Okay, so I come from a long line of Maine boat builders. Maybe that's why I LOVE Noah's wife so much. Here's a picture of my grandfather standing next to one of the fishing boats he built. Kind of neat huh?
I left off the last blog by saying that Noah's wife had her own faith in God. We all know the story, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was in a unique way a savior of mankind, but for Noah where would we be today? The Bible goes on to tell us that Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people. God had an idea! He was sick and tired of the sin that was going on in the world He had created, and He had to destroy mankind. Yet when He looked on the earth he saw this righteous and godly man, Noah. He decided to save Noah and his family and start all over again. God spoke directly to Noah and told him what to do. He laid out the plans for the ark and told him exactly how He was going to destroy mankind.
All right so here it is, the standing by your man part! Imagine with me that you are living in a place where you have never seen the ocean, and you have no clue what rain is. Imagine that your husband comes to you and says, "God told me last night that I need to build an ark because He is going to send rain and make a huge flood over all the earth!". Remember you have no clue what rain is or a flood for that matter and you don't even know what a boat is! I am trying to get you to realize that Noah, his wife and the rest of his family must have been teased, ridiculed and mocked for what they were trying to do. People must have gathered in his yard just to see what the old "coot" was up to now.
They were evil people in that day, so they must have jeered at his wife when she would go off to the market. His son's must have been picked on at "school" for what their father was saying. Noah wasn't even quiet about his project from the Lord. In 2 Peter 2:5 it says that Noah was a "preacher" of righteousness. I have never met a quiet preacher yet, have you? Especially when he knows he has something to tell people to try and help save them from destruction. He was trying to convert the sinners before it was too late!
I have immense respect for Noah, his wife and family. They must have gone through some very trying times. They must have been looked on as crazy by the people surrounding them. I can just hear the people now..."Rain, we have never seen rain, what are you talking about?", or "Flood what are you talking about? This boat you are making is HUGE Noah, have you lost your mind?". Noah's wife must have been free from the bondage of other people's opinions! WOW, that's a gift! Free from the worry about what her parents would say, free from the worry of what her friends would think of her. Free to obey God no matter what!
Noah's wife must have been a woman of God. She stood by him even when she may have not been exactly sure of what he was doing. She had to have faith in God and in Noah. Nobody without faith could have done what she did. How could she have backed her husband in building a large ocean going vessel to escape a flood when she had never even seen rain? Without faith how could she have raised three sons with the constant sound of hammering in her ears as they joined daddy in his boat building adventure? How could she have stepped onto the Ark that fateful day and left nearly everything behind, knowing that the world she would come back to would never be the same? She must have believed that God could and would save them just as He promised! She may have even been aware before she married Noah that her husband to be was destined for a special service to God.
The most crucial thing to her faith was the fact that her eyes had to be fixed on the world to come after the flood. She lived and raised her family for more than half of her life in a world that was filled with sin and doomed for destruction. She had to teach her sons to stand up to the wrong things in her world and live for the right things! She must have known how easy it would be for her sons to cave into the temptations all around them. Isn't that what we are supposed to be teaching our children today? That this is not our final destination? This is just a temporary dwelling place! Don't become a slave to the things around you, but look forward to heaven!
Her family had to be close because they had to move further and further away from the beliefs and practices of the people around them. They also had to prepare for a time when there wouldn't be anyone else, except them. Here is where I could go on to discuss the three women that Noah's sons married, but my blog isn't about them. Again they are three nameless women but I believe that they had to have a strong faith in God too! Otherwise I don't think they would have made it on the boat! (I really love it that God often doesn't name peole in the Bible who do great things! I think He wants us to all realize that we are somebody!)
What courage and determination Noah's wife must have had to sustain her lonely position. To face the destruction of everything she knew. What spiritual strength would have been necessary to endure the hostility and ridicule that she must have faced? This woman a nobody? No, she must have been one of the greatest women to ever live. It doesn't matter that we may never know her name this side of heaven, she impacted the world's history forever.
Here are four things I believe that Noah's wife must have had:
1. She must have viewed life as an adventure to experience, not as a trial to be endured!
2. She must have kept herself ready! Preparing as best as she knew how for the upcoming adventure and trusting God for the rest!
3. She must have trusted her man as she followed him into the ark that day! Anticipating what God would do next!
4. She must have been a prayer warrior! I believe she had to have had that..."Cast your cares upon Him" mentality that says take it to God...and leave it with Him! Because you see I believe that she must have known this "floods" come and go in your life, But God is Forever Faithful!
It took team effort to pull off the ark. When all was said and done I believe that Noah realized he couldn't have done it without the help of his wife and sons. She had been as busy and as faithful to the call as he had been. Stand by Your Man...I couldn't help but think of this song when I was writing this message. Our men may not be perfect, and they may sometimes say and do things we wonder about. But God wants us to stand firm with them in the call He has given them! Think about Noah's wife today in a whole new way, and maybe even thank God that He hasn't called your husband to build a big boat in the backyard!
Blessings!
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