And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Luke 17:26–30
From the days of Noah we learn that God is always faithful to keep His word. Even at this early point in the Biblical record, we see a trend emerging: man is seldom faithful to God for very long. Because of the sinfulness of Noah’s generation, God resolved to destroy the race He had created, and when God said that He would destroy man, beast, and fowl with a flood (Genesis 6:7, 17), He was true to His word, for “He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air” (7:23). On the other hand, when God said that He would save Noah, He was again true to His word (6:18; 7:23). Peter says that this teaches us that God knows how to deliver the godly in the day of judgment (2 Peter 2:5–9). When God makes a promise, He always keeps it. His promise never again to destroy the earth with a flood has been honored for more than 4,000 years in spite of all the atrocities that man has wrought under God’s sun, and the bow in the clouds still testifies to the fact that God is still keeping His promises to mankind. When we see the colorful arches with which our Maker paints the sky, we should also be reminded that there is another promise He is just as sure to keep––namely, that He will judge the world in righteousness (2 Peter 3:4–10).
From the days of Noah we learn about God’s deliverance to the faithful. No matter how moral or upright we may be, our salvation still requires the God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8–9), grace which Noah found in the only place we can find it––“in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). Noah could be faithful and obedient and provide the labor for building the ark, but most of the things required for his salvation had to come from God, including everything from revelation of His plan to the water that lifted the ark “above the earth” (Genesis 7:17; cf. 1 Peter 3:21). Deliverance also requires a working faith, the faith by which Noah built and stocked the ark for its long journey (Hebrews 11:7; Genesis 6:21). The ark itself stands as a symbol of sanctification, for it was God’s designated place for the saved. There were no saved people anywhere on earth outside the ark, and it was not because of the craftsmanship put into it, but the fact that it was built according to God’s instructions (Genesis 6:22).
From the days of Noah we learn that even the faithful will stumble. The Bible tells us that Noah was “a just man and perfect in his generations” (Genesis 6:9), and yet even Noah struggled at times. Of the life that Noah lived after the flood we know precious little, but we are told of one incident in which he drank himself out of coherency with wine which he himself had carefully crafted and lay shamefully exposed in his tent. This story reminds us of others like it involving such godly men as David (1 Kings 15:3) and Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 32:25). This ought to be a reminder that we too can fall (1 Corinthians 10:11–13) and need to keep our bodies at all times in subjection (1 Corinthians 9:27).
God is longsuffering and merciful, but He will keep His word and will not restrain His wrath forever. We must be faithful and prepare for the Judgment that is coming. Are you ready?