Finding Favor with God

 

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 5:5-8 ESV).

 

The John Oliver Cabin in Cade’s Cove is the perfect backdrop for our meditation today. This photo was taken by the National Park Service in the Great Smoky National Park. As I was browsing some of the many collected photos from the park, this one reminded me of the truth within the story of Noah and the ark. Many people have heard this story. It’s an exciting drama from beginning to end. The Bible tells us that all the wickedness and evil on the earth grieved God, and he was sorry he had made human beings. Human sin was so devastating that it had infected all of God’s good creation. That precipitated the Great Flood destroying all humans and wildlife except those that were saved by God in the ark.

 

The one person who “found favor” with the Lord was Noah. Noah was “a righteous man”; he “walked faithfully with God”; because of that he and his family were spared. However, it was not as easy as it at first sounds. Noah was called on to build the ark and preach the coming judgment. Can you imagine Noah’s patience as he worked for many years, possibly several decades, to build the ark while other people probably mocked him? (cf. Genesis 5:32; 6:10; 7:6; 11:10; 2 Peter 2:5). Of course, the lead actor in this drama is God. God is the one who told Noah to build an ark. God is the one who saved Noah and his family and all the animals on the ark from the flood. Noah was called “righteous,” but he was still infected by sin (cf. Genesis 9). God’s restoration work wasn’t finished.

 

Many years later, God sent Isaiah to call his people to repent. The situation reminded him of the days of Noah, but God would never stop loving his people. A little earlier, in Isaiah 53, God also promised that his righteous servant would come and take on himself all the people’s sins. That servant was Jesus. By his love, God has made a way to rescue us and remove our sins forever. Through Him we find favor with God!