Failed Heroes: Noah

Christians, in considering spiritual heroes, have a tendency to focus on the successes and ignore the failures. All spiritual heroes, whether contemporary, from church history, or from the Bible itself, have experienced times of failure. While it is beneficial to consider the successes and learn how to do the right things, it is a mistake to gloss over the failures. God deliberately recorded them in the Bible to provide benefit to His children.

When a Christian places a spiritual hero on an exalted pedestal of unblemished admiration, he creates a false standard and a faulty expectation. This selective examination of great men of faith leads to guilt or hopelessness, as the modern Christian realizes he will never be able to live up to that standard. Since he can't be as outstanding as those heroes, he assumes there is little he can do for God. This sense of unworthiness leads to a mediocre Christian life in which one merely muddles through until he makes it to heaven.

God intends for all of His children to serve Him and live for Him, even though they are imperfect. By revealing the weaknesses and failures of some great heroes, God reveals that someone can struggle and falter, even fail greatly, and still be used in a tremendous way. God's deliberate inclusion of the negative episodes in the lives of these heroes illustrates that it is not a single instance of success or failure that is most important. Rather, God seeks a heart dedicated to loving and serving Him - a heart that will return to that central focus even after a time of struggle. In other words, these men are heroes not because of any particularly amazing exploit, but because at their core they had a unwavering determination to please God. Their submissive heart minimized self and revealed God as the true hero who accomplished His work through the yielded vessel.

In order to become (or continue being) a hero, the heart determination must win out over the human failures. For some of the Bible heroes, their struggle was most evident before they became heroes. For others, it surfaced in the midst of their heroism, and for some, the inability to win the struggle ended their heroism. Just like in the past, Christians who give up today can end their spiritual impact and taint the success that has been previously achieved. On the other hand, any Christian who continually returns to that place of humble dedication can be a hero. Upcoming posts will explore the lives of various Bible heroes and their failures.

NOAH

How was Noah a hero? God Himself evaluates Noah. In Noah's day, God looked around the earth and saw great wickedness and evil thoughts. The evil was so great that God determined to destroy all life on the entire earth. Noah was the one man who caught God's attention as being different. "Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8). The Bible describes him as "a righteous man, blameless in his time; [who] walked with God" (v. 9). God told Noah, "You alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time" (7:1). In spite of ridicule from others, Noah obeyed God in carrying out some pretty extreme tasks: building a huge boat when it had never rained, assembling all of the animals, and providing provision for a lengthy exile. He faithfully waited through the many months of floating on the ark and exited only when God cleared him to do so, at which time he worshipped God.

How did Noah fail? Noah brought shame to himself and his family. Genesis 9:21-27 tells the story of Noah's drunkenness. While the wine was in control of his body and mind, he shamefully displayed himself naked in his tent. Unfortunately, his shame spread to his family. His son Canaan was responsible for his own actions, but the sad truth is that Noah created the situation in which his son responded incorrectly. Noah was so upset by Canaan's indiscretion of disclosing this sensitive situation to others that he pronounced a curse on him. He condemned Canaan to a life of servitude to his brothers, but Noah's indiscretion directly led to his son's.

What was Noah's heart response? The only response shared in the Bible is Noah's indignation. We do not see Noah accept responsibility for his own actions, admit guilt, or express repentance.

How did Noah's story end? Noah lived for many more years after this incident, but there is no additional record of his actions or evaluation of his character. He may have still lived a godly life, but God chose to leave this negative event as the end of Noah's story. Strife had been introduced to his family - strife over what in actuality was a minor incident, an incident brought on by a moment of weakness and by a poor decision in the life of Noah. His family was never the same again.

Application: Noah was a spiritual hero; God said so. Several passages in the New Testament refer back to Noah's righteousness, by reason of which God spared his family. One incident does not erase his eternal standing, but it does put a blemish on his story, and it deeply affected his family. It is never okay to rest on one's reputation or actions of the past. Just because one has always been above reproach does not mean that he cannot fall now. A moment of weakness, a poor decision, a temporary fulfillment of fleshly desires can change everything. The Bible makes it clear that God forgives failures when the believer repents, but sometimes the consequences cannot be reversed. There is no one who reaches hero status so permanently that it cannot be lost. Even mature believers must remain on guard and diligent to guard against fleshly appetites and times of uninhibited pursuit of pleasure. If a poor choice leads to damaging others, proper personal responsibility must be claimed, and steps must be taken to restore each person involved, directing affected parties back toward the right path.

"By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." Hebrews 11:7 (NASB)