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What Saith the Scripture?
http://www.WhatSaithTheScripture.com/
They That Wait Upon The LORD: Part 1: Noah
"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount
up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and
not faint"
(Isaiah 40:31).
"That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous...
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise"
(Proverbs 2:20; 13:20).
by David Stewart
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preface
The days occurring before the Second Coming of our LORD Jesus Christ are likened
to the days of Noah. "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also
in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they
were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the Ark, and the flood
came, and destroyed them all" (Luke 17:26-27). The LORD Jesus Himself made this
comparison. "And here is the mind which hath wisdom" (Revelation 17:9).
The Mind of Christ reveals circumstances which we share with Brother Noah. The one
circumstance that interests me at this moment, is that of waiting "upon the
LORD". "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have
waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we
will be glad and rejoice in His Salvation"(Isaiah 25:9).
Noah's Long Wait
When we read the Biblical account of "Noah and the Ark", we have a tendency
to glide over certain parts of the "story" with too much familiarity. Our
confidence level assures us that we know this one "by heart". But in waiting
for our LORD's call to "Come Up Hither" (Revelation 4:1), the Holy Spirit
guided me to the examples of Scripture's Mighty Men of Renown, "these were the
renowned of the congregation"(Numbers 1:16), and how the men of old demonstrated
their great faith and love by works of waiting. Noah is the first of these great
men I am privileged to share with you.
"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the Ark, and knew not
until the flood came, and took them all away" (Matthew 24:37-39). The wicked
"knew not until the flood came". But how long had Noah known? "And
the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man... yet his days shall be
an hundred and twenty years" (Genesis 6:3). "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" (1Peter 3:20). And so, "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" (Hebrews 11:7).
So Noah knew he had 120 years to prepare his Ark. That's more than a lifetime to
most modern men. He had to wait for the LORD to fulfill His Word for more
than the length of time it takes us to be born and to die of old age! "Wait
on the LORD, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when
the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those
that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth" (Psalm 37:34,9).
That, by itself, shows what an amazing quality of perseverance this diligent man,
Noah, possessed! "Watching thereunto with all perseverance" (Ephesians
6:18). "The hand of the diligent shall bear rule" (Proverbs 12:24). And
did Noah "bear rule"? He "prepared an Ark to the saving of his house;
by the which he condemned the world."
The Conditions of Noah's Wait
The length of time Noah had to wait for the LORD to fulfill His Word could virtually,
never be less time than what we would EVER have to wait-- and yet, look at the conditions
of Noah's waiting time.
Except for his immediate family:
And yet this man of God believed for 120 years what God
had told him, and "prepared an Ark to the saving of his house; by the which
he condemned the world"! I truly cannot imagine the strength of Godly character
that it must have taken-- in the face of both a ridiculing world and a never-before-or
again natural disaster of this magnitude-- for this man to say, "I believe
God, that it shall be even as it was told me" (Acts 27:25). I stand in wonder
of what God is able to accomplish with a mere man who fully believes Him!
"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. Thus did Noah; according
to all that God commanded him, so did he" (Genesis 6:18,22). And so, the LORD
"spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness,
bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly" (2Peter 2:5).
Conclusion: "Walk in the Way of Good Men"
Now, I don't know about you, but I haven't really WAITED for the LORD Jesus to come
for me-- not compared to this example God has given in the faithfully diligent servant
and son, Noah. Wouldn't it be a credit to Noah's testimony-- "They that be wise
shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3)-- and our LORD's
ability-- "But we all... are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the LORD" (2Corinthians 3:18)-- if we would
wait for the fulfillment of His Word to us, with even the very tiniest measure of
the faith it took to build an Ark and condemn the world? Wouldn't Noah's reward be
greater because of the help he was to us? Wouldn't there be praises forevermore to
the One we waited for?
"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take
heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day
Star arise in your hearts" (2Peter 1:19). "That ye may be blameless and
harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse
nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15). "But
the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the
Perfect Day. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls"
(Proverbs 4:18; 1Peter 1:9).
The Biblical Account of the "Watching and Waiting" Noah
Genesis 5
28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our
work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat
sons and daughters:
31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he
died.
32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Genesis 6
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters
were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took
them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also
is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons
of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same
became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him
at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the
earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for
it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations,
and Noah walked with God.
10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
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.
Genesis 7
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.
2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female:
and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive
upon the face of all the earth.
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty
nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face
of the earth.
5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into
the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing
that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God
had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the
earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth
day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up,
and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of
Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl
after his kind, every bird of every sort.
15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is
the breath of life.
16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded
him: and the LORD shut him in.
17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare
up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark
went upon the face of the waters.
19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that
were under the whole heaven, were covered.
20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and
of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land,
died.
23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground,
both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they
were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with
him in the ark.
24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
Genesis 8
And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with
him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;
2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the
rain from heaven was restrained;
3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the
hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon
the mountains of Ararat.
5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month,
on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the
ark which he had made:
7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried
up from off the earth.
8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the
face of the ground;
9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him
into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth
his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the
ark;
11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive
leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not
again unto him any more.
13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the
first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed
the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the
earth dried.
15 And God spake unto Noah, saying,
16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with
thee.
17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both
of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth;
that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the
earth.
18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:
19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon
the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of
every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not
again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart
is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as
I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer
and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Genesis 9
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth.
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth,
and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all
the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have
I given you all things.
4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast
will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will
I require the life of man.
6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of
God made he man.
7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and
multiply therein.
8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and
of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast
of the earth.
11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off
any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy
the earth.
12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you
and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between
me and the earth.
14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall
be seen in the cloud:
15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living
creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all
flesh.
16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember
the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that
is upon the earth.
17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established
between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth:
and Ham is the father of Canaan.
19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two
brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and
went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward,
and they saw not their father's nakedness.
24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan
shall be his servant.
28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.
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