Noah and The Flood

๐—ช๐—”๐—ฅ๐—  ๐—จ๐—ฃ

โ€ข Have you ever been tasked to do something seemingly impossible? How did you respond?

โ€ข When given instructions, do you follow them right away or do you take your time and try to understand them first?

โ€ข Have you been called out for doing something out of the norm? What happened?


๐—ช๐—ข๐—ฅ๐——

๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜“๐˜–๐˜™๐˜‹ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต. . . . ๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜“๐˜–๐˜™๐˜‹. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ. ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ. ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ. ๐—š๐—˜๐—ก๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—œ๐—ฆ ๐Ÿฒ:๐Ÿฒ, ๐Ÿด-๐Ÿต


(Read also ๐—š๐—˜๐—ก๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—œ๐—ฆ ๐Ÿฒ.)


When God created humans, He made them in His image, blessed them, and commissioned them to ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ง๐˜ถ๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜บ, and to ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฅ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ต (Genesis 1:28). But because of Adam and Eveโ€™s disobedience, sin came into the world and infected every human. Eventually, people chose to rebel against God and walked in their wicked ways. Their acts were so corrupt that Godโ€™s heart broke and He regretted making mankind. God decided to send a flood to wipe out His creation. But there was a man who was set apart, following God even when it wasnโ€™t popular. Today, let us look and learn from the story of Noahโ€™s faith to go and obey anyway and build an ark that led to the salvation of his family and the rest of creation.


๐Ÿญ. ๐—ช๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ธ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ, ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ-๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—น.

๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜“๐˜–๐˜™๐˜‹. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ. ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ. ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ. ๐—š๐—˜๐—ก๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—œ๐—ฆ ๐Ÿฒ:๐Ÿด-๐Ÿต


Despite the corruption around him, Noah was faithful to God, ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด and ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ. When people chose to sin, Noah was determined to follow God. In fact, Noah is described as a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:4โ€“6). He was not alone because he raised his family in Godโ€™s ways. Even today, God calls us to be set apart and to walk with Him in righteousness, even when it is counter-cultural to do so. Recall a time when you did something out of the norm to follow God. What happened?


๐Ÿฎ. ๐—ข๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€, ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น.

๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด; ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ.ย ๐—š๐—˜๐—ก๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—œ๐—ฆ ๐Ÿฒ:๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฎ


Because Noah found favor in Godโ€™s eyes, God warned him that a flood would come and commanded him to build an ark to protect him and his family, along with animals of all kinds. This seemed impossible and irrational. This was the first time an ark would be built, and God didnโ€™t mention exactly when the flood would come. But Noah ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ, following the specific dimensions and materials that were to be used. Sometimes we think that Godโ€™s word and His commands may not make sense, yet His word proves true. As His people, we respond with unwavering faith and obedience, even when we donโ€™t fully understand. What is one thing you believe God called you to do that seemed irrational at first, but worked out in the end?


๐Ÿฏ. ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ, ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ท๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ด๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜.

๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ฉ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ.ย ๐—š๐—˜๐—ก๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—œ๐—ฆ ๐Ÿด:๐Ÿญ


Years after God spoke to Noah, the ark was complete and the flood finally came. Every living thing was wiped out, except Noah and those in the ark. Though the flood lasted for months, God remembered Noah and caused the waters to subside. Noah, his family, and the animals with them returned to land safely. He built an altar to the Lord, and God established a new covenant with him, providing a signโ€”a rainbowโ€”as a promise not to curse or strike the earth again (Genesis 8:21โ€“22). Through Noahโ€™s radical faith, God preserved humankind and all kinds of living things on the earth. How has God shown you His faithfulness and led you through challenging situations? How has He shown you that He remembers you?ย 


๐—”๐—ฃ๐—ฃ๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—–๐—”๐—ง๐—œ๐—ข๐—ก

โ€ข Do you believe that God has called you to do something that seems irrational? How may you learn to trust and obey God more in this area?

โ€ข How do you respond to people who question your faith or treat you differently because of it? What are some practical ways you can demonstrate Godโ€™s love to them this week?ย 

โ€ข How can you encourage people to grow in their faith and obedience to God, and to trust Him in all things?ย 


๐—ฃ๐—ฅ๐—”๐—ฌ๐—˜๐—ฅ

โ€ข Thank God for His faithfulness to those who walk with and believe in Him, just like Noah. Thank Him for remembering and upholding His promises according to His word.

โ€ข Ask God for a deeper level of faith to follow His ways, even when it seems impossible or irrational. Pray that you would learn to trust God more than trends, reports, and opinions.

โ€ข Pray that God would use your life as a testimony to help others in their walk of faith. Pray that Godโ€™s light will shine through you, so others may see His character and faithfulness.