S139P1 – Profiles in courage: Noah
Gen. 6:5-8
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 regretted 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.
When I think of the flood, I think about magnitude. The first thing that strikes me is the level of evil on the Earth. This was not merely a few people disobeying God and sinning here and there. The wickedness on the Earth was constant and continuous with every intention of man being evil. This prompted a response from God of comparable magnitude in that He regretted creating not only mankind but other parts of creation as well. This was not about correction but about destruction. To desire to blot out his creation was a most severe response from him. Yet, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord, and there was only one way he could have gained that favor.
It is clear from this scripture that Noah was different from his fellow man in his day. Where they were sinning with no regard for God, Noah was mindful of the Lord. The relationship is clear not only from the fact that Noah found favor but from the subsequent instruction from God. The closeness of this relationship would have required great courage on the part of Noah. He had to live among people who wanted nothing to do with God, and he had to live among them in a godly way. It was a time of extreme wickedness, and Noah had to go against the grain. We do not have details to illustrate exactly how difficult his life must have been in that environment, but it could not have been easy.
If we look at the way the world around us is changing from day to day, it should be clear to us that wickedness is growing. We are inventing new ways to sin all the time. That which might have been viewed by even the general worldly population as evil only a short time ago is now being normalized as good and right. The question for us is whether we will have the courage to remain faithful to God as wickedness grows around us and leaves us as the odd men out. Will we find favor in his sight in the midst of the grief the world is causing him? Father, give us the courage of your faithful servant to remain godly in a wicked world and live under your favor.