"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them'" (Genesis 6:5-7). The early world did not fare well with man in charge. Following the expulsion from the garden the world exploded with humanity driven by the "lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16).

Not all would be condemned in this destruction as Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Hebrews 11:7). Noah obeyed the instructions of the Lord (Genesis 6:13-7:24) and found salvation in the ark.

As the rains poured upon the earth and the foundations of the great deep were broken up (Genesis 7:11-12) the earth was cleansed of all flesh and all in "whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died" (Genesis 7:21-22). Only eight people and an ark full of animals were all that survived from the earth. Noah would spend over a year inside the ark before removing the cover and walking out on dry land. When he brought his family out there were no other people in the world but his family of eight. The ark had saved them from destruction.

There was no flotilla of arks that saved many, many people. There was only one ark and this was the only ark whereby man could be saved. It was an ark designed by God to serve the purpose of saving man. Noah had to build it exactly as the Lord prescribed in accordance with height, width, length and depth. It was to be constructed of gopher wood and no other. The ark only had one window. There would be three levels in the ark. "Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did" (Genesis 6:22).

Man did not succeed in devising ways to stay alive outside the ark. He could have climbed the highest tree or the tallest mountain. It could have been possible to float on a log or build a boat seeking to survive but to no avail. Whatever man devised to try and save himself was of no use when the flood came. There was only one place to be saved from the wrath of God and it was in the ark.

Noah was saved because he obeyed the pattern given to him by God. He did not change it, call it by another name or have more than one ark built. He built the one - true - ark! He was saved because he was in the ark by the grace and mercy of God. Without God's grace salvation was not possible. Noah was saved because he rejected the ideas of men and walked by faith to the Lord's command. He was not saved because he was a good man alone nor that he was religious (Matthew 7:21-23). Noah was saved because he obeyed the will of God.

There is a spiritual ark today that saves men. There is only one. Jesus said, "I will build My church" (Matthew 16:18). On the day of Pentecost that is where you found the saved (Acts 2:47). Where are you - in the ark of safety or an ark built by man?

By Kent Heaton

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