Noah Found Grace In The Eyes Of The Lord – Part One
Genesis 6:8
In Gen 6:5-7, we read of God’s displeasure with the world and its wickedness. But as God pronounces judgment upon the world, and prepares to destroy it with a flood, we find encouraging words concerning one man: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” - Gen 6:8. This simply means that Noah found favor in God’s sight, and we know the result of that favor: escape for him and his family from the flood...! But why Noah? Why did Noah find grace in the eyes of the Lord? And how might we apply this to our situation today?
Well, let’s note first why Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He was “a just man” - Gen 6:9 “These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” Some translations say “righteous”, (like the English Standard Version, which I will be using for our text in this lesson). This likely refers to his moral relation to God (Keil & Delitzsch). He was “perfect in his generations” - Gen 6:9 (ASV, KJV). Other translations (NASV, NIV, ESV) use the word “blameless”. Not that he was sinless, but that there were no blatant faults. He was a man of moral integrity among the people. He “walked with God” - Gen 6:9. This is how he manifested his righteousness and integrity (Keil & Delitzsch). In walking with God, he imitated the example of Enoch, his great-grandfather - Gen 5:24 “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” Walking with God in Noah’s case likely involved calling upon the name of the Lord, which began in the days of Seth - Gen 4:26 “To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.” Likely offering sacrifices to God, which began in the days of Cain & Abel - Gen 4:3-4 “In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,”
Noah “did according to all that the Lord commanded him”. Twice this is emphasized in the Scriptures - Gen 6:22 “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.”; 7:5 “And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.” We learn from Hebrews that this obedience of Noah came from faith - He 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.” Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” - 2 Pe 2:5 “if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;”. He not only “lived” a righteous life, but he also proclaimed the need for righteousness, even though he lived in an ungodly world. Noah certainly was an unusual man, but perhaps we see well why only he and his family “found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
What about ourselves? Is there a need for us to “find grace in the eyes of the
Lord” today? Yes...! Why? Not because we face the threat of a worldwide flood. Note that after Noah and his family were saved from the flood, God promised He would never again destroy the world in such a manner - Gen 9:8-11 “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."’ The rainbow is a constant reminder of God’s promise - Gen 9:12-17 “And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."’
We need to find grace in the eyes of the Lord because we face the promise of the end of the world. Peter reminds us that just as the world was once destroyed by water, so it shall be destroyed by fire when Jesus returns! - 2 Pe 3:3-13 “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” In view of this promise, Peter calls upon us to “be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless” - 2 Pe 3:14. Just as Noah “found grace in the eyes of the Lord”.... So we need to be “found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless”. Is this not simply another way of saying that we, like Noah, need to find grace in the eyes of the Lord? Indeed, it is! When the end of the world comes, we had better be in a condition where we too find grace in the eyes of the Lord! Otherwise, we will be like those left outside of the ark when the floods came!
Genesis 6:8
In Gen 6:5-7, we read of God’s displeasure with the world and its wickedness. But as God pronounces judgment upon the world, and prepares to destroy it with a flood, we find encouraging words concerning one man: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” - Gen 6:8. This simply means that Noah found favor in God’s sight, and we know the result of that favor: escape for him and his family from the flood...! But why Noah? Why did Noah find grace in the eyes of the Lord? And how might we apply this to our situation today?
Well, let’s note first why Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He was “a just man” - Gen 6:9 “These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” Some translations say “righteous”, (like the English Standard Version, which I will be using for our text in this lesson). This likely refers to his moral relation to God (Keil & Delitzsch). He was “perfect in his generations” - Gen 6:9 (ASV, KJV). Other translations (NASV, NIV, ESV) use the word “blameless”. Not that he was sinless, but that there were no blatant faults. He was a man of moral integrity among the people. He “walked with God” - Gen 6:9. This is how he manifested his righteousness and integrity (Keil & Delitzsch). In walking with God, he imitated the example of Enoch, his great-grandfather - Gen 5:24 “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” Walking with God in Noah’s case likely involved calling upon the name of the Lord, which began in the days of Seth - Gen 4:26 “To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.” Likely offering sacrifices to God, which began in the days of Cain & Abel - Gen 4:3-4 “In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,”
Noah “did according to all that the Lord commanded him”. Twice this is emphasized in the Scriptures - Gen 6:22 “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.”; 7:5 “And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.” We learn from Hebrews that this obedience of Noah came from faith - He 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.” Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” - 2 Pe 2:5 “if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;”. He not only “lived” a righteous life, but he also proclaimed the need for righteousness, even though he lived in an ungodly world. Noah certainly was an unusual man, but perhaps we see well why only he and his family “found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
What about ourselves? Is there a need for us to “find grace in the eyes of the
Lord” today? Yes...! Why? Not because we face the threat of a worldwide flood. Note that after Noah and his family were saved from the flood, God promised He would never again destroy the world in such a manner - Gen 9:8-11 “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."’ The rainbow is a constant reminder of God’s promise - Gen 9:12-17 “And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."’
We need to find grace in the eyes of the Lord because we face the promise of the end of the world. Peter reminds us that just as the world was once destroyed by water, so it shall be destroyed by fire when Jesus returns! - 2 Pe 3:3-13 “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” In view of this promise, Peter calls upon us to “be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless” - 2 Pe 3:14. Just as Noah “found grace in the eyes of the Lord”.... So we need to be “found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless”. Is this not simply another way of saying that we, like Noah, need to find grace in the eyes of the Lord? Indeed, it is! When the end of the world comes, we had better be in a condition where we too find grace in the eyes of the Lord! Otherwise, we will be like those left outside of the ark when the floods came!
