Preface
I have always enjoyed taking a particular word or phrase in the Bible and using it as a theme for a series of sermons or studies. The context in which they are found opens the door for many spiritual truths to be addressed and wonderful lessons to be gleaned. An example is the subject of this book – BIBLE WINDOWS.
I have not attempted to look at every occurrence of the word “window” in the Bible, but want to draw your attention to only a few and share with you some lessons that are gleaned from the setting in which we find these Bible Windows. As we look through each window, whether it be through the eyes of Noah, Rahab, Michal, Solomon, Eutychus, or the window of heaven; it is my prayer that you will see the Lord Jesus and His great plan and purpose for your life.
With the prayer of Elisha, “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see” (2 Kings 6:17), I offer these lessons from BIBLE WINDOWS.
Ken D. Trivette
Looking at Storms through the Window of Noah’s Ark
The year 2005 will be remembered as the year of storms. The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season had been plagued with ten tropical storms. The 11would leave a mark like no other. On August 25, Katrina, the first category 5 hurricane of the season, struck the Gulf Coast of the U.S. with devastating results.
Its devastation resulted in Federal disaster declarations blanketing 90,000 square miles, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom. Its storm surge breached the levees that protected the city of New Orleans leaving the city flooded. Katrina left more than 1.5 million people displaced, creating a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the United States since the Great Depression. An estimated three million were left without electricity. The death toll stood at 1,383, and as of December 20, 2005, more than 4,000 people remained unaccounted for. The destruction Katrina brought made it the most costly and deadliest natural disaster in United States history since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.
As devastating as Katrina was, it pales in size, strength, and destruction to the storm recorded in Genesis. We shall call it Noah’s storm, a storm that completely covered and destroyed the entire earth. The whole population of the earth died with the exception of “eight souls” (cp. 1 Pet 3:20); Noah and his immediate family.
To save Noah and his family from the deadliest and most destructive storm in history, God said to him, “Make thee an ark” (Gen 6:14). From the materials to the measurements, Noah was directed by God in the building of the ark.
In the ark there were to be “rooms.” It was to consist of three decks or “stories” with only one door “set in the side thereof.” The ark would measure in length 300 cubits (450 ft), fifty cubits (70 ft) in width, and 30 cubits (45 ft) in height (cp. Gen 6:14-16).
The purpose of the ark was to provide Noah and his family a place of refuge from the storm. Hebrews 11:7 says, “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.” When the storm came, Noah and his family found themselves safe and secure in the ark. In a storm of unprecedented devastation all in the ark were spared.
Peter said, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (1 Pet 4:12). The trials of which Peter spoke refer to the calamities and difficult experiences that are often encountered in life. So often we refer to the trials of life as storms.
The storms of life are those times when we find our life being bombarded by the howling winds and the rising waters of the circumstances we face. These storms can come leaving our own private worlds in chaos. Both inward and outward we can find ourselves being tossed about by the storms of life. As Peter said, we should not be surprised by the storms of life. They are unavoidable and certain to come.
Oh yes, there is one more feature of the ark that I want to mention. God said to Noah, “A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit thou shalt finish it above” (Gen 6:16). I want us to look at the storms of life through the window that was in the ark. I believe it will help us to see that although the storms of life may come with devastating force, there is safety and security in the storm.
First, let’s step inside the ark with Noah and look through this window. As we do so we see that:
LOOKING OUT CAN SHAKE OUR FAITH
When you look out the window you see the storm. You see the rain falling, the wind blowing, and the waters rising. You see a storm that reminds us of:
What We Often Face
The Bible says, “And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered” (Gen 7:17-20).
It was a storm of gigantic proportions and one of unprecedented measure. History has recorded many devastating storms, but this one stands in a class all of its own. There has never been a storm like it, and thankfully God promised there would never be another. The Bible says that “all the fountains of the great deep” were “broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (Gen 7:11).
Actually it was a storm of God’s judgment upon a world and society that grieved God within His heart (cp. Gen 6:6). The wickedness of man was so great that God said, “And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them” (Gen 6:7).
But there was Noah, a man who was just, perfect in his generations, and walked with God (cp. Gen 6:9). This great and godly man found himself in a storm. Noah in the storm reminds us that God’s people are not immune from the storms of life. A life of faith and faithfulness does not erect a protective wall that keeps us untouched by storms. Even the levees of the godly are often breeched by life’s storms.
The storm in which Noah found himself reminds us of how extended our storms can be. The Bible says, God caused it to “rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights” (Gen 7:4) and that “the flood was forty days upon the earth” (Gen 7:17) resulting in the flood waters lasting “an hundred and fifty days” (Gen 7:24). Our storms can last for a few days; others can last for months and even in some cases for years.
Noah’s storm also reminds us of how extensive our storms can be. The Bible says the “waters increased” and “increased greatly” (Gen 7:17 & 18). The lowlands flooded first and as the waters began to rise the hills were swallowed beneath the raging waters. Ultimately the highest mountains were submerged. Our storms can come leaving us totally submersed in difficulty and distress.
As well, Noah’s storm reminds us of how expansive our storms can be. There was not one single inch of land that was visible. The whole earth was under water. Our storms can come in many forms affecting our life in many areas. The storm can be financial, physical, marital, material or a combination of these things.
Noah’s storm not only reminds us of what we often face, but also:
How We Often Feel
Even though Noah faced the storm with faith and the assurance that God would see him and his family safely through, I can imagine that as the rain pounded the ark and the winds rocked it back and forth, there were moments of distress and anxiety for all aboard.
As we face the storms of life there are times when we can be gripped with a feeling of helplessness. Our storms can come with such intensity and adversity that is beyond our ability to stop or slow what is happening.
We can also be filled with feelings of hopelessness. The length of our storm can leave us wondering if there will ever be an end