We continue the narrative of Noah and his family as people whom God chose to save from the judgment of the flood. Noah was obedient in following God. Genesis 6:9 reports that “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” So God told Noah to make an ark which would be coated with pitch inside and out. He was to take his wife, his three sons and their wives along with all the animals onto the ark where they would be saved from the flood. Genesis 6:22 and 7:5 reveal the obedience of Noah. It would have been natural for him to question the assignment, for there wasn’t any sign of rain any time soon. But Noah persisted and did everything that God had instructed him to do.   There’s one element of this story that caught my attention in this reading: that Noah had to trust that God was going to shut the door of the ark. Verse 16 states, “Then the Lord shut him in.” God’s act of sealing the door reminds us of the deliverance of God.

If we use the account of Noah as a model for living out our baptism there are several characteristics we might embrace. Baptism is an act of submission to God, where we covenant to obey God. Noah was righteous. He had a personal relationship with God (see 6:9 where he walked with God). He was faithful to God, obedient to God, and Noah exhibited patience in that he waited on the Lord to close the door to the ark and seal the opening. The hope of baptism is an unwavering commitment to obey what God commands us to do.  Blessings, Pastor Bob