He Condemned the World

AFTER Enoch’s time, a rebellion broke out among God’s spirit sons in heaven. Inflamed with lust, some wicked angels came to the earth, took on human form, and seized all the women they wanted as wives. Their children were hybrids​—violent, vicious giants called Nephilim. As a result, the human family became more corrupt than ever. In God’s eyes, his beautiful creation​—human society on the earth—​was ruined. But one man stood out as different​—Enoch’s great-grandson Noah.

Noah grew up to be a righteous man like Enoch. We read: “Noah walked with the true God.” In time, he married, and he and his wife taught their three sons to obey Jehovah as well. That made the family different from everyone around them.

One day, Jehovah told Noah that He had decided to wipe out all the wicked people on the earth. But Jehovah also offered him hope​—Noah was to build a huge vessel, or ark, so that some lives could be saved. Noah had never seen anything like the global Deluge that Jehovah foretold. And he had never taken on an assignment like this one of building a colossal ark. But he trusted Jehovah’s promises, so he set to work.

Noah and his family needed courage to do this job. They must have faced a great deal of opposition and ridicule. The materialized angels were surely terrifying enemies, and their offspring were bullies. But Noah, his loyal wife, his three sons, and their wives​—eight people—​kept steadily at work. For decades, perhaps 50 years or so, they labored on the ark. Slowly it took shape.

During that time, Noah did not keep silent. That patriarch was later known as “a preacher of righteousness.” As the head of his family, he took the lead in warning people of what was coming. But no one outside his household listened. It seems that even many of Noah’s relatives refused to take action. The people did not want to change their evil ways. There was a stark contrast between this man of faith and the world around him. No wonder that the Bible says of Noah: “Through this faith he condemned the world.”

At last, the ark was complete. Noah and his family now needed to stock it with supplies for themselves and for all the animals they would bring aboard. In time, something amazing happened. All kinds of animals, male and female, came streaming to the ark! Willingly, “they went inside the ark to Noah by twos.”

God had already directed Noah to take his family into the ark, for the rain would come in seven days. We may imagine the family busily finishing up any last-minute work of loading supplies and organizing what was onboard the ark. Perhaps people ridiculed them all the more. But once the ark was all loaded, Jehovah himself shut the door. That may have put a damper on any more ridicule. Then the rain came pouring down! The floodwaters rose. They kept on rising for 40 days, until even the mountains were submerged. Jehovah thus cleansed the earth of wickedness.

Noah and his family stayed safely aboard their ark for over a year. During that time, the floodwaters slowly subsided. Finally, the ark settled on a mountain, and Jehovah later told Noah that it was safe to leave. When the family emerged from the ark, they worshipped Jehovah, grateful that he had saved them. Jehovah promised never to bring such a deluge again, giving mankind the rainbow as a sign, or guarantee, of his promise.

Every human alive today has descended from that family. We have good reason to be grateful that they had the courage to stand up and be different in a wicked world!

Read the Bible account:

• Genesis 6:1–8:22; 9:8-19

• Hebrews 11:7

• 2 Peter 2:5

For discussion:

In what ways did Noah show courage?

Dig Deeper

1. 1. What was the world like before the Flood? (w02 3/1 5 ¶3–6 ¶4)

   Your answer

2. 2. When did Noah receive the commission to build the ark? At what point did he learn exactly when the Flood would begin? (w12 4/15 23 ¶5-8)

   Your answer

3. 3. Why can we believe that the Flood really happened? (ijwbq article 156 ¶2-5, box) A

   Your answer

   

   Historic Collection/​Alamy Stock Photo

4. 4. What event occurred over a century after the Flood, and how may it have affected elderly Noah? (it “Noah” No. 1 ¶12) B

   Your answer

   

Reflect on the Lessons

• How is our time similar to the days of Noah? (Matt. 24:36-39)

  Your answer

• What does the example of Noah teach you about the importance of being . . .

  • organized? C

    Your answer

    

  • hardworking? D

    Your answer

    

  • patient? E

    Your answer

    

• How might you imitate Noah’s courage in your life?

  Your answer

Meditate on the Bigger Picture

• What does this account teach me about Jehovah?

  Your answer

• How does this account tie in with Jehovah’s purposes?

  Your answer

• What would I like to ask Noah in the resurrection?

  Your answer

Learn More

See how a family head works hard to imitate Noah’s example.

Imitate the Faithful, Not the Faithless​—Noah, Not His Neighbors (2:57)

Help your children learn lessons from Noah.

“Noah Has Faith in God” (ijwis article 18)