The
Paris shootings on Friday night, at 6 different locations by
ISIS terrorists reminds us
that this world is not a safe place. The land that has created
a humanist haven under the idealistic banner
of “liberty, fraternity and equality” finds itself
assaulted by human beings to whom it has somewhat naively offered asylum.
Ironically, the place where most people were killed was at a concert venue where an American band “Eagles of Death Metal” had been playing!
Our world is in turmoil and many thinking people ask where all this is leading to. Well, we turn to the Bible, the Word of God,where we find an accurate account of the origin of man and of sin, and how sin has caused such repeated devastation in this world. The Bible teaches us what man is capable of, if left unrestrained and to himself.
Ironically, the place where most people were killed was at a concert venue where an American band “Eagles of Death Metal” had been playing!
Our world is in turmoil and many thinking people ask where all this is leading to. Well, we turn to the Bible, the Word of God,where we find an accurate account of the origin of man and of sin, and how sin has caused such repeated devastation in this world. The Bible teaches us what man is capable of, if left unrestrained and to himself.
Genesis
6 becomes a turning point in the book of Genesis. In Gen. 6:9 we
read, “These are the generations of Noah"
. This phrase "these are the generations..." is a formula [1] requently employed in the book of Genesis. It indicates a new section or division in the book of Genesis. Each of these sections end with a picture that portrays the effects
and results of sin.
The
chronology of the godly offspring in Genesis
5 introduces us to Noah, a major OT character. Noah came
from a remarkable line of men. He was
the grandson of Methuselah, the oldest man
in the Bible and the great
grandson of Enoch, the man who walked with God
and of whom no death is recorded (Gen.
5:24).
The father of Noah was Lamech[2], who said upon the birth of Noah,“
Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief (or rest) from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” (Gen. 5:29).
Noah’s father, Lamech, was a man of faith, for he was able to discern the Lord’s hand in the affairs of the world when he said that, God through Noah, was going to bring a time of relief or rest into the world.
But what will be the nature of that relief or rest that Noah will usher in? Be prepared to be very surprised!
The father of Noah was Lamech[2], who said upon the birth of Noah,“
Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief (or rest) from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.” (Gen. 5:29).
Noah’s father, Lamech, was a man of faith, for he was able to discern the Lord’s hand in the affairs of the world when he said that, God through Noah, was going to bring a time of relief or rest into the world.
But what will be the nature of that relief or rest that Noah will usher in? Be prepared to be very surprised!
Genesis 6:1-8 provides us
with an assessment of the sinful and shocking state of mankind in the days
which preceded the Flood. It is
reaffirmed in Gen.6:11-12. It all
begins in Gen. 6:1-3 when the godly
offspring of Seth (the sons of God)
began to mingle with the daughters of man (the offspring of Cain). This serious compromise constitutes the beginning of the collapse of that civilization. The major problem
is that the sons of God are
now tempted to move away
from their godly roots, and the
main way in which they
manifest that fact is through giving into their hormones.
Unrestrained sexual desire leads to all sorts of further grief, and God is grieved. In fact, God is determined
to deal decisively with this this sin. He will put an end
to this civilization.
A
typical theme now emerges in the Bible. The doctrine of the remnant is established. God destroys
a civilization due to its
wickedness, and yet He will not destry it completely. God says,
“I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land… but Noah found favour or grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen. 6:8)
In the midst of this devastating announcement we find an exception, Noah! And so the next verse says,
“Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God." (v.9)
All is not lost. In the Bible there is always a remnant. There are always those who, by the grace of God, do not share that wickedness.
“I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land… but Noah found favour or grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (Gen. 6:8)
In the midst of this devastating announcement we find an exception, Noah! And so the next verse says,
“Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God." (v.9)
All is not lost. In the Bible there is always a remnant. There are always those who, by the grace of God, do not share that wickedness.
This
is the first thing that we are told
about Noah. Grace is the foundation of every life that is well-pleasing
to God. It was the grace or favour of
God, and not the personal goodness of
Noah which made Noah who he was. This is
the first time the word "grace” or “favour"
is mentioned in the Bible, although the
concept already exists immediately after the fall e.g. in Gen.
