This morning we are looking at Noah.  Who’s a pretty familiar person in Scripture.  So we’re going to be begin with a short quiz just because it seemed like a good way to get into our passage this morning.  Getting us all thinking about Noah.

#1:  What was Noah’s favorite song?

A. Deep & Wide

B. Somewhere Over The Rainbow

C. There Shall Be Showers of Blessing

D. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

#2:  What were the names of Noah’s three sons?

A. Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego

B. Chip, Robbie, & Ernie

C. Larry, Moe, & Curly

D. Shem, Ham, & Japheth

#3:  The ark was 300 cubits long by 50 cubits wide by 30 cubits high.  What’s a cubit?

A. About 9 inches

B. About 18 inches

C. A video game character…  Q-Bert??

D. A small irritating game cube

A cubit is about 18 inches.  Which makes the ark about the length of a football field plus about 3 more end zones - and about as wide as the width of this room plus about 1/2 as wide again - and as high as that wall and about 1/2 that wall again.

Which is not massive by today’s standards.  Last month the cruise ship Harmony of the Seas went into service.  It’s 1,188 feet long - more than 3 times as long as the ark.  The ark isn’t massive by today’s standards.  But enormous - unheard of - in the ancient world.

More to the point is that the ark was a giant box not a cruise ship.  The word ark comes from the Latin word “arca” which translates the Hebrew word which can mean a chest or a coffin.  Take your pick.  Point being it’s what God does with this huge box that’s important not the creature comforts.  Size is about function.

#4  How long was Noah in the ark?

A. 40 days and 40 nights

B. 150 days

C. 1 year

D. Until God told him to get out.

God said get in and Noah got in.  God said get out and Noah got out.  Point being - God doesn’t need an ark to save Noah or these animals.  Building the ark - gathering the animals - sending out birds - isn’t the point.  Obeying God is.

Okay.  Let’s read together Genesis 6 - starting at verse 5 - and as we go through this we’re going to stop along the way and make some observations.

Genesis 6:5:  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 was sorry 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.

Let’s stop and make some observations. 

How bad were things?  Pretty bad.  We’re told that the wickedness of man is great in the earth.  Wherever there is man and the influence of man there’s evil.  Every intention of the thoughts of what’s going on in man’s heart is continually evil.  Every creative energy of man.  Every act of imagination.  24/7/365 man is continually focused on evil.

When we get down to verse 11 we’re told that the world of mankind was corrupt.  Meaning spoiled - polluted with sin - heading for destruction.  Sin is self-destructive behavior that deludes us into thinking we have some control over it. 

Bottom line - God looking at the world He created that was “good” and the tenants are tearing up the place.  Man is destroying himself and the world by his sin.

Which isn’t too far from where we’re at today.  Not too far from where mankind has always lived apart from God.  But as bad as we think things are today - in Noah’s day they were worse.  And the Bible tells us - just before the return of Jesus - things will be very similar to what they were like back then.

How bad was it?  Bad enough.

God is grieved.  Which means deep down at the heart level God is hurting.  It’s the kind of hurt that can’t be put into words.  Just too deep.  We experience grief because of our sin.  God grieves because He loves us.

God is sorry He made us.  Which is how Scripture describes a change in the way God is going to treat mankind.  God now purposes to blot out man - God’s creation - from off of the earth.

To blot out has the idea in Hebrew of totally wiping a dish clean.  Total removal of stuff like it never was there in the first place.  God chooses and He creates.  We exist.  God chooses and “poof” no more mankind.  Not even a memory.  It’s a reality check.  Who do we think we are?

In midst of this ongoing wickedness and decay we’re told that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.  The word for favor is the word for grace.  Undeserved.  Unprovoked.  Favor of God.

Let’s be careful.  It’s not that Noah found grace but that God in His grace saw Noah.  Grace found Noah.

Point being this is about what the sovereign God our creator chooses to do with His creation.  What God is doing in and through Noah not what Noah is doing in and of himself.  God who, in the midst of our sin and corruption, God who is gracious - and so even though perfectly justified in wiping us out as if we never existed - God chooses to be gracious towards us. 

Instead of total judgment God steps in with free, unmerited grace leading to an act of salvation.

Let’s go on reading at verse 9:  These are the generations of Noah.  Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation.  Noah walked with God.  And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Let’s make some observations.

To be righteous means complete conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action.  Being totally right with God.  Nothing coming between us.

