JESUS THE ARK OF HOPE TODAY
BY: Peter Qeko Jere= Doctoral student, University of Fort Hare
One of the most few chapters on the whole Bible that strikes many who believe in God is Genesis Chapter 6 where we encounter a Man of God named Noah. This word and name Noah has a Hebrew root and mean comfort. When he was born his father Lameck called him Noah because he said, “ He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed, (Gen.5: 29). It was in him that God found begun a new generation after Adam. Reading through Genesis chapter 6 one can hardly stop to think of what is going on in our society today. We have some few things that look like more similar to what has hit Malawi today and when we look into this in the eyes of God, one wonders what shall happen to us. In Genesis chapter 6 there are some few things that I want us to know.
Firstly is that for the first time in its entire biblical history, human beings became so wicked and that every inclination of their hearts were full of evil all the time (Gen 6:5). The earth was so corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. The people of the earth had corrupted their way (Genesis 6:11-12). This Genesis account shows some similarity to what is taking place in our world today. There is all manners of violence, corruption, evil practices and wickedness’ in homes, work places and everywhere we go. We are all witnesses of all the evil around us today. Infact the world is more horribly wicked, evil, corrupt now than ever before. We live in very terrible times, when human beings are the most feared animals ever. What evidence do we need if around us, people’s private parts and other can go on market as if one is selling tomato or mangoes? Definitely if it was in those days, God could have destroyed and wiped out the entire earth long time ago.
Secondly is that for the first time, God clearly regretted having created human beings as Genesis 6:6 says, “ The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth and His heart was filled with pain”. Now due to this, God had no option but to completely wipe mankind away from the face of the earth (Gen 6:7). God said to Noah, “ I am going to put an end to all people for the earth is filled with violence because of them I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth (Gen 6:13). We have here what humanity need not to hear from their maker. Things on earth had gone out of hand such that God grieved felt bad to have created man. In our world today, God grieves every day when he looks at what he created. The man of today, wicked, evil and corrupt is not what God originally created. We have become such a wicked people who opt to kill, and torture our fellow human beings, forgetting that we all carry the image of our maker, God.
Thirdly is that while the entire humanity was wicked, evil, corrupt and full of violence, God found favour in one man, named Noah (Gen 6:8). He was a righteous man, blameless and God fearing among the people of his time. It was through him that God planned to begin a new creation process after the first Adamic dispensation. This Noah can be you and me of today, if we begin to believe and have faith in God through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord. If God found favor in this one man during his time, then it is possible that if we believe in Him and accept His Son as our Lord that God can find favour in us too. If it happened for Noah it can also happen for us. This Noahic illustration shows that there is hope for us if we believe in God and accept His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Finally God told him to prepare the Ark, which in a simple language is a huge boat. This Ark was to be prepared because God resolved to bring flood and wipe away all what He created during the time of Adam and Eve, which had become so wicked. God was to send rain for forty days and forty nights (nonstop) on the entire earth.
Now this Ark was his survival line and remains one of the great hope that God planned for Noah. Noah infact was given the responsibility to prepare this Ark and it was up to him to do it or ignore it. But have this account that Noah being someone who believed in God, did exactly as God commanded him. In the same way today, our world is so wicked and there is only one lifeline for humanity and that is to accept Christ as the Lord and Saviour. Every human being has the responsibility to take a step of faith and accept him or not because Christ is the Ark that God has given mankind. Many ignore him and tend to think that it’s just a game. During the days of Noah there were many who thought Noah was out of mind and just wasting his time preparing a huge Ark. Likewise in the world today, some tend to think and say that this born again thing is just a joke and for the young confused sometimes-uncivilized people. Also some tend to say that they have their right to do whatever, with their life because it’s their life. Lets not forget that many with the same confused mentality existed during the days of Noah who later had the shock of their life when they were consumed with the divine water of God. We may undermine this forty days’ rain but to be realistic, no human being can stand the disaster of this magnitude of rain. If we cry all over with just a three or four days non-stop rain, what about this forty days nonstop rain?
The bible says that Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him to do. We need to bear in mind that when the bible says “ Everything”, its just means that! He didn’t do things from his mind but according to the Lord’s instructions. Now, have we ever done everything according to our Lord’s command? Do we love our God so much that we even follow His commandments? Do we love our neighbor and others as Jesus commanded us? Do we follow instructions of the ten Mosaic Laws as stipulated in Exd. 20:1-17? When God looks at us what does he see? Is it a follower and doer of his Will or bunch of those who violate His instructions?
