God waited in patience for one hundred and twenty years since warning that the flood was coming, but apart from Noah and his house, men went on as carelessly as ever. Then the time came that the flood must come, and the Lord said to Noah, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark.” The Lord did not say “Go,” but “Come,” for He was to be in the ark with Noah and his household. Some of our readers are the children of Christian parents, and they have often told you of the Lord Jesus because they earnestly desire that each one in their family should be safe from the coming judgment. Don’t turn a deaf ear to their loving entreaties, or you will wake up someday to find that the door is shut with you on the outside. Come to Jesus today.
Gathered Into the Ark
Noah then gathered all the animals, the birds, and the creeping things into the ark as God told him. Then he and his wife, with his three sons and their wives went into the ark, while God waited for seven days more. Oh, the patience of God! Noah did not shut the door himself; it was the Lord who shut him in. He is the One who “shutteth, and no man openeth” (Revelation 3:7) and how solemn for those who were on the outside. There was no second chance for them. It was too late.
Too Late for Deliverance
Then it began to rain, and the waters rose up from beneath too. I suppose the people got out of their homes, both the rich and poor together, and began to climb the hills. The ones who had their houses on the hilltops would think they were safe, but the water rose higher and higher until soon they had to join the crowd and try to climb the great mountains. But it was no use, for the water soon covered even the highest mountains, and they all perished except those who were in the ark. Perhaps many of the young people had great plans about the good time they were going to have, or the fine homes they expected to build, but their lifeless bodies were soon floating on the waters and their souls were lost forever.
How often they would wish they had taken shelter in the ark, as they saw the waters rising! I suppose they had often laughed at Noah as they watched him building, and heard him preaching, but the laughing was all gone then. They realized that Noah was right, and they were all wrong. They may have told Noah that there had never been a flood before, and that it was “contrary to all the laws of Nature.” But God made these laws of Nature, and He can break them. Be careful of men’s foolish arguments. Every Word of God is going to be fulfilled, and He has said that this world is going to be destroyed by fire the next time. He has told us, too, that the Lord Jesus is coming beforehand to take those who are trusting in Him safely home to heaven. Do not delay one moment longer. “Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh” (Matthew 24:44).
Further Meditation
1. Why did the Lord tell Noah to “Come,” into the ark instead of “Go”?
2. What was the attitude that Lot’s children had when they were warned that judgment was coming? What are some of the reasons people don’t take God’s warnings of coming judgment very seriously?
3. Judgment is a subject worth taking as seriously as God does. When we really understand it, we can better appreciate God’s holiness. You can find a nice overview of the subject of judgment in the booklet The Four Judgments by A. H. Burton.