If I Had Been Noah
"And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch." (Genesis 6:13, 14). These instructions were given to Noah concerning the building of an ark wherein eight souls were saved through water. These instructions were given to Noah in order that he might preserve his family from the impending flood. The conditions of the world at this time were almost beyond our imagination so far as evil is concerned. There was evil without any mixture of good. These people were evil and that continually. Because of this the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created. Jehovah called upon Noah to make provisions for the salvation of himself and all who would enter the ark.
However, if I had been Noah, I think I could have made many excuses to get out of doing the job. Likely, If I had been in his place I would have said, "Lord, the task is too great for any one man and if you can find someone to help me I shall be glad to have a part, but in view of the enormity of the task and because of the great wickedness of man, I think it is just too much for me to undertake alone. you will thus, please excuse me."
If I had been Noah I probably would have said, "Lord, I am willing to help, but do not want to assume the responsibility." Perhaps I would have further said, "Lord, if you can get someone to take the lead, I shall be glad to do my part." Generally, when there is a task to be done in congregations where brethren worship today, it is always difficult to find someone who is willing to take the lead; teach a class or assume responsibility. Likely, if I had been Noah, I would have excused myself on the grounds that I was not willing to assume such responsibility.
If I had been Noah, I would have objected and said, "The plan is too complicated." Just try to imagine an ark, wherein eight people were to live for a year and in this ark to be found all the animals, at least two of each species and seven of the clean animals. I would have objected to a plan that had only one window and one door. In all probability I would have said that in case of emergency the plans should be modified so as to take care of any contingency. Too, I would not have been willing to build an ark that was simply a barge and not prepared to sail the ocean from shore to shore.
If I had been Noah I would have suggested, "I cannot preach and work, too." It would have been easy for me to find an excuse for not going out and preaching to the people, especially as wicked as they were and at the same time working all day cutting the timber and hewing the logs and putting them in place. Likely, I would have suggested that I was not fair to ask me to work all day and then preach after I had put in a days word. "I ought to have some time off to do as I please," I would have said.
If I had been Noah, I perhaps, would have said, "I shall be glad to preach with the exception of the fact that the crowd is too small." However wicked the world was, I would have said, "Lord, there are only seven people who will listen to me and they belong to my family. Since I cannot get anyone to pay any attention to me, there is no need to try. If I cannot have a big crowd and make a big show and get the praise of men, I simply will have to be excused."
If I had been Noah I would have objected on the grounds that the punishment was too severe. I would have said, "Lord, it is not right, nor fair, to punish all these people in this way." I would have objected on the basis that a mother, with children, ought to be spared and that it was not right to punish them simply because they would not repent and live right. No doubt I could have put up a very strong plea for my neighbors and friends saying, "They must be preserved and thus it is not right to destroy them."
If I had been Noah I would have said, "Lord, you are closing to the door too soon. If you will wait just a little while longer, someone might repent. There is no need to close the door and start the rain as long as I have a single cousin, aunt or uncle who is on the outside. I would not want to work for you with such a legalistic attitude." If I had been Noah, I perhaps would have made such an excuse.
If I had been Noah I would have said, "Lord, what will the neighbors think?" I would have suggested that they regard me as an old, foolish, and eccentric preacher building an ark and asking people to enter if to save themselves from a rain, the like of which no man ever heard. If I had been Noah, I would have been more conscious of what my friends and neighbors had to say than I would have been of what God's wishes were in this matter.
Noah was a different man, however, from most of us. The Bible says, "Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generation: Noah walked with God." These statements tell us a great deal about Noah and any man who is righteous walks with God. He is always willing to do what God asks him to do in spite of what the neighbors might say and regardless of how much help he may or may not have. The sixth chapter of Genesis closes with this great statement about Noah. "Thus did Noah; according to all God commanded him, so did he." We, too, should be willing to do what the Lord asks us to do and do it without excuses.
From Our Archives, 1974
by: G. K. Wallace