Heaven sprung a leak

So I was reading this morning about the ultimate water-leak from heaven.  I am trying to read thru the Bible with a little more attention to detail, asking God what I have ignored or overlooked in the past.  Today I was reading about a time early in my history, when God was so grieved by humanity that He thought it would be better to just end it all and start over.  Then there is one guy who God thinks actually has his heart set on seeking and honoring his Creator.  So, since this man (Noah) seems to be known for following God, God gives him a massive task.  He asks him to create a big boat…big enough for a few people and a bunch of animals. 

Now if you are like me, I am sure you have at least a few questions about this whole scenario.  It is a pretty odd picture, and has some interesting things to observe (for instance: aside from the people on the boat, God wipes out all mankind and all of the animals of the earth.  But, what about the sea-creatures?  Have you ever thought about that?  It says that, “Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died“…but what about all the creatures that live beneath the surface?  What about dolphins, and hammerhead sharks, and jellyfish?  Weird thought, not majorly important at the minute).

Among all the questions about this part of our history, I was struck today by the time it took Noah to honor the call of God on his life.  Let’s look at this two ways…

1)Proportions – If you consider the overall length of a person’s life, consider the fact that in Noah’s life, the most obvious and huge “call” on his life from God didn’t come til the second half of his life.  He had to learn how to delight in God and serve Him for many years before he was able to enjoy a tangible “calling”

2) Length – The Bible highlights a reality that in the early days of humanity, people were probably a lot healthier, and lived a whole lot longer.  Most of the people we read about in Genesis lived anywhere from 600-900 years!! That is so crazy…I wonder if that mean High School was about 40 years long?  Anyway, we are told Noah lived about 950 years.  It was about the time he was 500 years old that God called him to build the Ark and prepare for a major change in his life.  It was around the time he was 600 that it was ready for Noah’s family and all the animals to board the boat.  That means Noah spent about 100 years working on one simply project, day in and day out, it order to honor God.  Fulfilling his calling took every bit of that 10o years, and I wonder if it is any different for me and my 75+ (hopeful) years on this earth.

I imagine the quality (not the quantity) of Noah’s years was measured by his willingness to be completely faithful to the daily call of God on his life.  That daily faithfulness added up to a lifetime of God favored moments…not to mention the whole family line of humanity.