Genesis 6:5 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. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 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." 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. From Adam and Eve’s disobedience came great chaos. The enemy’s scheme was to contaminate the seed which God had prophesied would crush his head. God stepped in to destroy the wickedness. There was a man however who had found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Genesis 6:13 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. 14 "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 "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. 16 "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]. 17 "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which [is] the breath of life; everything that [is] on the earth shall die. 18 "But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark--you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. ... 22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
What a word Noah heard from God. Build the ark! “But I will establish My covenant with you.” Noah did what God commanded him.
2 Peter 2: 4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast [them] down to hell and delivered [them] into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 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; 6 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; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, [who was] oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented [his] righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing [their] lawless deeds)-- 9 [then] the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
We learn from this passage that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Imagine preaching righteousness for 100 years and never having a convert save your own family. God delivered Noah out of great wickedness; He delivered Lot out of great filthiness. My friend, God knows how to deliver you!
Genesis 7:1 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. 2 "You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that [are] unclean, a male and his female; 3 "also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 "For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made." 5 And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him. 6 Noah [was] six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. 7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.
Noah again heard the voice of God and responded. Before a single drop of rain came Noah and His family were in the ark.
Hebrews 11:6 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. 7 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.
Noah became the heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Noah heard the word, believed the word and responded to the word.
Genesis 7:12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark-- 14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which [is] the breath of life. 16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in. 17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
Noah and his family get on the ark, it begins to rain. The ground beneath breaks forth and the rain above pours out. The ark is lifted and the rain and the floods continue for 40 days.
Luke 17:26 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Noah's life and times have become a prophetic utterance. The times we live in echo the violent times Noah lived in before the flood. Clearly, Jesus declares it is a sign of the time of the end.
1 Peter 3:20 NKJV - 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while [the] ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
When the world is so wicked why does God put off His returning? It is called the divine longsuffering of the Lord. It is God’s heart for all men to be saved. What if our heart gets in line with the heart of God, longing for an end time harvest of souls for the kingdom of God?
Genesis 8:15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 "Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. 17 "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." 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. 19 Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, [and] whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. 20 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. 21 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. 22 "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease."
Noah built an altar of worship to the Lord! It is the first mention in scriptures of an altar. Noah came through and he recognized it was God’s hand that brought him through and he worshipped God. From the clean animals he offered an offering on the altar of worship. God received Noah's worship! Whenever men have worshipped the true and living God it has always moved the heart of God and He responds to the worshipper. The altar speaks of relationship with God!
Genesis 9:8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: 9 "And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 "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. 11 "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." 12 And God said: "This [is] the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that [is] with you, for perpetual generations: 13 "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
After the altar of worship, God spoke with words of covenant! At the altar we learn God is a covenant maker and a great covenant keeper! At the altar we learn God longs for relationship with man. Let the altar turn your heart and attentions to the God of hope and truth. The rainbow stands as a sign that God does not and will not lie! God’s purpose for the rainbow still stands even though some groups have tried to repurpose the meaning. God’s word is the word that is above all else; God is the great promise keeper!
Jesus is the faithful God
God is good all the time!
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