The Declaration For Noah
God's Endorsement Of Noah
8 But Noah gfound grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9 These are the generations of Noah: hNoah was a just man and ||perfect in his generations, and Noah iwalked with God. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt kbefore God, and the earth was lfilled with violence. 12 And God mlooked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, nThe end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them ||with the earth.
THE DECLARATION FOR NOAH
GENESIS 6:8–13
NOAH WAS INFORMED by a declaration from God (“God said unto Noah” [Genesis 6:13]) about God’s intentions for the future of the world in which Noah lived, and what Noah was to do about it. This declaration actually takes in more text than the text we have taken for this chapter. But the text for this chapter speaks of the part of the declaration that informed Noah of God’s intentions for the future of the world. Other parts of the declaration included more particulars about God’s detailing of Noah’s duty as well as the form of judgment God was going to bring upon the world for its evil. In the chapters that follow this chapter of our book, we will look into these additional details of the declaration of God for Noah.
To study our text for this chapter in more detail regarding the declaration of God for Noah concerning God’s intentions for the future of the world in which Noah lived, we will consider the person for the declaration (Genesis 6:8–10), the prompting for the declaration (Genesis 6:11, 12) and the punishment in the declaration (Genesis 6:13).
A. THE PERSON FOR THE DECLARATION
Our text gives us some significant introductory facts about Noah, the person to whom God gave this important declaration. These facts include the conversion of Noah, the centrality of Noah, the conduct of Noah, and the children of Noah.
1. The Conversion of Noah
“Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8). This sentence speaks of the conversion of Noah. All men are saved by grace, and it was this grace which saved Noah from Divine judgment. To further examine this grace from God for Noah, we note four things about it. They include the source of grace, the sovereignty of grace, the sanctification from grace, and the sequence of grace.
The source of grace. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” The word “found” does indicate that Noah was looking for grace and in looking for it was able to find it. Rather it indicates that Noah received grace from God. Thus God was the source of the grace. “There was no grace in Noah, the grace was in the eyes of the Lord” (Barnhouse).
The sovereignty of grace. This is the first place in the Bible where this word translated “grace” occurs. And here “it clearly signifies the same thing as in Romans 4 and 5; Ephesians 2, Galatians 2, [namely], the gratuitous favor of God to sinful men” (Whitelaw). Grace is unmerited favor from God, which means grace is prompted by a sovereign act of God, not by our deeds. No man merits grace; it comes from God as God pleases, not as we deserve. We deserve judgment, not grace.
The sanctification from grace. This grace from God gave Noah high character which we will note more about later. “Noah was no different from any other son of Adam. If the grace of God had not restrained him, the evil in his heart, which was just as great as the evil in the other hearts that were destroyed, would have manifested itself in a wickedness as great as theirs” (Barnhouse).
Here in the sanctification from grace, we have the sequence of grace. Grace for man is followed by the goodness of man. Goodness comes after grace, not before grace. Grace comes before we read of Noah being a “just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). We do not do good works then grace comes, rather, grace comes and then we do good works. It is first, “By grace are ye saved” (Ephesians 2:8); then it is, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10). Noah’s goodness was a result of grace. Grace was not a result of his goodness. Man has a hard time learning this truth. He habitually thinks that if he acts better he will obtain more grace from God. He thinks if he is righteous, he will obtain grace from God for salvation. But it does not work that way. The sequence of grace is goodness—it is not the sequence of goodness is grace.
The sequence of grace. This declaration by God given to Noah was one of judgment upon the earth for sin. But in the order of God’s reaction to the sinfulness of the world, God first sent grace to man before He sent judgment. Scripture records Noah receiving grace before it records Divine judgment upon man. We noted in our previous chapter that God extended grace to man before the flood judgment. Before judgment came upon man for their sin, God first in grace gave man one hundred and twenty years respite to repent (Genesis 6:3). Do not criticize God for sending judgment. His grace is always sent first. God’s judgment is not apart from God’s grace. Some folk view God’s judgment as the cruelty of God—these folks ignore the fact that before judgment God always sends grace. Judgment is deserved, but grace is not. And we can be thankful that in the order of God’s actions, grace is sent to man before judgment.
