“Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Peter 3:20 Mean?
1 Peter 3:20 compresses an entire theology of divine patience into one verse: "When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." God's patience (makrothumia — long-tempered, slow to wrath) is given a measurable duration: the years it took to build the ark. Every day of construction was a day of divine patience. Every swing of the hammer was another opportunity to repent.
The Greek apexedecheto (waited) means to wait eagerly, to expect patiently — the same verb Paul uses for creation eagerly waiting for redemption (Romans 8:19). God didn't just endure the pre-flood generation passively. He waited for them actively, expectantly, hoping the building of the ark would serve as a sermon visible to anyone who looked. Noah was preaching with lumber. Every plank was an invitation.
The result: "few, that is, eight souls were saved." The Greek oligoi (few) is devastating in context. God waited years. Noah preached and built. And eight people responded. The patience of God was vast. The response was minimal. The longsuffering didn't produce mass conversion. It produced eight — Noah, his wife, three sons, three daughters-in-law. The entire human race that survived the flood fit in a single family. God's patience was extravagant. The harvest from that patience was tiny. And God considered it worth it.
Reflection Questions
- 1.God waited years while the ark was built — patience measured in construction time. How long has God been patient with someone you're praying for, and what is the 'ark' being built in their sight?
- 2.Eight souls. The entire harvest of God's patience was one family. How does the smallness of the response compared to the vastness of the patience change how you evaluate your own intercession?
- 3.Noah 'preached with lumber' — the ark itself was the sermon. What visible evidence of God's coming action exists in your world that people are walking past without noticing?
- 4.God considered eight souls worth years of patience. How does that ratio — extravagant patience for minimal response — challenge your own willingness to wait for the people you love?
Devotional
God waited. While the ark was being built — plank by plank, year by year — God was being patient. Not passive. Patient. Actively waiting, hoping, giving time for the generation to see the boat going up and ask: what's that for? Every day Noah hammered was another day God held back the water. The construction was the patience made visible.
And eight people responded. Out of the entire world. Eight. God waited years for eight. The longsuffering was extravagant and the harvest was tiny. Every human calculus would say the patience wasn't worth it — the return on investment was absurdly low. An entire generation of patience for a single family. But God considered eight souls worth the wait. He didn't cut the patience short because the numbers weren't improving. He waited the full time. He let the ark be completed. And then He acted.
If you're praying for someone — interceding, waiting, watching them ignore the ark being built right in front of them — this verse says God understands that specific frustration. He waited for a generation that didn't respond. He was patient while the vast majority walked past the sermon in the shipyard without a second glance. And eight was enough for Him. The patience wasn't wasted because only eight responded. The patience was worthwhile because eight responded. Your patience with the person who won't listen might produce the same ratio: years of waiting for a handful. And the handful is worth it. Ask God. He waited for eight.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Who is gone into heaven,.... After he had been risen forty days, where he is received, and will remain, until the…
Which sometime were disobedient - Which were “once,” or “formerly,” (ποτε pote,) disobedient or rebellious. The language…
When once the long-suffering of God waited - In Pirkey Aboth, cap. v. 2, we have these words: "There were ten…
Here, I. The example of Christ is proposed as an argument for patience under sufferings, the strength of which will be…
which sometime were disobedient The words that follow, however, appear to limit the range of the preaching within…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture