Question:
If Noah spent time as a preacher of righteousness and supervised the construction of the ark, how was the ark funded and who did the work? A vessel of its dimensions would require more man-hours than were available from Noah and his three sons.
Answer:
Indeed, Noah was a preacher of righteousness as well as being responsible for building the ark (2 Pet. 2:5; Gen. 6:13-22). As long as Noah had assistance, it does not seem impossible that he could supervise construction while finding time to preach; perhaps he even preached righteousness to the workers!
Who were these workers? We aren’t told who or how many, but it is probable there may have been volunteers, or some who were employed to work on the project in addition to Noah’s immediate family.
Whatever the arrangements, the important detail is that Noah obeyed God’s command. He informed the people of the coming deluge, offered them God’s terms for deliverance, and they did not believe. Their unbelief proved deadly. Their stubbornness and hardened hearts did not alter God’s plans or change God’s terms for deliverance. Noah and family were saved because they believed wholeheartedly and had the faith and strength to act upon that belief. All others perished because they did not heed Noah’s warning. And so “the flood came, and destroyed them all.” We should be wary lest we make such a fantastic error ourselves.
As the rains came to them, the lesson comes to us with the force and magnitude of a flash flood: “Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:30).