2. The Centrality of Noah
“These are the generations of Noah” (Genesis 6:9). By the phrase “the centrality of Noah” we refer to the fact that this record of the flood is primarily a record of Noah. He is the central human figure in it all. There certainly is plenty of evidence in the Scriptures that the flood story before, during, and after has Noah as the central human figure in it all. God’s great declaration for him (the first part of which we are studying in this chapter) emphasizes this fact in what it says. And the mention of Noah in Genesis 6, 7 and 8 also emphasizes the centrality of Noah in this flood story. Noah’s name is mentioned at least twenty-four times in these three chapters, and a pronoun referring to Noah is found over sixty times in these three chapters. Thus over eighty times in these three chapters there is a different reference to Noah which certainly underscores the centrality of Noah in the Biblical record of the flood. In fact, Noah is so prominent in the flood story that we often call the flood “Noah’s flood.”
The word translated “generations” is the key word in this understanding of the text. “The term never means ‘generations’ or ‘origins.’ It never tells how things or persons came into being. It tells what happened after such things or persons had appeared on the scene. Another rendering is ‘history’ … This is not the story of the Flood. It is Noah’s story” (Leupold).
In the book of Genesis, the author divides the text up into ten sections, each with this word translated “generation.” These ten sections are first, “generations of the heavens and of the earth” (Genesis 2:4); second, “the generations of Adam” (Genesis 5:1); third, “the generations of Noah (Genesis 6:9); fourth, “the generations of the sons of Noah” (Genesis 10:1); fifth, “the generations of Shem” (Genesis 11:10); sixth, “the generations of Terah” (Genesis 11:27); seventh, “the generations of Ishmael” (Genesis 25:12); eighth, “the generations of Isaac” (Genesis 25:19); ninth, “the generations of Esau” (Genesis 36:1); and tenth, “the generations of Jacob” (Genesis 37:2). One time in the New Testament we have this thought appearing. It is significantly found in the first verse of the New Testament. “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1). The New Testament is His story. It especially focuses on Jesus Christ.
That the flood story is Noah’s story is seen in what is said of Noah in the Scriptures. We have outlined the major parts of the story by the various chapter headings of our book. But his life can also be described from the Scripture text by his coming (found especially in Genesis 5), his community (a very defiled world), his conversion (grace), his character (just and perfect before man), his children (three significant sons), his communication (from God—this declaration, and for God—he was a preacher of righteousness), his construction (of the ark), his compliance (to the commands of God about preparing for the flood is emphasized in Genesis 6:22; 7:5, 9), his care (by God in the flood via the ark), his consecration (his sacrificing after the flood), his corruption (drunkenness), his curse (upon Canaan), his conclusion (his death).
3. The Conduct of Noah
“Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). This report of Noah’s conduct is most complimentary. Though it is brief, it says plenty about the excellent conduct of Noah. To examine our text regarding his excellent conduct, we note his conduct in regards to man and his conduct in regards to God.
His conduct in regards to man. “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations.” Here we note the purity of his conduct, the place of his conduct, and the persecution for his conduct in regards to man.
First, the purity of his conduct. The words “just” and “perfect” demonstrate an obvious purity and holiness of Noah’s conduct. He lived according to God’s law. He did not live after the manner of the men around him. The word “just” means “righteous” and the word “perfect” means “upright, genuine, and has no reference to the absence of sin” (Thomas). “Perfect” simply means he had high character in every facet of his life. “Perfect” says, not only were his words holy but so was his walk. He was not only holy at worship times but he was also holy in his everyday life. “Perfect” says there was not a place or situation in which Noah did not conduct himself righteously. This consistency is greatly needed in our churches today. Most of the church members keep their piety limited to only a few places in their lives. They do not let piety control their whole life. They may shout and “amen” in church on Sunday, but they live like the devil the rest of the week.
