Refer Genesis 6,7
Why did not Noah make any effort to help the sinful people change
their ways or why did he not ask God to change His mind? Abram asked
God to save the people of Sodon and Gomorrah and Jonah did for the
people of Nineeveh.

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 21 Oct 2006 12:52 PDT

Please consider by comments below and let me know what you think of it?

tutuzdad-ga

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Clarification of Question by westy29-ga on 02 Nov 2006 05:39 PST

Thank you for your answer. It seems your coments are shared by the
members of our bible study. I probably have a negative attitude toward
Noah based on my assumption that he didn't try to warn the people.Your
opinion is much appreciated. Thanks for your coments.

Dave Westerman

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 02 Nov 2006 05:55 PST

Shall we consider this an answer then?

tutuzdad-ga

---

Clarification of Question by westy29-ga on 06 Nov 2006 12:15 PST

Yes, I consider my question answered.  Thank you..
Dave Westerman

Dear westy29-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. Rather
than reiterate the lengthy discussion that has been posted, in an
effort to officially close your question I will simply refer to you my
comment (and the other posts below) that, as you say, have answered
your question. I am delighted to have been able to assist you and I
hope if you have any other similar questions that you will stop back
by. We?ll do our best to help you find the answers you are seeking.

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher


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I don't like to speculate about why God did or didn't do something,
but maybe after the Creation, He assumed that mankind would carry on
in a proper manner and He didn't have to get involved.  But Adam and
Eve and Cain quickly demonstrated that all was not right in the world,
passing on some bad traits to all their descendents.  By Noah's time,
things seem to have gotten out of hand; He didn't like anything he
saw:
"6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually.

6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it
grieved him at his heart.

6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the
face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and
the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."  KJV

I expect that since God didn't yet have much experience with mankind,
nor mankind with Him  - there is no mention of worship prior to Noah -
 He figured it was best to start all over again, rather than expect
Noah to change the peoples' ways.  The problem was also much greater
(worldwide) than Sodom and Gomorrah or Nineveh, just localized dens of
iniquity.
By the time of Abram and Jonah, worship of and respect for God had
been established, and there were God-fearing leaders who could appeal
to folks' sense of good and evil.  Furthermore, God had established
the covenant with Noah and his descendents that he would never again
send a flood to wipe out every living creature, so for localized
problems, He let God-fearing leaders intervene  - try to intervene in
the case of Sodom and Gomorrah.

This is just one man's opinion and a free comment.

Actually there was worship before Noah. The first worship is mentioned
in Genesis Chapter 4 , well before Noah, when Cain and Abel make
offerings to God. This is not to be confused with the first
"sacrifice" which took place even earlier in Genesis Chapter 2 when an
animal's life was sacrified to provide protective skins for Adam and
Eve.

As for the question about why Noah didn't do more to persuade the
doomed people to change their evil ways, we don't know that he didn't.
Clearly the building of such an enormous hand-hewn vessel such as the
ark would have taken years to complete without supernatural
intervention. The Bible says God considered Noah to be a "righteous
man". Noah had a lot of time to interact with a lot of people during
the building of the boat and it would be completely illogical to
assume that such a righteous man would not have tried to convert and
save as many people as he could during this period.

NOAH

(No?ah).

1. [Heb., No?ach, probably, Rest; Consolation]. Son of Lamech and
tenth in line from Adam through Seth; born in 2970 B.C.E., 126 years
after Adam?s death. When his father Lamech named Noah, he said: ?This
one will bring us comfort from our work and from the pain of our hands
resulting from the ground which Jehovah has cursed.??Ge 5:28-31.

Faultless Among His Contemporaries. The world in which Noah lived had
become degenerate. During this period angels who left their original
position and proper dwelling place had married women and produced
offspring, ?men of fame,? whipping up the violence filling the earth
(Ge 6:1-4; Jude 6), until ?every inclination of the thoughts of
[man?s] heart was only bad all the time? and the earth became ?ruined,
because all flesh had ruined its way on the earth.? (Ge 6:5, 11, 12)
But Noah avoided this corruption and is described by God?s Word as ?a
righteous man. He proved himself faultless among his contemporaries.
Noah walked with the true God.? (Ge 6:8, 9) Noah could be spoken of as
?faultless? because, unlike that ungodly world, he measured up fully
to what God required of him.?Compare Ge 6:22; see PERFECTION.

