Good morning Green Hills!  If we haven’t met yet.  I’m Steve Muncherian, one of the Elders here at Green Hills, and it is my privilege to share God’s word with us this morning.

We are continuing our series “Bible Stories Revisited.”  Stories – not in the sense of myths – but familiar stories – real accounts of real people in real places doing real life with the real God that are here to help us do life with God.

Before we get into the Bible let me pray for us.

Today we’re looking at Noah.  Since Noah is pretty familiar – we’ve got a short pop quiz to help get us into thinking about Noah and where we’re going this morning. 

#1.  What was Noah’s favorite song?

A. Row, Row, Row Your Boat

B. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

C. There Shall Be Showers of Blessing

D. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

Answer being… We have no clue.

A more serious question:

#2.  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 quantum bit

D. A small irritating 6-sided game cube

Answer being… 

B – A cubit is about 18 inches. 

So, trying to visualize that – 300 cubits long is 450’ which is a football field and a half in length.  50 cubits – the side to side how wide the ark was – is 75’ which is about the distance from wall back here to the wall on the other side of the hallway back there.  30 cubits high is 45’ which is about that wall to that wall – but rotated up.  All that for the length of a football field and a half. 

Which isn’t very impressive.  The Queen Mary, down in Long Beach, is more than twice that length. 

Point being – what we’re going to see here is that the size isn’t what’s most important – purpose is. 

The Hebrew word translated “ark” has the idea of a box or a coffin.  Take your pick.

Point being that the dimensions are a description of a floating box – not an ocean liner – but a floating box that God designs so God can use the floating box the way God chooses to use the floating box.

#3. How long was Noah in the ark?

A. 40 days and 40 nights

B. 1 year

C. 40 years

D. Until God told him to get out.

Answer being…

D – Until God told him to get out.

What’s important is not so much the number of days – but Noah’s obedience.  When God said to get in… Noah got in.  When God said to get out… Noah got out. 

Point being – that Noah obeys God and God uses the God designed floating box – to save Noah and his family and the animals.

So the big picture for us to hang onto as we’re coming to Noah and Genesis 6 – is that this whole familiar account is about what the sovereign God chooses to do using Noah as Noah obeys God.

Together?  Let’s read 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.

Skip with me down to verse 11.  We’ll come back to verses 9 and 10. 

Verse 11: Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

Let’s pause there and make three observations – what we’re being shown here. 

Observation #1:  How bad were things? 

Things are really really bad.

We’re told that the wickedness of man is great in the earth.  Wherever there’s 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.

In verse 11 we’re told that the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and filled with violence.  Meaning spoiled – rotting – polluted with sin – heading for destruction – tearing itself apart.

Sin is self-destructive behavior that deludes us into thinking we have some control over it even when it’s destroying us and destroying those around us.

Bottom line: God is looking at the world He created that was “good” a few chapters back – and now the tenants are tearing up the place.  Man is destroying himself and the world by his sin.

Does that sound familiar?

That’s pretty much how mankind has always lived apart from God.  And the Bible tells us that – just before the return of Jesus – things are going to be like they were back in Noah’s day. 

Meaning that as bad as we think things are now… we ain’t seen nothing yet. 

How bad was it?  Really really bad.  Even worse than today.

Observation #2:  God chooses to blot out mankind.

We’re told that God is grieved.  God is sorry.  Which is how Scripture describes the indescribable heart-level emotions and thoughts of God in words and images that, as people, we can “kind of” process. 

When God sees our sin – knowing the consequences of our sin – He feels sorrow – emotion at a level that no words can express – that none of us fully understands. 

To blot out – in the Hebrew – has the idea of totally wiping something clean.  Literally the word means to wipe out a dirty dish with a dish rag.  Cleaning it so that nothing unclean remains.

Which sounds extreme to us because we don’t process all that like God processes all that.  Which is a sermon for a different time.

The point here is that God – our Creator – moved at the heart-level – loving us – and acting with justice – God in His holiness and sovereignty over His creation – God chooses to blot out mankind.

