Come Into the Ark

The Creator looked down upon His creation. All that He had once proclaimed as very good was now corrupt and evil before His face. He saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart were only evil continually. Once-perfect man had fallen into sin--willingly yielding--and now the earth was filled with the horrifying results. Like a plague, violence covered the face of the earth. Abel’s blood, crying from the ground, was now multiplied over and over and over.     

  

A groan of immeasurable sorrow was heard echoing through the courts of Heaven as God turned away from His creation in heart wrenching grief. He could bear to see no more. 

If only Eve had not eaten the fruit! If only she had refused to listened to the serpent! 

In His mind the snake’s sly words played once again. “In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” 

Satan’s suggestion presented godship--the ability to be all knowing. He continued to ponder. Was it so terrible to be innocent, Eve, only know the good things of life? Must you truly have longed to also know the evil as well?  

But she had done it. She had refused to obey His command. She had eaten the fruit and then offered it to her husband. And now this…this mess…    

Something must be done to correct the lawlessness that prevailed on earth. But, what could it be? All of Heaven seemed to collectively hold its breath as the Creator stood on the brink of decision. 

God thought once again of the horrific things He had witnessed below, and it repented Him that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart. 

Suddenly His voice thundered, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” 

It was settled. Something would be done. A worldwide flood would wipe man and beast from off the face of the earth. Everything would die…all but one righteous man and his family. Noah--a just man and perfect in his generation, a man who walked with God--found grace in the eyes of the Lord.    

Noah was given specific instructions to build a huge boat that would carry his family and animals to replenish the earth once the floodwaters had subsided. Though the world had never seen a drop of rain fall from the sky, by faith, Noah built a boat that would shelter his family from the destruction God foretold. The Ark would be their salvation.    

After many, many years of hard work, and that under the constant ridicule of their heathen neighbors, the Ark was completed. The animals boarded the boat. And the Lord said to Noah, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”

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“And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” Genesis 7:1 

Yesterday morning, as I was reading this Biblically historical account in the book of Genesis and picturing all this in my mind, this verse seemed to stand out and it got me thinking. 

God called righteous Noah and his family to separate themselves from their heathen friends and neighbors and enter the Ark He had designed for their safety. “Come thou...into the ark.” Certainly, as the sky grew menacingly dark and the earth shook underfoot as the fountains of the deep prepared to burst forth, Noah and his family not only heard these words as a command to obey, but as an invitation to flee from disaster.  

God is still calling the righteous to enter the Ark. The Lord says, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” What do you hear? A command or an invitation?   

Today God is calling Christians to come out of the world and be separate in holiness and righteous living. “Come thou...into the ark.” Sadly, many Christians hear only the tone of a command in these words and not the love-driven invitation. They linger only long enough to hear the stern order “Come away from the world,” and fail to hear the loving and kind request “Come into the ark.” God invites us to escape from the damnation that is coming to this world. However, it appears that we have chosen not to hear the love of His invitation. 

Unlike Noah and his family, who responded to God’s commandment with gladness, as a gracious invitation to safety, we begrudgingly climb aboard the Ark as thought it is some tremendously tedious favor being asked us. How horrible that we should be separate, and therefore safe, from the hidden dangers of this world! Thus, with feet just touching the wooden floor beneath us, barely hanging onto our morals and our standards, the rest of us hangs out of the one window of the Ark--“safe” on board, but still rebelliously clinging to any little bit of the world that is within reach. We walk the picket fence, doing the bare minimum requirements to stay in the Ark while viewing the world from a distance with longing eyes. 

We wear the right clothing but in an immodest way. Nobody can say we aren’t wearing a skirt. But it just barely hits the knee, and it’s so tight we can hardly walk in it. Tight fitting clothing. Highly questionable messages and symbols on our clothing. Faces caked with make-up. Men and boys with too-long hair, unshaven faces, and jewelry. These are the people claiming the name of Christ today. I don’t think HE would dare associate His holy, spotless name with what is called “Christian” today.   

We listen to music that is classified as “Christian,” but apart from the words, there is nothing with which to identify it to Christ. Sensual and earthly. If the Lord caught us mid-Rapture while we were listening to our music, He’d have to check us for identity and then compare it with His records just to be sure we were really His. Our music needs to get saved!

These are only two of the serious issues facing us. Time would fail me to present everything that needs consideration. I tremble and quake when I see what is in our churches today. Even in my own sinful state, I walk into these “houses of God” and almost feel sick. How must He feel? Truly, the Lord is merciful and gracious. I cannot comprehend WHY He puts up with the “Christianity” of this generation. “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” How many righteous ones would Christ find if He offered that same invitation today…right now? Luke 18:8 says, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” How many faithful folk will He find? 

The fact is, “Come thou into the ark” is not only an invitation, but it is a command by God. As Christians we are supposed to be separate from this world. He said, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” He’s not begging us “Please…I really would appreciate it if you would just have some morals. I really would like for you to have some standards in your life. Would you pleeeeeeeeeease do this?” No! It is a command!!! “Come into the ark. Separate yourself from your friends, your family, from the pull of earthly things, and come into the ark.” We are called to be a peculiar people. That means we don’t fit in with what is considered “normal.” It wasn’t a popular thing in Noah’s day to build a boat. That would be about the equivalent of your neighbor building a spaceship in his backyard. Crazy, right? People didn’t know what a flood was. It wasn’t a popular move for Noah to enter the Ark. You can bet people laughed at him and mocked his family. No, it wasn’t approved by public opinion, but Noah was wise enough to have faith that God knew what He was talking about. 

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Hebrews 11:7

Noah’s name is one of the few found in the Hall of Faith--Hebrews 11. How did he make it there? He had faith in God! And his faith caused him to believe God when he had no proof. Noah had never seen a flood. Previous to the flood the earth was watered by a mist that rose from the ground (see Genesis 2:6). Noah didn’t even know what a drop of rain looked like, not to mention a worldwide flood! He had to trust by faith that God knew about the flood he knew nothing about and was supposed to prepare for. He was moved with a godly fear and prepared an ark to the saving of his house. Notice the verse. “Noah…prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Noah condemned the world by building that Ark. He defied what was considered “acceptable” and “cool” and “normal” and chose to obey God instead. Noah condemned the world and became HEIR of the righteousness which is by faith! Noah had faith and obeyed God. And in the process, he saved his house alive as the entire world drowned beneath him. 

If we are going to accomplish anything of worth in this life, we have to be willing to make unpopular decisions. It isn’t a popular thing to be saved. It isn’t a popular thing to be separated. But that’s what God commands. “Come thou into the ark.” Come away from the world and come into the Ark. And once we are in, we should be in ALL THE WAY! Lock, stock, and barrel! Stop looking at the world! SHUT the window! Few things are as undesirable as a Christian hanging half out of the Ark. A Christian like that looks like a fool to those inside the Ark and to those outside the Ark. Choose who you will serve! The fact is, we have no business looking out of that window! What is it that connects you to this world? What is the “window” in your Ark? TV, magazines, books, friends? Cut all ties and close the window. Stay in the Ark! It’s safe! It is your haven! God’s command to “come into the ark” is our privilege...our opportunity to flee from impending destruction. We are blessed to be allowed to enter the door of that Ark! We are privileged that God closed the door and locked us safely inside! Come into the Ark! Stay inside the Ark!