Rest Through Obedience
In Genesis 6, the human race was multiplying, and so was their wickedness. God (being omniscient) saw that he would soon have to bring judgement on them, and it must have grieved Him to see their wickedness especially since He knew the destruction it would lead to.
Genesis 6:3 says, “And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” God limited the lifespan of these wicked people, but as He declared the limit, He said those interesting words: “My spirit shall not always strive with man”
Sin always brings strife: between God and the sinner, and between the sinner and other people. But God said that He would not always strive. There would come a time of rest between God and the people He had created.
The names of the individuals mentioned in this section of Genesis are always interesting, because they are usually somewhat prophetic. For example, Methuselah’s name means “When He dies, it will come”. (Likely referring to God’s judgement, especially considering that Methuselah died the year of the Flood.) just after God says He will not always strive with man, and just after He announces the coming of the flood that will destroy everyone, Noah is highlighted. And do you know what Noah’s name means?
Rest.
Coincidence? Of course not! Noah was to be the one who pointed his generation of mankind to rest with God. Not only did God give Noah the task of building the means of physical salvation from the coming judgement, 2 Peter 2:5 tells us that Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” as well. He didn’t just quietly live his righteous life, building the massive ark, He preached righteousness.
From what Scripture says of Noah, I imagine everyone knew about the preacher who told everyone they needed to repent and believe God, who told them that they needed to get into this thing called a boat because of a catastrophic thing called rain, which was supposed to be water from the sky! They probably thought he was crazy, much like people think of those who are bold about God’s truth today.
But Noah, though not perfect, is a picture of a man at rest with God. Genesis 6:9 says, “Noah was a just man and perfect, and walked with God.” How did this come about? I would suggest that it came about through obedience.
Not only was Noah obedient to God up to the point where God commissioned him to build the ark, (hence the description just and perfect) he obeyed the commandment of God to build the ark and prepare for the flood as well. Verse 22 of the same chapter says that “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.”
Have you ever thought about what would have happened if Noah had not obeyed so well? If, for example, he built the ark, but got tired partway through and neglected to put pitch on it to keep the water out? Or if he had made it smaller than God had said, or of a different wood, or if he simply hadn’t finished it on time? What if he hadn’t packed food for his family and the animals like God directed him to?
So many things could have been left undone, and yet God tells us in this account that Noah did everything. He obeyed completely. Without complete obedience, there would have been no rest in the ark, nor would there have been rest with God, for incomplete obedience is actually complete disobedience.
Noah’s example of rest through complete, thorough, wholehearted obedience is always a challenge to me. After all, I have as much responsibility to perform what God asks of me as Noah did, and my obedience or disobedience, while it may not determine the saving of an entire race from certain death, could nevertheless have an everlasting effect on the lives of others around me who need me to obey like Noah and point them to rest with God.