But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord

The context of this morning’s quote from Genesis 6:8, is that because of the wickedness of man, and that “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” God was determined to destroy, not only mankind, but also the whole of the animal kingdom. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And Noah is a prototype, even before Abraham, of salvation through obedient faith. We read that it was through being moved by his godly fear to obedience, that he became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. There is not a trace here, of the so-called hyper grace that is disconnected from godly fear, holiness and obedience (see Hebrews 11:17; 2 Peter 2:15).

So then we see here in this first mention of grace, that it is undeserved favour, for Noah was surely included in God’s assessment of man. We also see that faith is much more than intellectual belief in the existence of God, it is something that moves a person to obedience to Him who cannot be seen (Hebrews 11:7 again). Furthermore, we see that God is interested in the salvation not only of the individual, but also of families. It is interesting to note that it was only Noah who is said to have found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Nothing is said about the other seven souls who were saved (1 Peter 3:20)

Recall that while pain and suffering and difficulties were part of the curse, the earth itself was included (Genesis 3:16-19). I remember being somewhat surprised to learn that after the revival in Pond Inlet, the berries and the caribou came back. Perhaps I should not have been, because “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21). What I am seeing here, is that while the church needed to be in the “ark” for a while, it was never intended to stay there. In fact ultimately bringing the kingdom, the rule of God to earth as it is in heaven, is not just about the individual, it’s not just about the family, it’s not even just about the community. No, it is about the transformation of society, of towns of cities and of nations, and in end of creation itself. It is His desire that the whole world find grace in His eyes.

Lord Jesus, when You came You told us “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mark 1:15), meaning I believe that it is here, but not yet here in its fullness. I need to repent this morning Lord for myself, and for a large part of the church that for too long, has been concerned only about itself, and not about society. It was distressed to learn that research has shown that where the church is not concerned about the transformation of its cities, the more the church thrives, the worse the surrounding city becomes. Thank You Lord for the glimpses that You are giving of cases where the church is truly taking its mandate to heart, and cities and even nations are being transformed. And so I pray the prayer this morning Lord that I know is according to your will. I pray kingdom of God come, will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven in Your lovely and precious Name Lord Jesus Amen