Second, the place of his conduct. “In his generations.” This especially shows the excellence of his character and his testimony to men. Noah lived this outstanding life of high character during a time of gross unholiness. The word translated “generations” is not the same word translated “generations” at the beginning of Genesis 6:9, but this word means a period of time. It refers to Noah’s time, to the age in which Noah lived. And in that fact it really underscores the great noble character of Noah’s holy walk. “To stand one’s ground and to remain uninfluenced by the attitude and conduct of all men to the contrary, gives indication of a strength of character almost without parallel in history” (Leupold).
The fact that Noah could live a godly life in such a godless age is a rebuke to those today who want to excuse their sin on the basis that they live in a wicked world and cannot be expected to live a holy life in such an unholy atmosphere. But if Noah could live a godly life in his time, we can live a godly life in our time. “It is possible to grow a lily in a manure pile. No circumstances of this world are too low for God to produce therein faith and holiness” (Barnhouse). You may work in a rough place or live in a godless home situation or be in a school where God and the Bible are despised; but you can still live a godly life. God can give you the grace to do it.
Third, the persecution for his conduct. Noah’s just and perfect lifestyle would not go over well in the world. Job 12:4 says, “The just [and] upright man is laughed to scorn.” The two words “just” and “upright” in this Job text are the same two words translated “just” and “perfect” in our Genesis text about Noah. Those who live godly lives will not be given the “man-of-the-year award” from the chamber of commerce and other organizations of our society. They can forget about honors and awards from the world but can instead expect to experience ridicule, rejection, and reproach from the world.
His conduct in regards to God. “Noah walked with God.” “The deepest source of Noah’s godliness is revealed in the words, ‘Noah walked with God’ ” (Leupold). This phrase occurs but twice in the Bible. The first time was in regards to Enoch, Noah’s great-grandfather. “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:22). To examine this walking with God in more detail, we note the requirements for walking with God and the results of walking with God.
First, the requirements for walking with God. If you walk “with” God, it will, for one thing, require submissiveness. You will be going God’s way, not your way. You will not walk with God if you are rebellious and stubborn about going your way. You will have to submit to His way. Furthermore, to walk with God will require separation. You will not be able to go to a lot of places and be with a lot of people if you choose to walk with God. Walking with God will separate you from many people and places. A third requirement one may experience for walking with God is solitariness. Not many folk walk with God, therefore, if you walk with God you will have to be able to stand alone and be unpopular.
Second, the results of walking with God. It pays to walk with God. One result is schooling. When you walk with God you will learn from God such as the two on the road to Emmaus discovered when they walked with Jesus on the first Easter Sunday (Luke 24). Another result of walking with God is sanctification. Walking with God will purify your walk in life. Unlike walking with others, you do not have to be concerned that walking with God will lead you into defiled places and practices. A third result of walking with God is serenity. When I was a boy I was not afraid to go anywhere with my Dad when we were out walking together. The same is true with God. Walk with God and you will have a serenity this world cannot give.
4. The Children of Noah
“And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Genesis 6:10). The last thing we note about Noah, the person to whom God gave this declaration, is his children. Scripture speaks of his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. It was from these three sons that all the world is populated today. We all are related to at least one of these three sons.
The early descendants of the three sons are listed in Genesis chapter 10. From that chapter we learn that the descendants of Japheth mostly populated the areas of Europe and Asia. The descendants of Ham were the most notorious of all the descendents. From him came Nimrod, Babylon, and the Philistines. His descendants populated much of what we call the the Middle East and Africa. The descendants of Shem have their greatest significance in the fact that from Shem came the Hebrews and hence the nation of Israel and most importantly Jesus Christ. Shem’s descendants not only included the Jews but also include many of the Arabs of our world.
