A few years ago I preached a Sunday night message on a woman who I believe is probably one of the most overlooked heroines of the Bible. She has a place in Bible history. Many women in the Bible are never even named, just like this lady. So...let me ask this...have you ever heard a message on Noah's wife? Well I know that I hadn't even really thought about Noah's wife until I was doing some research on the internet and I came across a very interesting article on her.
Noah's wife is referred to five times in the Bible as just that, Noah's wife. No name just a description of who she is by being associated with another person. There is a whole message right there! How many times have I been referred to as Randy's wife, not Gina? Or Josiah's Mom? I know that when I was growing up I was forever labeled by my brother's, Gary's sister or Steve's sister. It really isn't a pleasant thing to be labeled that way. We all want to be noticed for who we are, not who we are related too. Okay, that was way off track let me get back to who I really am talking about.
In my research on Noah's wife I discovered that according to Jewish tradition the name of Noah's wife is Naamah, which means pleasant one. What a nice meaning. I think she had to be a pleasant woman to have to deal with what she went through. Noah's wife had an important part in a miracle of God. She was a somebody. I believe that she was just as much hand picked as Noah was. She had a purpose and a reason for being. She fulfilled her god-given role as a "helper" faithfully. She helped Noah during several hundred years of farming. She supported him during approximately 120 years of boat-building. She was with him for more than a year of zoo-keeping on an enormous houseboat, and many other things as well.
The world back then was a very different place than it is now. Disease as we know it was almost non-existent. It wasn't unusual for a person to be a first time parent at the ripe old age of 100. Of course back then we know they lived well into their 800's. Can you imagine that? The plant life was different, the atmosphere was different...and Facebook was not up and running!
Yet there are similarities to our world too. First of all the population was growing rapidly. Scientists guess there must have been around a billion people alive at the time of Noah. They were not cavemen either, they were rapidly developing many new skills, much like we are experiencing today with our technology that seems to change every few hours. The most important similarity however is the sin that existed in the pre-flood world, just like our world today. It seems like you can't even turn on the television without hearing about the violence and wickedness of this generation. We are truly living in a society that is much like the days of Noah. God was watching the world of Noah very carefully, and you can be sure that He is watching our's with just as much interest.
Noah's wife knew that her world was under God's judgement. Her husband had told her that God planned to destroy the earth with water because of it's sin (Genesis 6:13, 17). God also gave Noah specific directions for building an ark (meaning box) to preserve his family and the animals. I don't think she would have had a problem with any of this. Noah's wife was very much aware that her God had created her to be a helper to her husband.
Many women today believe that fulfillment comes from living a lifestyle that is independent and separate from their husbands, but the exact opposite is true! When a woman takes an active and supportive role as a wife she enables her husband to become all God created him to be and in the process God accomplishes His purposes and plans for them as a couple. The Hebrew word for helper means to provide what is needed or lacking. The idea is for someone to come alongside another and by her assistance and support enable that person to accomplish what could not have been accomplished otherwise. Noah's wife knew that God would have revealed His plans to Noah before her. She wasn't a nobody, but rather a real somebody fulfilling her feminine role! She obeyed God by submitting to her husband's leadership. The word says of Noah that he was a righteous man, and because of this she knew he would not have abused his position.
One thing I think we have to come to realize and remember about Noah's wife is that she had her own relationship with God. Her faith didn't hinge on Noah's faith....I'll write more about that in another blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment