Noah

Noah was a man that we all know stood out during his time. This is obvious, I mean just being chosen to build an ark for a weather event that had never before taken place in the history of the world is an amazing compliment. Listen to Peter: “[They (scoffers) will say] ‘Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” 2Peter 3:4-7. That means that Noah and his sons and all their wives were the only eight people who experienced the world before and after the flood. That is an incredible privilege! But there’s more. Why did God choose Noah? Why did God decide to destroy the world? Let’s answer the second first. Genesis 6:5, 6 states, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” That is why God decided to destroy the earth. Man is evil, every inclination of the thoughts of our hearts are only evil all the time. If that is the condition of all men on earth, how hard could it be to stand out? Harder than we might think…what does it mean to be blameless? 1Timothy 3:2 says (KJV) “A bishop then must be blameless…” The NIV in Genesis 6 calls Noah “blameless among the people of his time.” The KJV calls Noah “perfect in his generations.” We can use these cross references to see that Noah found to be without blame among the people of his time. He was not just better than they, he was perfect. Many of us would like to believe that we are better than the next guy, but even that won’t get us to heaven. The full compliment that God gave Noah was this: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” Genesis 6:9. That is how the account of Noah begins. The only mention of Noah before those words is that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:8. No wonder!
Have you ever been promoted at work? Have you been trusted with a whole new branch of the company? That is sort of what Noah received, except on a much larger scale than we can ever hope for. He got inside information about the “down-sizing” of the human race, and then was awarded the fast track to surviving the coming fallout. He had to endure whatever ridicule may have come with building a huge boat nowhere near water in a day before any way of towing that boat existed. He had to build this ark by himself, because nobody believed him when he preached to them. 2Peter 2:5. But God waited patiently for him to finish. Why? Because Noah found favor with God. We can have the righteousness that comes by faith. We can walk with God. He wants us to. We must do it now, because Peter also tells us that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief.” 2Peter 3:10.
Will you be found blameless among the people of your time?