BY: Peter Qeko Jere= Doctoral student, University of Fort Hare
One of the most few chapters on the whole Bible that strikes many who believe in God is Genesis Chapter 6 where we encounter a Man of God named Noah. This word and name Noah has a Hebrew root and mean comfort. When he was born his father Lameck called him Noah because he said, “ He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed, (Gen.5: 29). It was in him that God found begun a new generation after Adam. Reading through Genesis chapter 6 one can hardly stop to think of what is going on in our society today. We have some few things that look like more similar to what has hit Malawi today and when we look into this in the eyes of God, one wonders what shall happen to us. In Genesis chapter 6 there are some few things that I want us to know.
Firstly is that for the first time in its entire biblical history, human beings became so wicked and that every inclination of their hearts were full of evil all the time (Gen 6:5). The earth was so corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. The people of the earth had corrupted their way (Genesis 6:11-12). This Genesis account shows some similarity to what is taking place in our world today. There is all manners of violence, corruption, evil practices and wickedness’ in homes, work places and everywhere we go. We are all witnesses of all the evil around us today. Infact the world is more horribly wicked, evil, corrupt now than ever before. We live in very terrible times, when human beings are the most feared animals ever. What evidence do we need if around us, people’s private parts and other can go on market as if one is selling tomato or mangoes? Definitely if it was in those days, God could have destroyed and wiped out the entire earth long time ago.
Secondly is that for the first time, God clearly regretted having created human beings as Genesis 6:6 says, “ The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth and His heart was filled with pain”. Now due to this, God had no option but to completely wipe mankind away from the face of the earth (Gen 6:7). God said to Noah, “ I am going to put an end to all people for the earth is filled with violence because of them I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth (Gen 6:13). We have here what humanity need not to hear from their maker. Things on earth had gone out of hand such that God grieved felt bad to have created man. In our world today, God grieves every day when he looks at what he created. The man of today, wicked, evil and corrupt is not what God originally created. We have become such a wicked people who opt to kill, and torture our fellow human beings, forgetting that we all carry the image of our maker, God.
Thirdly is that while the entire humanity was wicked, evil, corrupt and full of violence, God found favour in one man, named Noah (Gen 6:8). He was a righteous man, blameless and God fearing among the people of his time. It was through him that God planned to begin a new creation process after the first Adamic dispensation. This Noah can be you and me of today, if we begin to believe and have faith in God through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord. If God found favor in this one man during his time, then it is possible that if we believe in Him and accept His Son as our Lord that God can find favour in us too. If it happened for Noah it can also happen for us. This Noahic illustration shows that there is hope for us if we believe in God and accept His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Finally God told him to prepare the Ark, which in a simple language is a huge boat. This Ark was to be prepared because God resolved to bring flood and wipe away all what He created during the time of Adam and Eve, which had become so wicked. God was to send rain for forty days and forty nights (nonstop) on the entire earth.
Now this Ark was his survival line and remains one of the great hope that God planned for Noah. Noah infact was given the responsibility to prepare this Ark and it was up to him to do it or ignore it. But have this account that Noah being someone who believed in God, did exactly as God commanded him. In the same way today, our world is so wicked and there is only one lifeline for humanity and that is to accept Christ as the Lord and Saviour. Every human being has the responsibility to take a step of faith and accept him or not because Christ is the Ark that God has given mankind. Many ignore him and tend to think that it’s just a game. During the days of Noah there were many who thought Noah was out of mind and just wasting his time preparing a huge Ark. Likewise in the world today, some tend to think and say that this born again thing is just a joke and for the young confused sometimes-uncivilized people. Also some tend to say that they have their right to do whatever, with their life because it’s their life. Lets not forget that many with the same confused mentality existed during the days of Noah who later had the shock of their life when they were consumed with the divine water of God. We may undermine this forty days’ rain but to be realistic, no human being can stand the disaster of this magnitude of rain. If we cry all over with just a three or four days non-stop rain, what about this forty days nonstop rain?
The bible says that Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him to do. We need to bear in mind that when the bible says “ Everything”, its just means that! He didn’t do things from his mind but according to the Lord’s instructions. Now, have we ever done everything according to our Lord’s command? Do we love our God so much that we even follow His commandments? Do we love our neighbor and others as Jesus commanded us? Do we follow instructions of the ten Mosaic Laws as stipulated in Exd. 20:1-17? When God looks at us what does he see? Is it a follower and doer of his Will or bunch of those who violate His instructions?
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