The Days of Noah

The Days of Noah

Scripture:

Matthew 24:37-39

For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Observation:

The behavior of humans seems to repeat itself.  Over and over again God is revealing himself to us and yet, we seem to reject him.

Jesus was talking about the need for on-going faithfulness among God's people.  He knew there would be a time when he would come again and yet, he recognized that humanity would again be unfaithful.

Even while Jesus was walking the earth people wanted yet more signs about the future.  The sign of the future was standing before them, but they wanted still more.

Jesus knew that those who would come later would still be looking for signs.  Instead of living a life of faith every single day, people would slip into the days of Noah.  They would become focused on enjoying life, eating, drinking, and celebrations to the exclusion of serving God.  Just as the rains began to unexpectedly fall for these people, for they had not paid attention to Noah, nor to the signs, so will be the danger for those who do not follow Christ.

Application:

The days of Noah sound eerily familiar.  As humanity is lulled into complacency we find our excitement in eating, drinking and our social celebrations.  These in and of themselves may not be bad.  However, when they become the focus of life and our relationship and service to The Lord become a distant second, or possibly third, then we have a problem.

There is a popular saying about the difference in focus of food between the first and third world.  In the first world we live to eat, while in the rest of the world they eat to live.  Much of the world wonders where they will find their next meal and have the strength they need to go on with life.  In the West we worry about obesity and the tendency to overindulge.  How often do we hear the question, "Where do you want to eat tonight?"  It becomes a matter of taste and personal preference rather than need.

The days of Noah are upon us as good people, those who call themselves followers of Christ, become drawn to the activities of life to the neglect of the spiritual. All the electronic gadgets that we have were supposed to give us more free time.  Instead they have created pressure to produce even more!  Will we be swept away by the coming of Christ?  Jesus' admonition was to pay attention and not to give in to the distractions of life.  Noah had to intentionally go against the norms of society.  So must we, if we are to keep working in the kingdom. The Lord's kingdom will seem out place, because it is.  As a result there should be a transformation in our daily lives, including the ways in which we eat, drink and celebrate.

The Son of Man is coming again.  Will we be ready or too busy celebrating the days of Noah?

Prayer:

Lord, help me to see with your eyes and protect me from the temptation to celebrate the days of Noah.  Amen.

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