Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

A CHARGE TO KEEP

This entry was posted on 01-27-2010 and is filed under STUDIES IN GENESIS.

"And God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence . . . Make yourself an ark . . . And this is how you shall make it . . . . ' Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did." (Gen. 13-15, 22 NKJV).

This is the fourth time we have seen the word "commanded" in Genesis (2:16; 3:11, 17). The Hebrew word is tsavah and it means "to constitute, enjoin, charge." Noah was charged with building an ark. Aren't you glad he did not take a cavalier attitude to the command of God? So many today (even professing believers) do not take seriously the commands of God. We must give much credit to Noah for being such a humble and obedient servant of God. The NIV says, "Noah did everything just as God commanded him." This same thought is repeated in Gen. 7:5, 9, and 16. The writer of Hebrews gives us additional insight into Noah's obedience. "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith" (Heb. 11:7 NIV).

Note: The task of building the ark was monumental. The Ryrie Study Bible says the ark was "450 feet long, 75 feet broad, and 45 feet tall, with a displacement of about 20,000 tons and gross tonnage of about 14,000 tons. Its carrying capacity equaled that of 522 standard railroad stock cars (each of which can hold 240 sheep). Only 188 cars would be required to hold 45,000 sheep-sized animals, leaving three trains of 104 cars each for food, Noah's family, and 'range' for the animals. Today it is estimated that there are 17,600 species of animals, making 45,000 a likely approximation of the number Noah might have taken into the ark."

But the point we do not want to miss is how Noah carried out this divine charge. He believed God and did everything just as God commanded him, saving his family and becoming an heir to righteousness as a result. We need to take God's Word as seriously as did Noah.

Hymn: "A charge to keep have I, A God to glorify; Who gave His Son my soul to save, And fit it for the sky" (Charles Wesley)