Articles
God Remembered Noah
“God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark” (Gen 8:1).
The phrase is immediately strange to our ears. Had God forgotten Noah? Can God forget anything? Yet the Old Testament is replete with this idea. God remembers Abraham (Gen 19:29) and saves Lot because of him. He remembers Rachel (Gen 30:22) and Hannah (1 Sam 1:19) and gives them children. He remembers his covenant as he hears the groaning of his people in Egypt (Ex 2:24). Nehemiah (13:14, 22, 31) and the psalmist (Psa 106:4) ask God to remember them. What can we make of this?
Often God uses human language to describe himself to us, even though it does not exactly correspond to his greatness. God speaks of his face and back, though spirits don’t have those (Luke 24:39). God reaches down, listens, plants and uproots, grows angry, smells soothing aromas, and walks. Perhaps most importantly, God does all these things to interact with us on a level where we can comprehend him. “God remembered Noah” fits into this category.
From a human perspective, it appeared that God had forgotten Noah. The waters only increased and prevailed on the earth. It appeared he had forgotten Rachel and Hannah, who had certainly asked him for children. It appeared he had forgotten his enslaved people. Yet God remembers! One scholar says this expression “combines the ideas of faithful love and timely intervention.” God keeps his promises, and he does at just the right time to accomplish his purposes!
First, look back at your life and note the times when God acted in accordance with his word at just the right time. Say it loud: God remembered me! Then, apply the principle to present situations that are full of waiting and disappointment. God will act in a way that shows him faithful, even if it appears he has forgotten.
We do not get lost in the shuffle of God’s world-running business, and our concerns matter deeply to him (1 Pet 5:7). Trust God! He remembers you!