B. THE PROMPTING FOR THE DECLARATION
What caused God to make a declaration to Noah about God’s intentions for the future of the world in which Noah lived? The answer is the corruption of the world. “The earth … was corrupt” (Genesis 6:11).
In our last chapter we studied some details about this corruption. To study the report of this corruption stated in our text for this chapter, we will note the extent of the corruption, the evaluation of the corruption, the effect of the corruption, and the examination of the corruption.
1. The Extent of the Corruption
“The earth also was corrupt … was filled with violence … all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:11, 12). “Filled” and “all” says the corruption was universal. It was not just a bad city or a bad province or a bad nation, but the corruption was in every area of the world and among all the people of the world except in the case of Noah and his family. The universality of the corruption meant it would be seen in the home, in the school, in religion, in business, in entertainment, and in government. There was no area in which corruption was not seen and did not dominate. Our world is becoming like that. Our governments are corrupt, our schools are corrupt, our businesses are corrupt, our entertainment is corrupt, and our churches are corrupt—even churches which used to be fundamental Bible-believing churches have capitulated to corruption in methods and music and message and morals. The salt of the earth—the present day Noahs—are becoming fewer and fewer. That situation says judgment is becoming nearer and nearer because of the extent of the corruption.
2. The Evaluation of the Corruption
“The earth also was corrupt before God” (Genesis 6:11). The words “before God” means “in the judgment of God” (Leupold). That is, it was God Who called the conduct of the world corrupt. The world would not be calling their conduct corrupt. They would call it nice names just like they call sin nice names today. But “before God” their conduct was wicked. We need to check with God about our conduct to see if He deems it corrupt or clean, holy or unholy. Wicked men have many clever arguments to make wrong sound right and right sound wrong. Sinful men can be ingenious in justifying iniquity. We have seen this in our day in how cleverly men argue for such things as abortion, gambling, divorce (some preachers can make divorce sound almost necessary), and homosexuality. But it matters not what men call evil; it is what God calls it that matters.
3. The Effect of the Corruption
“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11). The effect of corruption is violence. Corruption eventually leads to violence. When men become corrupt in morals and manners, they will soon become vicious and cruel to others. One of the favorite excuses we hear about politicians’ immoral life is that it does not matter what they do in private, it only matters what they do in public. But the truth of the matter is that what they are in private will soon affect what they are in public. If they become corrupt in private they will become vicious in public.
The word translated “violence” means “highhanded dealing; violating the rights of others” (Leupold). The word has in its “meaning violence, wrong. It implies cruelty, damage, and injustice” (Baker and Carpenter). Many folks are concerned about our “rights” today, but they do not seem to understand why those “rights” have been violated, for the same people crusading for their “rights” are living corrupt lives which will eventually trample on other people’s rights. If you want people to be treated properly, then clean up the sin problem. When God is left out of men’s lives and corruption dominates, then man “forcibly seizes what it lusts after, regardless of others’ rights. Sin saps the very foundations of social life, and makes men into tigers, more destructive to each other than wild beasts” (Maclaren). That accounts for war, rapings, robberies, and all sorts of cruel behavior by mankind.
4. The Examination of the Corruption
“God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt” (Genesis 6:12). Never accuse God of injustice! Before He brought judgment upon the world for its corruption, God “looked upon the earth” and examined it for its evil. God will judge with facts, not by hearsay. The same practice of God was evident regarding Sodom. God said about Sodom, “I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know” (Genesis 18:21). God had heard about the wickedness of Sodom; but before He would destroy the city, He would go to Sodom and check things out to see if what he had heard was in fact the true situation in Sodom. When God judged the world with the flood in Noah’s day, it was done the same way. “God looked upon the earth” and saw its corruption. Thus “His decision to destroy the earth was … an expression of His justice” (Thomas). “The proof and evidence of it [the corruption] were undeniable; for God looked upon the earth, and was himself an eye-witness of the corruption that was in it” (Henry). The Apostle Paul said, “The judgment of God is according to truth” (Romans 2:2). And the Apostle John in speaking of Divine judgment said, “The books were opened … and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12). All of these texts simply emphasize the justice of God’s judgment. It is according to the facts. Men will have no excuse when judgment comes upon them. God will have the evidence before Him when He executes judgment upon the wicked.
