The story of Noah in the ark is interesting. This devotional reading looks at the most important element of the story — why Noah was the one in the ark.
Nuggets
- Only Noah had remained faithful to God.
- Noah was “… a righteous man” (Gen. 6: 9 NLT).
- We are “… [a] blameless person …” (Gen. 6: 9 NLT) when we seek God.
- We “… [walk] in close fellowship with God” (Gen. 6: 9 NLT) when we submit our lives to Him.
- While there were other passengers than Noah on the ark, they were not credited as being blameless as Noah was.
We now get to one of the greatest Hall of Famers of the Old Testament – Noah. His story is familiar to many people, even if they don’t know much else about the Bible.
I have to tell you. God has opened my eyes to several things that I hadn’t even thought to consider before.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the Creating Everything theme, click the button below.
Devotions in the Creation’s Do-Over series
Noah
“But Noah found favor with the Lord. This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God” (Gen. 6: 8-9 NLT)
Only Noah had remained faithful to God.
There was a silver lining to the increasing corruption of the world. Noah remained a righteous man.
We’ve talked a little about Noah before. He was the grandson of Methuselah and the great-grandson of Enoch.
Remember, Methuselah meant when he dies, it will come. Well, Methuselah is dead.
It was coming. It was the flood.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to learn a little more about Noah.
We find favor with God when we have faith and obey Him.
There are three different ways in which Moses, the writer of Genesis, indicated how Noah found favor with God.
Righteous
Noah was “… a righteous man” (Gen. 6: 9 NLT).
Righteousness is one of those churchy words. It is a very important element in walking with God.
But what does it mean? Let’s look how God’s Word to see what it says.
“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied” (Mt. 5: 6 NLT). Ooops.
Well, that is sort of what we are trying to get. Justice is bringing order back to God’s creation so that all people receive the rewards He has for His children.
Righteousness is a part of the order God is trying to restore.
We want to come back to a relationship with God and be more like Him. But that is more the how and the what.
What is righteousness? Righteousness is the comprehension of a kinship with God where we understand that we were not only made in His image but that we also have to have His character.
Let’s try that verse again. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Mt. 5: 6 ESV).
What are some other verses?
- “This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life’” (Rom. 1: 17 NLT emphasis added).
- “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are” (Rom. 3: 21-22 NLT emphasis added).
- “The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices” (Prov. 21: 3 NLT emphasis added).
- “The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil” (I Pet. 3: 12 NLT emphasis added).
- “There is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do what is right” (Ps. 106: 3 NLT emphasis added).
- “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous” (I Jn. 3: 7 NLT emphasis added).
We have to remember this isn’t talking about right and wrong. This is talking about doing what and being who God is. It is having God in us.
Kingsley explained it this way. He wrote,
“Noah and Abraham believed God, and so became heirs of the righteousness which is by faith; not their own righteousness, not growing out of their own character, but given them by God, who puts His righteous Spirit into those who trust in Him.”
Resource
Righteousness doesn’t have anything to do with any human characteristic — being right. It doesn’t come from our actions — doing right.
Righteousness comes to God’s children from Him through His Holy Spirit.
Blameless
We are “… [a] blameless person …” (Gen. 6: 9 NLT) when we seek God.
The King James Version did us no favors when it translated blameless as perfect. He wasn’t just a man of flawless integrity.
No, blameless doesn’t mean we will no longer sin. Blameless means we are aware we are sinners and look to God for salvation, asking Him for forgiveness that doesn’t hold us accountable for those sins. When we ABCD, our sins will be forgiven, and we will be held blameless.
A blameless person displays the fruit of the Spirit in life. “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” (Gal. 5: 22-23 NLT).
A huge element of being blameless is being patient. We have to wait on God to show us His Will and to do His Will.
We have to talk about something. Noah is said to be there only one who was found blameless.
Where was the rest of Noah’s family? He had to have had brothers and sisters alive.
Pastor Steve has been reading a book that estimated there were a million people alive then. Surely, he had a lot of cousins in there.
With Methuselah around, you would think they all had a similar role model.
Why wasn’t the rest of Noah’s family blameless?
It goes back to our relationship with God is an individual decision. We can’t coast on our parents’ laurels. We have to decide — and live — for God on our own.
But that also brings up another point. God will always have His remnant.
- “No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, ‘LORD, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.’ And do you remember God’s reply? He said, ‘No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!’ It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them” (Rom. 11: 2-5 NLT).
- “In that day the remnant left in Israel, the survivors in the house of Jacob, will no longer depend on allies who seek to destroy them. But they will faithfully trust the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return; yes, the remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.But though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant of them will return. The LORD has rightly decided to destroy his people” (Isa. 10: 20-22 NLT).
- “But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number. Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the LORD, have spoken!” (Jer. 23: 3-4 NLT).
It is easy to see this as God will always have His people. No, God will always have a group of righteous, blameless sons and daughters who are walking in close fellowship with Him.
That would also create a lonely atmosphere for Noah. Sure, he had companionship, especially with other family members.
But Noah wouldn’t have much in common with the men of violence (Gen. 6: 11).
Walked in Close Fellowship
We “… [walk] in close fellowship with God” (Gen. 6: 9 NLT) when we submit our lives to Him.
Enoch walked in close fellowship with God for 300 years of his life. “After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters” (Gen. 5: 22 NLT).
Enoch would have taught Methuselah, and Methuselah would have taught Lamech and Noah.
