July 22 - A Phone Call for Noah
July 22
A Phone Call for Noah
Bible Reading: Genesis 6:9-22
9This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters 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. 18But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”22Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
NOAH WAS BUSY in his workshop one day when his son Ham handed him a cordless phone. (OK, so they didn't have phones back then, but just play along.)
"Hello?" Noah said. He listened for a few moments. "Who is this? ... You've got to be kidding! . . . No, no . . . no, Lord, don't hang up! I believe you. . .. It's just. . . well, it's not every day a man gets a call from the Creator, you know."
Noah fell silent again and listened solemnly. "Well, yes, Lord, you're right. Things are pretty bad. I mean, every morning I have to pick up ten or twelve beer cans from my front yard." Noah's eyes widened as he heard God's next words. "Are ... are you ..." He swallowed hard and began again. "Are you s-s-sure you want to do that, Lord? I mean, sure everybody's pretty wicked, but I was thinking maybe we could start a home Bible study or something. . . . Oh, that's right, I forgot. The Bible hasn't been written yet."
Suddenly, Noah snatched a pencil and a scrap of paper from his workbench and started scribbling notes in response to the instructions coming through the phone.
"Uh-huh," he said. "OK, 450 feet long ... right... 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high." He looked at the figures in amazement. "That's a pretty big boat, Lord," he said. "In fact, it's huge!"
He stopped writing then and concentrated on listening. He couldn't believe his ears. "Lord," he said, finally, "do you know what you're asking? I mean, people are going to think I'm nuts! Just the lumber alone is going to drain the family bank account--we've been saving for a vacation on the Euphrates River, you know. And how am I going to tell my wife?" He listened for a while. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and determined.
"No, Lord, you're right. I'll do it. I know it won't be easy, but I'll do it. . . . Right. Thanks for calling." That was stupid, he told himself as he hung up. The Creator of the universe calls and you say, "Thanks for calling"!
REFLECT: Do you think it was easy for Noah to do "everything exactly as God had commanded him"? Why or why not? Do you think Noah was tempted to give up or change his mind during the years it probably took him to build the ark? Was Noah's choice harder, easier, or about the same as the choices you face? Why is it important to do the right thing even when doing the right thing is difficult?
PRAY: "God, sometimes I don't do the right thing because I'm afraid people will make fun of me. Please help me to keep my eyes on You and do the right thing anyway."