Noah (Genesis 6, pt.1)

This is part 1 to a brief 2-part series on Noah. He was a remarkable man! Part 2 coming next week.

There’s an old gospel song I remember hearing at church that went a little something like this,

Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord
Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord

I don’t remember much more of the song (is there more to it?), just the nine words sung over and over. I never thought too much or too hard about what the Bible and the song were actually saying/trying to say. What does it mean that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord? Let’s take a look at what was happening in Noah’s world (the context).

The Context
During the time of Noah mankind had reached the epitome of selfishness. Sin, conceived in the Garden of Eden in the hearts of Adam and Eve, had run its course. People were turning away from a relationship with God to pursue the dark path of narcissism. Kings were abusing their power and sleeping with whomever they wanted. Murder, abuse, greed, and sexual immorality were rampant. Evil desires were the dress code of Noah’s day. Do whatever you want. Genesis 6:5 says,

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.

Things were so bad God decided to start over. However, instead of obliterating mankind and starting from scratch, God chose a righteous man named Noah to rebuild/start over with (we owe him a big thank you!). The Scriptures describe Noah as blameless and one who walked with God. The same thing was said of Noah’s ancestor Enoch (Gen 5:24). Despite the wickedness and temptations surrounding him, Noah maintained a relationship with God.

Questions:
- How?
- How could he resist evil?
- How could he walk with God during such a vile time?
- How could he walk with God when it wasn’t popular?
- Why did he stick with God?