Prayer: “Lord, open my heart. Take away the distractions that so easily hinder me from focusing on your Word. Teach me fresh truths from the story of Noah. Help me focus on you and not on the world around me.”[1] In Jesus' name, Amen.
Main Scripture: Read Hebrews 1:7.
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
Associated Scriptures: The Story of Noah (Genesis 5:28 – 9:28)
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God (Genesis 6:9).
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 cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out (Genesis 6:13-14).
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 (Genesis 6:19-20).
Noah did everything just as God commanded him (Genesis 6:22).
Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds, and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah (Genesis 7:8-10).
So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives (Genesis 8:18).
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 man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood (Genesis 8:20-21).
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:37-39).
Correlative Quotes:
The most remarkable thing we have upon record concerning the old world is the destruction of it by the universal deluge, the account of which commences in this chapter, wherein we have, I. The abounding iniquity of that wicked world (v. 1-5, v. 11, v.12). II. The righteous God’s just resentment of that abounding iniquity, and his holy resolution to punish it (v. 6, v. 7). III. The special favor of God to his servant Noah. In the character given of him (v. 8-10). 2. In the communication of God’s purpose to him(vs. 13, v. 17). In the directions, he gave him to make an ark for his safety (v. 14-16). In the employing of him for the preservation of the rest of the creatures (v. 18-21). Lastly, Noah’s obedience to the instructions given to him (v. 22). And this concerning the old world is written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the new would have come.[2] – Matthew Henry
The life of faith and obedience is compared to a "walk" because this life begins with one step: trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This step of faith leads to a daily walk, a step at a time, as the Lord directs us. He commands us to "walk in love" (Ephesians 5:2), "walk as children of light" (v. 8), "walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16,25), and "walk circumspectly [carefully]" (Ephesians 5:15). A step at a time, a day at a time, we walk with the Lord; and He guides us into His will and blesses us with His wisdom and strength.[3] – Warren W. Wiersbe
Genesis 4 and 5 are important because it provides the Messianic genealogy, the line of blessing. But it is also important because Genesis chapter 4 and chapter 5 is the only authentic history of the time from the creation to the next monumental event, the flood. From the creation to the flood we know nothing except what is in these two chapters. There is no record of this period anywhere else. Because the flood was a universal flood that changed the face of the earth completely.[4] John MacArthur
When Jesus described the events that will surround His second coming, He said, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27). Jesus was pointing out that, although the people of Noah’s day were depraved, they were not the least bit concerned about it. They were carrying on the events of their lives without a single thought of the judgment of God. Noah is described as “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), meaning he had spent years warning his friends and neighbors what the Holy God was about to do. No one listened.[5] – S. Michael Houdmann
Study:
Noah had the genes and the living example of great men of faith to guide him through this very difficult time. The issue here is tied directly to faith; it is trust. Noah had seen how his ancestors trusted God and he was willing to do the same.
Noah showed his faith in God by acting in complete trust. Through his trust, Noah was expressing reverence to God. He recognized that God was the creator of all things. Noah trusted in God that he would recreate all things according to His pleasure and purpose. The experience of His father, grandfather, and forefathers was witness enough of God’s grace and mercy.
Experiencing complete ignorance of what was to come, Noah trusted God completely. He had no knowledge, concept, or experience with flooding. The Hebrew word for flood has no meaning for either Noah, his family, or any other human being on earth at the time.
Flood (Hebrew mabbul), Genesis 6:17-22. This word has no Hebrew etymology. It was used only for the deluge of Noah. It may have come from Assyrian (nabalu), "to destroy." According to the author of Genesis, God's purpose was certainly to bring to an end the living things of his creation. During the 120 years, while Noah was completing his work, he was preaching to the people in an urgent effort to cause them to repent. They saw the ark take shape before their eyes while the preacher delivered his sermons.[7]
Some say these verses (Genesis 1:6-7 and Genesis 2:5) teach that it did not rain until the time of the Flood. The earth was watered by a mist until the Flood waters came down. The water source for the Flood, it is argued, is the waters above spoken of in Genesis 1:6.7. They had been stored up since day two of creation. God did not open these floodgates until He destroyed the world in the days of Noah. Until that time the people had never seen it rain.[8] – Don Stewart
Noah had extraordinary faith. It was a faith that was based on an unimaginable assignment, a seemingly impossible peril, unpredictable consequences, and an unknowable future. There has probably never been a time in the history of the world that a man has been required to do so much with so little understanding of his assignment.
According to 2 Peter 2:5, Noah was “a preacher of righteousness.” This would mean that before the building of the ark, during its construction, and even after the flood, Noah was preaching repentance, absolution, and conciliation. God inclines to give mankind every opportunity to repent before He acts to condemn. He is a God of forgiveness and reconciliation. His grace and mercy are continually extended to mankind through His representatives here on earth. Final rejection, a complete closing of the heart against God, is the only thing that will keep Him from calling for people to repent and accept Him.
We see this longsuffering and unwillingness (2 Peter 3:9) of God to give up on anyone in the picture of Pharaoh. God sent Moses ten times with ten plagues to convince Pharaoh and he would not listen. As a result of his hardened heart, Pharaoh was destroyed when the waters of grace were released on both him and his armies. In the new testament, 2 Thessalonians 2:8-11, says this about mankind, “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be following the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”
Summary Statement:
Noah was first and foremost a man of faith. He believed in God and it was counted to him as faith. Noah’s unquestioned loyalty to God was one of the three hallmarks of his life.
We must understand this deep and abiding faith and reflect it in our lives just like Noah. We are being and will continue to be asked by God, directly and through others, to carry out tasks that seem to be impossible. At the same time, we will not understand why He has chosen us to do these tasks. The faith we need to express during these times is “blind faith.” It is blind because we can’t see the reason for them or their consequences in the future, we just have to trust.
Lesson within the Lesson:
How did Noah show reverence to God?
Why is reverence toward God necessary for obedience? See Proverbs 15:33.
God protected Noah and his family. Explain how God protects you and your family today? See especially 1Corinthians 10:13 and 2Thessalonians 3:3.
What three things characterized Noah’s Faith? How do they pertain to us today? Read James 1:19 and 1 Timothy 6:12.
[1] Crickett Keeth, 3. Noah, The Man Who Stood Alone, © 2016 Bible.org, bible.org/seriespage/3-noah-man-who-stood-alone
[2] Matthew Henry, Genesis 6, © 2014 Bible Study Tools, All Rights Reserved, biblestudytools.com, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law.
[3] The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament © 2001-2004 by Warren W. Wiersbe. Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law.
[4] John MacArthur, The Generations of Adam, © 2016 Grace to You, All Rights Reserved, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law.
[5] S. Michael Houdmann, What was it like in the Days of Moses, © 2002-2016, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law, gotquestions.org/days-of-Noah.html.
[6] Robert L. Diffenbaugh, 6. Coming to Grips with Genealogies (Genesis 5:1-32), © 2016 Bible.org, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law, bible.org/seriespage/6-coming-grips-genealogies-genesis-51-32
[7] The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1962 by Moody Press. Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law.
[8] Don Stewart, Does the Bible Teach that it did not Rain Until the Genesis Flood, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law, blueletterbible.org/faq/ don_stewart/don_stewart_738.cfm
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