May 19, 2019 – “Heroes of the Faith: Noah Trusts Without Seeing” by Rev. Cody Sandahl
Sermon starts at 4:53 after the music
Lay Reader = Genesis 6:6-22
6 And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.
9 These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; now I am going to destroy them along with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 For my part, I am going to bring a flood of waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind shall come in to you, to keep them alive. 21 Also take with you every kind of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
Introduction
We are continuing our series looking at the heroes of the faith – the women and men in the Bible who had a character trait or did something that is worth copying today. Last week we heard about Hannah’s willingness to give her baby back to God, and Pastor Carol asked us to think about what our “baby” is, and if we’re willing to give it back to God.
This week we are setting sail with Noah. It is curious to me that Noah’s Ark is one of the go-to children’s stories in Sunday school and in children’s Bibles. I get it – there are lots of cool animals. It makes for a pretty picture. But more people die in this story than just about any other in the Bible. So…there’s that. I mean, let’s imagine that Noah lived in Las Vegas – sin city. And let’s imagine that he liberated all the animals from the various shows, and he marched those Siberian tigers and elephants and other beasts out of town right before the city gets nuked. Is that a children’s story?
Sorry – that’s one of my soap boxes. I’ll step down now.
But it is worth addressing how many people die in the flood and why God did it. In our first text, God describes the problem as the earth and the people being “corrupt.” Over and over again that word appears. But I would probably translate it, “rotten to the core.” We just bought a sack of apples at the grocery store, and they all looked fine on the outside. But all but two of them were totally rotten when we cut them open. Not just bruised and brown – rotten. Ready for the compost bin.
That’s what God says about the earth and humanity during the time of Noah. They’re ready for the compost bin. The only possible way for them to be useful is to be recycled for the next generation. That’s a pretty big pronouncement of judgment.
But our focus as we look at this definitely-not-a-children’s-story is on one of the only good apples. We’re going to hone in on Noah’s response to God’s revelation and directions. We heard in our first text how Noah received the building plans from God. We’re skipping over the part where Noah built the ark, and we’re going right to the animal roundup and the deluge itself.
But first a quick quiz. How many of each kind of animal did God tell Noah to take on the ark?
Hmm…listen closely for the actual answer.
Genesis 7:1-10, 16-17
7 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; 3 and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” 5 And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth. 7 And Noah with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came on the earth.
16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.
17 The flood continued forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
Trust Without Seeing
A tourist was visiting the Grand Canyon, and if you’ve ever been there you know there are some pretty steep cliffs and drop-offs right by the visitor areas. And this visiting tourist took an unfortunate, fateful step in the wrong place. The rock crumbled, and he fell down the cliff. His hand luckily caught on a bush that was rooted in the rocks, and so he was dangling there in the air in mortal peril. He wasn’t a particularly religious man, but this was a unique circumstance. So he cried out, “If there’s anyone up there, I could use some help – and fast!”
So God heard this plea and responded with a voice out of the clouds. “I am the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, and I am here to help you. I will catch you in my sure and mighty hands. Simply let go of the bush, and you shall be delivered.”
After a long pause, the dangling tourist cried out, “Is there anybody else up there?”
I wonder if Noah ever wanted to ask for someone else up there. Let’s enumerate the reasons. First, God is telling him that everyone he knows other than his direct family are going to be killed by a flood. That’s kind of a downer.
Second, God tells him to build the largest boat the world had ever seen. The ark’s dimensions aren’t all the different from a brand new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the US Navy. And even with automation and an army of workers, those take five or six years to build. Noah was given a little more time – probably about eighty years. Although he was already around five hundred, so maybe he wasn’t quite as spry as he used to be.
So we’ll count that as a third reason to want a different God. Not only did God tell him to build a seemingly-impossible boat, but he also gave him a job that would take eighty years to finish! I mean, job security is nice, but come on!
Fourth, God told him to round up all those animals. It wasn’t just like herding cats. There were some actual cats to herd! That’s crazy! And can you imagine the smell for the year they were aboard the boat?
But reason number five is my favorite. This is the real shocker. Are you ready for it? Hold onto your pews. In the plans for the ark, God includes a giant door for loading the people and the animals. That makes sense. But something is missing from the plans. There is NO WAY TO CLOSE THE DOOR!
