RESCUE!!
Have you seen images of Afghanis being airlifted out of Kabul?
We see video footage of crowds rushing the tarmac, fighting to climb the jetways to enter a plane. In desperation some have clung to the wings or sought to climb into the wheel wells. Armed troops have employed live ammunition in attempts to clear the runways so rescue planes can take flight.
Huge cargo planes are crammed with people jammed shoulder to shoulder seated on the floor. Presumably the pilot and copilot are strapped into their seats in the cockpit, but everyone else will be seriously jolted when the aircraft bounces.
Why are international aviation safety protocols being ignored?
The answer is obvious: those fleeing the encroaching Taliban have greater fear for their lives if they remain in Afghanistan. They willingly trade a few hours of marked discomfort – and risk even serious injury – to escape the horrors certain to follow.
A sense of urgency causes human beings to “throw caution to the wind.” What in normal circumstances would never be considered suddenly becomes an option to pursue.
History is filled with examples of people stampeding for an exit, straining for a lifeline, shouting in desperation for help.
We have no photographs of Noah’s flood. We may infer from Genesis 6-9 that a generation or two of people heard “the preacher of righteousness”[1] warn about the impending deluge while the ark was under construction.[2] But apart from a “sanctified imagination” to supply data not given in Scripture, we have no record of how Noah’s peers perceived him.
We do have a clear description of the spiritual state of Noah’s generation in Genesis 6:
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
Nothing in this inventory of human motives or deeds inclines us to believe anyone would be interested in accepting an invitation to join the crew of the ark had one been issued.
In the same context we also are given the divine response to mankind’s corruption:
6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”
One exception is noted: “Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”[3] Specifically, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.”[4]
God’s grace extended to include his wife, three sons, and three daughters-in-law.[5] Representative pairs of animals[6] were also on board as God’s intended means of repopulating the post-deluge earth. When all appointed passengers were aboard,[7] “God closed [the door] behind him.”[8]
What must it have been like to be outside the ark when the floods began! Perhaps it makes for dramatic intrigue for “Noah movies” to begin with darkening skies and a pattering of raindrops before thunderclaps boom and the clouds open up their downpour. We may picture the water rising by inches over 40 days and nights of rain.
The Scriptures tell a different story. “… on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened.”[9]
How many people in our generation are choosing to delay getting into right relationship with God? Perhaps the thought arises, Someday I’ll repent and seek the Lord.
But none of us is promised tomorrow. And how can we be certain we’ll know when it’s time to repent?
Matthew 24 records Jesus telling His generation,
36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
For years the ark was in preparation. At a moment in time, the door was shut by God Himself. No “do overs” were granted. Either one was safe inside or one perished in the consuming flood.
In 2 Corinthians 5 the Apostle Paul testified of two motivations to point others to mankind’s only hope of spiritual rescue.
· “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men” (vs. 11).
· For the love of [Messiah] controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf (vs. 14-15).
The kindness of God leads some to repentance.[10] The hardened hearts of others need to be stirred by clear messages of the judgment to come.[11] Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a powerful example of a sermon that stirred many to turn from sin to the Savior.
Our hearts go out to people like those in Afghanistan who cry out for rescue from an oppressive human regime. How much more ought we to be impelled to action when considering those in peril of eternal separation from God, suffering in the place prepared for the torment of the devil and his angels!
Written by Wes Taber, LIFE Global Ambassador
How do Yeshua’s words “They did not understand” apply in our generation?
Who do you know who is “outside the ark of safety” today? What would it take for you to point them to the saving message of the gospel?
Endnotes:
[1] 2 Peter 2:5.
[2] See https://answersingenesis.org/bible-timeline/how-long-did-it-take-for-noah-to-build-the-ark/.
[3] Genesis 6:8.
[4] Genesis 6:8.
[5] Genesis 7:4 identifies the eight souls who entered the ark. No indication is given of the righteous standing of anyone apart from Noah.
[6] Genesis 6:19-20; of “clean” animals (suitable for sacrifice) seven were selected (Genesis 7:2).
[7] It may have taken a full week to load all passengers. See Genesis 7:1-4,10.
[8] Genesis 7:16.
[9] Genesis 7:11. In 40 days and nights of rain the floodwaters rose high enough to submerge Mt. Everest, but the initial release of torrents of water likely would have snuffed out living creatures not living at higher elevations fairly swiftly.
[10] “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4).
[11] Hebrews 10:26-31 – 26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.