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Noah, Man of God in a Wicked Generation
Genesis 5:28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. 30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: 31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 And the Lord 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. 4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5 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. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 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. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The 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. 14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. 22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. 7:1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. 4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. 5 And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.
In the day of Noah people were living like there was no tomorrow Matthew 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
They must have enjoyed laughing at Noah building a big boat on dry land
Imagine the talk as they thought of Enoch, the man who walked with God and disappeared
Noah was a preacher of righteousness that was warning them of coming judgment but none would believe except his own family II Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
Noah is no minor character in the Bible. He is mentioned 50 times in 9 different books of the Bible
Hoping Noah can bring rest and comfort from God Genesis 5:28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.
Two Lamechs mentioned in Genesis. One is the father of Cain and the other of Noah
The Lamech born to Seth fathers Noah who walks with God
Cain’s Lamech murders a young man and brags about it
Lamech is praying God will use his son to bring hope and comfort again. There is only one way to truly find comfort and that is in the person of Jesus Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Lamech must have had a heart for God and a desire for some relief in the wicked world
It must have been very difficult to live a godly life in a world where every imagination was evil continually 5 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. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The 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.
There should be in us a heart to raise children that could bring hope and comfort to a world steeped in darkness
We should instill in our children a desire to serve God as best we can
We should be praying, teaching, giving an example even if no one else is doing so
Noah was a man of faith, he believed in God.
He found grace and favor in the eyes of the Lord 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Noah is a just or righteous man 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
He is mentioned as one of the most righteous men of the Old Testament Ezekiel 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. 14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
It was faith in God that made him righteous, not his good works Hebrews 11:7 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.
Righteousness always comes by believing God, not what you do
The only acceptable righteousness in the presence of God is that of Jesus Christ II Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
The only way you get this righteousness is through faith Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
Do you suppose that Noah learned this from his dad who learned it from his dad all the way back to Adam?
What are you teaching your children?
How diligent are you to be sure that they learn?
Are they learning it by example or only by exhortation?
Noah lived out his faith and what God had done to him internally 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Noah was perfect or blameless.
That doesn’t mean that he didn't sin but that he lived a life of integrity, whole, unblemished
Noah’s neighbors couldn’t find fault with him
True righteousness is not only positional but practical
If you have real faith, it will be reflected in the way you live James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? Titus 1:10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Noah walked with God just like his grandfather Enoch 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Noah lived the life he had seen modeled for him
He walked believing and trusting God
He had seen that same faith lived out in his family
Living by faith refers to walking with God
Walk in love Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Walk as children of light Ephesians 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
Walk circumspectly or with wisdom Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Walk in the Spirit Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Noah was obedient 6:22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. 7:5 And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him. 7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.
We are to be doers of the word and not just hearers James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
There is much more than believing. Real faith gets lived out
Your “be level” will show in your “do and serve level”
You are to live out what and who you are. Actually, you are living out who you are. So that might be a good test for you
Noah was a faithful man serving God 22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.
Noah was commanded to build the ark
He was given exact instructions
He needed to do as he was told
This ark would hold over 500 livestock railroad cars providing space for 125,000 animals
He was to gather the animals 6:19
God actually caused the animals to come
There was food to gather for the animals
Special animals for the sacrifice
He was made righteous by the grace of God and his trusting God and taking God as His Word
However, Noah lived out his faith. He practiced what he believed
He served God faithfully preaching and working for over 120 years
How does your faith affect your everyday life?
How faithful is your service to your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?
Noah was a trusting man, patiently waiting on God to do His will 7:1 And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. 4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
We need to patiently learn to trust our Father and wait on Him Psalm 32:9 Be ye not as the horse, Or as the mule, which have no understanding: Whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, Lest they come near unto thee.
He had to wait a week.
They sat in the ark for a week waiting on the rain. That must have taken faith
They knew it would rain for 40 days and 40 nights but didn't know how long they would be in the ark
It would be over a year before they got off the ark
God’s blessings come through faith and patience Hebrews 6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
How difficult do you find it when facing a storm to trust God?
What if you knew that the whole world was going to be destroyed and you and your 6 children would ride it out in a boat 450 feet long and 75 feet wide with 3 decks and 45 feet tall?
How are you going to face the things going on in your life right now? Will you believe God? Will you patiently wait for Him to do what is best and right or will you act like an angry child wanting your own will?