The Dedication of Noah

Genesis 6:9 “This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”

Noah was a Just Man.

A Righteous man. Gen. 6:5; Lk. 10:27

Genesis 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

This is the embodiment of the cynicism that plagues us in our current society.

“Look at those Christians, always smiling. There’s no way they’re really that happy. It’s all just a show. They’re really miserable inside. Like me.”

When we believe this is how the world is, we give in to cynicism and destroy our proper evangelistic work.

This is an attitude that makes it impossible to love ourselves. But self love is necessary for us to obey God.

Luke 10:27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

Not a big standard at the time! Gen. 6:8

Nonetheless, Noah found grace.

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Why Noah?

Noah might have been impressive to some degree.

Building something like the ark is impressive in itself.

But impressiveness as we know it is not the core of God’s blessings. It is faith.

The paralyzed man and his friends were impressive to Jesus. Mk. 2:5

Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

The centurion was impressive to Jesus. Lk. 7:9

Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

He believed that Jesus did not have to be physically present in order to heal his servant (7:6-8).

We must conclude that Noah had great faith in God. It was this great faith that made him a just man. Hab. 2:4

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

Noah was Perfect in His Generations.

Complete, Unscathed, Wholehearted, Intact.

In a horrible, violence-ridden world, Noah was the outlier, the counter-cultural radical.

“Noah was a conspiracy theorist until it rained.”

Even before Noah was given this knowledge of the flood by God, he was an exceptional person. But by building the ark, he condemned the world. Heb. 11:7

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

As we have established, his faith in God was the core of his “perfection”.

The Generations of Noah’s Day: Gen. 6:11-13; 4:23-24

Genesis 6:11–13 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

There were many before Noah’s day who embraced violence. It seems that by the time of the flood it had reached a raucous fervor.

Genesis 4:23–24 Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

The LORD hates violence! Ps. 11:4-6; Ez. 8:16-18

Psalm 11:4–6 The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup.

Ezekiel 8:16–18 So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east. And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Idol worship always involves violence, or leads to it. Remember that we still have idolatry today.

Opposing violence takes bravery, courage, boldness. Judges 6:28-32; 1 Kings 18:17-18

Judges 6:28–32 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, there was the altar of Baal, torn down; and the wooden image that was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered on the altar which had been built. So they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And when they had inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.” Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has torn down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the wooden image that was beside it.” But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Let the one who would plead for him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead for himself, because his altar has been torn down!” Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has torn down his altar.”

1 Kings 18:17–18 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.

God delivered Noah from that horrible, violent generation. Gen. 9:1-17

Genesis 9:1–17 NKJV

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man. And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.” Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Noah Walked with God.

A closeness with the Lord.

Moving in the same direction, the same cadence, the same focus and path. To walk with God implies harmony with His will and a close obedience to his commands.

Like his great grandfather, Enoch. Gen. 5:22-24; Heb. 11:5-6

Genesis 5:22–24 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Hebrews 11:5–6 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Like King Josiah. 2 Kings 23:1-3

2 Kings 23:1–3 Now the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. The king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord. Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.

Walking with God is awkward and difficult (and truly impossible) when you are in sin. Gen. 3:8-10

Genesis 3:8–10 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

Walking with God implies that all other paths are wrong, and should be cast off. Ezk. 14:12-14

Ezekiel 14:12–14 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.

Ways We Can Be Like Noah

We must strive to be “just”.

Because that striving, that FAITH, puts us in service of our Savior. Zech. 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

Because it is good for us. Prov. 4:18-19

Proverbs 4:18–19 But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.

Because if we are just, we shall “surely live”. Ezk. 18:4-9

Ezekiel 18:4–9 “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die. But if a man is just And does what is lawful and right; If he has not eaten on the mountains, Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife, Nor approached a woman during her impurity; If he has not oppressed anyone, But has restored to the debtor his pledge; Has robbed no one by violence, But has given his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing; If he has not exacted usury Nor taken any increase, But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity And executed true judgment between man and man; If he has walked in My statutes— And kept My judgments faithfully— He is just; He shall surely live!” Says the Lord God.

Strive to be Perfect in our generation.

We must be the outliers, the counter-cultural radicals of our generation.

By shunning violence of all kinds. Is. 60:18

Isaiah 60:18 Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, Neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; But you shall call your walls Salvation, And your gates Praise.

By embracing the role of being “different”. 1 Pet. 1:13-16

1 Peter 1:13–16 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

NOTE: We are not rebels for rebellion’s sake; our faithfulness to God naturally puts us at odds with the rest of the world. Embrace that awkwardness! You will never “fit in”, so stop trying. If you “fit in” like they want you to, you may already be drifting.

We have an “ark” (heaven), and by it, we “condemn” the world.

By being complete in Him. Col. 2:8-10

Colossians 2:8–10 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

We have to look and see the idols within our own hearts!

We must strive to walk with God.

He has given us His Son, by whom we can boldly walk with Him. 1 Jn. 5:10-13

1 John 5:10–13 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

We don’t have to be afraid of life in this world anymore. We can walk in New Jerusalem in complete spiritual safety. 1 Pet. 3:13-17; Is. 8:12-13; Ps. 27:1

1 Peter 3:13–17 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Isaiah 8:12–13 “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?