The story of Noah is one of the cornerstones of Christian belief, detailing how God sent a flood to punish humanity for their evil deeds.
Why did God choose Noah and his family as survivors during the flood?
God chose Noah because of his righteousness in society and because he “walked with the Lord” (Genesis 6:8).
Table of Contents
1. He was a righteous man
God determined that when He saw how corrupt and violent our earth had become, He decided to destroy it all – except Noah who found favor in His eyes and was spared (Genesis 6:8). God wanted a fresh start; thus He chose Noah as His vessel who would escape destruction.
Noah accepted his task of building an ark for himself, his family and all the animals of Earth as a place of safety and refuge – yet this task proved challenging: in fact, it took 120 years and much ridicule was directed against Noah for warnings about potential disaster.
Noah never wavered in his faith. He knew that obeying God would save him from the flood, even in spite of opposition and scorn from others. Thus he built an ark to provide shelter from what was imminently inevitable – no matter how unpopular that may have been with some.
Noah is a powerful reminder that it’s essential for us to trust and obey God at all times. He is a faithful, loving, compassionate being who knows that when people disobey Him they will suffer the consequences for their sin. However, He remains just and punishes those who turn against Him while showing kindness toward those who trust and obey Him – this was why Noah was saved from drowning during the flood – something for which He listed him in Hebrews 11:7 under “the Hall of Faith”. Noah trusted in Him, and thus listed in Hebrews 11:7 as being righteous man who trusted in God and therefore saved.
2. He was a good man
Genesis 6:5-6 documents God’s observation that humanity had become increasingly wicked upon earth, with every desire of their hearts bent toward evil all of the time. Thus He regretted creating human beings on this worldly surface, which caused great heartache within Him.” However, amongst this generation of sinful men was Noah who found favor with Him due to his faithful piety – this reason alone being why God chose him to continue humanity after the Flood.
As Noah was charged with building the Ark, his carpentry skills allowed him to follow God’s exact instructions for its construction. God provided Noah with detailed plans, such as what type of wood should be used and how best to construct it. God also specified how large his vessel should be so it could accommodate both animals and people who survived during its construction. God provided specific numbers for each animal as well as how many individuals should enter it – thus providing him with enough room to accommodate everyone that entered its vessel during Noah’s lifetime.
Noah fulfilled Adam and Eve’s earlier mandate of filling and subduing the earth by building an ark – an enormous project in its time period that took about seven years for completion and filling with both animals and people.
As Noah built the ark, he likely struggled with feelings of discouragement and uncertainty; yet, he must have tried his hardest to fight off these negative emotions while maintaining hope in himself and hold onto what hope lay within.
3. He was a man of faith
God chose Noah because He was a man of faith. Genesis 6:9 mentions this fact by stating he “walked with God,” meaning that he kept His commandments and followed Christ wholeheartedly.
Noah lived during a time of unparalleled evil on earth; all men’s intentions were set solely towards evil. Corruption, violence, and sin were kept at bay only through demonic influence on natural systems. Even during such times of great wickedness Noah found favor with God and was selected to build an ark and save his family.
God instructed Noah to construct an ark and store two of each kind of animal into it in order to survive when God sent a global Flood upon Earth as punishment for its wickedness. Although many in Noah’s community ridiculed and mocked his decision to build it, Noah stood firm and continued work on it day by day and year after year despite their animus.
Faith like Noah had was what earned Him God’s approval and enabled him to build the Ark despite not fully understanding its purpose. Hebrews 11:6 calls upon us all to have this type of faith that allows us to walk in step with Him and His ways; faith that will provide confidence to stand for truth amidst a sea of lies while living lives that honor God.
4. He was a man of integrity
Noah lived in an evil world. According to Genesis 6:7, this period was one of “great wickedness”, with natural law being broken and corrupted by demons; murderers would go unpunished and people did what seemed right in their own eyes; only Noah found favor in God.
The Bible states that Noah “found favor in the sight of the Lord,” due to his upright behavior and walking with Him in accordance with His commands. Noah built an ark as a result of God’s instructions and placed himself and his family aboard it; he then waited in holy fear until His promise of judgment came into fruition.
Noah was remarkable for his faithfulness and obedience to God, for through it He preserved all eight members of his family despite their sinfulness being responsible for humanity being consumed in the Flood. Thanks to this obedience and faithfulness God showed Noah mercy and blessed his descendants through Noah.
God used Noah to save humanity from the Great Flood, and has honored him by listing him among the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. We can learn much about God by studying Noah’s life; it shows him trusting in and obeying Him despite going against popular opinion – an invaluable lesson that stands the test of time in a culture which values individualism over truth or morality.
5. He was a man of courage
Noah responded courageously and willingly to God’s call by building an ark to save both animals and people from destruction in response to His instruction. God judged sin in the world with the Flood; Noah saw this judgment as His righteous punishment against sinfulness, commanding Noah to build it in order to preserve life on earth from its coming devastation.
As Noah built and prepared to launch the Ark, it’s likely he must have experienced anxiety and fear as he prepared for rains to start falling on earth and humans alike. Perhaps he doubted whether they would ever stop, while also considering whether human civilization might eventually disappear entirely from planet earth – but he must trust and believe this was what God wanted from him.
After the flood subsided, God granted Noah and his family a gift: His promise never to destroy the Earth with water again and painting a rainbow across the sky as an assurance of that promise kept. We can learn a valuable lesson from this timeless tale today about His faithfulness towards Noah!
Genesis 6:9 tells us that Noah “found grace with God,” being an upright individual who did what was right and worshipping Him faithfully. Because he walked closely with Him and had a close relationship, He made a covenant with him and saved him from Judgement by entering His ark. If we walk closely with Christ too, He will help us overcome sinful tendencies within ourselves as well as worldly temptations!
