There was absolutely no way the ark could sink, because God had designed it and the eight people on board had placed their trust in Him that He would preserve them during the Flood. God had invited them to come aboard; He closed the door and thus took responsibility for his safety. Inside they felt completely safe and, although they were sailing in the midst of one of the greatest disasters our world has ever suffered, they finally arrived safely at their destination. God’s promise had not failed and his protection had been impregnable.
“By Faith Noah, being warned …”
It all started many years before, when God warned Noah of an impending flood. The world had become wicked; men acted as if there were no God and behaved vilely. They enjoyed their sin to the fullest and rejected the very notion of God. How similar are the conditions prevailing in the 21st century. Atheism, secularism, and humanism are the order of the day, and those who believe in God are considered somewhat mentally unstable. Smart people would not allow their fun to be spoiled by the idea of being accountable to God. They ridicule the idea of judgment and live as if there were no afterlife and no consequences for their sin. They are freed from the shackles of the responsibility of some distant, terrible, and disinterested Deity and live life to the fullest.
In similar circumstances, amid prevailing sin and immorality, a man lived in deep awe of God. His righteous life did not go unnoticed and God communicated the message of pending judgment and a way of escape. The design and dimensions of the ark were revealed to Noah and soon after he set about building the most amazing vessel ever built. While building, he warned the people of the coming flood, but they sneered at him and his repeated warnings fell on deaf ears.
After years of patient labor, the ark was completed; there are still no signs of the Flood. Noah was not discouraged despite the attitude of the people. Then something strange happened. Animals were seen approaching from all directions; enter the ark without having to be guided there. People stared in disbelief. Shortly after that, one day, Noah received the call of God to enter the ark and he with his wife, his three children and their wives, entered the ark and God locked them up. They couldn’t have been more sure. No place on earth would have provided shelter since the entire earth was overwhelmed by the flood.
Soon the rain began to fall, incessantly and the fountains erupted from below and in an alarmingly short time the entire world was engulfed by the waters above and below. Only eight people were safe; the eight people who believed in God and took advantage of the only escape route that God Himself had provided. The story of Noah’s ark still has healthy lessons for the neglected world we live in today.