Encouraged by the Faithful - Pt 2

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:5-8 ESV). We continue our march through the faithful of the Bible with the story of Noah today. His story is certainly one of the most incredible of the early history of the Old Testament. Our reading tells us the beginning of the story. Mankind had become such a godless, evil creature that God was “grieved” that he had created them. It was so bad God made the decision to erase them all from the earth. All of them, men, women, children, animals, birds of every kind were to be “blotted out from the face of the earth.” God would destroy them all except one man, Noah. Our reading today says he “found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” We could spend a lot of time thinking about all of the things that Noah did; however, we would miss the point. There is no doubt that he did accomplish some incredible things in the building of the ark and saving of his family from the destruction that finally came. However, none of that would have been possible without him “finding favor” with the Lord. This is the first use of the word “grace” in the Bible. This unmerited, unearned favor of God was discovered by Noah and it made a difference in his life so stark he alone is singled out among all the inhabitants of the world. He alone is chosen to be saved from the destruction of all of the rest of creation. Being able to look back from our perspective of history makes it much simpler for us to understand the principle message in this story. God was not just saving one man and his family in the hope that they would be able to forge a new standard of living. God was showing his character of love and forgiveness that ultimately would end in the final act of grace in the death of Jesus for our sins. There are so many things about this act of mercy that space does not allow me to list them all; however, that which is crystal clear is that God has always had a plan for the redemption of a wayward, sinful man. That plan is in His hands alone. We see history come together in the birth and life of Jesus as he marches to his sacrificial death and resurrection becoming the means of redemption for all who place their faith in him. Can you imagine what would have happened if Noah would have simply refused God’s direction? But, because he was the recipient of God’s grace, he did follow. He trusted God. That is our call today. Trust Him. Follow the whispers in your heart and mind to trust Jesus. You will be all the better for it!