God is in the Details

You have probably heard it said that the devil is in the details. Of course, this simply means that the real work is found in the fine points, technicalities and specifics. It's less difficult to cast the vision than it is to carry it out, particularly if the visionary provides no help with the "how to" of it.

Moses writes in the book of Genesis, "The Lord saw how evil humans had become on the earth. All day long their deepest thoughts were nothing but evil. The Lord was sorry that he had made humans on the earth, and he was heartbroken." (Genesis 6:5-6) So, God made a plan for a do-over.

[God] said, “I will wipe off the face of the earth these humans that I created. I will wipe out not only humans, but also domestic animals, crawling animals, and birds. I’m sorry that I made them.” But the Lord was pleased with Noah. (Genesis 6:7-8)

What was it about Noah that was so different than the rest of the world's inhabitants? Noah had God’s approval and was a man of integrity among the people of his time. He walked with God. (Genesis 6:9)

It had never rained, but God planned a world-wide flood. If Noah and his family were to survive such a catastrophic event and have enough space to repopulate the world with birds and animals of every kind (not species) then a really BIG boat would be needed.

God said, "Make yourself a ship of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ship and coat it inside and out with tar. This is how you should build it: the ship is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Make a roof for the ship, and leave an 18-inch-high opening at the top. Put a door in the side of the ship. Build the ship with lower, middle, and upper decks. (Genesis 6:14-16)

Until 1858, the Ark was the largest floating vessel ever built. In 1844, a man named Isambard K. Brunnel built a giant ship called the Great Britain using almost the exact ratio of the ark — 30:5:3. As it turns out, these dimensions are the perfect ratio for a huge boat built for seaworthiness and not for speed. In addition, shipbuilders during World War II used that same 30:5:3 ratio to build a boat that came to be known as “the ugly duckling” — a barge-like boat built to carry tremendous amounts of cargo.

No other details are given in the Bible but you can be sure in the 55-75 years that it took to build this massive boat that Noah utilized the best boat-building techniques known to man and followed the leading of God's wise Spirit. In Genesis 6:22 we read, "He did everything that God had commanded him."

Noah was a man of integrity that walked with God and obeyed Him in this massive building project for over half a century with not a drop of rain in the forecast until he was finished. Would you do the same? God is in the details, not the devil. It is God's plan alone that will save you.