Apparently Noah didn’t preach to the people of his time, is that correct? If so, I wonder why not.
The Bible tells us that God “spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 2:5). Noah is referred to as the eighth person because seven others were also saved by going into the ark…Noah’s wife, Noah’s three sons (Ham, Shem, and Japheth) and their three wives were the only ones spared from the terrible flood of God’s judgment. 1 Peter 3:20 tells us that “few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
We are not told particularly of Noah preaching to ‘the people of his time’, but we are told that he was a PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
We read in Hebrews 11:7, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Noah’s faith and obedience to the Lord in the building of the ark surely spoke to those around him. His actions ‘condemned the world’ by showing that the Lord was about to send the great flood. It is possible that the people had never even seen rain before the flood. We read in Genesis 2:5-6, “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.”
Noah’s building of the ark certainly brought many questions from those around him. I can imagine that Noah was faithful in telling others the purpose of the ark. We are told that Noah “was a just man and perfect in his generations.” (Genesis 6:9). It seems appropriate that Noah would have shared the Lord’s words from Genesis 6:17, “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.”
We are told that Noah was righteous (2 Peter 2:8).
We are told that he was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5).
We are told that he was heir of the righteousness which is by faith (Hebrew 11:7).
Noah’s testimony before the people of his generation must have spoken loudly, but, sadly enough, his words and actions were ignored by EVERY PERSON THAT HEARD OR SAW HIM. Thankfully, the Lord does not reward results, He rewards faithfulness. Noah’s preaching was not in vain. He was used of the Lord as a testimony to His righteousness. Even today, the work of Noah in building the ark is one of the most well-known portions in the Bible. It could be said of Noah, even as it is said of Abel that, “he being dead yet speaketh.” (Hebrews 11:4).
Was Noah a preacher of salvation or of condemnation? He “prepared an ark to the saving of his house.” Does that mean no one besides Noah and his family were offered salvation? I am reminded of Jonah’s message of condemnation, “And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” (Jonah 3:4). Upon hearing this message of condemnation, there was repentance among the people. Jonah 3:5 says, “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.” We then read in verse 10, “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” Even though God condemned Ninevah, He spared them when they repented of their sins and turned to Him in faith. What about you, dear friend. Have you repented of your sins and put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Our loving God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). If you have never put your faith in the Lord Jesus, I encourage you to do that now, before it is eternally too late. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” (Acts 16:31). (357.2)