Personalities of the Old Testament #5 - Noah Part 2 "The Obedient Man"

 We want to continue our study on “Old Testament Personalities.”  We’ll be looking at the second part of our study on the personality of Noah.  If you remember las week’s study, we found that Noah found favor with God.  He was the only righteous man, in the world at that time.  We discussed that Noah was accounted as righteous because of his faith.  In the same way that Abel and Enoch were righteous because of their faith. 

We also saw that God preserves the righteous and doesn’t destroy the righteous along with the wicked.  Noah was preserved because of his righteousness.  God destroyed the wicked but did NOT destroy Noah.  He was a preacher of righteousness for one hundred-twenty years.

Today, I want to look at the flood and Noah’s reaction to God’s warnings and his behavior.

Obedience

Genesis 6:13NKJV

And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

God is warning Noah of His intentions.  People have become wicked.  Remember we talked about this when we said that two lineages descended from Adam: Seth, (The Lineage of Jesus), and from Cain (The Lineage of Wickedness).  Noah has descended from Seth and is found to be the only righteous man in the world.  So, God wants to deliver him, and through him, preserve the lineage of Jesus. So, He warns him and gives him these instructions:

Genesis 6:14-16 NKJV

Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks.

God also told him to take two of every animal, male and female, and seven of certain types, mostly for sacrifice, as well as:

Genesis 6:21 NKJV

And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them."

Look at Noah’s response to these things:

Genesis 6:22 NKJV

Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

Noah was obedient to God’s direction.  God places value on obedience.  Look at this:

1 Samuel 15:22 NKJV

So Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

This scripture above takes place in the life of King Saul.  God had commanded him to utterly destroy the Amalekites and all of their livestock.  Saul had his own ideas and kept some livestock back saying that he wanted to sacrifice them, but this was not what God commanded him.  Look at what Samuel says to him about it:

1 Samel 15:17 NKJV

So Samuel said, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?

“When you were little in your own eyes…”  Obedience is a sign of humility toward God.  We talk a lot about doing God’s will rather than our own.  How difficult is that for us?  As we’ve seen with Saul, we can easily call our will God’s will. God calls that rebellion and stubbornness:

1 Samuel 15:23 NKJV

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."

Saul didn’t do everything God had commanded, Noah on the other hand, “according to all that God commanded, so he did.”  We need to examine our own behavior, are we acting according to all God has commanded, or according to our own will?  Are we humble enough to put aside our own will for God’s?

We’re Christians, followers of Christ, we should desire to be Christ-like. 

Luke 22:42 NKJV

saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."

This is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, looking ahead to His crucifixion… “Not My will, but Yours be done.”  Is that your prayer?

A Covenant with God

Genesis 8:1 NKJV

Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.

The flood was judgment on the earth.  It was God’s judgment on the wickedness that had sprung up in the world.  As we spoke about last week God doesn’t judge the righteous with the wicked so Noah was preserved to continue humanity.

After the judgment, the death of all living things on the face of the earth except those God had preserved in the ark, God turned his mind back to Noah and his family.

Genesis 8:15-18 NKJV

Then God spoke to Noah, saying, "Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him.

This is about a year after the flood began.  It had rained for forty days, but the ground had to dry sufficiently for them to go out. 

Noah’s first act after leaving the ark was to build an altar to thank and honor God:

 

Genesis 8:20 NKJV

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

The first thing Noah did was to worship God.  He didn’t build a home for himself.  He built an altar to praise and thank God for his deliverance.  He’s acknowledging God’s sovereignty, protection and mercy.  God could have completely destroyed every single living thing on the planet, but He didn’t.  He wasn’t finished with us. 

We often cry out to God for mercy, for help, and for deliverance.  Usually, though, these are help to deliver us from problems we’ve created for ourselves.  Noah expresses his extreme gratitude for god’s preservation and deliverance from the judgment of the flood.  It is an example for us to remember to express gratitude for what God has delivered us from.  Look now at God’s reaction to this sacrifice:

Genesis 8:21-22 NKJV

And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease."

God was soothed by the smell of the offering.  He’s pleased with what Noah has done here and he makes a covenant with Noah.  He says that He will never destroy every living being from the earth again.

Even during the tribulation, not everyone will be killed in the judgments.

It’s interesting that, even though God knows and understands men’s hearts, He makes this pledge.  “Although the imagination (or desire) of man’s heart is evil, from his youth…”  This is the essence of God’s forgiveness and mercy.  He knows who we are.  He knows our hearts and yet He chooses to forgive, anyway, knowing we will sin again.

Genesis 9:9-11 NKJV

"And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."

God told Noah, and his sons to go and be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.  We are all descendants of Noah.  Every human being can trace their ancestry back to that family.

Acts 17:26-27 NKJV

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

This covenant that God made with Noah is still in force today.

Summary of Noah

1.       Noah found favor with God – This descendant of mankind from Seth.  He was righteous by his faith.  He was a preacher of righteousness.  We are made righteous by our faith in Jesus.  Salvation comes through faith.

2.      God preserves the righteous - Noah was preserved because God doesn’t judge the righteous with the wicked. 

3.      The Flood – God’s judgment on the earth and the wickedness of mankind.  God called on Noah to prepare for the coming judgment.  We need to prepare for God’s call on our lives.

4.      Obedience – Noah was obedient to God’s commands.  He put God’s will first in all that he did.

5.      A Covenant with God – Noah’s first act out of the ark was to build an altar and thank God for his deliverance.  God made a covenant with him that He will not completely destroy all living things in judgment again. 

Noah is a lesson for us in our thoughts and behavior toward God.

