IMITATE THEIR FAITH / NOAH - "CARRIED SAFELY THROUGH THE WATER"

As the ark drifted on that surging ocean, those within surely heard a symphony of squeaks and groans from the massive  timbers. Was Noah worried about the size of the waves or the structural integrity of the ark?  No. Such concerns may arise among skeptics today, but Noah was not skeptic.  The Bible says:  "By faith Noah . . .constructed an ark." (Hebrews 11:7) Faith in what? Jehovah had made a covenant, a formal agreement, to bring Noah and all those with him safely through the Deluge. (Genesis 6:18,  19)   Could not the One who created the universe, the earth, and all the living things on it keep that vessel intact?  Of course! Noah rightly trusted in Jehovah to keep His promise. And, indeed, he and his family were "carried safely through the water." - 1 PETER 3:20. 

After 40 days and 40 nights had passed, the rain finally stopped.  By our calendar, it was sometime in December 2370 B.C.E. But the family's adventure aboard the ark was far from over.  That craft full of living creatures drifted alone on a global sea, well above even the tops of mountains.  (Genesis 7:19, 20) We may imagine Noah organizing the heavier labor so that he and his sons -Shem, Ham, and Japheth-could keep all the animals fed, clean, and healthy.  Of course, the same God who rendered all those wild creatures docile enough to enter the ark was able to keep them in such a state for the duration of the Flood.

Noah certainly kept a careful log of events. That record tells when the rains started and stopped. It also reveals that the waters overwhelmed the earth for 150 days.  Finally. the waters began to abate. One momentous day, the ark gently came to rest on "the mountains of Ararat," located in modern-day Turkey.  That would have been April 2369 B.C.E. It was 73 days later, in June, that the tops of the mountains became visible. Three months later, in September, Noah decided to remove some of the ark's covering, or roof. Surely that heavy work was rewarded as light fresh air poured in .  Earlier, Noah also began testing the environment to see if it was safe  and habitable. He released a  raven, which  came and went for awhile, perhaps perching on the ark between flights; then Noah released a dove, which kept returning to him until it finally found a place to roost. - GENESIS 7:24-8:13.

Noah's routine no doubt focused still more on spiritual matters. We may well picture the family gather regularly to pray together and to talk about their protective heavenly Father.  Noah relied on Jehovah for every important decision.  Even when Noah could see that the earth had finally "dried off"-after more than a year aboard the ark-he still did not unseal the door and lead an exodus from the confines of that vessel.  (Genesis 8:14)  No, he waited for a word from Jehovah!

Family heads today can learn a great deal from that faithful man.  He was orderly, industrious, patient, and protective of all those under his care.  Above all, though, he considered the will of Jehovah God first in all things. If we imitate Noah's faith in these respects, we will bring blessings to all those we love.

Next time: IMITATE THEIR FAITH / NOAH - "GO OUT OF THE ARK"

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