned the world by preparing the ark. What did people think when they saw the animals queuing up and coming into the ark? Did some begin to have honest questions, or were they so depraved that they continued in unbelief until the water covered them?
A cubit is approximately eighteen inches long. Using that measurement, the ark was about four hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide and forty-five feet tall. Likely an imposing structure for that time, it was ample for all the people and animals that God wanted to save. Because of Noah’s attention to the details given by God, it saved all who were inside.
Practical Truths for Today
Jesus said that when He returns it will be like it was in Noah’s time (Luke 17:26-30). Normal life will be moving on, and there will be no great warning of impending judgment. Noah was listening to God’s voice, and he and his family were in the ark, ready for what God was preparing to do. Are we listening? Are we in the ark of safety? How aware of the fact are we that even though normal life is going on around us, an event such as no one has ever seen is coming?
God was justly full of righteous anger at the sin of the people when He commanded Noah to build the ark. He determined to destroy every living thing except the people and animals He chose to keep alive. The people He kept were Noah and his family, those whom He determined to be righteous.
As in Noah’s time, the day is coming when judgment will be placed on evil. Only the righteous will be saved in this final judgment, those who are in the kingdom of God.
The blessings of being inside the church, God’s ark of safety today, are many. Although there are people who are not members of the church who will be saved, the visible church as an ark of safety takes on special meaning to those who are a part of it. Like the salvation Noah and his family found within the ark, it is folly to think we can be saved outside of the gospel way found within the church. Once having known the gospel way and the church, we must never leave it if we want to be saved.
Our safety and security is conditional on how we build our spiritual ark. We will likely not fully comprehend what the gospel, together with our building, has saved us from until we reach the judgment. Like Noah, we build the church in faith. The church provides us the security of knowing we will not go lost without our brethren doing what they can to help us see the direction we are going.
Because God was with Noah during the building of the ark and Noah implicitly followed God’s instructions, God was with the people in the ark. It was impossible for it to sink or be destroyed by the elements.
God gives instructions for each generation to keep building the church. If we build in faith and according to God’s direction, He will be with us until the end. The gates of hell and all the forces of the devil and his angels will not prevail against the church.
The ark was a large structure, visible to the people living in the area where it was built. Possibly none of the people who passed by or stood and watched it being built, understood the attention to detail in the construction process. Most people likely did not even understand the reason for the ark.
Noah’s ark is an illustration of the church today. The church is to be visible to the world. Noah and his children were different from the world, if in nothing else than their faith. God wants us to be different from the world, not only in faith but visibly. Like Noah, who refused to conform to the prevalent evil of his time, we must refuse to conform to the evils of our time. God doesn’t want us out of the world. God’s people are to be “preachers of righteousness” like Noah was. We are to be a beacon, a source of light in the increasing darkness of the world. In order to be visible to the world we cannot take on the world and its ways.
The unregenerate soul does not comprehend the safety of the church. Like the ark keeping the water out and the people and animals alive and safe within, the church exists for the same reason. We must build knowing we are keeping out the enemy who would “come in like a flood” (Isa. 59:19). We build the church for a standard against the enemy.
The church is safely moving on the sea of time towards eternity. God is guiding his church; it is not aimlessly drifting. The ark Noah built did not aimlessly drift on the water. The church also moves with a purpose. God brought the ark to a prepared location when it grounded. God’s church will be brought to heaven where it will be safely grounded.
Questions
- What are effective ways of witnessing?
- How do the church and the ark compare? Discuss.
- Is our witness effective if what is seen on the outside does not conform to our beliefs?
Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).