Noah’s Long Wait

By: Dale Weckbacher

After the fall of man in the garden and the murder of Abel by Cain, the human race became more and more corrupt. At the height of this corruption, we see the grief of God and God’s decision to completely wipe out the human race.

Gen 6:5-7

5 Now the LORD observed the extent of the people's wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. 6 So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his heart. 7 And the LORD said, "I will completely wipe out this human race that I have created. Yes, and I will destroy all the animals and birds, too. I am sorry I ever made them."
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In the midst of this dire situation for mankind, we see one man, Noah who found special favor or grace with the Lord.

Gen 6:8
8 But Noah found favor with the LORD.
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Verse 9 of Genesis 6 tells us why Noah found this favor with God.

Gen 6:9-10

9 This is the history of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God's will and enjoyed a close relationship with him.
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God knew he could depend on Noah so he proceeds to give instructions to Noah on what to do to protect himself and his family.

Gen 6:11-22

11 Now the earth had become corrupt in God's sight, and it was filled with violence. 12 God observed all this corruption in the world, and he saw violence and depravity everywhere. 13 So God said to Noah, "I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Yes, I will wipe them all from the face of the earth!

14 "Make a boat from resinous wood and seal it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. 15 Make it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 Construct an opening all the way around the boat, 18 inches below the roof. Then put three decks inside the boat — bottom, middle, and upper — and put a door in the side.

17 "Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing. Everything on earth will die! 18 But I solemnly swear to keep you safe in the boat, with your wife and your sons and their wives. 19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal — a male and a female — into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. 20 Pairs of each kind of bird and each kind of animal, large and small alike, will come to you to be kept alive. 21 And remember, take enough food for your family and for all the animals."

22 So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.
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120 years after God’s decision to wipe out mankind and instructing Noah to start building the ark, the flood came. How do we know this much time passed? The answer is in Genesis 6:2-3

Gen 6:2-3
3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, they will live no more than 120 years."
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Some might interpret this passage to mean that the lifespan of man in the future would only be 120 years, but we do observe men and women living longer than 120 years after the flood.

Gen 11:10-26
10 This is the history of Shem's family.


When Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born. This happened two years after the Flood. 11 After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son Shelah was born. 13 After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah was 30 years old, his son Eber was born. 15 After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber was 34 years old, his son Peleg was born. 17 After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg was 30 years old, his son Reu was born. 19 After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu was 32 years old, his son Serug was born. 21 After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug was 30 years old, his son Nahor was born. 23 After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor was 29 years old, his son Terah was born. 25 After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

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The correct interpretation of Genesis 6:3 is that the men living at that time were only going to live 120 years more. God could have destroyed them immediately but in his grace he was giving them time to come back to him. These people would have seen Noah building the ark for 120 years. Most likely, they would have asked Noah what he was doing. Noah, a righteous man of faith would have shared the truth with them and since none of these people joined Noah and his family in the ark, we can assume they did not believe what Noah told them.

Noah had to wait 120 years to see God fulfill his promise to him. The question we must ask ourselves is how long would we be willing to wait for the fulfillment of God’s promise to us?

Just as Noah’s faith was rewarded and his family was spared the destruction that God brought upon the earth, our faith in God’s fulfillment of his promises to us will also be rewarded. We live in tumultuous times and it often may seem that God has forgotten his promises to us. My word of encouragement to you is to remain faithful for God is true to his Word and he will reward our faithfulness to him.