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)
God’s promise to Noah was a 40 day period of rain was coming which would bring an end to life on earth. It was a washing and cleansing of the ungodliness which existed at the time. Noah, his family, and any animals taken into the ark would be saved. Noah was chosen for this because he was a godly man in a wicked world. God took note of Noah’s righteousness. Another way to look at this is Noah stood out like the proverbial sore thumb in such an evil world. He probably felt like a real oddball being a man of faith in the midst of such faithlessness.
We too are surrounded by such ungodliness we can easily begin to feel like loners, oddballs, and a minority in today’s world. The prophets of the Bible and the saints of old lamented how the godly people were becoming fewer and fewer; “2The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:2, 3). We can easily feel the same way in today’s corrupt and wicked world. Back in the days when the TV show “Star Trek” was popular I saw a t-shirt which read, “Beam me up Scotty; there’s no intelligent life here.” The godly person might be tempted to pray, “Take me home Lord; there’s no righteous people here.”
God’s challenge to Noah was to be prepared, because a 40 day period was coming which would change his life forever. Or as someone has said, the experience was going to “rock his world.” Indeed, 40 straight days of heavy rain did rock Noah’s world and everyone else’s for that matter. How would your life be changed if you committed to something for 40 straight days? If you were to commit to anything for such a period of time, be it exercise, diet, breaking a bad habit, or traveling, the 40 day experience would alter your view of the situation. Doing something for such a time will have this effect.
Imagine a renewed commitment to prayer and devotion to God for 40 days. At the end of the set time, if you commit to it, you will be seriously influenced by the experience. Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days receiving the Ten Commandments, the spies explored the Promised Land 40 days, and Jesus fasted and prayed 40 days. In each case those involved were touched and strengthened through the experience. We can be as well. Let us seek the Lord in ways we never have before.
The Lord is calling His people to deeper levels of faith and devotion. Let us recommit our way to the Lord. Blessings will follow.
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