God's Grace Displayed in the Life of Noah
Notes
Transcript
You might remember a few years ago there were a number of “Noah” movies released.
The 2014 Hollywood drama stared Russell Crowe and Emma Watson.
At the time I was running a monthly young adults gathering at our church called “movies that make you think”
It was an opportunity for me as the Senior Pastor to spend time with our young adults and to have direct input into their lives and theology.
Noah was one of the movies that we went and saw.
Not because it was Biblically accurate, it isn’t.
But because it gave us opportunity to discuss what the Bible actually said as oppossed to the Hollywood portrayed.
It was an opportunity to talk, to check the young adults understanding of Biblical narrative and the principles that influenced their thinking.
One of the other films we went and saw was “12 years a slave”.
It was brutal but gave us an incredible opportunity to discuss the reality of slavery, humanity and hope.
Anyway, back to Noah.
Noah is an interesting character.
The movie tried to portray him as a man struggling with the implications of what the creator was asking of him.
Even to the point of thinking that his purpose wasn’t to save humanity but only the animals.
It is a film, like so many that Russell Crowe stars in, that tells the story of a tortured soul.
Sadly the film draws heavily on Jewish mythology rather than Biblical narative.
The character of Noah and many of the details are nothing like the Biblical account.
But as the saying goes, never let the facts get int he way of a good story.
The facts are that unlike so many of the other significant characters in the Old Testament we are not given to many insights into Noah’s personality.
We don’t have a long account of his feelings or interactions with others.
We are not told what he felt or thought about God’s command to build an Ark.
The story revolves around the coming flood and Noah’s building of the Ark that God has told him to build.
It doesn’t revolve around the personality of Noah.
He walked with God.
He was a righteous man.
A man of faith who listened to God and simply acted on what he was told.
Only once do we see any hint that Noah, like all of humanity was a fallen human and that is after the flood when he planted a vineyard and when drinking the wine that was produced had to much and got drunk.
Genesis 9:20 onwards tells us his son Ham comes into the tent and sees his father lying drunk and naked goes and tells his brothers.
Ham’s mistake is to humiliate his father by sharing what he has seen.
As nakedness for a patriarch was considered shameful.
Ham dishonours his father by telling his brothers all about it.
In the times of the patriarchs this demonstrates incredible disresepct.
Ham should have quietly covered his father’s shame and left without saying a word.
Noah is not condemned for planting a vineyard, as the fruitfulness of the vine is seen throughout the Old Testament as a blessing.
Noah is not condemned for drinking the wine.
Some even speculate that Noah was not aware of the dangers of too much wine because the ground was cursed before the flood and it is assumed that farming was pretty hard up until then.
The issue was simply lying uncovered, which was not something anyone should have done, least of all a man who walked with God.
It follows that the blessing of Noah’s sons Shem and Japheth at the end of Genesis 9 and the cursing of Ham’s son Cannan sets up or foretells the future of the descendents of Ham.
It is a hint, a marker that let’s us know that these descendent nations will be like their ancestor Ham.
People who act shamefully towards others.
Now you might ask, why does Noah curse Cannan the grandson and not Ham the son who acted shamefully towards him.
Well the answer to that is at the beginning of Genesis 9.
God has just blessed Noah and his sons.
Noah can hardly turn around and curse that which God has just blessed.
It is an incredible story.
Here is the only real insight into Noah’s personality.
And this is in complete contrast to the movies about Noah.
Noah walked with God
8 But Noah found favor with the Lord. 9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.
Noah was obedient Genesis 6:22 tells us “So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.”
Genesis 8:15–19 goes on to say “Then God said to Noah, 16 “Leave the boat, all of you—you and your wife, and your sons and their wives. 17 Release all the animals—the birds, the livestock, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—so they can be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth.” 18 So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives left the boat. 19 And all of the large and small animals and birds came out of the boat, pair by pair.”
Noah was reverent in that Genesis 8:20 tells us that the first thing he did when they got of the Ark was to build an alter and offer sacrifices to Godurpose.
Noah enjoyed God’s protection and tries to warn the people of his day of God’s coming judgement for their wickedness.
5 And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood.
A very different picture from that presented in the 2007 family comedy Evan Almighty.
Where Evan Baxter becomes a Noah like figure, builds an Ark because God, played by Morgan Freeman’ tells him to.
Unlike Evan Baxter the real Noah wasn’t having a mid life crisis.
He wasn’t battling a corrupt elected official.
He wasn’t fighting to keep his family.
Noah was serving God’s calling upon his life.
Build an Ark,
Save the land dwelling annimals and birds.
And only your immediate family.
Wife, Sons, Daughters in Law.
Why?
Where can we see Grace in the life of Noah?
In the midst of the destruction of all of humanity.
All of the land animals and birds
Where is Grace?
Noah illustrates God’s restoring grace after judgment
We read in Genesis 8:21–22 “And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. 22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.””
And we see this confirmed in the sign of God’s covenant with Noah in Genesis 9:12-17 where the rainbow will be the reminder to both humanity and God that he will never again destroy the earth with a flood.
God’s grace is seen in his preserving a remnant of humaity in the person of Noah and his household.
The people who would repopulate the earth and eventually be the line of the Messiah.
From Genesis to Revelation we see this consistent theme.
After judgement restoration.
After failure opportunity.
Again and again the Lord leaves a path open for humanity.
The path always points towards the coming Messiah.
The one who will save the people from their sins.
The one who gives hope for eternity.
Russell Crowe as Moses was tormented and completely conflicted by what he believed he was to do.
Steve Carell as Evan Baxter had no idea.
He was just going with it.
But God always has a plan.
From Adam to Moses.
Issac to Joseph.
King David to Joseph and Mary.
God always had a plan to offer Grace to humanity.
The question is will we be open to accepting it or like the people in Noah’s day who ignored the warnings and perished.
Jesus the Messiah said in Matthew 24:37-39
37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.
Are our eyes open to see God’s grace at work in our lives.
Will we do all in our power to let others know?
