The days of Noah #2

 August 18, 2020 (Tuesday)

 

Noah must have been an incredible man. Genesis 6:9 records, “These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” [ESV] Three things mark Noah as different.

 

First, Noah was a “righteous man.” I think this means, morally and spiritually, Noah was “right” with God. It is easy to be righteous when being religious is in fashion. It seems Noah’s righteousness was swimming against the current. . Peter insists he was a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5). So his resistance to the corrupt culture was not just a passive righteousness. That, the world and the Devil will probably tolerate. Noah’s resistance was active. He didn’t just LIVE the life, he ADVOCATED for the life of righteousness.

 

Second Noah was “blameless in his generation.” In other words, Noah was “blameless” in character and conduct. Note, blameless is not the same as “sinless.” While humanity had become corrupt to the core, Noah seems to be above his culture. I know there is a sense where we interact with our society, neighborhood, and culture every day… But Noah avoided being polluted by their influence.

 

Finally, Noah “walked with God.” I’m guessing this relationship, described as “walking with…” is the reason for his honors. As Noah walked with God, God made him and he became righteous and blameless. His walk was a parable for people to understand God. He was the visual example and pattern in his day of righteousness.

 

Last time we looked at the “days of Noah.” The mark of that generation was the thinking was skewed to evil. But wait! That’s not all! “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” [Genesis 6:11 ESV] Under the tyranny of sin, the world is diseased, dying, and decaying. The people of the day were bent on self-destructive behavior. The natural progression of such behavior is violence.

 

This corruption, which brought on judgement, as NOT due to fate. Nor was it predestined. Genesis 6:12 is clear, “And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” [ESV] Humans made the decision to corrupt their way. If I can echo Paul in the book of Romans, it seems they were busy inventing, encouraging, and celebrating the decay.

 

As a means of escape, Noah is told to build an “ark” (boat). It was between 450 feet to 510 feet long (300 cubits), 75 to 85 feet wide (50 cubits), and 45 to 51 feet tall (30 cubits). In ancient days a cubit was the distance between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger. These dimensions put it near or at the maximum proportions for a sea worthy wood boat. The proportions make it virtually unsinkable under natural conditions. 

 

Are you JUST passive in our righteousness or are you also active in advocating for righteousness? Are you influenced, or worse, at the mercy of the world and culture around you?

These are the days of Noah.