3:21 when God made garments for Adam and Eve, who after the fall felt
exposed and naked. By His grace God clothed them.
Surely this is a token of God’s Grace!
It was when sin had reached its climax that God was pleased to exercise His Grace. Paul speaks about this in his letter to the Romans, “ … where sin increased, grace abounded all the more…” (Rom. 5:20).
From
the very beginning of the Bible we are reminded that man
contributes essentially nothing to the fact
that his civilization
remains intactat all. The truth is that we exist only by God’s favour. Left to ourselves we would
not preserve one another, for by virtue of sin we have become graceless. We would exterminate one another without God’s restraining grace. Who we are and what we are able to do right,
is by God’s grace alone. Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Every Christian is a member of the remnant community, saved
by the same Grace as Noah (Eph.
2:10), and so we
live by that same Grace.
How
did the grace of God manifest
itself in Noah’s character? We see it in
Genesis 6:9,
"Noah was a
righteous man, blameless in his
generation. Noah walked with God."
(i) He
was "righteous”. He is the first man in the Bible who is so
called righteous. To understand the nature and meaning of his righteousness we
need to understand the biblical use of the word. What makes a man righteous in the Bible is not his ‘self -righteousness’, but an ‘imputed righteousness’. Let me explain.
In and of ourselves we do not
possess sufficient self -righteousness
to satisfy and please a holy God. How then can we appear
righteous before God? That is one
of the
grand subjects of the Bible. It leads us to the subject of imputed righteousness! The nature of this righteousness is described by Paul in Romans 3:21- 4:12 and Galatians 3:1-14. Imputed righteousness
is that righteousness given to me (imputed to me) when I
trust in the Lord Jesus Christ
entirely for my salvation. He imputes
His perfect righteousness to me by His shed blood on the cross. The
way
in which that righteousness is shown in my life is
by my faith in Jesus. “The just shall live by faith” [4], and therefore we find Noah among the fifteen believers mentioned in the great
faith chapter of Hebrews 11. The faith by which Noah demonstrated that Noah believed God was ‘ …in
reverent fear he constructed an ark for
the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir
of righteousness that comes by faith.” (Heb. 11:7). We shall
consider this text in a moment.
(ii) He was "blameless in his
generation”. The
Hebrew word translated as blameless[5] means literally "without blemish". Noah was a pure
man when compared with his
generation. He was known by God and he lived
in fellowship with God.
(iii)
He
"walked with God." In
this regard he has like his great grandfather,
Enoch. It is this ongoing walk that keeps us
with God, and which keeps us from evil.
The
faith of Noah
is described in Hebrews 11:7 and it amplifies the nature of the grace that Noah had received from the Lord,
"By
faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent
fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned
the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
7 Aspects concerning Noah's Faith and some Diagnostic Questions
1.The foundation of Noah’s faith:
The Word of God —"being
warned by God." Noah listened
to the word that came to Him from God. The foundation of all faith
which is pleasing to God is that it rests on the plain Word of God.
Some
illustrations:
·
Peter
and his partners had fished all night
and caught nothing. The Lord said, "Put out into the deep water and let
down your nets for a catch" . Peter replied, "Master, we have
worked all the night, and haven’t caught
anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets. (Lk. 5:4,5).
·
Acts 27:25. For many days the ship in which Paul was travelling to Italy battled against stormy weather. Then, when everything seemed to be
lost Paul said, " keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in
God that it will happen just as He told me.” Their lives were saved, just as Paul said.
A
faith that does not rest upon the God’s word has no substance. But when God has
said it, we may believe it. That is what Noah did and
therefore he found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Is the Bible, the Word of God the foundation of
trust upon which you build your life in this world?
2.The scope of Noah’s faith: "concerning things
unseen …". Noah trusted God,
although He had seen no evidence of the
flood so far. This illustrates the fact that
believers walk by faith in the revealed truth of God’s word. “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor.
5:7). As Noah built the ark, those watching him must have considered him mad. What evidence was there that there was going to be a great flood? What then caused Noah to do what he did ?
Nothing but the word of God.
Noah’s spiritual eyes, the eyes of faith looked beyond that which was seen. Therefore
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Do you trust God concerning the things unseen?
