Lifespan

Unknown.

Ministry

Noah’s ministry was unique. He was called to preach repentance to the people, yet to prepare for their complete destruction. Along with being a preacher of righteousness, he was also called to be a naval engineer, a carpenter, a master of animal husbandry, and an agrarian genius for the rebuilding and repopulating for the earth.

Preparation and Calling

His preparation is unrecorded. His calling seems to have come when God spoke to him directly and told him to build an ark because He was going to destroy everyone else on the planet. To Noah’s credit, he heeded God’s direction every whit, and, as a result, became a sort of second “Adam” in the history of the human race.

Interaction with God

Noah seemed to have a good relationship with God. Although we don’t know the exact nature of God’s revelations to His prophet, the scriptural record explains that God spoke and Noah heard and obeyed. Whether this took place through the quiet whisperings of the Spirit, through angelic ministrants, or in a direct face-to-face with God is not explained, but given Noah’s position as apparently the most righteous man on earth, any of these options are entirely feasible.

Social Situation

The people all about Noah’s family were wicked, and God wanted to destroy them all if they didn’t repent. Noah was called to call them to repentance, build a ark, gather together samples of all animals on the earth, along with fishes and birds.

Key Teachings

Obey God and repent. Or die.

Living with the Prophet

“Sure, God. A great flood that will cover the entire earth and kill everything. And thou wouldst have me to build a boat how big? For all the animals?” Noah might have had thoughts like this when God told him to build an ark and explained its purpose, but we are all grateful that he obeyed. As we move towards the time when Jesus Christ will return to reign again, terrible things have been prophesied by God’s prophets. How will we react to those warnings? Will we obey our prophets, or find ourselves wishing we had! Resolve to learn what God’s prophets have told us and continue to tell us about the days in which we live.

Sources

Oxford Companion to the Bible, s.v. “Noah”

Encyclopedia of Religion, s.v. “Noah”

Holy Bible, the book of Genesis

Learning Bible, the book of Genesis