Noah found Favor

 Read Genesis 7

How did Adam and Eve know how to make clothes?

How did Cain and Abel know to make offerings to God?

How did Abel know what would please God?  Or was it a lucky guess?

How did Cain know that there were other people in the world?  He was afraid that someone would kill him if he was sent away. How did he know that there was someone out there?

How did Noah know that it was God talking to him?  The Lord walked with Adam and Eve, but a lot of evil had come into the world and we don’t hear about the Lord out for walks.  How did Noah know that it was God calling him to this impossible task?

How did Noah know the difference between clean and unclean animals?  Sure, there is a list in Leviticus 11, but that was hundreds or years down the road.

We talked before that we might just have more questions than answers during this time of study.  That’s just fine.  It’s often the case in adult education.  The inquisitive adult usually completes a course of study with more questions than answers.

The more we know, the more we hunger to learn more, but we do want some answers.

The answers are:

God created.

He created good.

Mankind sinned.

There were consequences.

Mankind sinned profusely.

God judged the world.

A remnant was saved.  Humankind was worth saving.

We don’t know:

Where Cain’s wife came from.

How Abel knew to make a pleasing offering.

How Noah knew clean from unclean animals.

We do know that Will and Ariel Durant did not write Genesis.  Every detail is not put into writing. We do have what we need.

What do we need for what? To follow the story of God’s relationship with his creation with special attention to humankind. 

I like to study history, especially military history and political history.  I like to see the strategy and tactics of historical battles.  I like to see how our constitution and branches of government came to be and evolved into what they are now. 

My mind is not as sharp as it once was, but there are still political, social, and historical things that pique my interest.  The more I study, the more questions I have.  Sometimes I find answers.

As we study Genesis, we get some very clear answers and we get  some things that are not answered.  The world, including Christians, will speculate.  Be careful not to give theories and speculation—sometimes defined as interpretation—the same credibility as scripture.

Explore, but hold fast only to scripture.  Secular history should be secondary to scripture. It’s good to buttress our understanding of scripture, but should never contradict scripture.

Explore, but trust God over your own understanding. We have talked about this wrestling match.

Explore, but be Berean.  Test what someone has to say against the scriptures.

So where does that leave us in this beginning account of Noah and the flood?

Noah did everything that God commanded him.  Noah—to include his family—found favor with God.  Noah had trusted God through this entire process and now God would save him and his family as a righteous remnant.

God judged the wicked but preserved a righteous remnant.  Surely Noah and his family had all sinned, but somehow Noah had a right relationship with God.

The story of God’s relationship with humankind would continue through Noah.  We are all here today because God’s favor fell upon Noah.

If we don’t remember anything else about the flood, remember that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Keep reading.  There’s a rainbow coming soon.

Amen.