Which brings us to Observation #3: God is gracious to Noah

In midst of this ongoing wickedness and corruption and God’s choice to remove mankind – we’re told that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 

The word for favor in Hebrew is the word for grace.  Undeserved.  Unprovoked.  Favor of God.

Let’s be careful.  It’s not that Noah by his efforts found grace but that God in His grace saw Noah.  God chooses to favor Noah.

Meaning that this is about the sovereign God our creator choosing to save Noah.  This is about what God is doing in and through Noah – using Noah – because God is gracious – not what Noah is doing in and of himself. 

Just like in the midst of our sin and corruption God chooses to be gracious to us.  Which none of us really understands.  But thank God that He is.  Yes?

With those three observations in mind – what the sovereign God is choosing to do and why – let’s go back to verses 9 and10 and how God describes Noah – this man that God chooses to favor.

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.

There are two ways Noah is described here that we need to press into.

First:  Noah was a righteous man.

To be righteous means being right with God – justified and without the guilt sin.  Living totally in sync with God in our purpose and thoughts and actions. 

Blameless further describes that righteousness.  In Hebrew, blameless has the idea of being complete – what you see is what is.  There’s no great ungodly reveal coming. 

Which might prompt some of us to ask, “How could anyone be that righteous before God?”  Someone ask…

The answer is… we can’t.

But this is about how God chooses to see Noah – God choosing to favor Noah.  The same God who has the right to declare any one of us righteous… or not. 

And verse 9 – “Noah walked with God” is God giving us a description of what that looked like – the depth of relationship that God chooses to have with Noah. 

Which is astounding.  Isn’t it?  What would that have been like?  Noah walking with God – shown favor by God – living with God in the midst of the sinful crud and corruption of Noah’s day?

Would you agree with me on this? 

That we live in a day and age when true masculinity is trashed – ridiculed.  When the idea of what it means to be a man – let alone a Godly man – especially in our gender fluid and relationally confused culture – and with all the hurt that comes with that – that being a Godly man is something that men are often unsure of – hesitant to step up to.  Is this really what it means to man up or not? 

And not just men.  Kids – wives – girlfriends – what does a man of God – a Godly father – a Godly husband – someone I might marry – a leader in the church – what does that look like?

God calls men to walk with Him through life – even today.  To live by His – God’s definition of what it means to be righteous and blameless in God’s sight – to be Godly man.  What does that look like?

Today, being Father’s Day – before we move on in God’s description of Noah – we have a great opportunity to pause here and drill down more into that – what does it mean to be a Godly man the way that God describes a Godly man.

To help us we’re going to borrow a definition from “The Resolution for Men” – a book that came out in connection with the movie “Courageous”.  How many of you remember the movie or read the book? (1)

This is a really solid – from the Bible – opening up of how God describes what it means to be a Godly man.

A Godly man is… (read with me)

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) 

Hold onto something.  Your seat cushion can be used as a floatation device.  Let’s walk through this…

A man is an adult male.

Leviticus 27:3 gives the age of 20 as when manhood begins.  Meaning that from God’s perspective there is a definite moment when all the maturing and preparation of boyhood ends and a boy is expected to step into the role of being an adult male.

A Godly man – is a man who accepts his masculinity – being an adult male.

1 Corinthians 16:13,14 – are an example of that: “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, live like men, be strong!  Let everything that you do be done in love.” (J.B. Phillips)

Strong meaning moral, mental, social, spiritual strength – acted – lived out in the key roles of a man’s life.  Meaning, when everything is coming at us and our families – those we love and are given responsibility to watch out for – when the Adversary is attacking big time – a Godly man doesn’t quit. 

He chooses to stand firm – pushing forward – hanging on to God.  When we fall – we own up to our mistakes – we repent – we get back on our feet – hang on to God – standing firm in our faith – and we keep going. 

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.”

So man men today are crushing it in the virtual world and epic failing at reality – pursuing media and not maturity. 