C. THE PUNISHMENT IN THE DECLARATION
Here we study the punishment which God will bring upon mankind for their evil in Noah’s day. This Divine punishment upon the earth was revealed to Noah in the declaration God gave him. And in succeeding chapters, God will also declare to Noah what Noah is to do in regards to this punishment in order to escape it.
To examine our text in regards to some general facts about this punishment declared by God, we note the season for the punishment, the sin for the punishment, and the severity of the punishment.
1. The Season for the Punishment
“God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me” (Genesis 6:13). “The end” indicates the season. God had earlier said “My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3). But here time has expired; the end has come. The time of grace that God gave the earth was ignored and misused. Instead of repenting of sin, mankind reveled in it and got worse and worse in their sinning. So “there come times in the events of this world when God’s gracious dealings with men are definitely terminated” (Leupold).
It is an awful thing when God says the end has come and judgment must fall. It is an awful thing when man runs out his days of mercy and has nothing to expect but judgment. But when sinners give themselves up to sin and ignore all the warnings and offers of grace, this is their eventual plight. And “when the end is resolved upon, there is no recall” (Leupold).
2. The Sin for the Punishment
“For the earth is filled with violence through them” (Genesis 6:13). This simply repeats what we have already seen in the previous verses of this sixth chapter of Genesis. The first part of the sixth chapter of Genesis mentioned some of the specific sins that were corrupting the earth and causing violence. And we have just noted some verses in the text for this chapter of our book which have spoken more about the sin of the people. The repeating of the sin problem emphasizes the greatness of the problem of the sin and the certainty of judgment.
Sin brings Divine judgment. Men often laugh at the idea of judgment; and when God touches the earth now and then with some calamity such as an earthquake or hurricane or volcano or tornado or other calamity, many men will mock the idea of Divine judgment, in these calamities; and if anyone says judgment is in them, they will promptly be criticized by the news media and others. But the criticism of those who speak of judgment only makes matters worse for mankind, for the criticism of the idea of judgment does not encourage people to repent. But let mankind learn from our texts that sin sooner or later brings judgment. Personally and collectively all the world will eventually learn that sin invites Divine judgment.
3. The Severity of the Punishment
“I will destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13). God does not yet tell Noah the means (the flood) of this destruction but simply tells him of the severity of the judgment. And severe it was, for as we noted at the end of the last chapter of our book over a billion people perished in the flood besides all the beasts of the field. It was the greatest judgment ever to come upon the earth since man inhabited the world.
But a greater judgment is coming. According to the Apostle Peter, the next great judgment that will come upon the earth is one in which “the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).
Sin brings judgment and the severity of the judgment tells us about the greatness of the sin. If the judgment is severe, then the sin was great. The severity of the flood judgment says emphatically that the sin in the world before the flood was very great. Most men would not have called the sin great; in fact, they would have called the sin by much nicer terms. But God is the One Who determines things; and in His evaluation, the sin was very great; therefore, the judgment was very great.
“There was no grace in Noah, the grace was in the eyes of the Lord” (Barnhouse).
That the flood story is Noah’s story is seen in what is said of Noah in the Scriptures. We have outlined the major parts of the story by the various chapter headings of our book. But his life can also be described from the Scripture text by his coming (found especially in Genesis 5), his community (a very defiled world), his conversion (grace), his character (just and perfect before man), his children (three significant sons), his communication (from God—this declaration, and for God—he was a preacher of righteousness), his construction (of the ark), his compliance (to the commands of God about preparing for the flood is emphasized in Genesis 6:22; 7:5, 9), his care (by God in the flood via the ark), his consecration (his sacrificing after the flood), his corruption (drunkenness), his curse (upon Canaan), his conclusion (his death).