 

 

Personalities of the Old Testament #4 - Noah Part 1 "Favor with God"

 Today, I want to continue our study on Old Testament Personalities.  We’re going to focus on Noah today.  Before we start, though let’s review last week’s lesson.  I would encourage you to take notes so you can remember what you learned.  You can also go to http://ssbiblestudies.blogspot.com to review them, because they’ll be posted there!

Review of the Last Lesson

Review of Seth:

Adam was created in the image of God, but Seth was begotten by Adam in his own (Adam’s image) image and likeness, what was the difference between God’s image and likeness, and Adam’s? There was the taint of Adam’s sin in the Garden.  He was no longer in the blameless and sinless likeness of God! Sinfulness is passed down through natural generations, (father to son).  Holiness and grace can only come from whom?  God, through Jesus!  What does the name Seth mean?  “Appointed”.  Why was He called that?  Because he was appointed to be the seed of the lineage of Jesus.

Review of Enoch:

The Bible says, “Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him.”  What is this a picture of for us?  Rapture!  What does it mean to walk with God?  He had a deep relationship with Gofd, much like Adam’s relationship with God in the Garden prior to Adam’s sin!

Noah

Noah Found Favor with God

Noah is a famous character, so famous that even many non-Christians know him and his story.  So, lets start with the “Timeline of History” mention of Moses and build from there.

Genesis 5:28-30 NKJV

Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed." After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters.

If you remember the "Timeline of History" then you know that Noah’s name means rest or peace.  I showed you the prophecy of Jesus that comes from the meaning of the first 10 names in the lineage of Jesus.  “Mankind, appointed mortal sorrow, the blessed God comes down teaching, His death will bring the Despairing REST (peace or comfort).”

In this prophecy built on the first ten names in Genesis, Noah is a picture for us off redemption, but I want to look at Noah in more depth: 

Genesis 6:5 NKJV

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:7-8 NKJV

So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Men had become wicked; we talked about this a bit in last week’s study.  There is a separation that sprung up between the lineage of Seth (which is the lineage of Jesus), and the lineage of Cain.  The wickedness had sprung up through the lineage of Cain, but Noah who was in the lineage of Seth found favor in God’s sight.  This is where that separation is important, God sought to destroy the wickedness of man, but he preserved the lineage of Seth through Noah.

Hebrews 11:7 NKJV

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

The heir of the righteous which is according to Faith.  It’s the same righteousness that was accounted to Abel:

Hebrews 11:4 NKJV

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

And Enoch:

Hebrews 11:5-6 NKJV

By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "AND WAS NOT FOUND, BECAUSE GOD HAD TAKEN HIM"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Righteousness was accounted to them for their faith!  In the Old Testament righteousness came by faith, in the same way it does in the New Testament.  Faith in Jesus.  These men did not see Jesus in the flesh, but saw the promise afar off and believed it.

Hebrews 11:13 NKJV

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

What that verse means is that they saw Jesus as redeemer, savior in the future and even though they didn’t see Him personally walking the earth, they believed. 

Genesis 15:5-6 NKJV

Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

This verse is speaking of Abraham, but this is why I believe that Noah found favor in God’s eyes.  He was a righteous man because of his faith and:

2 Peter 2:5 NKJV

and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;

He was a preacher of “righteousness” and from what we have seen righteousness comes from faith.  Not just faith in God, but in faith of the promise of redemption to come.  We might even be able to go so far as to say, “Noah was a preacher of Jesus, in a way.”  We find God’s favor through our faith in Jesus, just as Noah did!

God Preserves the Righteous

Genesis 6:13-14 NKJV

And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.

So, God had decided to destroy all living things through a flood.  He warned Noah, that this would happen and gave him instructions on how to build the ark. God wanted to rid the world of the wickedness that existed, but God does not destroy the righteous with the wicked.  We can look ahead and see this in God’s judgment of Sodom. 

Genesis 18:22-23 NKJV

Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

God has told Abram (Abraham) that he was going to destroy Sodom and we can see that Abram asks, “What about the righteous?”

He asks God if there are fifty righteous men will you still destroy it?  God vows to preserve it for fifty men.  Abram counts it down, “What about forty?” “What about thirty?” “What about ten?”  Each time God says he will preserve the city if that many righteous can be found. Only one man is found that is righteous.

Only Lot:

2 Peter 2:6-8 NKJV

and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—

God preserved Noah, because he will not destroy the righteous with the wicked.  Only Noah was found to be righteous in all the world.

The Flood

God commanded Noah to build an ark.  And the Bible says that Noah did all that was commanded him by God.

Genesis 6:22 NKJV

Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

He prepared for the call of God.  Sometimes, we have a calling on our lives, but we think, “If this is God’s calling, then God will make it happen.”  We think we don’t need to do anything and God will just make sure it comes to pass.  But many times God’s calling requires preparation on our part. We need to be ready to complete the task that God calls on us to perform.  Noah builds the ark following what God told him to do.  God directed his steps, but Noah had to prepare. 

After all that was done, God spoke to Noah again:

Genesis 7:1 NKJV

Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.

God calls him into the ark in order to preserve him and his family.  Noah’s sons participated in the construction of the ark, demonstrating their faith as well. Here is something that’s interesting to note: Noah built the ark and prepared for the rain and flood on the earth.  Some commentators (Jamieson Fausset and Brown) believe that the construction of the ark took one hundred-twenty years.  It was completed when Moses was 600 years old.  His son Shem was 98 years old.  If this is the case, although the Bible doesn’t specifically tell us how long it took the God gave mankind 120 years to repent, as Noah preached righteousness to them. God will always give us space to repent:

Revelation 2:20-21 NKJV

Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.

This is a biblical pattern; God gave Jezebel the opportunity to repent as he gave the people of Noah’s time the time to repent. Remember Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He does not change. 

We’ll stop here for today, and we’ll pick up the rest of the story in the next one.