Why Build a Gigantic Boat in the Desert?

God often asks His people to do something hard or unbelievable, but He vindicates faith. In relation to God’s personal speech, if mankind obeys, God will pour out blessing. He did so for Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, Mary, etc. Faith has been demonstrated time and time again by hearing God speak and doing what He asks.

When encouraging people of faith to read the Bible and actually do what it says, I think it would behoove us to remind Christians that: “when we don’t obey, we pay. When we do, God comes through!” (Oh, I can see a bumper-sticker-slogan writing campaign in my near future.)

In contrast, disobeying God’s word results in punishment, i.e. Adam and Eve getting kicked out of paradise which disconnected them from fellowship with their Creator. The first couple’s motivation for disobeying was they wanted to be their own gods. How true this is today when observing human nature and the culture around us! It doesn’t take a lot of intelligence to see that people haven’t changed much since Adam and Eve were in Eden. A fiercely independent being, man wants to be his own god, making decisions on his own, thinking he actually “owns” anything at all. It is so prideful! God created it all, and we are fools to think we even own one single thing. We can’t even make a blade of grass! We can plant the seed, but we’ve yet to be able to create one. It’s all been given, and it’s all grace.

God wants us to obey rather than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22). So if God is asking you to do something that seems to defy logic, i.e. building a boat in the desert, then it’s best to obey. You will be blessed in the long run by acting in faith that God has a reason even if His will maybe revealed much later down the line.

This is the very story of the Bible itself — God telling people what to do and people responding with a “yes” or a “no.” So, Noah said yes to building a huge boat where there was no water, and God saved him and his family, and ultimately, the entire human race. Isn’t that the whole Biblical narrative? It is a love story of redemption, which is why we should choose to build a boat in the desert, too. What boat is God asking you to build in your life? Trust God and do what He is asking, and you will be blessed, either right away or in His time.