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. Genesis 7:1 KJV.
If we observe very critically, Gen.7:1 implies that the LORD God was already in the ark. He beckons the righteous to His presence. The presence of God connotes safety, peace, care, security, protection, shelter, well-being, welfare, fulfillment, etc.
Proverb 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe NIV
And Noah did according unto
all that the LORD commanded him.
In Gen 7:1, 5 two things were said of Noah namely, righteousness and obedience respectively.
i) Righteousness: This can mean uprightness, morality, decency, blamelessness, honesty, virtue, justice, rectitude and the likes. Noah was not sinful- crooked, wicked, evil, bad, selfish, greedy, dirty, etc. He had a right standing before God in terms of his thoughts, morals, conducts and actions. This right standing before God earned him God’s favour. It helps engender a sense of harmonious relationship- uncommon favour.
ii) Obedience: Noah’s obedience can be said to be total or holistic. He did exactly what the LORD asked him to do. He was obedient to the letter – i.e. paying exact attention to every detail! How do we treat the issues of God? How do we treat Him – like GOD or DOG?
When righteousness and obedience co-exist, the result is reward. The reward in this context is salvation. It is obvious or clear or natural that the result of Noah’s right standing (Righteousness & Obedience) is salvation - not only for him but for his household and ALL that came into the ark. Every member of Noah’s family was saved. Everything else that was outside the ark, perished. The case of Lot (Gen 19:17)was different. Lot delayed when he was asked to escape for his life. This call was a divine instruction to Lot with every urgency it entailed. We are also called with same mandate to escape the impending doom. Every member of Lot’s family was not saved (note that in-laws are members of one’s family).
Today (Now). The flood typifies sin:- crime, violence, kidnap, suicide-bombing, corruption, rigging, examination misconduct, cult and cultism, indecent dressing, gayness, factions and factionalism, divorce and abortion etc – anything that can sweep you to destruction is flood.
The ark: Jesus is the ark today. Those who come to Him (believe in Him) will not perish but have everlasting life (salvation). If you run to Jesus (out of the flood), you will be saved. Now is the time of salvation, delay is dangerous as the Lord will take the keys away (see Gen 7:16). When the keys are taken away, it becomes impossible for one to enter. Now is the acceptable time! The devil is at work again with the spirit of procrastination. Do not keep what you can do today till tomorrow.
Consideration:
Where are you standing, on the inside or outside? (A door has two sides- inside and outside). How can you describe your standing before the Lord? If your standing is not right, you can make amend by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Our prayer today is that we will give attention to every detail of God’s instruction in obedience. Our reward and that of our entire family is salvation. No member of our family shall be lost in Jesus name.
Bro. M. O. Adaji
Methodist Church Nigeria, 63 A.B.Way
Otukpo. Benue State Nigeria.
Tel: +2348059279116;
+2348032302982;
+2348090627053.
Email moadaji@gmail.com
May God help us in this generation in Jesus name, amen!
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