Noah - Walking with God

Speaker: Matt Hails

Notes

Flood account - Genesis 6:1 - 9:17.

First question to ask is not why God sent a flood, but why God saved Noah. God planned to wipe out all life on earth because of the extreme evil (Gen 6:3,5 - 6). But he spared enough humans and animals to repopulate the earth, and even promised that he would never again destroy all life (Gen 9:9 - 17). Why? Because one man pleased him (Gen 6:8;7:1).

What's the most noticeable thing about Noah? "He walked with God" (Gen 6:9). His lifestyle of following God, living his way, valuing God and what he says, spending time with him - a relationship with him. Of Enoch also it is said "he walked with God", and he pleased God so much that God took Enoch straight to be with him without dying (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5).

Our top priority must be our relationship with God; our work for God must always take a lower priority.

"In the kingdom of God, those who would build for eternity, must first dig deep" (Geoffrey B. Wilson, "Romans - A Digest of Reformed Comment"). Maintaining and developing our relationship with God requires us to dig deep. Luke 6:47 - 48.

The detailed instructions in Gen 6:13 - 21 show us how Noah took meticulous care to obey God (Gen 6:22; 7:5). He even waited in the ark - when he knew the land was dry - for God's command (Gen 8:14 - 19). We need to take similar care in our obedience to God's commands.

In Gen 9:20 - 27, Noah ferments some wine, gets drunk, lies naked in his tent and then pronounces a curse because of the disrespectful behaviour of one of his sons. Not a high point of Noah's life. This should be a warning to us. We are all vulnerable to temptation. We don't just want to start the Christian life well and do well in the middle, we want to end well. Keep going; finishing well is more important than starting well. I want to be able to say, as Paul said: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Tim 4:7).

Application

Read Genesis 6:5 - 9. What do you think it means by "he walked with God"?

Do you "walk with God"? Describe what it means to you on a day-to-day basis to walk with God. Does it require you to make any sacrifices in terms of your time and energy?

Read Genesis 9:20 - 27. What do you think of Noah's actions?

What things can we do to ensure that we keep going in our faith and so end the Christian life well?

In 2s or 3s: Is there anything you are going to change in your life to help build your relationship with God, or to put you in a better place to keep going strong in your faith until the end? Pray for each other in this.

Posted: 3 May 2009