Topic Faith: Noah Was Different
Being different can be a challenge, particularly when there is external pressures to conform to the majority.
In Genesis 6:7, we read that man’s evil grieved God’s heart, so God decided to destroy man. In Genesis 6:8, we read that Noah found grace in the eyes of God, that he is just and perfect (sincere)in his generations and that he walked with God (aligned his will to God’s will).
Out of all the mess that was going on with man, God examined the character of every person that was living at the time, but only one person, Noah was found to be faithful.
It’s hard being different. There is a constant pressure to fall in line within the thinking and behavior of the majority. I can’t fully imagine what Noah endured being different in his generations, living and telling people about God with evil everywhere you turn. But even so, Noah’s character is what set him apart, and he found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
I looked up the word character, and it has two parts: mental and moral qualities that are distinctive to an individual.
God gives the world grace. Noah did something with his grace. He stayed focused on God (mental) and faithful (moral)in his life. Grace was available to the Noah’s generation, they just choose not to do anything godly with it.
In Matthew Henry’s Commentary (Complete), we are given insight into Noah’s character and a glimpse of what God saw in him:
1. Justified before God by faith in the promised seed (Jesus Christ). Noah believed in what he could not see.
2.Sanctified, set apart with the right principals and dispositions implanted in him (likely the teachings from Adam, Enoch and other Believers).
3. Righteous in his conversations to God and man(governed by simplicity and godly sincerity, not fleshly wisdom).
4. Perfection of sincerity(free from pretense, deceit or hypocrisy).
5. Walked with God, as Enoch had done. Lived a life of communion (the sharing of intimate thoughts and feelings on a mental or spiritual level) with God and conformed himself to fit God’s will.
6. The Crown of Noah’s character – Noah was and lived a just life in a generation that was corrupt and immoral.
The lesson I learned from today’s reading is that grace, gratitude and sincerity were critical to Noah’s relationship and walk with God.
Grace- God’s grace allowed Noah to build upon his character which pleased God.
Gratitude- Noah didn’t overlook or down play the grace that God gave him. He knew God and his place as the creation, to be used by God as he desires.
Sincerity – Noah was who he was, he was a just man, honest and devoted, focused on living his life to please God with resilience, not influenced mentally nor spiritually by the evil that was going on all around him.
Reading about Noah, our first thought might be, wow, that’s a lot, I can’t do that. We are not called to duplicate Noah’s walk, but we can learn from his character and implement them in our own personal walk with God.
I thought the lessons on Cain and Enoch were deep. I am looking forward to reading more about Noah and the qualities that please God.
I’m getting a deeper perspective on faith. Hope you are too.
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