The Consequences of Obedience – Hebrews 11:7

By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

I was reading about Noah today and how he did everything that God commanded him to do (Genesis 6:22). Then, in that same devotional section, there was a cross-reference to this verse in Hebrews. Hebrews 11 is an interesting chapter because it often gives some biblical insight into details not included in the narrative of these Old Testament characters’ lives. For instance, the writer of Hebrews lets us know what was going on in Abraham’s mind when he was told to sacrifice his son Isaac. This is not in the Genesis narrative, but it is given to us by divine inspiration in the New Testament. So, here is a tidbit about Noah that I never noticed before. First, Noah was motivated by godly fear, not fear of the flood. Most commentators believe that in Noah’s day, there had never been rain, much less flooding. We often assume that Noah was afraid of dying or of God’s judgment, but instead, he was more concerned about obedience to the God he loved and respected (feared). Godly fear is doing the right thing with integrity, regardless of the consequences, because you care more about his desires than the opinions of others. Noah feared God and obeyed Him, even though the request seemed outlandish.

The other interesting statement here is that Noah condemned the world by faith. I’m not sure what to make of this. In other words, because Noah obeyed God, he, his family, and the animals were spared. Thus, the rest of the world was condemned. I am not sure if this means that if Noah had disobeyed, God would not have sent the flood to spare Noah. Also, people could have boarded the ark with Noah, but no one listened to his preaching (another hint from 2 Peter). Still, somehow, Noah’s follow-through on obeying God condemned the world, and this was faith and righteousness. In short, this teaches that obedience to God is always the right choice, no matter the consequences or what the rest of the world thinks. I have thought of this often in the last few months. We have transitioned from the mission field to teaching in America. Many people thought we were crazy; honestly, we felt that way a few times ourselves. Today, I am sitting among a pile of boxes that finally arrived from Kenya (7 months later) and thinking, “What in the world have we done?” Still, the voice of God continues to assure me that we are on the right path. It doesn’t make sense sometimes, and I often wonder about the people suffering the consequences of our absence. I’m not comparing myself to Noah, but my point is that our obedience always comes at a cost. Friends are missing us in Africa, colleagues have to do more work to fill our shoes, and some will not benefit from our ministry. We have hardly condemned the world, but we have caused some anxiety for ourselves and others. Yet, there is no other sane choice than to do what God says, regardless of how insane it might seem to yourself and others. I don’t know what season you are in or what choices you are facing, but I encourage you to only consider His voice and leave the results to Him.