THE MAN, NOAH, AND HIS MISSION (Part 2)
Genesis 6. Verses 9-12:
These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth was also corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
Yesterday, we said that whilst most men deviated from the ways of God and were heading for judgement, Noah found grace in the eyes of God. This grace was not a mere conferment of God on Noah. It was actually the result of his quest to follow God’s ways. Where are the men of this generation who will find grace in the sight of God? Today’s text introduces the man, Noah, his family, and the prevailing conditions of his generation. These provide a background to his mission.
In introducing Noah’s generation, scripture takes some time to describe the personality of Noah, which distinguished him from others. The richness of a man’s person was determined by the measure of God he imbibed. Beloved, God offers himself freely to all, but it is those who crave more of him whose personalities become aligned with his. I believe this was precisely what Noah did, and it reflected in his personality as follows:
- He was a just man. This describes an upright man who was fair in all his dealings.
- He was perfect in his generation. In other words, he upheld the ways of God and was blameless in his operations. He did not become subject to the vices of his generation.
- He walked with God. In other words, he became God’s partner on earth. It also means that Noah’s foremost allegiance was to God. He therefore placed premium on the ways of God above the ways of men.
Men with these qualities become God’s avenue of impacting the earth with his goodness. Regarding Noah’s family, scripture gives the names of his three sons as Shem, Ham, and Japheth. With respect to the situation on earth in his generation, scripture says that corruption and violence had taken over the earth. This was a chaotic situation that paved the way for God’s judgement. Here, the story narrows down to how a righteous minority can survive and prevail amidst an ungodly majority.
God beheld the evil upon the earth and saw that all flesh corrupted his ways, except Noah. This generation presents the same challenges as in the days of Noah. The question is, where are the Noah’s of our time who will not corrupt themselves but will, through the grace of God, arise and say no to unrighteousness? Beloved, Noahs are a requirement to the preservation of godliness in any generation.
SHALOM 🙏🙏🙏 🙏🙏🙏🙏