by: Jason Watford
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:5-7)
Man was created to walk, talk and fellowship with God, but in Noah’s day they were not doing this. These were arguably the most wicked days ever. Only Noah and his family were walking with God. Noah’s family was the only family that survived this worldwide flood. Every living thing was destroyed except Noah, his family and the animals he took into the ark. We need to follow Noah’s example to save our family! Let me give you seven things Noah did to save his family.
1. Noah “found grace.” (Genesis 6:8) We usually don’t find something unless we are looking for it. Noah sought God’s help with his family. A lot of times we seek God’s help for the bad times, but we still need God’s help for the good times. We need God’s grace when the grades are good and when the grades are bad. We need God’s grace for the financially good times and the financially hard times. We should be diligently searching to get God’s grace in our family’s lives.
2. Noah “walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9) In order to save our family, we have to walk with God! This requires that we read our Bible. God speaks to us through His word. Many today do not set aside time to spend in God’s Word. Our children need to see us reading God’s Word. If it’s important to us, it will be important to them.
3. Noah cared about the little details. (Genesis 6:14-22) God gave Noah specific details concerning how to build the ark. Every detail saved the life of Noah and his family. Had he not followed each detailed instruction, it would have ultimately killed his family. The Bible has sixty-six books with details on how to live our lives. Each detail we choose not to follow is killing our family. This goes back to reading our Bibles…we can’t follow His instructions if we don’t know what they are.
4. Noah did everything God said. Genesis 7:5 states, “…Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him.” He didn’t change the instructions. He didn’t do the “best he could” and just hope it would all work out. He did all the Lord commanded him. Our families need to see that we will live all of God’s commandments.
5. Noah taught his children to work. Noah got the credit for building the ark, but Shem, Ham and Japheth worked right alongside their father helping him build the ark as God stated. Don’t be afraid to let your children serve God with you. Teach them the value of hard work. Today, too many times the children are allowed to watch TV or play video games while dad is mowing the yard or mom is cleaning the house. Get your children involved with the work it takes to run your household.
6. Noah’s family was unified. Genesis 7:7 states, “…Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark…” Back in our grandparent’s day, the family used to do everything together. The family was a unit that worked and played together. Today our families hardly ever see each other. We need to get our families back together.
7. Noah was thankful. Genesis 8:20 states, “…Noah builded an altar unto the Lord…” The first thing Noah did when he came off the ark was worship God. He could have built a house for his family to live in, but he saw the importance of thankfulness and teaching his children to worship God first. Many times today thankfulness is the last thing on our minds. Take time to teach your children to be thankful. Teach them to write thank you notes and to express their thankfulness to others.
Today our world is morally, ethically, politically and environmentally going in the wrong direction, but we can still save our families. We can still have a family that honors and relies on God even in this current state in which we live. If you want to save your family, follow Noah’s example in Genesis.
Jason Watford
Pastor
Spring Creek Baptist Church
Seven Springs, NC