Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.“
(Genesis 6:22)

This is an underrated verse. Really think about it. When the Israelites were told to take the Land, they had the signs and wonders in Egypt as examples. Peter asked to walk on water. He was WATCHING Jesus do it. David wanted to kill a giant. He had bears and lions on his kill list, demonstrating God’s ability to protect and deliver. Most of the people who obeyed God had examples of God moving mightily to refer to. Now consider Noah. He was told about an event that had NEVER HAPPENED at this magnitude before (and maybe not ever, there are scholars and sages that believe the water cycle worked completely differently before the Flood). He perhaps lived in an arid area (we don’t know exactly where he lived). Were floods even possible there? Had they EVER happened? Was there a water source nearby that would make sense for a boat at all? What about that boat? Over a hundred years to construct, and we don’t know if Noah was handy. Was he a carpenter? Did he have experience? Or was this the first time nail met hammer under his guidance? What about the animals? Did he work with animals (sheep, cows, etc)? Did he even have a pet? Did he know what to collect, how to care for them, could he deliver their young should they breed on the ark? Was there ANYTHING in his life experience that in ANY way made him qualified for ANY of this? ONE thing: he knew how to obey.

Noah was told God was GOING to flood the world and destroy everything that breathed air. He said okay. God told him he had to build a boat like nothing that had ever been made. He said okay. God told him that animals would show up and he had to take charge of them and care for them. He said okay. Noah listened to everything God told him, didn’t question God, didn’t say he had no talent and couldn’t do it (didn’t pull a Moses like so MANY of us do), didn’t demand answers and explanations so that he could understand it all (didn’t pull a Job like so MANY of us do), and he didn’t say he was too young or old to do it (didn’t pull a Jeremiah or a Zechariah like so MANY of us do). No. Noah spoke like Mary, mother of Jesus. Noah went forward with both feet without question like Peter, disciple of Jesus. Noah picked up the work on the Word of God and did it until it was done like Abraham, Sarah, and Paul. Noah did it without complaining or seeking to get out of it, like Joseph the son of Jacob. Noah believed. Noah submitted. Noah did the things. He was willing to obey without explanations based only on his knowledge of God’s character and God’s ability. No evidence. No arguments. God was God and Noah was Noah, so Noah obeyed.

Such a simple verse. Such a PROFOUND trust in the Lord. This is the provision God made for Noah and his family to survive the coming righteous and just judgment. They had to act on it, or they would NOT benefit from it. In the SAME WAY God has provided us The Only Way to be redeemed from the coming righteous and just judgment. We HAVE to act on it or we will NOT benefit from it (John 14:6-15).

The sage Ramban writes: ‘AND NOAH DID THUS; ACCORDING TO ALL THAT G-D HAD COMMANDED HIM, meaning that he constructed the ark and gathered the food. Scripture’s intent in saying, And Noah did… so did he, is to explain that he did not omit a thing from all that G-d had commanded him.’ In fact, it is repeated in Genesis 7:5 so that we REALLY understand that Noah REALLY did EVERYTHING that God commanded him to.

The sage Steinsaltz writes: ‘Noah did according to all that God had commanded him; so he did. It should not be inferred from the brevity of the account that this was a simple process. Various midrashim describe at length Noah’s difficulties during the years of the construction of the ark. For over one hundred years Noah was occupied with building an enormous structure. The ark that he built did not have a steering wheel, mast, sail, or oar. It resembled neither a ship nor a building. It was not meant to sail in any particular direction, but merely to float. It is easy to imagine the practical and social difficulties of this effort, and the halting efforts that Noah might have made to explain the purpose of his work to others.’