Have you heard this?  Many men today demand the recognition of being a man but they only want the responsibilities of a boy.

Godly maturity means intentionally choosing to let go of childishness and foolishness and to act our age.  To choose to go deeper with God – living the life of someone maturing in our relationship with God.

A Godly man embraces responsibility

Meaning being all in to what God gives us responsibility for.  Our wives and families and relationships and ministry and work.

Which means we are choosing to set aside what we want in favor of choosing what God wants for us and crying out to God for the wisdom and guidance and strength and courage to do what He calls us to do.

A Godly man functions independently

Meaning that a man should be able to leave home and have the capability to work and function and live financially, spiritually, and physically without dependence on anyone except God.

And, a Godly man can lead a family faithfully

Let’s be careful.  Manhood doesn’t mean a man must get married.  But that he should be able to get married and should be developing the skills to manage in that depth of relationship. 

Meaning that while we’re single, men should be developing the heart level character qualities for marriage and parenting – being faithful and trustworthy and being able to lead and to protect and to provide and to sacrificially care for others – when and if God calls us into those roles.   

A Godly man recognizes his accountability – which is to God.

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.”

Each one of us is a heart-beat away from standing before God and giving an account of how we’ve lived our lives.  That reality should re-orientate how we as men – as Christians – how we think about what we’re doing with our lives.  Life is about God… not us.

Lastly a Godly man is an image bearer of God

God created each one of us in His image – to represent Him – in the places He desires to use us uniquely for His purposes – for His glory.

Meaning, that a Godly man isn’t about bringing glory to himself.  But to God.  Using all of our God given masculinity to reveal and reflect all glory back to God through every action of our lives.

Coming back to Genesis 6 – God describing Noah – “Noah walked with God” is God describing what all that looks like in real time.

Let’s be careful.  It’s not that Noah was crushing it 24/7/365.  But that at the heart-level that’s what Noah was pursuing in his day-to-day relationship with God – pressing into God – seeking to live righteously and blameless before God – and God choose to be gracious to Noah and to see Him with favor.

Together?

Going on.  God describes Noah in the midst of generations.  Notice that the word “generation” is intentionally repeated.  Meaning “generation” is describing two different generations.

Description number one is the present generation – the people who were around at the time of Noah.

If we were to go back one chapter – to chapter 5 – if we were to read through the names of the genealogy there – Noah’s family line – it is a very impressive family line.  Some of whom were alive while Noah was building the ark.

Except for Enoch.  Remember what happened to Enoch? 

Genesis 5:24: “Enoch walked with God – meaning Enoch is living righteously with God – and he – Enoch – was not, for God… took him.” 

Enoch is taken up by God about 70 years before Noah is even born.  So, there’s no way to associate Enoch – who was righteous – with the wicked generation that was alive at the time of Noah.

We need to let that sink in.  Who’s alive and who’s not and why.

What’s amazing to consider is that Noah – in that whole family line list – Noah was probably the only man in his family and beyond – his present generation – Noah was the only righteous and blameless man in his family – maybe on the whole the planet.

Imagine – if you were the only righteous man – or woman – in your family or your place of work or in your home or school or community or the nation – the greater La Habra metroplex.  What would that be like?

Description number two is of future generations.

Which is probably why Noah’s sons are listed here – subsequent generations that are preserved along with Noah.  Noah’s boys and their wives – anticipating generations of people who will descend from Noah.

It doesn’t mean they were righteous.  It just means that God chooses to preserve them. 

Point being that God – after wiping the bowl clean of wicked unrighteous humanity – God is choosing to make a new beginning through Noah.

Future because God in His sovereignty and grace is choosing to do more than just preserving Noah and Noah’s family in His God designed floating box.  God is saving future generations… us. 

Hold onto that.

Moving on to verse 13 and God’s future generations:  And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them.  Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.  Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood.  Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.

This is how you are to make it:  the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.  Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side.  Make it with lower, second, and third decks.

