In Genesis it is inherent that power always comes from God, but it is also possible for people to obtain power from God indirectly. Noah, an ordinary man, is tasked by God to build a giant ship capable of holding beings of all species without sinking in a severe flood. Obviously this would be a very difficult task for a normal family, so Noah must acquire the power necessary to accomplish the task, but God never explicitly gives it to him. Noah's dedication is what gives him the power to complete the project. He devotes himself to the service of God and wants to please him; it is this extreme dedication that gives him the stamina to complete such an arduous task. However, the book does not explain why Noah was chosen to take on this task. The Bible never explicitly says what Noah did to be chosen to build the ark; nothing distinguishes him from other commoners living at the time in which the story takes place. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Noah's father believed he had potential since birth, saying Noah "will relieve us of our labor and the toil of our hands." » (5:29). It probably foreshadows that Noah will complete a great project; a larger-than-life project that had never been completed before. His father probably didn't know at the time that he would be doing this for God himself. When building the ark, God gives Noah very specific requirements that Noah must follow meticulously to make the creation perfect. He is told to “make it have a lower level, a second and a third” and to make “the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits” (6: 15-16). Since a cubit is about a foot and a half long (“Converting Units”), Noah takes on a task greater than any attempted by the few humans who lived before him. God's accuracy in giving Noah instructions may be part of what pushes him to complete the project. Because Noah is only a mortal, he probably doesn't know much about building a giant boat, but God gives him direction and helps him determine what he needs to do to complete the ark. However, God never seems to tell Noah how to gather the animals; the animals “all entered the ark with Noah” (6:9). This part of the text leaves the reader with no real answer as to how Noah managed to gather pairs of every species on earth and easily load them into the ark during the first seven days of the flood, the only logical explanation being that his dedication gave him the stamina to do it. Perhaps there is something about Noah that is even more surprising than his ability to build an ark almost entirely on his own: at the time of the flood, he "was six hundred years old" (7:6). Even at this age, an age impossible for humans to reach, he was still able to accomplish the last part of what God had entrusted to him. The only reason Noah could have lived this long is because God gave him the power to do so. Noah had already proven his devotion to God at this point by building the ark to the specifications set by God and patiently waiting for the flood to strike. Noah, however, still had to fulfill the rest of his duty. He had to rebuild civilization and work with his family to completely repopulate the earth and establish his lineage. After the flood ended, Noah further demonstrated his devotion to God by building "an altar to the Lord," and never changed the fact that he had aunwavering devotion to God (8:20). Once the animals are off the ark and Noah and his family begin to settle in the land, God tells them to “[be] fruitful and multiply” (9:1). By telling Noah and his family to procreate, God leaves the rest of humanity in the hands of Noah's lineage. It is a supreme demonstration of confidence on the part of God; he believes Noah's descendants will be better than the humans he had to eradicate, and probably assumes they will be as dedicated as Noah. Because God is so optimistic about Noah's descendants, he tells him that he will see to it that "never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood", implying that Noah's descendants are at shelter from disaster (9:11). However, God only promises not to bring a devastating flood to earth, leaving all other means of destruction as fair game if he truly gets fed up with humanity again. In a final thank you to Noah for his dedication, God allows him to help rebuild humanity for another three hundred and fifty years, before dying at age nine hundred and fifty. God kept Noah alive for so long because He knew he deserved to stay alive because of his dedication. Noah's devotion led him to do what God wanted and, as a result, God gave him power greater than other human beings, both to enable him to complete the ark and to help him rebuild society with its children, which may even be it takes more time than building the ark itself. One question still remains unanswered: what did Noah do in the first place to be chosen as the best person among a plethora of other humans? The Bible says very clearly that he “found grace in the sight of the Lord,” but never mentions what he did to earn God's respect (6:8). Prior to this, God determines that “the wickedness of humans was great in the earth,” but similarly, He does not mention exactly what humans did that was so wicked (6:5). Although stories like Cain and Abel and Eve eating the forbidden fruit have been told before, one would think that God would have decided to eradicate humanity long ago if he believed that humans are truly corrupted and irremediable. There is no clear reason why God would allow hundreds of descendants to be born since Cain killed Abel; one would think that he would bring a worthy human to earth and simply ask them to kill those who continually sin. Because Noah is never mentioned as being special or above others for any specific reason, God's preference is probably not only for Noah. He is one of many people who are righteous and do not commit heinous sins, but God had to choose one. There are simply too many people listed in Genesis who are never mentioned as having done anything sinful for all of humanity to be in a torrid mess. When you examine every aspect of how Noah is presented in the Bible, it is actually very easy to determine that he is not special. He is simply chosen because God needs to choose someone to do the job. Noah is extremely devoted, and that gives him power, but much of the power God gives him is not unusual in this era. Although Noah's power allowed him to live nine hundred and fifty years, he was already five hundred years old when he began building the ark. Although God almost doubled his lifespan afterward, it is not as much of an honor considering his and others' prior longevity. Even Enosh died at nine hundred and five years old, and Seth at nine hundred and twelve years old. Despite all this, his dedication,, 2010.