Noah Series

May 07, 2022

Today we begin a new series entitled, “Bible Stories”.

The story of Noah is vital for us today because it is more than just a story about a man who built a boat. Here’s why………..

At the end of Genesis 1, we read: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good….”

All was perfect and just as God intended for it to be.

However, just 2 chapters later, we find Adam and Eve hiding in the bushes, now afraid of God, because of their catastrophic choice.

By chapter 4, sin had well and truly taken hold:

• Murder - Genesis 4:8 - Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

• Polygamy - Genesis 4:19 - Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.

• Boasting of Murder - Genesis 4:23 - Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.

Chapter 5 gives us the genealogy of Seth’s line - 10 generations from Adam to Noah:

• Adam – 130 years old when Seth is born (in Adams image) lived 930 years

• Seth – 105 years old when Enosh is born. Lived 912 years

• Enosh – 90 years old when Cainan is born. Lived 905 years

• Cainan – 70 years old when Mahalalel is born. Lived 910 years

• Mahalalel – 65 years old when Jared is born Lived 895 years

• Jared – 162 years old when Enoch is born. Lived 962 years

• Enoch – 65 years old when Methuselah is born. Lived another 300 years/translated

• Methuselah – 187 years old when Lamech is born. Lived 969 years

• Lamech – 182 years old when Noah is born. Lived 777 years (Lamech was 56 when Adam died)

• Noah – 500 years old when Shem, Ham & Japheth are born.

And we note something interesting in verse 3: “When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.”

Year after year, decade after decade, century after century, the sin gene was passed on getting more and more virulent and destructive, until….

Genesis 6:5-9 - The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on 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 And the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them."

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD…..

Noah was singled out by 3 characteristics:

• He was a “righteous man” - Noah did the right thing and he was in a right relationship with God. He was righteous because he put his faith in God. Noah is our earliest example of a faith that manifests itself in obedience:

o Hebrews 11:7 - It was by faith that Noah built an ark to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about something that had never happened before. By his faith he condemned the rest of the world and was made right in God's sight.

• He was “blameless in his generation” - Noah wasn’t sinless, but no one could make an accusation of wickedness against him because he lived his life in accordance with God’s law.

• He “walked with God” - Noah loved God, worshiped God, served God, and walked in the same direction as God. He was counter-cultural. His life was a constant testimony against the corruption and wickedness that surrounded him.

Even though the state of planet earth was such that God grieved over His creation, his heart of love had planned for a way out….. and so, he turned to Noah:

Genesis 6:13-22 - … "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Construct an opening all the way around the boat, 18 inches below the roof. Then put three decks inside the boat -- bottom, middle, and upper -- and put a door in the side. Listen, I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing. Everything on earth will die! But I solemnly swear to keep you safe in the boat, with your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring a pair of every kind of animal -- a male and a female -- into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Pairs of each kind of bird and each kind of animal, large and small alike, will come to you to be kept alive. And remember, take enough food for your family and for all the animals." 22 So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.