We had a long list of what it meant to walk with God. To summarize, it means we continually think about God, follow His laws and commandments, exhibit spiritual graces, and continue on the Sanctification Road.
The focus isn’t on the outward walk — our actions. It is on our inward relationship with God.
We do not have true righteousness if we do not communicate with God.
If the inward is right, the outward follows suit. We are not pretentious or vain. We are sincere.
Noah was a well-rounded person in his relationship with God. As Maclaren said, he continued to sin.
Resource
It means we are not perfected — yet. What perfect means is that we are maturing. That suggests our close fellowship with God is growing closer.
Other Ark Passengers
“Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Gen. 6: 10 NLT)
While there were other passengers than Noah on the ark, they were not credited as being blameless as Noah was.
We have heard a little about Noah’s sons. “After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Gen. 5: 32 NLT).
Yeah, it sounds like they were triples. It wasn’t written as it was for Lamech’s sons. “Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the first of those who raise livestock and live in tents. His brother’s name was Jubal, the first of all who play the harp and flute. Lamech’s other wife, Zillah, gave birth to a son named Tubal-cain. He became an expert in forging tools of bronze and iron. Tubal-cain had a sister named Naamah” (Gen. 4: 20-22 NLT).
If Jabal and Jabal would have been twins, I think Moses would have written it more in the line of how Noah’s sons were born.
But let’s focus on Noah’s sons. Maclaren stated their importance. He wrote, “Learn, too, that the true place for the saint is ‘in his generations.’”
Resource
Disciples are charged to teach others. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28: 19-20 NLT).
We must first and foremost testify to our families. It is their choice whether or not to submit to God, but it is our duty as disciples to try to make disciples of our sons and daughters.
Burns called Noah an unsuccessful preacher. No.
Resource
Disciples are called to be obedient in all that God has for us to do. If we do as we are called, we are successful. The outcome isn’t on us.
We aren’t the ones to save people. We witness; they listen and make their choice. But God is the only One to forgive and save them.
Noah may have been the only one to be blameless, but his three sons and their wives along with Mrs. Noah benefited. Did they get an ark ride because of Noah or because they were maturing correctly on the Sanctification Road?
Does this mean there are blameless sheep and saved sheep – two levels of those who are called God’s children?
Did Noah have other kids? If he and Mrs. Noah did, they didn’t get the same ticket.
Were the other kids goats masquerading in sheep’s clothing? Or were they just plain wicked?
Hughes addressed this. He wrote, “The holiest parent cannot bring forth a holy seed; that is, born of grace. Noah could not. … In the visible Church may be such as are not saints, indeed; but far from it. … Mixtures in the Church not destructive to its being, were permitted not to divide, but to put them upon purging it.”
Resource
That is different from what I’ve always been taught. I am taught we are all saints.
I know. I sure don’t feel like one – yet. We do still sin in this life.
If Noah was 500 when the triplets were born and 600 when the flood came, the triplets were 100 years old. All three were married, but it doesn’t say kids came with them.
Did they not have kids yet, or were the kids too wicked? Was God waiting until post-flood to give them kids so they would repopulate the earth?
I know. I am throwing out questions again for which I don’t really have answers. But I do feel we should think about this.
Making the Connections #1
Kingsley gave a great observation contrasting the wicked world and righteous Noah. He wrote,
“The Bible gives us a picture of the old world before the flood — a world of men mighty in body and mind, fierce and busy, conquering the world round them, in continual war and turmoil; with all the wild passions of youth, and yet all the cunning and experience of enormous old age; everyone guided only by self-will, having cast off God and conscience, and doing every man that which was right in the sight of his own eyes. And amidst all this Noah was steadfast; he at least knew his way; he ‘walked with God, a just man and perfect in his generations.’”
Resource
The world was guided by self-will, and Noah was guided by God.
That is what God requires of us today. Disciples are to be in the world but not of the world. He wants us to be be different from them.
We clearly see here that God has His eye on both — those who follow Him and those who don’t. God will offer salvation to those who have not totally rejected Him.
Making the Connections #2
Maclaren gave us some insight into what Matthew 7: 21-23 means to disciples. “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” (Mt. 7: 21-23 NLT).
We may think that applies only to Church leadership. No.
Listen to what Maclaren said. He wrote,
“He does not grudge commendation, but takes account of the deepest desires and main tendencies of a life, and sees the germ as a full-blown flower, and the bud as a fruit. Learn, too, that solitary goodness is possible. Noah stood uninfected by the universal contagion; and, as is always the case, the evil around, which he did not share, drove him to a more rigid abstinence from it.”
Resource
What is our focus? What are the priorities of our lives? Is it God?
Or have we compromised with the worldview? Do we try to rewrite God’s laws? Do we say they do not apply to today’s society?
Go back to what we said about a remnant. God will always have a group of righteous, blameless sons and daughters who are walking in close fellowship with Him.
We don’t think the remnant will be within the Church itself. But it is going to be.
How Do We Apply This?
- Continue to walk with God so that we are righteous and blameless through Him.
- Follow God — even when those around us don’t.
- Keep in constant communication with God.
- Perform the duties required of us by God.
- Don’t compromise with the worldview.
- Be sure of our inward transformation.
- Resist and oppose sin.
- Fulfill our marching orders.
Resources
Father God. Thank You that faith and obedience are rewarded. Let us have the faith and obedience that Noah did. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.