Noah built the ark because God specifically commanded him to, and he believed God's warning about coming judgment.
The Bible records that God told Noah to make an ark because He was going to destroy the earth, and Noah did everything God commanded. Les Feldick emphasizes that Noah never started before God spoke; when God gave the command, Noah responded in faith and built it. Hebrews 11:7 describes this as preparing an ark because he was warned of things not yet seen.
Genesis 6:14 — Contains God's direct command for Noah to build the ark.
Genesis 6:22 — Records that Noah did everything God commanded him.
Hebrews 11:7 — Explains that Noah's ark was built by faith in God's warning about unseen judgment.
In Genesis 6, God looked at a corrupt and violent earth and told Noah He was going to destroy it. He then gave Noah a specific command: to make an ark of gopher wood. The Bible does not say Noah built the ark because he saw a flood coming; it says he built it because God spoke. Genesis 6:22 summarizes Noah's response: "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he." Hebrews 11:7 gives the New Testament explanation: "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." So Scripture presents Noah's ark as an act of faith in God's warning, not a response to visible evidence.
Les Feldick repeatedly uses the example of Noah to show that God's Word is the starting point of faith. He points out that God approached Noah and told him to do something no one had ever done before—build an ark. Noah did not jump the gun and begin building before God said anything. He waited until God gave the command, and then he obeyed. According to Les, that is what God calls faith: when God speaks, He expects people to believe Him, and that belief is demonstrated by action. Les also notes that Noah's building of the ark was a long process. From the time God commissioned Noah until the flood was about 120 years, and every blow in the ark's construction was a sermon to the surrounding people of coming judgment. The ark was not merely a wooden project; it was Noah's response to a direct word from God.
No. Les Feldick says Noah did not jump the gun and start hewing lumber six months before God spoke. Noah waited until God said, 'Build an ark,' and then he built it. This pattern shows that faith cannot operate until God speaks.
Hebrews 11:7 states that Noah was warned of God of things not seen as yet and, moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household. Les Feldick emphasizes this same truth: when God told Noah to build an ark, Noah believed Him and acted. God sees that response as faith, just as He counted believing Abraham as faith when Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees at God's command.
Les notes that the New Testament calls Noah a preacher of righteousness, and he takes from that the idea that the roughly 120 years between God's commission and the flood meant that every blow struck in building the ark was also a sermon of coming judgment to the people around him. The building itself testified to God's warning.
A Task That Had Never Been Done
Les stresses that God approached Noah with a commission to build something no one had ever built before—an ark, showing Noah's task was initiated by God, not human logic or experience.
Faith Is Responding When God Speaks
Les uses Noah as his example: God told Noah to build an ark, Noah built it, and God called that faith. This is central to why Noah acted.
Noah’s Flood & The Middle East Oil Prophecy | Genesis Bible Study
All right, so coming back now, then, if you will, to Noah's flood, I hope you've been asking yourself the question, well, now, if there was such turmoil, and with all these great tidal waves being caused by the earthquakes and the volcanoes, what about this ark? Even though it was built sturdily, and even though it was built of tremendous water-capable lumber, how did it survive? Well, do you reme…
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It just goes to show you how impressionistic young minds are. And I've almost had 100% of people I've ever said it to nod their head. You know, they know what I'm talking about. Well, listen, the ark was not just a little rowboat. It did not just have a little shed stuck in the middle, and there were no animals with their heads sticking over the edge.
Noah Responded by Faith
Les connects Hebrews 11 with Noah's story: by faith Noah responded to what God told him to do and built the ark, showing that God reckons response to His word as faith.
The Ark as a 120-Year Sermon
Les says the years of ark-building meant that every blow was also a sermon to surrounding people of coming judgment, reinforcing the purpose of Noah's obedience.
Noah’s Flood & The Middle East Oil Prophecy | Genesis Bible Study
So I think that I'm safe in saying that throughout this five, six months when the water was roaring, and this ark could have been tossed around like a cork and sunk many, many times, yet it was the very presence of Jehovah within that guaranteed that that ark stayed afloat.
Noah Waited for God's Word
Les demonstrates that Noah did not presume he would need an ark before God said so; he only started after God's command, underscoring that faith responds to God speaking.
Genesis 6:22: Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
This verse directly states that Noah's building was obedience to God's command.
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.
This explains that Noah's ark was prepared by faith in God's warning about unseen judgment.
No. According to Hebrews 11:7, Noah was warned of God of things not seen as yet. He prepared the ark by faith in God's warning, not because he had visible proof.
No. Les Feldick points out that Noah did not jump the gun. He waited until God said, 'Build an ark,' and then he built it. Faith in Les's teaching is responding when God speaks.
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