Except for the increase in violence and crime, the times were pretty good. People were “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (Matthew 24:38), and life was going on as usual. They acted as if nothing could or would ever change. When friends met at the market or at wedding feasts, they laughed about Noah and his family (“Imagine building that big boat on dry land!”) or discussed Methuselah, the world’s oldest man (“He’ll die one of these days, mark my word!”), or talked about Enoch, the man who suddenly disappeared (“Strangest thing I ever heard!”).
Methuselah was Noah’s grandfather, and Noah knew that when his grandfather died, nothing stood in the way of God’s judgment falling on a wicked world. For over a century, Noah had been warning people about the coming judgment, but only his own family had believed him and trusted the Lord.
Then Methuselah died and things began to happen. One day, Noah and his family entered their “boat” and the rains came. (“It can’t go on forever,” people said. “It’ll stop one of these days.”) But it rained for forty days and forty nights, and subterranean explosions discharged more water on the earth. Even after the rain stopped, the water continued to rise; and within five months, the whole earth was under water and everything that breathed was dead. Everything, that is, except Noah and his family, the eight people everybody laughed at.
What kind of a person was Noah? He was the kind of person you and I should be and can be as we live in our world today.
A Believing Man Who Walked With God
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” – Genesis 6:9-13.
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8) introduces the third of the “generation” statements in Genesis: “These are the generations of Noah.” Noah wasn’t a minor character in the story of redemption; he’s mentioned fifty times in nine different books of the Bible.
Noah was a righteous man (Genesis 6:9; 7:1). This is the first time the word “righteous” is used in the Bible, but Noah’s righteousness is also mentioned in other places (Ezekiel 14:14, 20; Hebrews 11:7; 2 Peter 2:5). Noah’s righteousness didn’t come from his good works; his good works came because of his righteousness. Like Abraham, his righteousness was God’s gift in response to his personal faith. Both Abraham and Noah believed God’s Word “and it was counted to them for righteousness” (see Genesis 15:6; Hebrews 11:7; Romans 4:9-12; Galatians 3:1-9).
The only righteousness God will accept is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, His Son (2 Corinthians 5:21); and the only way people can receive that righteousness is by admitting their sins and trusting Jesus Christ to save them (Romans 3:19–30; Galatians 2:16). Noah must have learned this important truth from his father Lamech (Genesis 5:28–29), who learned it from his father Methuselah, who learned it from his father Enoch. How important it is to teach our children, grandchildren and if lucky enough, our great-grandchildren, how to trust the Lord!
Noah was a blameless man (Genesis 6:9). If “righteous” describes Noah’s standing before God, then “blameless” describes his conduct before people. Blameless doesn’t mean “sinless,” because nobody but Jesus Christ ever lived a sinless life on this earth (1 Peter 2:21–22). The original word for “blameless” means “having integrity, whole, unblemished.” It is the same word used to describe the animals acceptable to God for sacrifice (Exodus 12:5; Leviticus 1:3, 10). Noah’s conduct was such that his neighbors couldn’t find fault with him (Philippians 2:12–16).
The person who is right before God through faith in Christ ought to lead a life that is right before people, for “faith apart from works is dead.” – James 2:26. Paul warned about “many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers . . . they profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.” – Titus 1:10, 16. Noah, however, was not that kind of person.
Noah was a man who walked with God (Genesis 6:9). His great-grandfather Enoch had “walked with God” and was suddenly taken to heaven and rescued from the impending judgment of the Flood (Genesis 5:24). Noah walked with God and was taken safely through the judgment. Enoch modeled a godly way of life for Methuselah. Methuselah must have passed it along to his son Lamech who shared it with his son Noah. How wonderful it is when generation after generation in one family is faithful to the Lord, especially at a time in history when violence and corruption are the normal way of life. This is something that Christians in our day can relate too and use practically.
The life of faith and obedience has usually been compared to a “walk” because this life begins with one step: trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This step of faith leads to a daily walk, a step at time, as the Lord directs us. He commands us to “walk in love” (Ephesians 5:2), “walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8), “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 25), and “walk carefully” (Ephesians 5:15). A step at a time, a day at a time, we walk with the Lord; and He guides us into His will and blesses us with His wisdom and strength.
To Be Continued
Adaptation of excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Basic, “Be” Commentary Series.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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