PONDER: NOAH

I read the story of Noah outloud the other day both for my own devotions and so Judah could hear it as he played. SEVERAL thoughts and questions occured to me as I read. The one that sticks out most concerns Noah's sons. Shem, Ham, and Japheth as well as their wives were also allowed on the ark. Now, we know that Noah was considered the only righteous man on earth -- which is why God chose to save him to continue humankind post-flood. I'd never thought about the spiritual status of his sons before now. Would God have allowed them on the ark if they were just like everyone else, corrupt beyond all measure? I'm not so sure He would have. Why destroy the earth because of the rampant evil and save 3 evil men to repopulate the earth? Perhaps Noah raised his sons according to God's ways, and they followed in their father's righteous footsteps. Does this mean their wives were also righteous? Noah's wife was also allowed on the ark. Does that mean she too was righteous like Noah? OR did God extend extra grace to Noah's family because of his righteous standing in God's eyes? Of course, Noah couldn't have repopulated the earth by himself. And I'm pretty sure he and his wife alone couldn't have considering Noah was 600+ at the time of the flood.

So. Were Noah's children righteous? Or were they shown grace because of Noah's character and the need for them to repopulate the earth?

*We do know that after the flood, Ham brought upon himself a curse from Noah because he basically acted like an immature teenage boy -- telling his brothers their father was naked in his tent instead of doing something about it like Shem and Japheth. But does that mean Ham was not righteous overall? We all slip up. Or was this really Ham's character? (Genesis 9)

Another interesting thought...if the world was SO evil and corrupt that God destroyed all living things save for just a few, what must it have been like??? We look at the world around us and are positively disgusted at the raging sin. And we don't even know EVERYTHING that happens under the sun as God does. We just know what happens around us and what gets reported in the media. Was Noah's day really more evil than ours? Or is it the same and God is just holding out a little longer before He brings in the new heaven and earth?

Just some thoughts to ponder.