Noah: Successful Preacher?

Whenever we consider Noah, we probably do not immediately think about
him as a preacher. But the apostle Peter identifies him that way in his second letter: “if
he [God] did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of
righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the
ungodly… then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials” (2 Peter 2.5, 9).
In the verses around those quotes, Peter is warning Christians about the
ongoing reality of false preachers who secretly introduce destructive teachings that
undermine “the Master who bought them.” Sadly, such people tend to produce
outwardly-successful movements, in which “many follow their sensuality” (2 Peter 2.2).

However, the size of a movement does not determine the correctness of its cause!
After receiving news from God about an imminent world-wide flood and a
command to build a massive box, Noah and his family labored diligently to obey the
Lord. How strange their efforts must have looked to the evil people around them as the
ark slowly took shape! How odd Noah’s conversations with neighbors must have
sounded as he warned of the world’s impending doom. Mankind had never
experienced wholesale judgment before. Even on the day the flood arrived, people
were “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (Matthew 24.38),
completely uninterested in spiritual change until the very last moment. In the end, no
one.

But despite all appearances, Noah was a successful preacher. Not only did
he deliver his message and maintain his distinctiveness from the world, he also saved
his family. The Hebrew writer also focuses on this point: “By faith Noah, being armed
by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the
saving of his household” (Hebrews 11.7). That fits with a main reason for Abraham’s
selection by God later in Genesis: “For I have chosen him, that he may command his
children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing
righteousness and justice” (Genesis 18.19).

Ever since ancient times, the people of God do not focus their efforts on topdown political transformation, since we carry the perspective that all human governments – apart from Jesus’ kingdom – are destined for destruction. Rather, the
people of God focus on quietly proclaiming God’s righteousness to their families and
their neighbors, regardless of how many people follow us to the King.

Are we walking in the footsteps of Noah? Instead of wringing our hands over
the state of our nation, are we ensuring that the direction of our homes is pointed
towards Jesus? Instead of trying to teach fellow Americans to adopt our political
perspectives, are we zealously trying to teach our family members to adopt our
allegiance to the King of Kings? What are you heralding and to whom?
– Nathan Combs