3.The character of Noah’s faith: "in
reverent fear “. Noah believed God more than what his society or what his own eyes told him.
Do
you fear God more than man?
4.The evidence of Noah’s faith: He "constructed an ark." "Faith, if unaccompanied by works is dead" (Jas. 2:17). Read through Hebrews 11 and
it will be seen that in every case recorded there, faith was evidenced by
works. Abel had faith. How did he
display it? By presenting to God the divinely ordained sacrifice. Enoch had faith. How did he manifest it? By walking with God. Noah had faith. How did he show it? By building the ark.
How do
you display your faith?
5. The concern of Noah’s faith: Noah "build an ark for the saving of his
family" . This fact deserves prayerful consideration. While it is true
that parents cannot save their children’s souls, there are evidences of
God’s blessings where the obedience of
one leads to the salvation of many. Because Abraham exercised faith, God
gave the land of Canaan to his offspring.
Because Rahab believed the report of the spies, her whole household was
preserved from destruction. In the NT we
find that the faith of a centurion’s is the catalyst to his servants healing (Lk.7:1-10); Jairus’
daughter is healed as a result of
his faith (Lk.8:40-56) etc. Noah’s
faith issues in the temporal salvation
of his family.
Does your faith include concern for the future
of your family?
6. The witness of
Noah’s faith: "By this he
condemned the world.” Every
Christian who is walking by faith condemns the world, because the world has faith in everything else but God. His conduct is a silent rebuke upon the course
followed by the ungodly. His life is a witness against their sin.
Does your life testify against your
world ?
7.
The reward of Noah’s faith: " …and became
an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith." This
is the crowning statement and it brings
us back to the fact as to why Noah is an exception in this backslidden community. He was “an
heir of the righteousness that comes by
faith.” God had chosen him to belong
to that long line of faithful men in Genesis 5 and in Hebrews 11. He had the godly seed in Him and that is
why He had the faith and inclination to act contrary to whatever everyone else
was doing.
Are you looking forward to
receive your inheritance kept in heaven for you ?
Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord and the evidence is seen in Hebrews 11:7: “By
faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent
fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned
the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
REVIEW :
- Have you found grace in the eyes of the Lord?
- Take another look at the 7 diagnostic questions and examine your own faith.
[1] The first division (the
concluding verses of Genesis 4) , closes with the account of Abel’s murder by Cain, and Lamech ( an offspring of Cain’s line) boasting over a young man whom he had killed
The second division closes (Gen. 6:1-8) with God looking down on the wickedness of
those before the flood ( the
Antediluvians. )
The third division closes (Gen. 9:20-29) with the sad scene of Noah’s drunkenness,
leading to a curse pronounced on the line of his youngest son . This is followed by Noah’s death.
The fourth division starts with the account of
Shem , Ham and Japheth , the descendants of Noah (10:1)
and closes (Gen. 11:1-9) with the
overthrow of the Tower of Babel.
The fifth division introduces the line of
Shem and
closes (Gen. 11:10-26) with the births, ages, and deaths of
Shem’s descendants.
The sixth division closes (Gen. 11:31, 32) with the death of Terah.
The seventh division closes (Gen. 25:10, 11) with the burial of Abraham.
The eighth division closes (Gen. 25:18) with the death of Ishmael.
The ninth division closes (Gen. 35:29) with the death of Isaac.
The tenth division closes (Gen. 36:8) with the departure of Esau from the
promised land, the birthright which he had forfeited & sold
because He considered his bodily
appetites as more important that his birthright .
The eleventh division closes (Gen. 36) with a list of the descendants of Esau, and
significantly ends with the words, "He was Esau the father of the
Edomites."
The 12th division starts at 37:2 ( The account of Jacob) and closes (Gen. 50:26) with the death of
Joseph.
[2] not the Lamech of Cain’s line (4:19-24), but the Lamech of Seth’s
line (5:25-31)
[3] חֵ ן : chen
- grace, to favour someone
[4] Hab 2:4 ; Gal 3:11
[5] "tamim"
– without
blemish, mentioned forty-four times in
the OT
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