According to the Office of National Statistics Noah has replaced Oliver as the most popular name for boys. In the Bible Noah was a remarkable man who is described as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, who walked faithfully with God.” Noah lived in days of great evil. The Bible says, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.” It seems our world has similarities with the world of Noah’s time.
Things were so bad that God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord. God commanded Noah to build an ark of cypress wood. It was to be 450 feet long and 75 feet wide with 3 decks. God was going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth would perish.
God commanded Noah to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground came to him and he also stored enough food for them all. God told Noah to make sure that his wife, his 3 sons and their wives were safe in the ark. Noah did everything just as God commanded him so that he and his family and all the creatures in the ark survived the flood.
As we think of the new generation of little boys called Noah growing up in these difficult times, we can pray that God will protect them, and all other children, as he protected the first Noah. May they know God, live righteous lives and be protected from the many evil influences in the world today. May their parents protect them as Noah protected his family. May both parents and children experience the love of Jesus who will keep them safe for ever. In recent weeks we have seen many beautiful rainbows that remind us of the promise God gave to Noah after the flood that never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.