Devotional & Reflection

Week 3, Nov 2001

Genesis 6-7: Faithful Amongst Fallen
By Pang Hee Hung, Director & Trainer, Ezra Resources

Gen 6:22 " Noah did everything just as God commanded him."

Last week, we learnt that we live in a fallen world. Our internal heart scales are unbalanced - tilted towards sin, affecting our Freedom of choice. We need God to swing the balance. As Christians, we sometimes wonder if it is of any good to be righteous in an unrighteous world. Miss Little Swallow in popular Chinese TV serial, My Fair Princess, cheekily said that in a world where people are deceitful, she might as well deceive people than be deceived. Noah lived in a terribly fallen world. But he stood Faithful in the midst of the Fallen (Heb 11:7).

The refrain from the repeated phrase "did … as God commanded him" (6:22, 7:5) is a reiteration that the Noah was faithful. Not only did Noah do what God commanded him to do, he did everything (6:22) and all (7:5) that God had commanded him to do. He was a righteous man (6:9). He therefore found Favour with God (Gen 6:8) and was preserved in the Flood correction. In fact, those who survived the Flood discipline were those who did "as the Lord commanded," a phrase repeated four times (6:22; 7:5, 9, 16). Hence, the only way to deliverance is obedience to God. Later, other faithful men also did as the Lord commanded e.g. Abraham (Gen 21:4), Moses and Aaron (Exod 7:6, 10; 16:34) and the Israelites (Exod12:28; 17:1; and 16 times in Exod 39-40).

Sometimes we wonder whether it is of any use being faithful when we see the unrighteous prospering and getting away with their corrupted ways. Noah too might have wondered how come the wicked men got away with their ways. They might even have ridiculed him for building such an enormous boat (Gen 6:15) when all around is dry. However, Noah remained faithful. In the current dry economic situation, the faithful who do not place their faith in political maneuvering may suffer from a Fall-out in a corporate restructuring. If anything adverse happens, we may wonder why. The story of Noah reminds us to be faithful and steadfast in our obedience. We also need to be patient. I find this difficult, as would many of us. But as God vindicated Noah, God will vindicate us. May God bless you with favour.

Reflect:
Are we doing "all" and "everything" as the Lord has commanded us to do?
What is preventing us from standing firm and faithful in the midst of the fallen world?

Tools For Reflection:
To help us in our reflection, look out for repetitions.
Repeated words and phrases are a sign that the author, ultimately God, is trying to reiterate a point or a theme.
Are the words or phrases repeated in this chapter or book or over several books in the Bible?