What Can We Learn From Noah?

Noah’s challenges in an ungodly world can remind us of our own struggles. What can we learn from Noah to help us in our work of helping to warn the world today?

During the pre-Flood world, evil multiplied as quickly as the population of that time. Humans became engulfed in depravity and corruption because they rejected God (Genesis 6:11).

Although there were a few righteous men who served God, despite being surrounded by evil (with the most notable of them being Enoch), over time, more and more gave themselves over to the corruption that surrounded them. They married women who deviated from the Creator’s ways and were quickly absorbed by the perverse society, totally losing sight of God and His law of love.

Upon seeing the terrible state of the world, God was sorry that He had created humanity (Genesis 6:6). “So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (verse 12). He made the decision to destroy this generation and start over.

However, God found a righteous man to whom He extended His mercy. “And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. … And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you’” (verses 13, 17-18).

The ark: a wondrous work

The Bible mentions almost nothing about Noah’s first years of life. He appears in the biblical account around the age of 500, but it seems that Noah had been dedicated to obeying God for hundreds of years.

After God spoke directly to Noah, informing him of His decision to destroy mankind, He ordered him to build an enormous floating vessel in which his family and representatives of the animal kingdom would be kept alive while God covered the earth with a flood. He gave Noah specific instructions for this momentous event (Genesis 6:14-21).

Skeptics maintain that all those animals and provisions could not fit into the ark. However, concrete facts prove the contrary, since the average size of the animals was the same of that of a relatively big dog. There was sufficient space for everything.

The physical dimensions alone are astounding. It was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high (137 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters tall). It had three decks that totaled more than 100,000 square feet (about 10,000 square meters) of surface area, and its volume capacity totaled about 1,500,000 cubic feet (about 43,000 cubic meters), which represented the largest oceanic navigation structure ever built until the 19th century when a ship with comparable dimensions to those of Noah’s ark was constructed.

Taking into consideration that all the work was done without the help of modern equipment, it probably took Noah and those who helped him (his children, laborers, workers and/or craftsmen) 100 years or more to build and supply the ark with everything necessary.

Noah: an example of patience and faith

From Noah’s story, we can learn great spiritual lessons applicable to our lives.

Without a doubt, Noah suffered repeated harassment and ridicule for building an enormous ship on land, possibly far from any body of water where logic would suggest that a ship should be built.

Let’s imagine the scene for a moment: A busy, 500-year-old Noah gathering large quantities of wood, day after day. Without a doubt, multitudes of people would have mocked him to his face, including perhaps his own family at times. All the while, the days turned into weeks, the weeks turned into months, the months turned into years, and the years turned into decades, until Noah turned 600 years old (Genesis 7:11).

During that time, Noah warned the people about the consequences that would come upon them for their rejection of God and evil behavior. It is for that reason that the apostle Peter referred to him as a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5).

The word righteous means moral uprightness. The commandments of God define what righteousness is: “My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness” (Psalm 119:172). Noah was obedient and blameless in the eyes of God.

Noah’s obedience allowed him to develop two fundamental characteristics: faith and patience.

The apostle James reminds us that “the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:3). Noah had to pass through a 100-year trial of faith. God commanded Noah to build the ark, and Noah faithfully obeyed—no matter how long it took or how hard it was.

Just as God would test Abraham years later by asking him to sacrifice his son, God tested Noah’s faith, which produced patience. We can learn many lessons from Noah. “Do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12).

Faith and patience in action within the work of God

The epistle of Hebrews presents Noah as a faithful servant of God: “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7).

God has called us to separate ourselves from the practices of this world, to obey His commandments and to be a part of His Church. We should strive to develop faith and patience in God every day, just as Noah did.

After all, we can be certain that the work that God is asking us to do will not take more than 100 years of our lives!

Learn more about how our times reflect the times of Noah in the article “As in the Days of Noah: Warnings for Today.”