Jehovah Purposes to Destroy That World. Jehovah set a time limit for
the existence of that ungodly world, saying: ?My spirit shall not act
toward man indefinitely in that he is also flesh. Accordingly his days
shall amount to a hundred and twenty years.? (Ge 6:3) Evidently these
words were spoken to Noah. About 20 years after that, Noah?s first son
(probably Japheth) was born (2470 B.C.E.), and the record shows that
another son, Shem, was born two years later. The time of Ham?s birth
is not stated, but these three sons were grown and married when the
divine instructions were given to Noah to build an ark. Consequently,
it is likely that only 40 or 50 years then remained before the Deluge.
(Ge 6:13-18) Now, brought into a covenant with Jehovah (Ge 6:18) and
assisted by his family, Noah set to work as a builder and ?a preacher
of righteousness,? warning that wicked generation of impending
destruction.?2Pe 2:5.

Preservation Through the Flood. The people did not believe that God
would act to destroy a world of wickedness. So it was because Noah
possessed strong faith that he, in implicit obedience, did ?according
to all that God had commanded him. He did just so.? (Ge 6:22) It was
because of his unswerving faith in Jehovah that the Christian writer
of the book of Hebrews included him in that ?so great a cloud of
witnesses.? He wrote: ?By faith Noah, after being given divine warning
of things not yet beheld, showed godly fear and constructed an ark for
the saving of his household; and through this faith he condemned the
world, and he became an heir of the righteousness that is according to
faith.??Heb 11:7; 12:1.

Seven days before the floodwaters began to fall, Jehovah instructed
Noah to gather the animals into the ark. On the seventh day of that
week, ?Noah went in, and his sons and his wife and his sons? wives
with him, into the ark ahead of the waters of the deluge. . . . After
that Jehovah shut the door behind him.? On that very day ?the flood
arrived and destroyed them all.??Ge 7:1-16; Lu 17:27.

With the ark?s occupants was preserved the thread of human and animal
life. Also, true worship survived, and by means of Noah and his family
God carried through the history of creation, along with a system of
counting time back to man?s creation and the original language (later
called Hebrew). Noah kept an accurate log of important events during
his stay in the ark.?Ge 7:11, 12, 24; 8:2-6, 10, 12-14.

Post-Flood Blessing and Rainbow Covenant. After about one year in the
ark, Noah and his family came out onto an earth freshly washed clean.
The ark had come to rest in the mountains of the Ararat Range. In
appreciation for Jehovah?s loving-kindness, mercy, and protective
hand, Noah constructed an altar and offered up ?some of all the clean
beasts and of all the clean flying creatures? as a sacrifice to
Jehovah. Jehovah was pleased and revealed to Noah that no more would
the earth be cursed, nor would God deal everything a blow as he had
done. There would always be ?seed sowing and harvest, and cold and
heat, and summer and winter, and day and night.??Ge 8:18-22.

Jehovah blessed the Flood survivors, commanding them: ?Be fruitful and
become many and fill the earth.? Then he made new decrees for their
welfare: (1) He kindly allowed them to add the flesh of animals to
their diet; (2) but since the soul is in the blood, the blood was not
to be eaten; (3) capital punishment by duly constituted authority was
instituted. These laws were to be binding on all mankind, as children
of Noah?s three sons.?Ge 1:28; 9:1-7; 10:32.

After making these decrees, Jehovah proceeded to say: ?And as for me,
here I am establishing my covenant with you men and with your
offspring after you, and with every living soul that is with you,
among fowls, among beasts and among all living creatures of the earth
with you . . . Yes, I do establish my covenant with you: No more will
all flesh be cut off by waters of a deluge, and no more will there
occur a deluge to bring the earth to ruin.? The rainbow stands to this
day as a ?sign,? or reminder, of this covenant.?Ge 9:8-17; Isa 54:9.

Noah?s Intoxication. Noah lived for 350 years after the Flood. The
account reports, candidly and honestly: ?Now Noah started off as a
farmer and proceeded to plant a vineyard. And he began drinking of the
wine and became intoxicated, and so he uncovered himself in the midst
of his tent.? (Ge 9:20, 21) This does not indicate that Noah was a
habitual drunkard. The Bible reports this instance to give the
background for the incident that accompanied it, which event had a
profound effect on world history. Before the Flood, Noah was not
indulging in the ?drinking? of that wicked society, which they
doubtless carried to extremes of drunken revelry. Such things dulled
their sensibilities and were no doubt a factor in their ignoring God?s
warning, taking no note ?until the flood came and swept them all
away.??Mt 24:38, 39; Lu 17:27.

While Noah was asleep in his tent Ham, and perhaps also his son
Canaan, became implicated in some sort of disrespect for Noah. The
account reads: ?Finally Noah awoke from his wine and got to know what
his youngest son had done to him.? Generally Ham is understood to be
designated here as Noah?s ?youngest son.? However, in the Bible, the
expression sometimes refers to a grandson, who, in this case, was
Canaan. Whatever the situation, Canaan?s father Ham went telling it to
his two brothers instead of himself covering Noah as they did. On
learning of the episode, Noah cursed Canaan and blessed Shem?s God
Jehovah.?Ge 9:20-27.

