Faith must have something to believe -- and in this case it was a warning from God because our text tells us Noah was "warned about things not yet seen." The primary unseen thing he was warned about was, of course, that the earth's population was going to be destroyed by a monstrous, cataclysmic flood -- judgment by water [see Genesis 6:17]. Implicit in this was a second thing not seen and certainly never dreamed of -- that God was going to deliver Noah and his family through a great ark, which Noah himself was going to build. In fact, the Genesis account records God's explicit instructions: "This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high" [Genesis 6:15].
Now imagine how this all came down on this pre-diluvian farmer. The only floods he had ever seen, if indeed he had seen any, were the wadi-washers which came from an occasional thunderstorm. And he had certainly never set his eyes on anything as big as the ark, much less a ship! But he heard God's Word, and he considered it [some believe God's Word was also heard by others] -- and after thinking for a moment he alone believed God!
As to what took place inside him, we are given clear instruction because here the phrase "warned about things not yet seen" is meant to direct us back to the opening verse of the chapter: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Inwardly, Noah came to visual certitude. He saw a terrible mountain of water come and cover the entire earth, destroying "every creature that has the breath of life in it" [Genesis 6:17]. And he saw an immense ark of cypress wood, the work of his hands, riding high on the tempest.
This visual certitude was combined with a future certitude, for he was "sure of what he hoped for" -- namely, the promise of salvation for him and his family. Thus, a dynamic certainty swept over his soul. He believed God. He saw the unseen flood. For him the future promise of salvation was so real, it was already present. And this great belief was combined with trust in God, so that he became a man of towering faith. Faith is always more than a certainty of belief. Faith is belief plus trust. In that instant, Noah entrusted everything to God. Thus, long ago before the Flood, the standard for faith was set in the midst of a midnight of unbelief. Faith hears God's Word and believes with such a profound certainty that it makes the promise to be already present, so that the believer actually sees it and rests everything on it. Faith's requirement of us today is no less.
No comments:
Post a Comment