GENESIS 7
1Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals,a the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3and seven pairsb of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thingc that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” 5And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
6Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.
11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.
17The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. 20The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubitsd deep. 21And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. 22Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. 24And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.
TEN POINTS TO PONDER
1. Faith causes us to do what we never would have done otherwise. Genuine faith doesn’t simply change what we believe. It changes how we live, the decisions we make, and the things we’re willing to do for God.
2. Noah built an ark before he understood why, before it was convenient, and before it made sense. He didn’t need to know exactly how God’s plan would unfold. He simply needed to trust the One who gave him the instructions.
3. Sometimes we’re afraid to obey God because we’d rather wait until obedience makes sense. We convince ourselves that we’ll act when the circumstances are right, the risks are smaller, or the outcome is clearer. But delayed obedience is often just disobedience with an excuse.
4. Obedience doesn’t require us to understand everything God is doing. Noah couldn’t see the flood coming, but he trusted the God who could. Faith means trusting God’s perspective when our own perspective is limited.
5. Noah wasn’t saved by his good works. He was saved by the ark. All the years he spent building, working, and preaching couldn’t save him from the flood. In the same way, our good works cannot save us from sin. Salvation comes through God’s provision, not our performance.
6. The ark is an Old Testament picture of Jesus. There was only one way to be saved. No one could escape the flood by swimming harder or climbing higher. The only hope was to enter the ark. In the same way, Jesus is not simply one way to God. He is the only way.
7. It didn’t matter what people believed about the flood. They were either in the ark or they weren’t. Sincerity doesn’t make something true, and disbelief doesn’t make something false. What matters most isn’t how strongly we believe something, but whether what we believe is true.
8. How sad it is to be distracted by what’s right in front of you and miss out on what God has for you. The people in Noah’s day were eating, drinking, marrying, and living their lives. They were so consumed with everyday life that they ignored the warning of what was coming.
9. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. That’s why we need to be ready today. The people living in Noah’s day had no idea how quickly their world would change. We don’t know how much time we have either. The uncertainty of tomorrow should shape the priorities of today.
10. Don’t wait for a better opportunity to obey God. You don’t know when the end is coming. There will always be reasons to put off generosity, sharing our faith, serving others, or taking the next step of obedience. The question isn’t whether we’ll have another opportunity. It’s what we’re doing with the opportunity God has given us today.
DON’T WAIT UNTIL IT MAKES SENSE
Imagine spending the best years of your life building an enormous boat for no apparent reason. Imagine the conversations with neighbors, the questions from your family, and the uncertainty about when—or even how—everything God had described would happen.
That’s what Noah faced. Yet Genesis 7:5 tells us that Noah did everything God commanded him.
It’s easy to admire Noah’s faith from this side of the flood. We know how the story ends. We know the ark saved his family. But Noah didn’t know any of that when God first commanded.
In the same way, we often don’t have the whole story yet when God calls us to obedience.
God often calls us to do things that don’t always make sense in the moment. He tells us to be generous when we don’t have enough, to forgive when we’ve been hurt, and to tell others about Jesus even when the conversation feels awkward.
Our tendency is to wait. We tell ourselves we’ll obey when we have more money, more confidence, more time, or a better opportunity.
But what if Noah had waited?
The important question isn’t whether we understand everything God is doing. It’s whether we trust Him enough to do what He’s already told us to do.
Faith isn’t simply believing that God is right. It’s living like He’s right.
And sometimes that means building the ark before the rain begins.
Click on the image to download the DiscipleQuest PDF
Use these seven passages for this week’s daily verse studies. They will help you to focus more on faith and God’s deliverance.
- Hebrews 11:7
- 2 Corinthians 5:7
- Proverbs 3:5-6
- Daniel 3:17-18
- Isaiah 43:2
- 1 Peter 3:20-21
- Ephesians 2:8-9
Use these questions as journal prompts or as conversation starters with a group of friends or a Bible study group:
1. Why do you think we tend to think of Noah’s ark as a children’s story rather than a story about God’s judgment and mercy?
2. What does Genesis 7:5 reveal about Noah’s character and his relationship with God?
3. Why is it significant that Noah obeyed God long before he understood how everything would turn out?
4. What can we learn from the fact that Noah spent years building the ark without seeing the flood?
5. How does the ark represent Jesus and the salvation He offers?
6. What is a clear command of God that people often hesitate to obey because it doesn’t make sense?
7. When have you hesitated to do something you knew was right because you were waiting for a better opportunity?
8. How can we distinguish between patiently waiting on God and making excuses for disobedience?
9. Why does it matter that Noah wasn’t saved by his good works?
10. How would you explain the difference between doing good works to earn salvation and doing good works because of your faith?
11. What is one thing your faith in Jesus has caused you to do that you never would have done otherwise?
12. When it comes to generosity, what circumstances are you tempted to wait for before giving more freely? (this is about more than money; it’s about being a more generous person)
13. Who is someone in your life you’ve wanted to talk to about Jesus but haven’t? What’s holding you back?
14. Jesus said people in Noah’s day were simply going about their everyday lives when judgment came. What distractions might keep us from recognizing what matters most?
15. If you really believed you might not have tomorrow, what would you do differently today?
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