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Studies in Genesis, The Judgment of Man, Lesson XVII, Genesis 6:8-22,7:1-5
We have learned from Genesis Six that men in their fallen state choose to depend upon themselves with a total disregard for the One who made them.
If Genesis Six describes a lack of separation by the righteous line or the noblemen and kings of old destroying the institution of marriage by polygamy, or angels who have left their estate with Satan taking on the daughters of men, the bottom line is that all of these possibilities describe men who desire to go it alone without attention to God’s will.
But our Creator God will not abide this choice for He is the one, the only one that His Creation is to satisfy for His creation is for His glory and His glory alone.
We live in this creation but we are only stewards given to care and keep it in ways that will satisfy the one who brought it to pass and in faithfully carrying out our stewardship we are made to be most content and satisfied.
God knows what we need and when we depart from that need we will face destruction.
But eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil brings with it an intense drive to go it alone.
I can do it! I don’t need help is our cry!
I recall my son at age two or three when we tried to do something for him as parents are apt to do, and by the way apt to do too much I think.
My son’s name is Erik and at that time he could not yet pronounce his name but one thing he could do was wanting to go it alone.
He would say in a loud voice, Eggit doo, eggit doo.
He could not frame a complete sentence nor pronounce his name right but that desire to go it alone was there at age two or three.
But we are not made to go it alone.
We are made to depend upon our maker and to call upon Him knowing that our only strength is that which God supplies.
Satan put in place a system whereby the people of old attempted to live apart from God, making a people self-sufficient, giants, mighty men, men of renown, self-dependent men.
It is no different in our world today as men glory in men, glory in the accomplishments of men and think nothing of the God who made them nor the strength which only God supplies.
God’s word in no uncertain terms declares in Colossians 1:17, And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Think of that and how contrary that is to the world system as the world searches for natural answers to supernatural questions.
The mind of man is incapable of finding out these answers for God will only reveal them to those who choose to depend on Him, those who choose to let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
But the men of old ignored this and put their minds to work which resulted in every imagination of the thoughts of the heart being evil continually.
Their proud pronouncement is “God’s will be dammed” for “men’s will is to be exalted” was their cry!
Do we recognize this scenario in our time?
And if so we are also to remember we are entering in our study the judgment of these men in contrast to Noah finding grace in the eyes of the Lord.
And also we are to remember this scenario will again be played out for Jesus told us so in:
Matthew 24:37-39, But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 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.
So we will read of the days of Noah, first described here in Genesis 6:8-22 and Chapter 7:1-5
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. Genesis 7:1-5, 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.
What we have read is probably one of the most known passages in the Bible and usually spoken of by emphasizing the theme of judgment but less often is deliverance described.
But that is the primary message of this passage for God’s will will always sustain.
We have seen God’s care of the line of deliverance toward His Son, Jesus Christ, and what is taking place upon the earth in Noah’s time will not hinder God in His promise to Eve that the serpent’s head will be bruised.
Every thought and deed is before the eyes of God and God looked down and saw the earth full of corruption and filled with violence.
God’s way was corrupted by all flesh.
God’s way is to call upon Him but this way was cast aside as rubbish in favor of man’s way.
But God, seeing the corruption and violence looked further and found a man walking His way whose name was Noah and God said he was a just man and perfect or blameless in his time.
Noah, just, righteous, perfect, blameless, and one who walked with God.
If Noah’s tombstone was found these words would have been upon it engraved by God.
For Genesis Chapter Six is Noah’s epitaph.
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord for when Noah was described as perfect this means He met with God’s approval.
It does not mean he was without sin but Noah was a man who sought God’s heart for he walked with God.
Can two walk together unless they be agreed?
And Noah always agreed with God, knowing what God said was always right.
This is righteousness.
Noah walked with God and therefore he was a hearer and a doer of God’s word.
This is righteousness.
God’s plan for man was found in Noah for Noah was to survive the judgment in order that the righteous line continue toward God’s only begotten Son.
This expression “Noah walked with God” is so filled with meaning and it is an act which will guarantee success in this life and the next.
If you want a home whereby your children love God and choose also to walk with God then walk with God as Noah walked with God.
Were not his sons also in the Ark?
Walking with God indicates an intimacy of the relationship.
Walking with God indicates a continuity in that relationship for it is a walk of entrance and a walk without exit.
It is not an on-again off-again relationship but a daily walk, a dependable and continual walk.
And notice it was a walk of faith for only by faith was Noah warned of God.
We are given to know this in 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.
By faith alone was Noah allowed access into the mind of God that judgment was coming but more importantly that God was preparing a deliverance that his righteous line be secure.
The important thing here is not the flood, the important thing is the Ark for the Ark speaks of Christ.
And notice the construction of this verse, faith first, then fear.
The world operates solely by fear, but the Noah’s of God operate by faith which brings the right kind of fear, a godly fear which moved him to act to the saving of his household.
Godly fear moves!
Noah teaches us that faith, not slavish fear is what ties us to God.
Noah walked with God, not out of worldly fear, but out of faith.
So if Noah was righteous it was only because he walked by faith in God.
So against this portrait of Noah God gives us in this passage his view of all those who choose to walk alone.
For all along this road of flesh the litter of corruption lies fully exposed and violence is all around.
There is none righteous, no not one.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
But God’s promises are sure and He did not forget Noah, the righteous man, the man appointed to the task of building an Ark of Safety for himself and his family for in:
Genesis 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.
In this passage Noah is the focus and his sons are secondary.
He is seen as righteous but nothing is said of his sons with regard to righteousness.
In many other Bible versions the word alone is inserted saying, Noah, you alone I have seen to be righteous before me in this time.
What this means with regard to his family we can only conjecture.
Did Noah have grandchildren from his three sons, or brothers and sisters all who would have perished in the flood?
Probably so and most likely this indicates that his three sons and their wives were believers also.
There are righteous men listed in Chapter five but all those listed passed away before the flood or in the year of the flood.
So Noah and his family were alone and God’s line toward Christ was to be preserved through Noah.
God’s promise to Eve was secure because Noah walked with God.
We have discussed that the nature of man is to walk without God and to insist that salvation lies within oneself.
It is a mind of rebellion and independence foreign to God’s mind expressed in His creation.
All of God’s creation teaches us that all of creation is dependent upon God and God will not overlook any who deny Him and choose to live apart from Him.
Those with this mind choose to think that the one who made them, if they even believe this, does not care about their conduct or beliefs.
But a simple reading of our passages in Genesis for today is to realize that God created all things for a purpose and He is a husbandman who tends to His fields and to His flocks.
He has not put in place all that we see and touch and smell and taste and hear for nothing, for as a husbandman He expects a profit.
He expects fruit, and fields without fruit will be plucked up and burned and tilled and again planted with a crop wherein fruit is again expected.
If you think of God as a walk away creator then think again for he walked not away from the earth in Noah’s time nor did he walk away from Israel in the time of Ezekiel when he recorded in:
Ezekiel 9:9, Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is filled with blood and the city is full of perversion; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’ 10 But as for Me, My eye will have no pity nor will I spare, but I will bring their conduct upon their heads.”
And again the fig tree who had nothing to give to our Lord as he saw the tree from afar and approaching found nothing but leaves.
And because of no fruit the tree was cursed.
God is indeed a husbandman and he plowed the fields of Noah and spread the earth with cleansing water for God the Creator will have fruit.
God’s purposes will be fulfilled! |