The Faith of Noah
Genesis 6:9-22
9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark–you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.
In our study through the book of Genesis we have come now to the very familiar story of Noah and the ark. Even people who don’t know the Bible and never come to church probably know about Noah, his ark, and all those animals coming in two by two. There are jokes about it, pictures of it, movies about the search for the ark, one man even built a full-size replica of it. Knowledge of a great flood is almost universal among human cultures, even apart from the biblical account in Genesis.
Let me say three things by way of introduction:
One, we will regard the flood, and Noah’s deliverance from it, as true history. Moses presents the story of Noah and the ark as historical narrative. Noah was a real man who built a real ark according to God’s instructions. There was a real flood in which all people and animals perished except those on the ark. The rest of scripture also treats the flood narrative as true history. Jesus himself spoke of Noah and the flood as real history. In fact, Jesus taught that before He returns to judge the world and to consummate His kingdom the world will be like it was in the days of Noah. “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:26–27). Jesus viewed the flood narrative as real history, and so do we.
Two, the purpose of our study is not to give a detailed analysis of the scientific plausibility of the worldwide flood nor of mechanics of the ark and how Noah fit and fed all the animals. There are multiple books written by both bible scholars and scientists who major on these topics. I do not in any way wish to discredit or discourage such efforts. These are interesting digressions, but I do not want them to sidetrack us from the main message of the text.
Three, the flood narrative of Genesis 6-9 is a very important part of the overarching biblical story of redemption. The flood, Noah’s deliverance from it, and the covenant made with Noah illustrate the biblical themes of human depravity, God’s judgment, God’s grace, and obedience to God’s word. It illustrates our salvation in Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 3:20-21). It also foreshadows the fiery judgement that will come upon the earth at the end of time when Christ returns (2 Pet. 2:5; 3:5-7).
I want to examine this text in four parts.
1. The Righteousness of Noah (Gen. 6:9-10)
The words, “These are the generations of Noah …” (Gen. 6:9) begin a new section in the book of Genesis that runs through the end of Genesis 9. This is the third toledot heading we have seen in Genesis. The first was in Genesis 2:4, “This is the history of the heavens and the earth …” The second was in Genesis 5:1, “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam.”
Here in Genesis 6:9 we learn that “Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations.” This does not mean that Noah was perfect. No one is without sin. Noah was no exception. This will be evident when we read about Noah’s drunkenness after the flood in Genesis 9.
What does it mean, then, that Noah was just and perfect? The word just or righteous is used in two ways in the Bible. Frist, it is used of the righteousness of faith, that is, of imputed righteousness (Rom. 3:21-4:25). When a person trusts in Christ as his sin-bearer, God credits the righteousness of Jesus Christ to his account. Was Noah justified by faith? Yes. Hebrews 11:7 makes this clear when it says, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
Noah received righteousness by faith. As we pointed out in our last study, Genesis 6:8 says, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Noah was not favored by God because of his own righteousness, but he inherited God’s righteousness by grace through faith. It would be wrong to say that Noah found favor with God (Gen. 6:8) because he was a righteous man. Rather, because he was the object of God’s grace, he was righteous.
Secondly, the word just or righteous can refer to the right conduct which stems from being justified by faith. It means that Noah lived a holy life. He stood out as distinct in the world. While everyone around him lived for their own pleasure and in sin, Noah lived a righteous life. This is also indicated by the term, perfect which means complete or whole. It means Noah that had integrity, he was “blameless in his time” (NASB). No one could put a charge against him that would stick. Noah’s righteousness and blamelessness are summed up in the words, “Noah walked with God.” Only Noah and his great grandfather Enoch are said to have “walked with God.” As we saw with Enoch, walking with God implies faith in God, obedience to God, and fellowship with God.
“And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Gen. 6:10) The text probably repeats the names of Noah’s three sons in here (given previously in Gen. 5:32) to remind us of the effect that Noah’s godly life had on them. They easily could have been influenced to leave their father in his crazy project of building this huge ark and to blend in with the world. The reason they stayed with Noah and got on board the ark was that they saw in their father a life that rang true. Do your children see in you a life of faith in God, obedience to God and fellowship with God?
“Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. And Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” With these words, the main characters in the flood narrative are introduced to us.
2. The Corruption of the earth (Gen. 6:11-12)
In Genesis 6:11-12 we find a statement concerning the corruption of man that had filled the earth in Noah’s day: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”
Notice the threefold repetition of the word “corrupt” in this passage. “The earth also was corrupt before God …” And “So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt …”, “for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”
The Hebrew verb translated as “corrupt” means “to spoil, to ruin, to destroy, to pervert.” The earth, that is to say the people of the earth, had ruined themselves by their perversion. They had distorted God’s design by their rebellion against His revealed will. And God saw it all. When we read the words, “So God looked upon the earth …” it reminds us of those repeated words of Genesis 1 “and God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 31). But here in Genesis 6:11 we read, “God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt.”
Notice that outcome of the corruption of man was violence. Twice this text says, “the earth was filled with violence” (Gen. 6:11, 13). Corrupt and sinful societies will always devolve into a state of violence. Where there is covetousness and greed, where there is dishonesty, where there is theft, and where there is adultery there will also be widespread violence—men will murder one another as corruption increases. In Noah’s day, the earth was thoroughly corrupt and filled with violence.
Does it seem to you that violence has been increasing in our land? The nightly news repeatedly bombards our senses with murders, mass shootings, sexual assaults, bombings, fights and wars. Moral corruption and violence go together.
This text is especially applicable to us, because Jesus said that just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days prior to His return (Luke 17:26). People were going on about life oblivious to God, “They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:27). They were living without regard to God and His impending judgment. What a description of our time!
One of the frightening thing is that there were grandchildren of the godly Enoch, brothers and sisters of Noah, who were swept away in the flood. They knew about God. Perhaps some of them even claimed to know God. But they had blended in so much with the evil around them that they didn’t listen to God’s repeated warnings of judgment.
2 Peter 2:5 calls Noah “a preacher of righteousness.” Don’t you think that Noah warned them about the coming judgment? Don’t you know that he preached the righteousness of faith in God to his generation? Don’t you suppose that Noah called people to repent? Jesus preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17); “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15); “… unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). Peter preached, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” (Acts 2:38); “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…” (Acts 3:19). Paul preached, “God … commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Can we do any less? We must preach the good news to this lost generation. We must preach about the judgment to come. We must call people to repent and believe. We must preach Jesus Christ crucified for sins and raised from the dead. We must preach justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
So we have seen in this text the righteousness of Noah in the midst of the corruption of the earth. So next we find that God intervenes.
3. God’s instructions to Noah (Gen. 6:13-21)
In Genesis 6:13-21 we encounter the first of four divine speeches found within the flood narrative. God is communicating with Noah, but only God speaks here. “And God said to Noah…” Let us think about those words for a moment. God spoke to Noah. God speaks. Noah listens.
And what did God say to Noah? God speaks of four things to Noah here:
A. God’s plan to judge the earth (Gen. 6:13)
First, God communicates His plans to judge the earth. God says (Genesis 6:13), “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” If we were reading this text in the original Hebrew we would certainly notice that Hebrew word which was translated “corrupt” three times in Genesis 6:11-12 appears here again in Genesis 6:13 translated as “destroy”. The connection becomes clear if we translate it with the “ruin.” Listen to it that way:
“The earth also was [ruined] before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was [ruined]; for all flesh had [ruined] their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will ruin them with the earth.”
