Noah: Finding Favor in the Eyes of God

By Brian Mitchell       “5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” - (Genesis 6:5-8). Sounds pretty familiar doesn’t it, at least the first part?     It is pretty difficult to read these words and not see that the societal circumstances described in the days of Noah bear a striking similarity to the times in which we find ourselves living. In fact, Paul writes thousands of years later about a time when circumstances would be similar to those described in the days of Noah—2 Tim.3:1-5. The point is simple and that is that there have always been evil and wicked men among us, and it has always displeased God. In fact, it was those circumstances described in Genesis that led God to destroy the world which He had created with the Great Flood.     Can a man live right in times such as these? Given the times we live in, it would be understandable to ask whether or not one could really live a life that is pleasing to God, in the midst of such sin and perversion. We know that we are supposed to—Tit.2:11-12. But can it really be done and if so how? The answer of course is yes. Even in Gen.6, when God was pronouncing judgment upon the world He had made and preparing to destroy it with the flood, there are some encouraging words to be found about one man.     A man, that in spite of his circumstances, managed to live righteously in the eyes of God; a man named Noah—Gen.6:8. Thus, Noah serves as an example of the fact that men can still be pleasing to God, even if they live in a world where “every intent of the thoughts of men’s heart are continually evil.” Why Noah? Why did Noah find favor in the eyes of God? What did he do and how did he live? What lessons can we take from this story that will be helpful for us in attempting to do the same? These are the questions we will be seeking to answer in our lesson today.     God does not desire that any man be lost. But he does requires that to avoid it we come to repentance and seek after His will. When we do, we will find exactly what Noah and his family found—Favor in the eyes of the Lord. Have you found favor in the eyes of God yet? If you have then remember these words, “Be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”

- Brian Mitchell served as a minister with the Jackson Church of Christ in Jackson, MO. Please visit the congregation's website at https://www.jacksonchurchofchrist.net