I know what you’re thinking. This is a misprint. An oversight. A mistake. At the least, redundancy. But it actually wasn't-- because that's not the same image, it's in fact two different verses. It does repeat the same notion that Noah was indeed a faithful man. But it is not what these two verses state—it’s what happened between them that gives us insight to just how faithful Noah was.
The first was in response to God asking this man to build a boat so large and so specific I would have been in the fetal position upon hearing it. Not to mention, the purpose of constructing this gigantic boat was an event no man could fathom. The weight of the task mixed with the impossibility of the coming flood would have seemed absolutely crazy.
The amount of work alone would have swallowed my courage before my thoughts could even travel to what others would think. But not Noah. He did everything exactly as God had commanded him—even down to every exact measurement. This doesn’t just tell us how meticulous Noah was though, it tells us of his great faith and commitment to serving the Lord.
There is thought to be 55-75 years that occur between these two verses. That means 55-75 years of laboring over something potentially no one else on earth understood. That means 55-75 years of blindly slaving for something Noah himself may not have always understood. That means 55-75 years of clinging stubbornly to the same project without knowing when God’s promise would come to fruition.
I don’t know about you, but when I feel God’s led me to a project, I grow antsy when I’ve not seen anything come of it after about 6 months. Yet even after all this, after getting up day after day, year after year, purposing to finish the task he was given, when the next direction came at the end of these 55-75 years, he again did everything as the Lord commanded him.
What I find interesting is that the only true difference between these two verses (besides the assignments) is the reference to God. In Genesis 6:22, he is referred to as God, but in Genesis 7:5 it changes to "the Lord." I do not pretend to know full well the significance of this, but I do know one thing. God is God no matter what we do. Our obedience or lack thereof has no bearing whatsoever on who he is. He is the great I Am. However, only when we choose to obey, living a life committed to faithful, stubborn obedience, does he truly become Lord over our lives.
1). What thing do you feel like you’ve been chipping away at and yet to receive results?
2). Even if you didn’t receive another direction for 55-75 years, what worth do you see in the work?
God’s timing is sovereign. It doesn’t matter what the work is, how long it takes, or how misunderstood you feel, when we are faithful to his will, no work is ever lost or useless. Maybe the reason you haven't heard any other direction in a while despite asking and seeking him is because the direction is still the same. Have stubborn obedience.
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