Nimrod?s Rebellion. Noah was the first patriarch of the post-Flood
society. (Ge 10:1-32) Nevertheless, during his lifetime false religion
again rose up among those under the leadership of Nimrod, as is seen
in their rebellious attempt to build ?a tower with its top in the
heavens? for fear that they might be scattered ?over all the surface
of the earth.? This was in direct opposition to God?s command to ?fill
the earth,? and was a rebellion also against Noah?s position as God?s
prophet. Noah died about two years before the birth of Abraham. He
therefore got to see Jehovah?s judgment on the builders of the Tower
of Babel and the scattering of those rebellious ones over the face of
the earth. Noah and Shem were not involved in the tower building and
consequently would not suffer confusion of their language, but would
continue to speak man?s original language, which God gave to Adam.?Ge
9:1, 28, 29; 11:1-9.

A Prophetic Pattern. The prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jesus Christ as
well as the apostles Peter and Paul all spoke of God?s servant Noah.
Noah?s days are shown by Jesus and Peter to be prophetic of ?the
presence of the Son of man? and a future ?day of judgment and of
destruction of the ungodly men.? Jehovah, in sparing Noah and his
family when he destroyed that wicked world, was ?setting a pattern for
ungodly persons of things to come.??2Pe 3:5-7; 2:5, 6; Isa 54:9; Eze
14:14, 20; Mt 24:37-39; Heb 11:7; 1Pe 3:20, 21.

2. [Heb., No·?ah?]. One of Zelophehad?s five daughters, of the tribe
of Manasseh. Because Zelophehad died without sons, Jehovah decreed
that the daughters should receive their father?s tribal possession as
an inheritance. This established a legal precedent. Later it was
established also that daughters who inherit should become wives of men
of their own tribe in order to hold the inheritance, so that it would
not circulate from tribe to tribe.?Nu 26:28-33; 27:1-11; 36:6-12; Jos
17:3, 4.

Noah took about 80 years to build the Ark. The very fact that he and
his sons were building it in a world that had never experienced rain
as we know it would have been sufficient warning to the people of the
time.

Question: Why did not Noah make any effort to help the sinful people change
their ways or why did he not ask God to change His mind?

My ten cents worth:
I thought this was an interesting question. I hope you do not mind if
i offer a brief comment from the islamic point of view. I am not a
scholar of Islam, so i start of by saying: God alone knows best!

Muslims are taught that over the course of time, many thousands of
Prophets have been sent to the people of earth. They were all charged
with the same duty - to call the people to the worship of the One God.
Prophet Noah is one of the six most highly respected Prophets of
Islam, the others being Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and the final
Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon them all).

The story of the prophet Noah is mentioned in several places in the
Qur'an, but the whole story was specially related in the chapter
titled "Nuh" (arabic for Noah). Translation of the meaning by Yusuf
Ali as follows:

1 We sent Noah to his People (with the Command): "Do thou warn thy
People before there comes to them a grievous Penalty."
2 He said: "O my People! I am to you a Warner, clear and open: 
3 "That ye should worship Allah, fear Him and obey me: 
4 "So He may forgive you your sins and give you respite for a stated
Term: for when the Term given by Allah is accomplished, it cannot be
put forward: if ye only knew."
5 He said: "O my Lord! I have called to my People night and day: 
6 "But my call only increases (their) flight (from the Right). 
7 "And every time I have called to them, that Thou mightest forgive
them, they have (only) thrust their fingers into their ears, covered
themselves up with their garments, grown obstinate, and given
themselves up to arrogance.
8 "So I have called to them aloud; 
9 "Further I have spoken to them in public and secretly in private, 
10 "Saying, 'Ask forgiveness from your Lord; for He is Oft-Forgiving; 
11 "'He will send rain to you in abundance; 
12 "'Give you increase in wealth and sons; and bestow on you gardens
and bestow on you rivers (of flowing water).
13 "'What is the matter with you, that ye place not your hope for
kindness and long-suffering in Allah?
14 "'Seeing that it is He that has created you in diverse stages? 
15 "'See ye not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, 
16 "'And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a
(Glorious) Lamp?
17 "'And Allah has produced you from the earth growing (gradually), 
18 "'And in the End He will return you into the (earth), and raise you
forth (again at the Resurrection)?
19 "'And Allah has made the earth for you as a carpet (spread out), 
20 "'That ye may go about therein, in spacious roads.'" 
21 Noah said: "O my Lord! They have disobeyed me, but they follow
(men) whose wealth and children give them no increase but only Loss.
22 "And they have devised a tremendous Plot. 
23 "And they have said (to each other), 'Abandon not your gods:
Abandon neither Wadd nor Suwa', neither Yaguth nor Ya'uq, nor Nasr';-
24 "They have already misled many; and grant Thou no increase to the
wrong- doers but in straying (from their mark)."
25 Because of their sins they were drowned (in the flood), and were
made to enter the Fire (of Punishment): and they found- in lieu of
Allah none to help them.
26 And Noah, said: "O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers, a single
one on earth!
27 "For, if Thou dost leave (any of) them, they will but mislead Thy
devotees, and they will breed none but wicked ungrateful ones.
28 "O my Lord! Forgive me, my parents, all who enter my house in
Faith, and (all) believing men and believing women: and to the
wrong-doers grant Thou no increase but in perdition!"

