Noah was a regular guy, a family man (he had three sons). And Noah was a man of God. But he lived during a very bad time period. The Bible says that, in Noah's day, the earth was filled with violence: because, everyone did pretty much whatever he wanted to; lawlessness and anarchy characterized the culture, in Noah's time. Did Noah not see that it was so? Was he not then concerned about the future, especially, for his children's sake?
Noah must often have felt overwhelmed, due to his feeling of powerlessness to influence, much less to change, anyone -- in the face of so much corruption and wickedness. Oh, but that didn't stop him from trying to make a difference in his generation. But what could he do? He was just one, perplexed, man.
The Bible says that Noah was "a preacher of righteousness". That doesn't mean that Noah had a church, or a congregation, or even a little white collar that he wore twice a week. But Noah "preached" . . . "righteousness". In other words, everywhere that Noah went, he was much inclined to tell other people how they ought to be living, instead of how they were living, in fact. You can safely bet that Noah was not very popular, in his neighborhood (and, maybe, not even with his own family...).
One day, as Noah stood in his back yard, thinking about the world in which he lived; thinking about his children and their future; trying to understand the mind and will of God for his own life; trying to figure out what he should do, in the midst of so much trouble: Noah heard a voice:
"Noah."Of course, Noah immediately recognized the voice of God, and he answered: "Yes, God?"
"Get a pencil and paper, and write down everything I tell you."Well, it probably didn't happen quite like that. . . .
Nevertheless, God did indeed speak to Noah, about things that were on God's own heart. Yet, it was most likely in the manner of an exchange that occurred within Noah's conscience; whereby, over a period of time, as Noah daily mused about his circumstances, Noah became increasingly confident that he truly did understand what must then have been in the mind and heart of God, concerning those things which troubled Noah. Somehow, Noah came to believe that God was indeed angry about the condition of the world -- so angry, in fact, that God was going to take very drastic action and do something about the situation!
Now, here's what I want you to consider, if you will: When did Noah first perceive that God was angry? not only that, but that God was going to send a Flood to destroy the world? Was it after Noah started to build the Ark, or before?
Let us, then, contemplate what must have been the actual sequence of events, as follows, in order of time (for, that shall soon, in this essay, be important to us):
- the world, incrementally, grew increasingly wicked;
- God became more and more angry, regarding men's continuing rebellion, in process of time;
- Meanwhile, Noah was at first troubled;
- then, perplexed;
- then, angry;
- then, purposed;
- then, seeking;
- and, finally, understanding came to him.
But, wait~ Noah hadn't yet even started to build the Ark -- a task which would take more than a century to complete! In other words, God -- whose anger already was kindled, to the point that He had already purposed to destroy the world; God, I say, had to wait yet another 100 years or more, before He sent the Flood. By the time that God sent His wrath against the world, in judgment, God -- though perfectly angry, yet He restrained His anger, for a season, while the Ark was being prepared.
What was God waiting for? God waited, for Noah. Noah first had to "hear" what God was saying. Then, Noah had to obey what he had heard from God. Doubtless, for Noah, it was not an easy thing to hear -- no, not even from God. Perhaps, because Noah knew something of God's merciful and compassionate nature, it was therefore even more difficult for Noah to have discerned such a Word -- of wrath and of judgment -- from God.
What am I trying to say? Several things, viz.:
- God has already long been angry, concerning the present condition of the world;
- God has already purposed to punish the world and destroy the wicked out of it, at such and such a time (in the Tribulation);
- It takes time (as I suppose,) for any true prophet to attain a measure of confidence that he has truly discerned the mind of God; especially, when the implications of such knowledge are very grave;
- Only after that the prophet is confident that he does rightly perceive the will of God, may he (or should he) then both speak and act, according to such knowledge;
- The prophet himself is a vital part of God's working, to execute God's will in the earth
The most severe Judgment imaginable, is at the door, not only for America, but for the whole world. Our one hope, is, that Jesus Christ is coming -- much sooner than almost anyone in the Church truly believes that He is.
A.W. Tozer once said:
"Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy. I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly Evangelicalism, one by one. The house [worldly churches] will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God, a man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, left among them.... As the church now stands, the man who sees this condition of worldly evangelicalism is written off as somewhat fanatical. But the day is coming when the house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God among them. I would like to live long enough to watch this develop and see how things turn out. I would like to live to see the time when the men and women of God--holy, separated and spiritually enlightened--walk out of the evangelical church and form a group of their own; when they get off the sinking ship and let her go down in the brackish [waters of] worldliness and form a new ark to ride out the storm"One more thing: Revival -- Revival, I say again, is still God's will . . . for His people. And some are laboring night and day, to discern the mind of God for this present time, and to "form a new ark to ride out the storm".
Hallelujah!!!
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