Blameless - in Hebrew - has the idea of a finished building with nothing left to be added.  Complete.  Blameless means that there is nothing lacking in Noah’s integrity.  He is totally innocent in his relationship with God.

Noah walked with God.  Which gives us the picture of the depth of relationship that Noah had with God.  Two friends sharing life - nothing between them - total openness and innocence - a oneness of heart.  Noah is presented to us as a Godly man who lives by the grace of God.

Thinking about what that might look like in the real time of our lives.  The question is what would that be like for us to live that way?

To help us with that I’m going to borrow a definition of what it means to be a man of God from The Resolution For Men.  Hopefully some of this will be familiar.  But we live in a day and age when the idea of what it means to be a man - let alone a Godly man - especially in our gender confused culture - being a godly man is something that men are often unsure of.

God calls men to walk with Him through life - to live by His definition of what it means to be righteous and blameless in His sight.  What does that look like?

Here’s the definition and we’re going to leave that up there and walk through it together.

A man is an adult male - Leviticus 27:3

who accepts his masculinity - 1 Corinthians 16:13

speaks and acts with maturity - 1 Corinthians 13:11

embraces responsibility - Genesis 1:26; 2:15

functions independently - Genesis 2:24; Matthew 12:46-50

can lead a family faithfully - Genesis 2:24; 1 Timothy 3:4,5

and recognizes his accountability - Ecclesiastes 12:13,14

as an image bearer of God - Genesis 1:26; 1 Corinthians 11:7-9  (1) 

A man is an adult male.

Leviticus 27:3 and other places in the Old Testament tell us that chronologically - in the eyes of God - one became an adult man at the age of 20.  At the age of 20 a man became accountable for their own sins - punishable for their own sins.  Was required to give financially - make vows to the sanctuary.  Go fight in a war. 

A man - a Godly man - is one who accepts his masculinity.

1 Corinthians 16:13 is an example of many verses that make this point:  1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “ Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”

The key ingredient of that is strength - moral, mental, social, and spiritual strength for the key roles in a man’s life.  Fortitude to attempt hard things.  To lead families.  To fight for our country.  To confront evil.

So when times get tough a Godly man doesn’t quit.  When everything seems against us Godly men don’t run.  When the adversary attacks we resist.  Fall or fail we own our mistakes - get back on our feet - and keep at our responsibilities.  Doing the right thing and fighting for what is noble and true.

A Godly man speaks and acts with maturity

1 Corinthians 13:11:  “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”

Maturity means intentionally choosing to let go of childishness and foolishness and to act our age.  So many men today are drowning themselves in entertainment -  living for the weekend instead of eternity.  They want the freedoms, rewards, and privileges of manhood but only the responsibilities of boyhood.  Godly men think the thoughts and speak the words of mature men, not teenage boys.

A Godly man embraces responsibility

Genesis 1:26 is about God giving man dominion over God’s creation.  Genesis 2:15 is God tasking man to care for the garden.

The main concept of responsibility is that we’re entrusted and empowered  by God to care for something or someone - to cultivate and protect what is under our care.  There is a huge blessing of God in that as we do that well.

Embracing responsibility means making choices that will limit our freedoms, opportunities, and successes.  Planning - taking initiative - cleaning up our own messes.  Begging God for wisdom and guidance and trusting Him for the courage to do what needs to be done.  Full commitment to what God gives us responsibility for.

A Godly man functions independently

Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 12:46-50 are about a man leaving his father and mother and holding fast to his wife.

Even if a man never marries, God created him to be able to leave home and stand on his own two feet.  He should be capable enough to work, function, and live without dependence on anyone else financially, spiritually, or physically.  Responsible men are like Jesus, Who didn’t let His mother, disciples, or others determine His thoughts, attitudes, or actions.  He was completely plugged into the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God.

A Godly man can lead a family faithfully

1 Timothy 3:4,5 adds to Genesis 2:24 the teaching about being able to manage one’s own household well.

Manhood doesn’t mean a man should marry, but that he should be able to.  Single men should be learning and locking down the heart level character qualities necessary for marriage and parenting.  Married men ought to be living those out - to willingly assume the position of leader and protector and provider for our family in every way necessary.

A Godly man recognizes his accountability

Ecclesiastes 12:13,14:  “The end of the matter; all has been heard (bottom line).  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will being every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

Having no accountability always leads to irresponsibility.  Our actions not only have an immediate consequence but eternal consequences.  That each of us is only a heart beat away from having to stand before God and give an account of our lives should reorientate how we think about how we’re living our lives.

