Jump Start # 3333
Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
Our verse today is a wonderful example of faith in action. It begins with believing God. The Lord warned Noah about things not yet seen. As this chapter begins, we are told that “what was seen was not made out of things which are visible.” The invisible made the visible.
That little expression, “things not yet seen,” is fascinating. Most think it has to do with rain. There is no indication that it had rained on the earth up to that time. Early in Genesis, God is watering things from dew. But there is much more than that. Noah had never seen a massive flood. Noah had never seen the earth open up and water coming out. Noah had never seen the wrath of God demonstrated this much. Noah had never seen every living thing, except what was in the ark, die. Not only had Noah not seen these things, nor had anyone else. I have never been in a World War, but I know some who were. I can talk to them about that. I’ve never had heart surgery, but I know some who have had that before. I can talk to them about that. Noah had no one who had seen what was about to happen. No one had traveled down those roads before. No books had been written on that. No journal articles detailing experiences and statical analysis of the events were recorded. All Noah had was what God said. He had to believe. Science couldn’t help him. History couldn’t be relied upon. No person could give him advice about this. Things not yet seen—roads that no one had ever traveled before.
And, for us, God has warned us about things not yet seen. Consider:
First, no one has ever seen Hell. People use that word all the time in an unbiblical fashion. No one in your family has ever gone to Hell and reported what it was like. No co-worker has experienced Hell. Oh, there are some who think that they are living Hell right now, but they are not. A sorry marriage. Dysfunctional family. Toxic work place. Junky car. Health problems. No money. No friends. But as bad as all of that may get, it’s still not Hell. As long as you are alive there are options. There are no options in Hell. As long as you are alive you can turn to the Lord. It will be too late for that after you die.
Outside of the Bible, no one knows what Hell is like. No one has been there to write about it. No one has done research on it. All we know, is what God tells us. By faith, we know that there is a Hell. And, by faith, we know that we don’t want to go there, not even for a minute.
Noah had no experiences with floods. Yet he believed God and got busy doing what God told him. You and I have no experiences with Hell. Do we believe God and are we busy doing what He tells us?
Second, we have never experienced standing before God in judgment. We may have stood before a judge in a court room, but what is at stake is nothing like standing before God. And, what will be involved are the most intimate, personal aspects of our lives. Our thoughts. Our words. Our actions. Our sins. Nothing is more raw, open and revealing as that. What will it be like? No courtroom TV shows are like it. No human judge is like the Lord. No one we know is as righteous, merciful, just and holy as the Lord.
And, gathered at the judgment will be all humanity of all time. The great and small will stand before the throne as Revelation tells us. Will we see each other? Will I recognize Abraham Lincoln? Will I recognize THE Abraham? Will I see the Noah, that our verse today is about? Will I see ancestors that I have never met? Will I see my mom? Are we in alphabetical order? Are we lined up by generations? Are we lined up by faith?
All we have to go on is what is in the Bible. No one you talk to today has already been through that experience. No book, other than the Bible, can give us insight into what that judgment will be. God has told us what we need to know. By faith, we believe. Things no one has ever seen before, we know that it will happen because God says so.
Third, we have never experienced a resurrection in which we will never die again. There are a few resurrections in the Bible. Just a few. The way some talk, you’d get the idea that someone was raised every day. But among those who were raised, they all died again. Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, he died again. Jairus’ daughter that Jesus raised, she died later on. The boy that fell out of the window while Paul was preaching died. Paul brought him back. He later died again. They all died again.
But there is a day coming in which the tombs will be opened and the dead will be raised never to die again. What’s that like? Aside from the Bible, no one knows. No one other than Jesus understands this. No one has written a PhD. dissertation on this. There is no information on this. Things not yet seen. Yet, we believe. We know because the Lord has told us.
Noah was told things that only his faith understood. No one else had experienced in the past what God was warning about. No books to study about that. No one to talk to about that. Things not yet seen, yet Noah believed.
How about you and I? Noah got busy building. Maybe we ought to do the same.
Roger