Verse 17: For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven.  Everything that is on the earth shall die.  But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

We’re told again that the earth is corrupt in God’s sight and what God chooses to do about it.  Noah is given instructions on how God wants His floating box designed – cubits and gopher wood and floor plans. 

Then in verse 18 God makes a promise about a covenant that He Himself will establish – and who that covenant extends to in contrast to those who will perish when God pours out His wrath.

It’s a covenant God makes with Noah and his future generations – descendants – saved from the wrath of God – saved because they’re with Noah in the ark.

Meaning – where God is going with all this – Noah goes into the ark – not as someone who somehow randomly survives the flood – but favored by God – covenanted with by God – as the image bearer of God – who is the bearer of God’s promise for a new beginning… with God. 

Jumping ahead in Genesis – to just after the flood – to demonstrate the significance of that covenant – in chapter 9 – God puts a what in the sky?

A rainbow – literally a “bow” in the sky.  “Bow” being the same word in Hebrew as in “bow and arrow” – meaning a weapon of war. 

Meaning – as God begins to fulfill His promise to future generations – God demonstrates the reality of that by choosing to lay down His bow and be at peace with man.

Meaning – we need to see ourselves in the description of generations future.

Paul writes, 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.”

The ark is not an ocean liner but a single purpose box that surrounds Noah and family that God uses to save them – bringing them through the wrath of God – into the new life God promises.

The new life that for us that’s realized in Jesus.  Jesus Who – by His work on the cross – surrounds us with His righteousness and saves us from the wrath of God to bring us to safety – to peace with God – to be the family of God – the Church – generations living in new life forever with God.

Turn to the person next to you and tell them: In Christ we’re family… forever.

Let’s go on at verse 19 – God is giving more instructions:  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.  Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.  Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up.  It shall serve as food for you and for them.” 

All these instructions from God are commands. 

You shall make an ark out of gopher wood…

You shall bring two of every sort…

And so on…

Either Noah is going to obey or not.  

Bottom line – verse 22:  Noah did this; he 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 – not whether it fit into Noah’s version of what God should be doing with His corrupt creation. 

He did it despite what people of his generation – some of them family – despite what others probably thought of him.  People who probably thought Noah was a nut case – some kind of religious fanatic – a radical.  People moving in a totally different direction in life than Noah and His family.

Bottom line:  God commanded it and Noah did it.  All of it.

That’s a Godly man by God’s definition.  Noah’s choice to obey isn’t based on an opinion poll.

It’s based on owning up to personal responsibility before God as a man of God accepting what it means to be a man of God doing the things that God has created and called him to do for God’s purposes and God’s glory alone. 

Processing all that for when we head back out there into our world.  Father’s Day 2023.

I want to be clear that our looking at Noah this morning isn’t about laying some kind of guilt trip on us men and telling us to man up and go out there and be a Godly man like Noah. 

Because none of us has what it takes to be that man.

The big picture that we started with was what?

This whole account is about what the sovereign God… chooses to do… by using Noah… as Noah obeys… God.

With that in mind – two take aways from this morning.

First:  Remember this: In Christ you have favor with God – no matter how overwhelming life gets.

God sees us and knows us and because He is gracious to us – He favors us – and calls us into His plan for His creation for His glory.

God gives to each of us an “ark” to build – to live obedient – serving Him in our marriages and families and church and community and wherever He’s called us to be His man in that place. 

No matter how overwhelming that may seem or what comes against you/us we can cling to the reality that God is being gracious to you.

Meaning God will not abandon us/you.  He is with you and God will supply everything we need to do what He has purposed for you to do.

Second:  Remember that: Pressing into God comes first.

Sometimes we men tend to be self-sufficient task orientated.  Just tell me what to do and – forget the instructions – don’t get in my way – and I’ll kill myself trying to do it. 

Noah didn’t begin by building the ark. 

Noah began by walking with God and out of that relationship Noah went on to obey God and build the ark.  As men – all of us – we need to remember that order.

Building an ark begins on our knees surrendering ourselves before God so that He can guide us and 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.

 _________________________

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.