Which raises some really important questions.  Doesn’t it?

How well do you know God’s commandments?  What He expects of you?  What are intentionally doing to find out?  And to live faithful and obedient to God?  Who do you have in your life that’s helping to keep you accountable for how you’re living?  Who are you helping to keep accountable?

Are you ready to meet God?  Are you seeking God’s will for your life?  How would God answer those questions?

Lastly a Godly man is an image bearer of God

God created Noah.  God created each one of us.  Each of us no more or less valuable to God.  The uniqueness that each of has as bearers of God’s image is God’s way of using each of us uniquely for His purposes - for His glory.  Life is about… God.

A Godly man isn’t about bringing glory to himself.  But to God.  Using all his power and authority and ability to reveal and reflect all glory back to God through every action of his life.  A Godly man represents God well.

That’s how The Resolution for Men ties together what is an overview of how Scripture describes what it means to be a Godly man - righteous and blameless - walking with God through the real time of life.

Coming back to Genesis 6 and Noah.  Verse 9 tells us that “These are the generations of Noah.  Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation.” 

Notice “generations” is repeated.  Reason being, “generations” has two meanings here.

Meaning number one is about family - those biologically related to Noah.  Which is an impressive list.  Also alive at the time of Noah - part of his generation of family were Enosh - Adam’s grandson.  Kenan, son of Enosh.  Mahalalel son of Kenan.  Jared son of Mahalalel.  Methusaleh and Lemech, son of Methusaleh.

Enoch - who was also part of the genealogy - should have been right smack dab in the middle of that family listing - generationally family with Noah - Enoch wasn’t alive during the time of Noah.

Remember what happened to Enoch?  Genesis 5:24:  “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”  Not too many years before Noah was born - Enoch - a man of God walking with God - is taken up by God.  So there’s no way to associate Enoch with the wicked generation that was alive at the time of Noah.

What’s amazing to consider is that Noah - in that whole list of patriarchs and beyond - Noah probably was the only righteous and blameless man in his family - maybe on the whole the planet.

Generations meaning number two - is how generations gets used in Scripture to show that Noah was the first of generations yet to come.  Which may be why his sons are listed here - subsequent generations that are preserved along with Noah because Noah found favor with God.  All of us are generationally descendants of Noah. 

Point being that God our creator - after wiping the bowl clean of wicked humanity - God is making a new beginning through Noah.

Hang onto to something.  Noah is like Adam.  Noah goes into the ark - not as someone who somehow survives the flood - but as the image bearer of - the bearer of God’s promise for a new beginning with God.  What God refers to later - down in verse 18 - as the covenant that God is making with Noah and his generations - descendants - those who are saved from the wrath of God literally poured out - saved because they are with Noah in the ark.

After the flood what does God do to visibly demonstrate the realty of that covenant?  Rainbow - literally a “bow” in the sky.  “Bow” being the same word as in “bow and arrow” - meaning a weapon of war.  God chooses to lay down His bow and be at peace with man.

Romans 5:9,10:  “Since therefore, we have been justified by His - Jesus’ - blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.”

Still hanging on to something? 

Adam is the head who sins and we’re all toast.  Noah is the head who obeys - who even though he’s still a sinner like us - God uses Noah to forward God’s plan of salvation for all of us descendants.  A huge hope for all of us that’s realized in Jesus.  Jesus who by the means of His work on the cross becomes the means of our salvation - the first fruits of those who will be saved - the head of the family of God - the Church.

The illustration God gives us is powerful.  The ark - which is not a cruise ship but a utilitarian single purpose box - the ark surrounds Noah and family and saves them from the wrath - brings them through the wrath of God - to the new life God promises.  Jesus surrounds us with His righteousness and saves us from the wrath of God to bring us to safety - forever life with God.

Pretty awesome.  Yes?  Praise God!

Some observations.

We are told again that the earth is corrupt in God’s sight - which is the only sight that’s trustworthy and actually counts.  Noah is given basic instructions on what the ark is suppose to be like - cubits and gopher wood and floor plans.  There is the statement about covenant and who it extends to in contrast to those who will perish when God pours out His wrath.  The whole two-by-two thing is stated along with the need for provisions.

Then this - which really is the bottom line of where we’re going with all this - verse 22:  Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.  Noah obeyed God.  

In the way that these instructions come down from God they really are commands.  Either Noah is going to comply with this or he’s not.

