Today is Valentine’s Day, a holiday commonly celebrated for showing love to others. I think that’s a good idea, and it was named after St. Valentine, who lived in the third century A.D. He did get beheaded for his faith in Jesus, doing many good works in his time (you can read more in Shane Claiborne’s post about him on Facebook). I think God wanted Noah to build the ark so people could see that He wanted them to escape the flood. It must’ve been pretty difficult for him to do, but at least there may not have been so many people pretending to be righteous in those days, using Jesus’ Name to promote Pharisism and such (you can read the Gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, about three-fourths of the way into the Bible to find more, and I’ll get to them eventually). I don’t know what Noah’s world looked like in that way, but Jesus did say that as is was then, it’ll be the same when He takes up those who love Him (Matthew 24:37). We don’t need to be prolific about anything, though.
I noticed that verse nine of this chapter was translated to say Noah was blameless, the best man, and perfect, all in those four translations (the passage can be found in pages 3-4 of my NKJV Bible, pages 4-5 of my NASB Bible, and page 8 of both my VOICE and Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copies I bought about three years apart). All three are correct, for the Hebrew makes at least those three meanings (or maybe they make just those three words, I don’t know Hebrew well at all). For Noah had perfect DNA, and by this he was able to have Jesus descend from him about three thousand years later. To him, it didn’t matter that no one else was righteous, he wanted to get anyone in his ark however he could. Only his wife, sons, and their wives heeded him, but Christ’s words through Noah (1 Peter 3:19-20) were not wasted. It’s pretty cool how anyone can receive Him, and I really hope I can get my family saved (I had gotten three other people to become Christian before). But anyone who resists the Holy Spirit will not be included in the heavenly city, New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:6-8). I did hear of something in which Jesus’ death brought many people to life including some who had died in Noah’s time, though. Maybe I read a bad idea, but I know many people came back to earth from Heaven (Matthew 27:52).
In today’s time, about five thousand years after Noah’s ark escapade, we are commanded to preach the Gospel with or without words, as all who have ever received Jesus as Lord and Saviour have been since His death and resurrection. But many people have falsified His Word too much since then. And we live in a time in which Christ is being mocked more than ever due to the White House making an “emergency” to try again to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and also many other unjust things in relation to rejecting refugees and denying people healthcare, especially if it’s affordable. Also, many parts of the world are following this pattern directly, and most of the world’s churches are eating it up and following the U.S. government like sheep. But Jesus’ voice is more convicting than their voices are. Indeed, His people will not follow them at all (John 10:5). People will tell me to get involved in politics or that I don’t know what I’m talking about, but how am I supposed to follow anything like this? No one in Christ can do that in good conscience, for it opposes Him, and so does slavery, sex trafficking, fraud, all of it. But St. Valentine didn’t die in vain; indeed, God will bring him into the heavenly city.
I’ll write more on the Flood and relating some of it to today’s events as I go through the next three chapters. I pray I write good content on this, and that it’s not illegal to think the good we want. See you soon!
Ron And His Stories 