Doing It Right

Wednesday, August 4

Doing It Right 

So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him. Genesis 6:22

In re-reading the account of the flood in Genesis chapters 6 to 9 recently, it’s hard not to notice Noah’s complete obedience to every instruction that God gave him. From the dimensions of the ark, they were very precise, in order to accommodate all the creatures that God wanted to save. The ark had to be wide to store enough food to sustain them all, plus Noah and his family, for the duration of the flood. If Noah hadn’t been obedient to every detail given to him, the ark might not have been tall enough to fit the giraffe, or wide enough for the elephant.

To many, the instructions God gave to Noah would have seemed ridiculous – building a huge boat on dry land because the rain is coming. It’s completely ridiculous. After all, during this time there was no such thing as rain. And how about the collection of pairs of every single kind of animal and bird would come to him and enter the ark. Noah wasn’t told to go and set traps for them, or to start rounding them up, because the creatures would just come to him! Noah trusted God and knew that whatever He said would happen, so he did everything just as God commanded him. The reason for his complete trust was that he ‘walked with God’ (Genesis 6:9) and knew Him. It’s difficult to trust someone we don’t know. Noah was able to completely trust God’s commands because he walked with and trusted Him.

When the flood had finally receded, and Noah and his family were able to come out of the ark on to dry land again, the first thing that Noah did was to worship God by building an altar and sacrificing some of the extra animals and birds that God had instructed him to keep for that purpose. For some of us, our first thought might have been to start building a house, or digging a plot of land, or having a rest after feeding all those animals and birds for so long, but Noah’s priority was worship to the Lord.

Noah understood in full now what God was doing and how he was saved. Noah worshipped God in spirit and in truth. This reminds us that God does not only require we know Him but we obey His every command. It is the sacrifice of our lives which pleases Him (Romans 12:1) – doing what He wants and not what we want, putting Him first, changing our attitudes to be in line with His. Submitting to Him is worship and shows our love for Him. Jesus said: “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Noah’s obedience was complete. What about us?

Prayer for today: Dear Lord, I want to walk with You as Noah did, to know You better and to trust You more. Please help me to do this. Amen.