Daily Devotional | Obey No Matter What

In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (see Day 9), Christian and Faithful one day entered Vanity Fair, a place of many worldly temptations. Offended by their unwillingness to participate, the townspeople threw the pair into prison. They held a mock trial and condemned them to death. Although God allowed Christian to escape, Faithful was tortured and burned at the stake, entering heaven as an honored martyr.

Even when the price is high, we must obey God. Many Bible stories illustrate this principle, including Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac and Daniel in the lions’ den. Noah teaches us this lesson as well. His extreme obedience was rooted in his righteous character and godly lifestyle (v. 9). He lived in stark contrast to the world around him (vv. 11–12).

When God commanded him to build the Ark, Noah may have been tempted to disobey or at least obey halfheartedly. The task appeared ludicrous. The huge size of the boat was bad enough (vv. 14–16). The assertion that the whole earth would be flooded and all life would perish seemed absurd (v. 17). The idea that only Noah and his family, accompanied by pairs of animals, would survive seemed like delusions of grandeur (vv. 18–21). Nonetheless, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him” (v. 22).

How long did it take to build the Ark? Scholars suggest about 75 years, given the ages and births recorded in the genealogies. For example, Ham had not even been born yet when God gave this command to Noah. Over the years, there would have been many opportunities for Noah to leave the path of obedience, but he persisted in faith (Heb. 11:7). Through words and deeds, he preached a message of judgment and righteousness to the world around him (2 Peter 2:5).