Christians must live in the light of the imminent return of the bridegroom. If we think our Savior delays, we are prone to grow weary in waiting and begin to fall into sin. The temptation will arise, “if the bridegroom has waited 2,000 years surely He will wait until at least tomorrow or next week… maybe even next year.” Giving in to this temptation, forgetting the rich man of Luke 12, we begin thinking little of sin and the lusts of this world. Taking our eyes off Him who reigns above we set our eyes longingly and lustfully upon the things of the world that are so quickly perishing.

Too many Christians, when they have been long in profession, grow remiss in their preparations for Christ’s second coming…

Matthew Henry

How many years did Noah take building the ark and preaching the righteousness of God? Some have suggested as short as 50 years and others as long as 120 years. In all those years of building the ark and preaching, no one listened to Noah save his sons, their wives, and Noah’s wife.

A Neighbor of Noah

Consider what it might have been like for a young boy living near to Noah and his family. This boy’s earliest memories were with his friends and family laughing at that babbler Noah, his preaching, and his silly ark. That ark was never going to be built. That day of destruction Noah kept talking about was never going to come. As the boy grew he eventually got married. Passing Noah’s land with his new bride, the hull of that ark was barely completed but the preacher was still going strong. After many children, that young man was not so young anymore. His children were getting married, divorced, remarried, and they were having children of their own. That young man filled with strength changed into an older man with the pains and frailties of age. All around him everything was changing except this, Noah was still preaching, and that ark was getting larger and taller.

Finally, too old to do much work that old man liked to take walks to get away from all the turmoil at home. He would complain to himself of his short and bleak life. He remembered the wasted years of his youth and how he wanted them again.  One day while walking, he passed by Noah’s land with some special words prepared for that madman. Approaching Noah’s property, the old man noticed something was very different – things were taking place that had never happened before. Animals from all over were coming two by two and seven by seven, as if guided by a shepherd, and walked right into the ark. But there was more… the old man noticed for the first time in all his life, he couldn’t hear Noah’s preaching. Looking for Noah, he saw him in the distance walking into the ark with his wife, his three sons, and their wives. Suddenly, without Noah closing it, the door of the ark was shut!

The old man quickly turned for home to tell his family what he had seen. As he went it started to rain. The drops started large and quickly grew into torrents. Water seemed to be coming from everywhere. The old man could not get home for the rains came too quickly. He was struggling to stay on his feet, so he wrapped his arms around a tree for support. He was not able to warn his wife of many years. He could not hug his pregnant granddaughter or shake his son’s hand one last time. He saw his friends, filled with merry hearts that morning, swept away by the water near him. In their eyes he saw terror and fear that he had never seen before.

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