The Days of Noah - Lea Sylvester - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=8002
"But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark." Matthew 24:37-38
The passage of scripture above was part of what many call The Olivet Discourse. It was a time when Yeshua sat with several of His disciples and they asked Him what the signs of His coming would be.
This is a particularly deep chapter in the Word of God. Here we find Yeshua prophesying about events in the near future, the early church, the Hebrews and even to our generation, although only one question was asked.
Many who study God's Word typically think of the passage about the days of Noah and relate that to the evil, dark self-indulgence we see today. And, that is correct. It is interesting to note, however, that in the Book of Luke (Luke 17:28-30) we are given great details about events that are not quite so detailed in the other gospels. The referenced scripture refers to the days of Lot and tells us that it shall be just as it was in the days of Lot as the days of the coming of the Son of Man will be.
What is the difference between the account of the days of Noah and the account of the days of Lot? There are many and there is much to be learned from this instruction from our Savior.
It seems to describe a time when people were going about their every day lives, taking no thought for what was happening around them. And, we know that there were very evil and dark things happening; things that are considered an abomination to God Almighty. This has not changed. Indeed, our days are even darker. Man has decided to indulge the flesh and ignore the things of the spirit. Most serve the carnality of their own minds and this cannot be reconciled to the gospel of the Kingdom of God. We know this because we are told that no such people can ever enter the Kingdom of God.
Noah was 600 years old when the rains began. We are told this in Genesis. The flood itself was prophesied from Adam down to Noah. We know that Noah worked on that great ark for many years. How people must have mocked him! This did not stop Noah.
Noah knew his calling and he knew his assignment and he would not be deterred for he was given grace from God. Grace is unmerited favor. Noah was able to do what was expected of him, in spite of the evil that surrounded him.
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually...and the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me [grieves me] that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Genesis 6:5-8.
So here, we have a description of the Creator looking upon His creation and seeing the great wickedness and evil in the hearts of those He had breathed life into and it sickened Him. How must He be grieved today.
Noah not only knew that he must build the ark but he knew he must warn as many people as possible about what was coming. He must have warned every person with whom he came in contact. Not only that, his sons and wife must have done the same thing.
They knew the time was short. They felt an urgency in their spirit. And, they stood and they gave the message to those who were going to perish if they did not turn away from their wickedness.
By contrast, we see in the account of Lot that unlike Abraham, he chose to take his family to be near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He must have liked the convenience of being there and the things that were more readily available to him than were to Abraham.
Abraham knew to keep his family away from these things. These were not things that were pleasing to God and so he was wise to do this. This reminds us that we, as followers of Yeshua, must never be partakers of the things of this world. This very thing is just what Lot did. He compromised. Abraham did not. Look at all the compromises being made by so many Christians today. Is there a difference?
"And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdman; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves, one from the other." Genesis 13:8-11
We are told that Lot was given his choice of the place he wanted to be and after he made his choice, Abram (Abraham) took the other way. Don't we all make choices? Do we consider that which the Lord has instructed us to do, in the way we are to live, act, and present ourselves? We see the consequences for Lot. We too have consequences for our choices.
But, we also see the blessings upon Abraham for being obedient and faithful to God. We are also blessed for being obedient and faithful servants of God.
"And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness." Genesis 15:6
"And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." Genesis 17:7
This covenant made by God Almighty with Abraham was passed down to Isaac and Jacob and even today it still exists. We are partakers of this same covenant; a promise, if we are believers because we are no longer Goyim (foreigners or Gentiles or part of the nations) but are grafted in to the very Vine that is the Root of Jesse, the Lion of Judah, the promised Messiah and soon-coming King.
But Lot was caught up in the things of Sodom and Gomorrah. He did not know, or perhaps he did not see because he was too distracted with these things to understand that what was happening was not pleasing to God. And, Lot knew God.
But, Lot compromised. Instead of using the opportunity to share the ways of God Almighty with those who were lawless, he and his family enjoyed the pleasantries of the cities.
But, because Abraham was faithful, God revealed to him what He was about to do with those cities. And, because Abraham petitioned God on behalf of any who might have been righteous, Lot and his daughters were spared on the very day of the destruction.
Taking these things into consideration, we can look back at the warnings given by Yeshua in Matthew 24 and the account of Luke and see them in a different light. Yes, it was a wicked time. And our days are even worse. Are we telling everyone we know, as Noah did, and even those we don't what is coming? Are we sharing the Gospel of the Kingdom of God or are we caught up in the ways of the world and distracted?
We should think on these things and consider that part of the message given was, in fact, for us to be about our Father's business knowing that the harvest is at hand. Does it matter what others say about us?
Aren't we warned that the world will not love nor even like us? We should not even be bothered about that for our eyes are to be upon the things of God and upon Him only.
The days are soon coming when the darkness will be here and we might regret not having said something to just one more person. Perhaps it might be someone close to us but we didn't want to be embarrassed or mocked for doing so. So, we didn't say a word.
Examine yourself and ask yourself if you are more like Noah or more like Lot.
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