Noach “Noah”
Genesis 6:9–11:32
Isaiah 54:1–55:5
Joshua 4-6

Faith In Action

I have been teaching the subject of preparedness for about three years now. During this time, a couple of questions continue to be asked in most settings I am in. They go something like this, “Should we just have faith and not do anything” or “Isn’t preparing a lack of faith.” My favorite answer to these questions is to say that the average believer of today would have died in the flood as they were praying against the rain!

It is true that we need go no further than the account of the life of Noah to find the answers to the above questions. Noah is an example to us of a man who was told of impending danger and did what he was told. Noah was not concerned about how he might look to his neighbors. He did not shrink back as they no doubt made fun of the crazy man down the street who was building a rather large boat in his backyard in the desert. He did not put together a committee to discuss the issues. He did not even send the ark plans down to the closest engineer to see if the boat would be sea worthy or if changes should be made in its design. Noah simply acted on what he was told to do. He proved out his faith by putting it into action.

In the Book of Matthew, Yeshua tells us that there will be another day similar to those Mr. And Mrs. Noah faced. They would be days evil men and women following after every manner of sinful way they could devise. It would be a time in which man’s heart would grow so black and hard toward his Creator that judgment and annihilation would be the only way out. It would be a time to once again start over. The time spoken of would not be with another flood though, but rather with a time of great tribulation. This time it would not be a sudden event, but rather one in which man could have time to think about his actions.

It should not be a surprise to anyone to know that I believe the time Yeshua spoke of is overtaking this earth at a very rapid pace. I believe that it is so close you can not only smell the scent of rain in the air, but in fact the leading edges of showers are even now hitting the earth. So just what can we learn from our friend Mr. Noah?

To me Noah reminds me that it is my responsibility as the leader of my family to live my life in such a way that my family would want to follow me onto an ark if needed. Noah was so committed to what he knew to be right that his family trusted him when everyone else was mocking. Noah reminds me that day by day I need to be consistent, and to put into action that which I believe. Noah reminds me that one man can make a difference to those around him if he never loses sight of what he has been called to do. His life is a reason to put our feet on the floor every morning with purpose and to know that we are given another day, not for ourselves, but to move one step closer to fulfilling His purposes for our lives.

Noah did not understand the concept of faith and preparation being two separate issues. Instead he seems to agree with the half brother of Yeshua who tells us that faith without works is a rather useless thing. Noah did not hear the voice of HaShem and decide to simply pray about it, but instead when he heard that voice he went to his workshop and began cutting the first board.

It would take Noah over one-hundred years to build that ark. During that time he would have three sons. (I have often wondered why with such a big ark to build why he did not have more children!) There is no record that during those long years he ever once wavered from the task he had been given. What a convicting message that should be to you and to me.

We can all be very thankful that Noah was not of the mindset that to prepare was a lack of faith. If he had ever slipped into that trap I would not be writing about him today, and you would not be looking forward to enjoying this Shabbat, for there would be nothing here. The earth would have been flooded, just as Yah had promised, but instead of Noah and his family living to tell about it, no matter how righteous they were, their lack of putting faith into action would have made them no more than another meal for some very full fish.

Noah continues to challenge each of us today to first and foremost live our lives in such a way that through the redemption of Yeshua, we also find grace in His eyes. He then teaches us to listen for the voice of our Father and put into action the words He may speak.