The Last Person

No matter how many times a section of the Scripture is read, there is no guarantee you have gotten it all.  Matter of fact, there is more of a guarantee that there is still something more to be discovered.  I was made aware of this recently as I read the words of an author who wrote, "When Noah was building his ark, God gave him detailed instructions for everything: how high, no higher; how long; no longer; what species to include and in what numbers--details ad nauseum.  But when all had been done according to God's instructions and the door was finally shut, it must have been a terrifying experience to realize there was no sail or rudder on this ark.  Who was in control?"  (Has Christianity Failed You? by Ravi Zacharias)  When I read the paragraph, I immediately went to Genesis and read the story of Noah again just to see if the author was right.  He was.  There is no mention of sail or rudder.  The thing floated!

Now, I do not claim to read the Bible as much as I should, but I have been reading it for over 55 years now and Noah's story was surely one of the first to be read.  I never got that little tidbit of omission which declared very loudly that God was and is in control.  It was one of those "close the book in amazement" moments for me. 

I suppose everyone else saw this a long time ago. It is an obvious enough truth once someone points it out to me.  Certainly, it is one of those truths learned through my many attempts to build a rudder or fabricate a sail for my life.  But, to be honest, I just missed it in the flood story.  I must truly be the last person to have finally learned that even with Noah, God was teaching He is the One in control.