A Different Look at the Days of Noah

 

I wanted to share a different way of looking at Noah and his family. When we read about that time period, we often compare it to our own times, but when we're honest, we realize that things were MUCH worse then. Why?  Because God tells us that every single human being alive, from the smallest child, to the oldest adult, except for Noah's family, were completely evil, that every single thought they had was evil!  That can't be said about today, thank God!  And won't be said again, because even during the Tribulation there will be people who are saved. 

But here's the really interesting part. We're introduced to Noah's family after his sons have wives. But where did those women come from? They came from families who's thoughts were totally evil! Yet somehow, the Lord made their hearts soft enough to accept the Truth and come to love Him when they were introduced to it by Noah and his family.  Perhaps it didn't happen until they were engaged.  Maybe they didn't become actually saved until just before God told them to board the Ark. Perhaps, somehow, the truth was put in their hearts a tiny bit at a time over many years before they met Noah's sons, and then it all came together for them. We don't know when it happened, or how it happened, we only know that somehow it did. 

A second interesting point: With all this evil surrounding them constantly, the minds of those in Noah's family were kept clean!  Let me digress here for a moment and remind everyone that when the Bible speaks of our minds, or our hearts, it's actually speaking of both. Each word in the original language means our thoughts and feelings, so both are covered.  I tend to use the words the same way, so when I speak of one, I'm actually speaking of both. 

To recap then, with all the evil around them constantly, the minds and hearts of those in Noah's family were kept clean!  We know how hard that is to do in our own time when things aren't nearly as evil as they were then.  We're constantly bombarded with evil every day by the things we hear and see.  For us, whether we like to admit it or not, it's impossible to keep our minds and hearts pure on our own. Only with the constant help of our Lord can we hope to do that.  And when we fail, we have the promise that when we confess, we will be forgiven and cleansed, so we can start anew.  The same was true in Noah's day - they couldn't have possibly kept their hearts and minds pure without the Lord's intervention and help. 

When we read Philippians 4:4–7 (I hate to break it up and hope you'll take the time to read it all.) we see that the Lord promises to help us do just that: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that our hearts (and minds) are deceitful about everything and beyond cure, meaning only God can make that cure, and He does so as He renews our minds through His Word as we read it each day. In Prov 4:23 and numerous other scriptures we're warned to guard our hearts and minds.  We're told more in many other scriptures, such as: “Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.” (Proverbs 2:11) But the bottom line is that we can't do it without God's help. Yes, we have to do our part by being in His word daily, applying it to our lives, and asking for His help in prayer, but the rest, is what God does. 

When we look at Noah and his family, we can see what an amazing job God did in guarding their hearts and minds!  I'm not suggesting that none of them ever sinned during all those years, of course they did!  They were sinful humans just like we are. The difference was that they were saved and God was guarding their hearts and minds to keep them for Himself. 

Ever since I realized this, I've been praying for myself and my loved ones that our amazing God would guard our hearts and minds just like He did for Noah and his family.  I have felt such a peace about it since I started doing this!  With all the evil around us constantly and being shoved into our children's and grandchildren's minds at school and everywhere else, it seemed impossible to have peace that my loved ones would make it through this life without become full of the world's philosophies, and fall for Satan's schemes and traps.  If one didn't get them, there were hundreds more that could. Now I can simply pray that He would guard our minds and hearts so that nothing contrary to His Holy Spirit will rub off on us. That He would prevent the worlds philosophies from corrupting our thoughts, and shield us from our own self centeredness, sin nature, and from our own confused and corrupted thinking. That He would protect us from the corrupt worldview and keep the Truth of His Word in our minds and hearts as He did for Noah and his family.

I just had to share it with you all in the hopes that it would give you the peace of mind that it's given me.