You shall make an ark out of gopher wood.

You shall cover it inside and out with pitch.

You shall make it 300 by 50 by 30 cubits.

You shall make a roof.

You shall make a door.

You shall make it 3 decks.

You shall bring two of every sort…

All that to get to this point:  Noah did all that God commanded him.  Not some.  Not part.  Not depending on whether he felt like it or if it interfered with whatever else was going on in Noah’s life or whether it made sense to Noah or not - whether it fit into Noah’s version of what God should be doing with His corrupt creation.  Bottom line:  God commanded it and Noah did it.

And we know - because we’ve heard it since we we’re enrolled in the church nursery.  If not, we get this because it just is.  What Noah did was really out there.  300 by 50 by 30 cubits of boat complete with livestock is a tad hard to conceal in a place a long way from any large body of water.  People knew.  People that were moving in a totally different direction in life than Noah and his family.  It’s not hard to imagine that at best they probably thought Noah was a nut case.  Maybe a fanatic - a radical.

But God commanded it and Noah did it.  All of it.

Remember Joshua?  Same deal.  One step closer to where we live life. 

After 40 years in the wilderness God’s people have entered and conquered the promised land.  Joshua gathers the nation together at a place up in the north called Shechem.  It’s a worship service for the ages.  A huge significant moment in the life of God’s people.  It is a moment of great celebration.  Great hope and great expectation of what God will yet do.

Joshua gives God’s people a history lesson which is focused on the God of the covenant who’s delivered on His promises to His people.  Saved them from bondage in Egypt.  Made them into a people.  Established them on the land He promised to them.

Joshua’s history lesson is huge on emphasizing God.  The God of the covenant who also requires faithful obedience.  God’s victory and blessing are an outcome of faithful obedience to God.  God brings victory.  God fulfills His promises.  Obey the commands of God.

A choice needs to be made.  To obey or not to obey.  Always that it is the question.  Regardless of the circumstances.  Regardless of the cost.

Joshua 24 - starting at verse 14 - familiar words:  “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness.  Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.  And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  (Joshua 24:14,15)

That’s a Godly man manning up.  Joshua taking personal responsibility for how he will live.  Me and my house.  Not, my house and I.  Joshua’s choice to obey isn’t based on an opinion poll.  It’s based on personal responsibility before God.  You all make your choice.  But whatever you choose I’m still obeying God.

Today we need men who will take personal responsibility to lead their families towards God - by example - by choice - by resolving to themselves faithfully - obediently - exclusively - to serve God regardless of whatever choice anyone else may make.

Joshua with the position he held as the esteemed - respected - leader of Israel - doesn’t go on to establish a dynasty with Joshua as the first king.  In fact - no where in Scripture is there a record of Joshua’s descendants.  Joshua himself is the son of Nun (none).  Bad pun.  (1 Chronicles 7:27)

With all his success - here at the end of his life - Joshua is respected as a man of integrity - humility - who’s continually pointed the people - influenced them - towards God - who’s demonstrated for a nation what it means to walk faithfully with God - what it means to serve God.

Joshua is the head of the home.  Leadership leads.  Godly leadership leads towards God.  Godly men take personal responsibility to lead Godly. 

That’s Noah.  That’s Joshua.  Is that us?

Processing all that...  Father’s Day 2016.

Hearing all of this - if you’re like most of us - about now you may be feeling overwhelmed by a deepening sense of your own inadequacy.  Which is good.  Because none of us can be the kind of Godly man that God desires for us to be.  We will fail miserably without His help.

God by His grace found Noah.  God walked with Noah.  As Noah obeyed God, God preserved and used Noah to fulfill His promises even to us today.  Which is about God.  Not Noah.  Not us.

Which is why God, by His grace, calls us to our knees to surrender ourselves before Him so that He can supply to us all we need by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us.  God walking with us.  Teaching us to rely daily on His wisdom, His strength, His grace.  And when we fall short, God offers us tons of His mercy as we confess our failure to Him. 

Noah is potentially the only righteous man on the planet - certainly in his family - and yet Noah obeyed God.

Imagine what that would be like.  If you were the only righteous man - or women - in your place of work or in your home or school or community or the nation - Merced - what would you choose?  As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.  I’ll build the ark. 

Today, will you be that man?

_________________________

1. Stephen & Alex Kendrick, The Resolution For Men, B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN, 2011, pages 55-68

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®  (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.