Today's notes ended up longer than expected. I hadn't realized there were quite so many clues about Noah in a couple chapters until my new journaling Bible inspired closer observation!
It is already feeling rather long since I first wrote about Noah and how “the LORD shut him in” the ark. But this is only day 20.
The storm is still raging – the rain still beating.
The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. – Genesis 7:18
Meanwhile, Noah and his family are safely shut in the ark they had built according to God’s directions. Why was he saved while the rest of mankind was destroyed? The history record is clear:
The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Gen. 6:5)
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Gen. 6:8)
That puts Noah in a special group of people… those whom the Bible cites as having “favor” with God. The others I have found so far are:
Moses in Exodus 33:12 – Moses said to the LORD,… you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’
Samuel in 1 Samuel 2:26 – Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and also with man.
Mary in Luke 1:30 – And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
Jesus in Luke 2:52 – And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
A quick search on Blue Letter Bible will turn up plenty of verses seeking favor with God and man as well as some where God is giving his people favor in the sight of those who would naturally be their enemies (for example: Gen. 39:21, Exo. 11:3, 12:36).
But to have favor in the eyes of the LORD is
obviously something special.
Genesis chapter 6 goes on to describe Noah as “a righteous man, blameless in his generation.” That reminds me of how God described Job as “a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.” (Job 1:8 & 2:3)
As a side note, both Noah and Job are examples of how God doesn’t keep his children insulated from all hardship, but he brings them through triumphantly in the end.
Maybe, like me, you have long thought of Noah as uniquely protected. And it is true that he was saved from the utter destruction of the earth and its inhabitants in God’s judgement. But I am realizing more and more how his calling was far from easy.
[Now to return from one of what I once heard Edith Schaeffer call her “parentheses”…]
We are next told that “Noah walked with God.”
That classes this man in an even more exclusive hall of fame – as far as I can find, the description being shared only by his great-grandfather Enoch in Genesis 5:24. Noah never got to meet this man since God took him away (without death) after 365 years on earth. But enough of his faith was obviously passed down through the next 2 generations to be wholeheartedly picked up by the boy born nearly 70 years later.
The next clues to Noah’s walk with God are that
he:
- heard from God (6:13, 7:1)
- did all God told him (6:22, 7:5)
- was blessed by God establishing a covenant with him (6:18) – even before Abraham and his descendants were given this honor
The New Testament puts it this way in Hebrews 11:8:
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.
In other words, he was not “going with the flow”
of the world or trying to fit in. He was the opposite of “politically correct.” He would have been mocked, sidelined, called names (sound familiar for those who dare to stand on God's word nowadays?) ...Until it began to rain, that is.
All this may leave us wondering, is God’s favor only for these “favored few”?
Thankfully not! God’s word shows us who else gets blessed with His favor:
For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield. – Psalm 5:12
Again, the righteous sounds impossibly exclusive. And it would be… except for Jesus’ promise in Matthew 5:6* that:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Are we thirsty enough to follow the example of
Noah – no matter how rough or lonely the path may be at times?
Other posts in this series:
Part I: The
Lord Shut Him In
Part II: Day 10: The Animals
Next Post:
Part IV: Day 30: The
Walls
Flood Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash
Rain Photo by Eutah Mizushima on Unsplash
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