Battle For The Truth (Part 40)

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Genesis 6:8-9, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (9) These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

Introduction

Our last time together, we ended at Genesis 6:7, where God declared that He was going to destroy man from the face of the earth, both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air. Why was God so provoked that vowed to destroy man? Because God was grieved at man’s continual wickedness in both acts and thoughts. The clue we are given as to how bad things had devolved in just approximately 1,667-years, is found in Genesis 6:5, which we covered in Part 39 of this series that reads, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” If the data were available, I am confident that literally volumes of books could be written about what all was really going on during this period of man’s existence. Be that as it may, the takeaway for us is that things were so bad that the best solution from God’s perspective was to destroy it all except for one faithful servant—Noah. Someone may be wondering, “Why Noah?” “What was so special about Noah?”

Well, I believe the text before us today provides the answers to these questions. As we progress through this section of the narrative, we will see that God not only spared Noah, but his nuclear family as well, which included his wife, their three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth), and the three son’s wives. I believe this small remnant is the Genesis and establishes the benchmark going forward that God will always have a small remnant and only needs a faithful few to accomplish His divine plan and will. Amen somebody. As our journey continues through this narrative, please pay special attention to the Holiness of God (how He was grieved with evil and wickedness), the patience of God (how He gave man 120-years to repent), the Amazing Grace of God in saving Noah and his family, and the Faithfulness of God to keep His promise of sending a Redeemer through the Seed of the woman. So, what we will discover in Genesis 6—9, is that the real message is not so much about the righteousness of Noah, but more about the Amazing Grace of God. Amen somebody.

When the name Noah is mentioned, people tend to conjure up thoughts about the Ark that he built and the animals that were gathered on the Ark. However, when it comes to Noah the man, who built the Ark, most people have a very shallow knowledge and understanding. However, Noah is a very important character in the Bible. He is mentioned in both the Old and New Testament. Noah represents a major milestone in the in the human narrative. Through Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, all humanity is related and have a common DNA marker to prove it. Like it or not, no matter who you are, you are either a descendant of Shem, Ham, or Japheth. Amen somebody. Furthermore, we learn that all the wicked descendants of Cain and even the Nephilim were destroyed in the Great Flood. Thanks be to God that none of them made it through.

V.8-9 – “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (9) These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

So, who was Noah? Noah, whose name means “rest,”was the 10th in descent from Adam in the line of Seth. His great-grandfather was Enoch, who according to Genesis 5:24, “...walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” This same Enoch is chronicled in the Scripture’s Hall of Faith, found in Hebrews 11:5, which reads, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him:” Like his great-grandfather Enoch, v.9 informs us that Noah walked with God. This simply means that Noah feared God and worshipped God. This provides insight into why Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. This is the first time the word grace is used in the Bible. Noah “found grace” does not mean that he was in search of it and found it. But rather, he obtained that for which was not seeking. We understand that God’s grace is His unmerited favor. And God chose Noah to be the recipient of His grace or loving favor.

Now, up to this point, all we know about Noah is that he is from the godly line of Seth and that the times in which he was born were degenerate. We also know that when he was born, his father Lamech saw something special in him and predicted that he was destined to make a difference in bringing the family “rest” or “comfort”concerning their farming labors; hence, his father named him Noah, which means “rest” or “comfort.” I think it is safe to say that Lamech was no prophet, because his prediction certainly did not come to pass. Amen somebody.

It is also safe to believe that being a Sethite, Noah, more than likely was taught the true worship of God and God’s promise to send a Redeemer through the Seed of the woman. Evidence is strong that Noah believed his godly instruction, which instilled in him a reverent fear of God and caused him to reject the ways of the world. Furthermore, having lived 480-years before the flood waters came, Noah had plenty of time to observe the wickedness of his times, and to learn of the evil exploits of his murderous uncle Cain and Cain’s ungodly offspring.

V.9 describes Noah as “...just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” The EVS describes Noah as, “a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” This description of “walking with God” is applied to only two men in Scripture—Enoch, Noah’s great-grandfather, and Noah. That is pretty good company. However, it would be a mistake to think that Noah somehow earned or merited God’s grace and salvation. Because, if that were true, God would be paying Noah a debt owed, as opposed to giving him grace. For salvation is by grace through faith. The Apostle Paul teaches this in Ephesians 2:8-9, he says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Amen somebody. Now, Noah’s flaws are not apparent to us in these few verses, but they will emerge on the other side of the Flood. However, be that as it may, amid a perverse and wicked generation, Noah believed what God told him was true, which was a testimony to his faith. Noah’s faith is confirmed in Hebrews 11:6-7, which says, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Thus, despite the ungodly cultural trends of his times and the moral degradation, Noah remained faithful to the Only True and Living God. Amen goes right there.

Side Note: Do not miss what the text explicitly says, that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” It does not say Noah and his family but distinguishes Noah alone. His family were the beneficiaries of Noah’s faithfulness. There are a lot of people who are benefiting from the faithfulness of someone else. Children benefiting from faithful praying parents. Husbands and wives benefiting from a faithful spouse. A business benefiting from a faithful business partner. In fact, we see evidence of this truth in Genesis 18:20-32, where God promised Abraham that He would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of 10 righteous people between the two cities. Sadly, there were not found 10 righteous people and the cities were destroyed. Amen somebody.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, I want to encourage you to take the time to look more closely at the character of Noah. Against all opposition, Noah chose to stand alone in his generation to preach an unpopular message to a wicked and perverse generation. And although criticized and ridiculed, He obeyed God by preparing the only way of escape from the coming destruction. Like Noah, we today are called to believe the message that God has given through His Son Jesus Christ; the message is, “Repent and believe the Gospel.” Also, like Noah, we are called to deliver a message of warning to fallen man even if they refuse to listen and even if we have to stand alone, letting him know that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

However, unlike Noah, we are not required to build an Ark, but rather to simply get onboard that spiritual Ark, who is Christ, by believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the promised Seed of the woman, who died for our sins on the cross and rose from the grave three days later. Jesus said, those that believe in Him are not condemned, but they that believe not are condemned already, because they believe not on the name of the Only Begotten Son of God. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Save the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

I am reminded of that great church hymn Amazing Grace.

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace, How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I am found, Was blind, but now I see. 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed. Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come, 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far And grace will lead me home.

So, until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved. Amen.