Key Verse :“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.” Genesis 11:7
NOAH’S LINEAGE AND FAMILY
Noah was the son of Lamech (Genesis 5:28). He was born in the tenth generation of Adam. The ancestral background leading to Noah include: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Cainan, Mahalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah (Genesis 5thchapter).
“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. He walked faithfully with God. His family included a wife and three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth (Genesis 6:9, 10, Genesis 7:13). Each of Noah’s sons had a wife.“Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. He walked with God.”
Noah, along with Job and Daniel, are declared as righteousness in the Bible (Ezekiel 14:20).
NOAH’S OBEDIENCE
Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8).
The Bible declares that Noah was a righteous man and he pleased God. We know that Noah was not a perfect man (Genesis 9:20) but God saw him as an heir of righteousness and initiated a covenant of grace with him. Fundamentally, Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9) and was obedient and sought to please Him. It is important to note that he stood out as a righteous man when the world was full of wickedness.
Genesis 6:11-21 (NIV) Reads:
“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypresswood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
“Noah did everything just as God commanded him (verse 21).”
Let’s review the Covenant that God made with Noah:
“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even thoughevery inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 6:20-22
NOAH’S STEADFASTNESS
Noah did not question nor hesitate when God asked him to build an ark. The Bible says that he did “everything just as God commanded him. According to Genesis, the ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high (Genesis 6:15).
In order to understand the context of that statement, we have to realize that Noah lived in a time of violence where men were unrighteous and did not follow after God. The Bible did not mention how the people reacted to Noah while he was building the ark. However, we do know that tried to convert them by speaking to them the things of God.
“if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;” 2 Peter 2:5
God was longsuffering with the people on earth at the time of the building of the ark and gave them ample time to repent of their evil deeds. There are different accounts given as to how long it took to build the ark. We do know that it took him between 100 and 120 years to build it. He possibly had the assistance of his sons.
“Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” 1 Peter 3:20
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM NOAH’S LIFE
We learn from this message that God is a God of grace.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9
We learn from this message that God will give us the grace to live saved and proclaim his righteousness in the midst of evil.
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” 2 Timothy 3:12 -17
We learn from this message that God is going to judge sin.
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But [the day of God's judgment] will come like a thief." (2 Pet. 3:9, 10)
We learn from this message that the Lord will give sinners time to repent and turn to Him.
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:8-9
