Lessons from Noah’s Need for the Ark

I was thinking recently about the story of Noah and the ark and it hit me hard how neat it was that Noah listened to revelation from the Lord to build the ark waaaaaaay before it was needed.

Think about the verse from “Follow the Prophet.”

Noah was a prophet called to preach the word,

Tried to call repentance, but nobody heard.

They were busy sinning--Noah preached in vain.

They wished they had listened when they saw the rain.

I started wondering to myself if the wicked really did wish they had listened when it started to rain.  How would they know this rain was different than other rain?  They’d probably seen rain before.

I bet they still didn’t understand the importance of the ark when it was beginning to flood.  They probably just headed for higher ground, thinking higher ground was all they needed.

I think it was probably when the water was rising to the higher ground and was beginning to cover it that they began to understand the need for an ark--the ark was like higher ground that rose as the waters rose.  But by then, it was too late to do anything, too late to prepare. 

Noah’s story shows us that when we finally see the need for the preparation it is already too late. 

I’m so glad we have prophets who can warn us ahead of time.  It takes faith to prepare when we don’t see the need for it yet, but at some point circumstances will change and we will understand why that preparation was needed and we will rejoice, having prepared.