Noah
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Man of faith
Noah is listed with the hall of famers who were noted for their faith. Noah faced a huge task in building the ark in a day of no electricity or power tools. He also had faith to believe God that it would rain when it had never rained before that time (Gen 2:5-6). He probably had to coin a new word that meant water coming down from the sky. Noah had faith in God to believe in something that God told him without being explained in detail.
Noah accepted the program of God and the details of the great ship he was to build. We know little about Noah’s occupation. It may be assumed that he knew something about carpentry and working with wood. The task was very great, but there is no indication that he complained or questioned God over it.
Man of God
Through various passages we know that Noah was perfect and just in his generation (Gen 6:8-9) and like Enoch, he walked with God. This is a good report considering what the world was like at the time (Gen 6:5-6); he could have easily been caught up with the wickedness of the world. The generations preceding Noah were marked by people who called upon God (Gen 4:25-26); and one man was noted as being removed from earth without dying because his walk was so close to God (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5) and he pleased God. Noah is called a preacher of righteousness by Peter (2 Pet 2:5) so we know that he preached to those of his day while he was building the ark. (which many believe was for about 120 years Gen 6:3). This seems logical because Peter tells us that God waited while the ark was being prepared and extended His mercy until then (1 Pet 3:20).
Time of Noah
We are told that during the days of Noah the earth had become so wicked that God determined to destroy every living creature that had breath. Only those selected by God would be saved – two of each unclean animal and seven of the clean animals. Jesus compared His return to the days of Noah in a two-fold sense (Lu 17:26-27) – there was great wickedness and the wickedness had so permeated society and been accepted by society that they were taken by surprise when judgment came. They ignored the warnings and preaching of Noah and felt he was only a radical Christian.
Some have thought that Noah built the entire ark by his own self with the help of his sons and daughters-in-law and wife; while others feel that he may have hired others to help him with the work. The Scriptures do not give us any indication so it is up to our imagination and surmising. Many things we do not know, but this we do know – that as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the coming of Jesus – be prepared!