Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Women of the Bible - Mrs. Noah

   I have a small collection of Noah's Arks.
  When the boys play with one in particular....they always want to know who the woman is.  All I've ever been able to tell them is Mrs. Noah....or Noah's wife.  Wonder why God didn't inspire the writer to tell us her name?  As a woman....do you feel like you can identify with Mrs. Noah. I sometimes say that I'm Pappy's wife....Jess' Mom....and now the boys' Nanny....and I have no identity of my own.
:)

Whatever I'm able to share about Mrs. Noah with you all will have to be just from speculation....and my perspective.

Mrs. Noah is given recognition 6 times in scripture....
Genesis 6:18, Genesis 7:7, Genesis 7:13, Genesis 8:16, and Genesis 8:18

If you look up each of those verses of scripture....there's a common theme in all of them....they have to do with either entering the boat....or getting off the boat.  Think back to when God first told Noah to build the ark.  I've often wondered what Mrs. Noah thought about that.  Do you think she was supportive of Noah?  Do you think she had her doubts that he had really heard from the Lord?  When people ridiculed Noah....I wonder if she stood up for him?  Of course, women in Noah's day weren't allowed to "speak their mind" like us girls do today.  You know in scripture how we're commanded....as wives....to be submissive to our husbands.  I think that Mrs. Noah was an ultimate example of just that.  She loved Noah....and she also loved God....so I picture her as being supportive of everything that he shared with her that God had instructed him to do.

It took Noah 120 years to build the ark....and during that time he continued to preach about God's judgment and His mercy....warning the people of their pending doom....but there were no converts.

I Peter 3:20
....those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.

I try to put myself in Mrs. Noah's shoes.  
I wonder if she got mad at people for making fun of her husband....I know I would if that were Pappy. I would be taking up for him....defending him.  But....I also believe that Mrs. Noah had to be a woman of great faith.  The world that she had known for all of her life was going to be destroyed by a flood.  Up to this point, there had never even been rain on the earth.  It was watered by what we would refer to today as "frost".  So I feel that Mrs. Noah was just as concerned for the lives of her friends as Noah was....and just like we should all be today.

Yes....I think all of us can learn a lesson from 
Mrs. Noah....to "stand by our man"....and to "keep our eyes on the prize"!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!


6 comments:

  1. This is a wonderful post.

    YOU know, when my husband was alive, I defended him, stood by him, stood behind him, and at times stood in front of him to take the "heat". Female friends did not like it. I told them that when they loved their husband's as I loved mine, they would understand!

    Have a wonderful day Deb.

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  2. I'm following your blog through the blog hop and would love a visit. Love the Scriptures in your sidebar and this devotional. Blessings!

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  3. I can only imagine how supportive she was of him... after all she was on the ark with him!

    I love my husband and have stood by him through so much. And I am so grateful for the places and experiences we have had together...from Russia to Belize I would not have wanted to miss a moment of this journey by second guessing his calling.

    Thanks for the lesson of Mrs. Noah!

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  4. What FUN to imagine how Mrs. Noah might have handled the whole situation. If Noah was the only righteous MAN God found on the earth, it's possible that the two of them often felt alone against the world. It probably bonded them even more closely...

    I have a few Noah/ark pieces. I'd forgotten about them until you mentioned yours. I'd enjoy seeing a picture or two of yours, Deb!

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  5. I, too, wondered about Ms. Noah especially after learning how the Black Sea (in ancient Turkey) changed from a fresh water lake to a salt water sea in a very short time. After researching the culture of the time period, I wrote a novel about her life (as I imagined it). It's my first (published) book. You can read up to 100 pages on my website to see if it is of interest! (www.noahswife.com)

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  6. My son asked me if Noah's wife crocheted. Not as deep as your thoughts, but it was a fun perspective to see how he views our life and the Bible!

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Kind words are like honey—
sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
Proverbs 16:24