No ropes. No winch. No pole to pull it in. Nothing! Nada! Bupkiss! It’s a boat with a giant hole in the side of it! And God never addresses this. He never tells Noah about it. He just has Noah build a boat with a giant hole in it, then tells him to get on the boat and wait. Holy goodness! Many of my relatives have anxiety about traveling – I can’t even imagine how worked up they would feel about a giant hole in the side of their boat!
Have you ever felt like God’s plan for you or for this world seemed to be missing something? Maybe God’s plan has a few holes in it from your perspective? Well from Noah’s perspective, God’s plan had a very large and very literal hole in it.
You remember Moses, right? Great prophet and leader of Israel? Faithful man of God? One who saw the face of God and spoke with God face-to-face, conversationally? That guy? Do you remember what he said when he didn’t like God’s plan? He whined and complained and bargained with God for several chapters. I can relate to that. I can copy Moses on that.
What does Noah do? Several times, the Bible reports, “Noah did all that God had commanded him.” Forget all the animals. Noah’s obedient response – now THAT’S a story! And here’s what actually happens. God told Noah that the flood would come in seven days, so load up! Get on the boat! And he does. So there they all are – Noah, his family, and all those animals. And they’re staring out this gaping hole in their boat as the rains start. The door is still open. They’re still watching. The flooding starts, and the door is still open. Can you even imagine what Noah’s wife and sons were saying to him as they stared out this open door with no way to close it? And finally – FINALLY – God himself closes the door. He never told Noah he was going to do that. He didn’t do it before the floods started. He only did it at the last second with no warning or heads up.
But Noah didn’t freak out. He didn’t panic. He didn’t try to fix it himself. He followed God’s instructions, and he trusted God. He trusted God when he couldn’t see him. He trusted God when God was silent. He trusted God when there seemed to be a giant gaping hole in God’s plan.
Even though he had at least five very valid reasons to want to cry out, “Anybody else up there?” He trusted God.
Is there anywhere in your life where you want to cry out for somebody else up there? Is there anywhere you’re having trouble trusting God? Anywhere you can’t see God or can’t hear from God? Anywhere that God’s plan seems to have a giant, gaping hole in it?
How can you, like Noah, do what God commands? How can you trust God, even if you can’t see him? Sometimes, as with Noah, it takes a while to pan out. Sometimes, as with Noah, God seems to go dark and require your faith rather than constantly telling you it’ll be OK. But God is faithful.
God’s Faithfulness
Our church administrator, Elinor, told me this week that her husband, Woody, was once big into water skiing. And one time he took off his wedding ring – he didn’t want to lose it while skiing after all – and he wrapped it up inside of a bag. But after a fun day on the water, he picked up the bag, and the ring slipped out, rolled across the dock, and kerplunk! Fell between the cracks and into the water. FYI for all the husbands out there: this is bad.
He frantically searched. Divers came out to search. All to no avail. The wedding ring couldn’t be found.
Later in the season, Woody decided to get in one more ski trip. They were lowering the water level in the reservoir, so the dock was actually sitting on sand instead of floating on the water. He decided to go try one more time since the water was gone, and sure enough – sitting there, glinting in the sand – was the wedding ring!
Jesus tells a parable kind of like that. He says that the kingdom of God is like a woman who lost a wedding coin – kind of like a ring – and wouldn’t stop searching until she found it.
So our faith is at its best when there are two sides searching endlessly. God is searching endlessly for us. And we can search endlessly for God. Even when we think we’re lost. Even when we think God has forgotten us. Even when we can’t see God. Even when we feel like we’re the ring that has fallen into the water and been buried in the sand where no one will find us. Keep glinting in the sand, because God is still there. God is faithful.
That faithfulness from God is what inspired Noah to just do what God had told him to do. That faithfulness from God is what inspired Noah to build a boat with a giant hole in it, because he trusted that God had a plan.
Summary
Sisters and brothers, sometimes we can’t see God. Sometimes we can’t feel God. Sometimes we can’t hear God. Sometimes we think we have been forgotten or lost. But God is faithful. God never stops. God never gives up. How might things be different if you trusted in God’s faithfulness even when you can’t see it? Amen.
