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THE LESSON OF NOAH

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International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 10, 1887

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 13, No. 10.

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THE LESSON OF NOAH.

By Editor

IN view of the words of the Saviour, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be,” the following from an article by Rev. S. C. Leonard is to the point:—
Noah must have encountered a great many unbelieving people after it had become common talk that he was building a structure of unheard-of dimensions and partitionment. Curiosity was probably not very different then from what it is now. His work as it slowly progressed must have been looked over by a great many curious eyes. We can readily imagine some passer-by, or self-poised interviewer, stopping before the huge, unfinished structure, not content to go on without some conversation over it.
“What are you building, may I ask?”
“Certainly, an ark.”
“What is it for?”
“There is a flood of water coming upon the earth.”
“How much of a flood?”
“The dry land is to be covered with water deeper than the mountains are high.”
“Did you ever hear of such a flood?”
“No.”
“Have you asked any of the old men whether they ever heard of such a flood? There is your grandfather Methuselah; he must be eight hundred and fifty by this time, and he was two hundred and forty when Adam died, so that he could have talked over events of the early times with Adam himself; have you asked him whether he ever heard Adam speak of anything of the kind?”
“Yes, I have talked with him about it; he never saw such a flood and never heard of one.”
“What makes you think that such a flood is coming?”
“God has said so.”
(With a smile on his countenance) “How much will that immense boat cost you?”
“I don’t know; a great deal.”
“How much time do you expect to give to it?”
“Whatever proves to be necessary.”
“Why are you building it so enormously large?”
“To hold the animals which I am to save.”
“How do you expect to catch them and get them in?”
“They are to come to me, two and two of every kind.”
“Well, you haven’t asked my advice, but if I were in your place I should wait until I had seen some signs of such a flood before I should spend time and money as you are spending it. You never can use that immense box for anything. If your family starve you can’t sell it. Nobody would buy it for a house or a barn. And you ought to remember that you will not always be as young as you are now. You cannot expect to live more than four or five hundred years longer, and you will need something for yourself by and by; after a couple of centuries you will not be able to work as you can now.”
The scoffer passes along, and the faithful and obedient servant of the Lord works on as energetically as ever. “According to all that God commanded so did he.”
Noah’s faith was resolutely firm. Resting on the word of God, it was not vanquished by discouragement. It did not lose heart because all things continued as they were from the foundation of the world. The dark background against which he stood did not impart its hue to him. His faith set God’s word against an unbelieving world.
Faith has its heroes. They are not few in number. The names of many of the heroes and heroines of faith have been lost as centuries have come and gone. But among those which the world will never let die, is the name of him who “prepared an ark to the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
“THE infant heard the nurse devoutly say, ‘The first day of the week is Sabbath-day; Her reasons in the Primer plainly told, And thus the man believes when he is old. When he becomes a man he’s made a priest, Acquires the arts and language of the East; With knowledge vast acquired from every clime, He speaks in strains that one would think sublime. He tells us of a new-made Sabbath-day, And that the former one is done away; The people think it surely must be so, It will not do to say the PRIEST don’t know. Thus round the world the Primer story flies,’ While quite unseen the Scripture doctrine lies. —Wm. Stillman.”