Because man had ruined his way and ruined the earth, God determined to ruin them. God tells Noah He is going to rid the earth of corrupted man. God has not yet told Noah how He will do this. That will come in Genesis 6:17. But first we see,
B. God’s instructions for the ark (Gen. 6:14-16)
The second thing God communicates to Noah is instructions regarding the construction of the ark (Genesis 6:14–16):
14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. 15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side
I will make just a couple comments here that demonstrate the significance of Noah’s obedience. First, the ark was massaive: about 450 feet long by 75 feet wide by 45 feet tall with three levels. That’s over 100,000 square feet of floor space. God warned Noah of the impending judgment and told him to start building the ark 120 years before the flood (Gen. 6:3). Noah was building and filling the ark for over 100 years. That is perseverance. The pressure to quit must have been tremendous. Yet Noah kept at it.
Second, Noah was commanded to build the ark, and God gave him specific instructions concerning its design and construction. You can understand how Noah must have been considered the biggest fool in all of history. People saw him lay the keel of that great hulk of a boat and they must have laughed themselves silly. But Noah endured all this—he built an Ark because he believed God. Every tree he felled shouted, FAITH. Every board he sawed, shouted FAITH. Every swing of his hammer, shouted FATIH. Every seam to which he applied the pitch shouted, FAITH. Let me ask, do your works reflect your faith? Faith will work—and often that “work” will be counter-cultural.
C. God’s means of judgment: the flood (Gen. 6:17)
Thirdly, God communicates the nature of His coming judgement. Genesis 6:17: “And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die.”
Ponder for a moment the severity of God’s judgment. How many people and animals perished in the flood? All of them except those on the ark. Did God do wrong when He judged the earth in this way? Certainly not. God was right to judge the wicked. And will God do wrong when at the end of time He judges the ungodly? Certainly not, for all of His judgments are right and true. The flood is not the final judgement. God spared Noah, his family and some of the animals so that the life would continue on earth. But it is a type of the judgement to come. Peter compares the flood to the judgment on the day of the Lord saying,
… by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. (2 Pet. 3:5-7).
We can be sure that since the Lord judged the world by a flood, He will also judge the world by fire as He promised. If the Lord has not yet fulfilled His promise to return and judge the earth Peter says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God will judge. Many will perish. Are you ready? Have you repented?
D. God’s purpose to save Noah (Gen. 6:18-21)
Fourthly, God communicates His purpose for having Noah build the ark. Genesis 6:18-21: “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.”
God’s purpose for the construction of the ark was so that He might preserve Noah and his family and confirm a covenant with him. This is the first time the word “covenant” is used in scripture. The covenant is a promise from God. In Genesis 9 we will see the details of God’s covenant with Noah. God is promising to save Noah and his family through the flood in the ark. Genesis 6:19-21 show that God’s plan also included keeping alive the animals that were on the ark. God will make a future for His creation as well.
So the reason for the flood is given to Noah: Because of sin. The deliverance provided for him: the ark. The means of judgment: a flood. The promise in the judgment: a covenant with you. This was the man, Noah, chosen by grace; justified by faith; walked with God; in covenant relationship with the Lord. He is a picture of the man God saves from judgment.
4. Noah’s obedience. (Gen. 6:22)
Finally, in the last verse Moses comments on Noah’s faithfulness. Genesis 6:22, “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.”
Listen again to Hebrews 11:7: “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
Conclusion
I will conclude by making three clear appeals to you:
First, I urge you to repent of your sin and place your faith in Christ. He is your only shelter from the coming judgment of God. Only the righteous will stand in the judgment. Therefore your only hope for eternal life is to stand in Christ, covered by His blood and clothed in His righteousness. The ark carried Noah and his family through the waters of the flood. Only Christ is able to carry you through the fiery judgement at the end of time. I plead with you: repent of your sins and believe upon Christ.
Secondly, if you are in Christ I ask: Are you living righteously before God? Is your way of life distinguishable from the way of the world? Are you a man or woman of integrity? Blameless in your time? None of us are perfect, I know. But I are you pursuing holiness?
Thirdly, I would urge you not to lose hope or to despair over the increase of wickedness that we see in the world around us. Yes, we should grieve over sin—ours and the sins of others. But we should not lose heart. God will accomplish His purposes and save His people. You are in covenant with God and He is faithful to keep His promises.
