NOAH AND HIS HOUSE

“By faith Noah ... prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world”, Heb 11: 7.

“Thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee”. Gen 6: 18.

“And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation”. Gen 7: 1.

“In the days of Noah while the ark was preparing, into which few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water: which figure also now saves you, even baptism, not a putting away of the filth of flesh, but the demand as before God of a good conscience, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ”, 1 Pet 3: 20, 21.

Noah did not seek to improve the world in his day; he did not seek to put things in order in the world, did not join in its pleasures or politics; he knew that God had condemned it, and that the day of judgment was impending; he testified against it, and by his works he condemned it. His thought was to save himself and his house from all that system of things which God was about to judge. He did not seek to save himself and leave his house in it—he built an ark to the saving of his house. So it should be with us. God has appointed means by which we can save ourselves and our households, which figure even baptism now saves us. In baptism a man severs his connection with his former associations in the world, in figure he takes the place of death; he is identified with Christ’s death, and that puts him outside (in figure) of the system of this world—this world is condemned, John 12: 31. If I accept death, I have done with the world to which Christ died, and which God has condemned; I am saved from it at least in an outward way. But then if I desire to save myself I desire to save my house. God’s mind is, “Thou shalt be saved and thy house”, Acts 16: 31. My thought is not to bring up my children as part of the world system, nor to give them a place in it, but as saved from it to bring them up for the Lord in the discipline and admonition of the Lord, for God’s world instead of man’s world. If I accept baptism as the outward way of salvation for them according to the mind of God, then I am bound to act consistently with it in bringing them up. If this be done in faith, God will surely answer to it, by the saving work of His grace attaching their hearts to Christ, and thus save them effectually and fit them for His glory.

What a contrast all this is to Lot, who went down to Sodom, took part in its politics, brought up his family in it, and nearly left them to perish in its overthrow. It was not in his thoughts to save himself and his house, but rather to find prosperity in the well-watered plains of Sodom. It is a most serious question for all parents to consider as to which of these courses they are following—that of Noah or that of Lot. We must remember this: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”, Gal 6: 7. Of Abraham God could say, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord”, Gen 18: 19. And again Joshua could say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”, Josh 24: 15. Then in the case of the jailor (Acts 16), the Lord put before him the thought of salvation for him and his house, and his faith answered to it. He “was baptised, he and all his straightway”. “Thou and thy house” expresses a divine principle which runs through scripture.

Baptism is the outward expression of a man’s faith. The faith of the jailor, in response to the testimony of Paul, recognised the rights and power of the Lord in regard to himself and his house, hence he was baptised, he and all his. That was the outward expression of his faith. This is what we start with, then our purpose should be to be true to this in our future practice—that is, in a practical way to recognise the rights of the Lord in regard to ourselves and our households. We are to bring up our children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. We must not seek to bring up our children for the world but for the Lord. We need always to remember that He has rights in regard to them, they belong to Him.

In 1 Samuel 1 and 2, Hannah confessed that she had received the child Samuel from the Lord, then she presented him to the Lord on the ground of sacrifice, the figure of Christ’s death, and then she devoted him to the Lord, and lastly clothed him in a manner that was befitting one devoted to the Lord. In this way her whole practice was consistent with her faith. If we act in like manner we can count upon the power of the Lord to save them, even as we count upon the power of the Lord for our own salvation. No doubt we have greatly failed in faith, and in the works that should follow—that is, in the recognition of the rights of the Lord in connection with our households. This, no doubt, is the reason why the Lord’s name has often been dishonoured in the households of His saints. Wherever we set ourselves to carry out the will of the Lord we shall find the power of the Lord to support us in so doing. “Thou and thy house” conveys the thought of great privilege, but it carries with it a corresponding responsibility, but the grace and power of the Lord are sufficient.

From Helps for the Poor of the Flock vol 17 (1912)