It is clear from the above that Noah tried all methods at his disposal
for calling to his people that they may abandon their idolatrous
practices for the pure worship of the One God. Else where in the
Qur'an, God states that Noah did this for 950 years! After all this
time, only a small number of people had answered his call and these
were mainly from the poor and downtrodden of the community. It was
only when Noah realised that the hostile disbelief of his people was
also beginning to wear down the belief of the few followers he had
that he prayed against them. At this, God reassured him with the
knowledge that no more of his people would believe and that he should
construct the ark, in preparation for the punishment that was to
follow.

The Prophets were the best and most merciful of mankind. They would
try everything in their power to turn the people in their charge away
from their evil practices and towards God, the oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful. In this there can be no doubt. Thus it can be concluded that
the prayer of Noah against his people was the absolute last resort in
order to preserve the faith of the few people who had humbly accepted
the message.

For a much more in depth discussion of the story of Noah from the
perspective of the Qur'an and historical record, please visit this
site:
http://www.perishednations.com/nuhsflood.html

More information on Islam can be found here: www.islamalways.com

I would like to end by saying that any truth in my comments are from
God, and any errors from myself.

Best wishes,
Muslimah

ANSWER:

My answer comes from Genesis 5:8. Noah received grace from God. He
didn't deserve to be saved either, so when he and his family were
saved, he didn't speak against the others, even though he was
'righteous among the other people of his day'. This may or may not
necessarily make him righteous. It's like stealing a piece of candy
when everyone else in the store is stealing the cash register. The cop
lets you go and arrests the other. You could ask the cop to release
the other man too, but you risk being arrested yourself along with the
other. The answer to your question is that Noah received undeserved
grace from God.

You may respond that Abraham received the same grace, but the reason
he pleas for Lot's life is because it is Abraham's fault. In Genesis
12, when God tells Abraham to leave Ur, he is supposed to leave his
family behind. He doesn't; he brings Lot. Abraham is then responsible
for Lot being in Sodom and Gomorrah.

If you read Jonah, it's clear to see that Jonah indeed does NOT want
Nineveh to be saved; indeed, he gets angry when God Himself chooses to
save Nineveh from destruction. Jonah is arrogant, and wants to be
right concerning Nineveh's judgment.

Hope this satisfies!

well, i have to say, so far as the story of noah is concerned, i
believe the score is:

qur'an 1
bible 0

-cab

While not really appropriate, I can't resist quoting someething I saw
in a forum recently, it really amuses me:

'Only God knows, and he doesn't seem to want to tell us'.

An interesting post by Muslimah. According to the Bible, Noah's total
life span was 950 years. Dying some time AFTER the flood.
(Genesis 9:28-29) And Noah continued to live three hundred and fifty
years after the deluge. 29 So all the days of Noah amounted to nine
hundred and fifty years and he died.

He did not preach unsuccessfully for 950 years, THEN build the Ark, as
suggested by Muslimah. Byt maybe that is what the Quran says.[?]\
 And frde, if what you say is true, how come God has given us the
Bible. And warned us not to alter it.
(Revelation 22:18-19) ?I am bearing witness to everyone that hears the
words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone makes an addition to
these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this
scroll; 19 and if anyone takes anything away from the words of the
scroll of this prophecy, God will take his portion away from the trees
of life and out of the holy city, things which are written about in
this scroll.

Pugwash,
When John wrote Revelations, he couldn't have known there would be the
Bible as we know it.  That passage can only refer to that book  -
"scroll" -  alone.
Admittedly, the synods that in time agreed on the canon of books to
include in the Bible did give Revelations the last word, allowing the
passage to suggest what you say, and perhaps that was their intention.

Cheers, Myoarin