All right, here's a great passage,
Genesis 6, 1 through 8, for our admonition today. Verse 8 principally
will be our leading text. to multiply on the face of the
earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God
saw the daughters of men, that they were fair. And they took
them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My
spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he is also
flesh. Yet his days shall be an hundred,
and 20 years. There were giants in the earth
in those days. And also after that, when the
sons of God came in under the daughters of men and bare to
them, the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of
renown. And God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth. and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that
he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord God said, I will
destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both
man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air,
for it repenteth me that I have made them." Look at verse 8. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. I will destroy man from the face
of the earth, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This is a wonderful passage of
scripture. There are several things here
for our learning and for our admonition that I believe we
can say are first mentioned in scripture in this very text that
we have read from this morning, and which are woven, if we may
say, into the fabric of scripture. One of the most important things
that are mentioned here is that doctrine of saving grace. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. However, before we delve into
that, There are a couple of things here that can prove a stumbling
block and be misunderstood and applied, and indeed they have
been by many over the years of time. Some have sought to glamorize
and to sensationalize parts of this passage that we read. For
example, if you look again at the second verse, at some sort
of intermarriage that is mentioned here that took place between
the so-called sons of God and the daughters of men. There are some that hold that
these sons of God were angels, perhaps fallen or otherwise,
that cohabited with women, and they might base that upon texts
like those found Job chapter 1 and verse 6 and chapter 2 and
verse 1. Most likely the sons of God here
were Sethides who had been allured by the beauty and of the women
from the line of Cain and his family and married them principally
or mostly for their beauty. Now the other difficulty that
we might encounter here is a part of that text in verse 6 and in
verse 7 that speaks of God repenting of having made man. Stephen Charnock,
a very wise expositor, had said, when God speaks of repenting
that he had made man, quote, it is a word suited to our capacity
in order to signify his detestation of sin and his resolution to
punish it," unquote. Now, he repents not as men repent. The repentance of God is not
like that of men, Numbers chapter 23 and verse 19, and 1 Samuel
chapter 15 and verse 29, where the repentance of God is more clearly explained. His repentance, I repeat, is
not like ours. So to properly understand and
appreciate our text, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. we must consider the background,
we must consider the backdrop against which this is declared
in the scripture, especially since verse 8 opens with a conjunctive
but, which when used as a conjunctive, expresses a contrast of some
sort, such as if it might be said, He once was poor, but now
he is wealthy. Or as the songwriter said, I
once was blind, but now I see. And the conjunction connects
words and phrases that it might make a flow and a continuity
of the thought. So in the case of Noah, we can
see both the connection and the contrast very clearly set out
in this passage The scripture it is a contrast to what is said
in verses 1 through 7 and particularly in verses 5 through 7 I would
like to look at them again verse 5 God saw the wickedness of man
that it was great and that every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil continually. Man was overcome and eat up with
the power of depravity. Verse six again, it repented
the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him
at his heart. And again, verse seven, and the
Lord God said, I will destroy man whom I have created from
the face of the earth. both man and beast, the creeping
thing, the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have
made them." Now these are inserted here to describe the intent and
the extent of the wickedness of that generation. Needless
to say, this wickedness, this sin was very great, was a stench
in the nostril of Almighty God. Their whole imagination, the
text said, their desires, their purposes, and all of their motive
was constantly evil. Every day, says the writer, all
of the time. Their evil imagination were new
every morning as they fashioned them up on their bed. Their evil
intention and their desire and their wicked imagination Never
fail them, for they were full to capacity of these things that
are described." Now, we see a fuller description of that generation
if we drop down to verse 11 and 12 of our same chapter. the earth also was corrupt before
God and the earth was filled with violence and God looked
upon the earth and behold it was corrupt for all flesh had
corrupted his way upon the earth. The earth was corrupt before
God, it was filled with violence. Now I don't think we need to
understand that of the actual material earth itself, but of
the people, all flesh, hath corrupted its way. The ones described in
verse four, distinguished sinner, noted for their sin, famous for
their iniquity and practicing it every day. Now the word giants
here in verse four, by some are rendered by the Hebrew word naphthalim,
which can be understood, I understand, to mean fallen one. There were
fallen one great in their sin verse 12 all Flesh had corrupted
his way upon the earth and the Apostle Peter referred to that
generation as the world of the ungodly and you'll find that
in 2nd Peter chapter 2 and verse 5 he destroyed he brought the
world the flood in upon the world of the ungodly not only that
But the Lord made reference to what he called the coming of
the Son of Man, which could be illustrated by that generation
upon which the flood came and destroyed all but eight in the
family of Noah. He mentioned that in the Gospel
of Matthew chapter 24 verse 37 through verse 39. He spoke of
an event that would occur suddenly and unexpectedly. Peter calls
Noah a preacher of righteousness. Noah the eighth, a preacher of
righteousness. And according to the command
and the revelation of God unto him, he was building an ark in
preparation for the saving of his house out of the flood of
water that God would send upon the earth. But his fellow citizen,
If I may quote the Lord in that passage in Matthew 24 37 through
verse 38 as in the days of Noah before the flood they were eating
they were drinking they were marrying they were giving in
marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and they
knew not that Until the flood came and took them all away. None saved except Noah and his
wife and their family. Safe in the ark, by the way,
a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go back to Genesis chapter
6 and our text. God's judgment was to be poured
out upon a sinful generation and all life with the exception
of Noah and his family would be destroyed. All in whom were
the breath of life is the word of God, Genesis 6 and verse 17. And we read against that backdrop,
but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. All the world was
corrupt, was under the condemnation, but Noah was found to be righteous
in that generation and was spared. God repented of making man, but
Noah, a man, found grace in the eyes of the Lord and was spared. Man had come to know good and
evil as the serpent promised Eve that that would be an advancement. But God, but Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord and in his sight. I agree with Calvin
at Genesis chapter 6 and verse 8, that it is wrong to think
that if one finds grace in God's sight, it is because they have
sought it or gained it by their merit or by their own industry. Grace by its very nature is free
and unmerited. Nothing that a man does brings
him the grace of God. Grace by its very nature must
remain free and unmerited, and by that same rule, it is a sovereign
bestowal upon whom God will. It is never bestowed upon a sinner
by God as a result of anything meritorious by that sinner, or
in that sinner, the sinner, as God does not trade favors with
sinners. God does not trade favor. If
you'll do this, I will do that in the way of grace. Grace is
never given to repay any work, any obedience, or any sacrifice
that the sinner might make. For then it would not be grace
by Paul's definition in Romans chapter 11 and verse 6. Grace is no more grace if at
all works are entered made apart. Now this text that we've read
is in several ways profitable for our learning. First of all,
upon the principle that we call first mention. There is that
principle in studying the scripture of the principle of first mention. That is the first time that that
something is mentioned in the scripture. The first time that
we find something that is written up in the scripture. And it is
not in the New Testament, but in the sixth chapter of this
first book that we have the principle of first mention. And that principle
of first mention is the doctrine of saving grace. This is the
first time that the word grace appears in our scripture. Now so many doctrines that are
precious in the New Testament are simply the development and
have their roots in the Old Testament, such as grace in Noah, justification
and faith in Abraham, righteousness, the doctrine of suretyship, as
well as firstborn and firstfruits, all of that have their roots
in the Old Testament with spiritual application in the New Testament. Now, from our text here, we learn
that grace is an Old Testament doctrine as well. Some believe
that it was all law in the Old Testament. Grace came only in
the New Testament. During the law and after the
law, there were those that enjoyed the grace of God. True, it's
more manifest in the appearing of Christ and the preaching of
the gospel. But while the careful reader
may also notice that the Old Testament more emphasizes the
mercy of God and the New Testament emphasizes the grace of God,
still there was grace in the Old Testament. Noah found grace. Moses found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. And we might notice, especially
in the Old Testament, that scripture speaks of a double sort of the
finding of grace. And for example, one may like
Noah find that grace in the eyes of the Lord, in the eyes of God. That God look upon a man and
he bestow grace upon him. But secondly, we find it also
rather common in the Old Testament that a man may find grace in
the eyes of another. One person may find grace in
another's eye, And therefore, in both cases, to find grace,
whether from God or from a superior, those people then are treated
differently when they find grace. They're greatly blessed. They're
greatly cared for, whether by God or by a superior. They are highly favored in the
eyes of their sovereign. They are exalted. They are blessed. They are protected. and they
are put in a special and a blessed place. So let us consider the
latter case first, when one finds grace or favor in the eyes of
another. I think one of the best examples
of that is the case of the good man Joseph in the book of Genesis,
who after being sold into slavery, who after being bought and brought
into the house of Potiphar, then in Genesis chapter 39 and verse
4, and Joseph found grace in the sight, that is, in the sight
of Potiphar, who then made him, bringing him out of prison, the
overseer of his house, and made Joseph to be the steward of all
that he had in his house and all of his affairs. Again, when
Joseph was cast in the prison, in Genesis 39, 21, the Lord was
with Joseph, showed him mercy, gave him favor in the sight of
the keeper of the prison, and made all that he did to prosper. Everything that Joseph did or
advised, God made it to prosper. Then you have that great passage
in Exodus chapter 33 verse 12 through verse 17. There is the
case of Moses who found grace in the sight
of God to deliver the people and to go with him that God had
indeed sent him and would give unto him rest. Let's not forget
Ruth in that great book of Providence, a Gentile stranger and convert
who found grace in the sight of Boaz who was the one who could
redeem her. You'll find that in Ruth chapter
2 and verse 2 and verse 10. And finding such favor in the
eyes of Boaz, she became his wife and entered into the lineage
of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are others who we do not
have time to speak of except to make this point. In the Old
Testament, the words favor and the words grace are most often
used interchangeably and synonymous many times and many places, being
the same word for to show grace is to show favor, and to show
favor is to show grace. and to be gracious, and to treat
one graciously, to bestow some honor, some goodness, and some
blessing upon an individual. And in the case of Noah, he was
saved and his wife and his sons and their wife from the destruction
from the flood by the grace of God that distinguished him from
the other sinner in that generation and shielded him from God's wrath
upon that apostate generation that God destroyed every one
of them outside of the confine and the safety of the ark. He gave Noah grace. He extended
unto this man favor, revealing unto him and providing for him
a means of escape. The ark, a type of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He shielded him from the great
death and from the flood. and lifted him above the destroying
waters of the earth. Let us, like Moses, turn aside
temporarily and behold this great and terrible sight, that is the
flood of water. which the Bible teaches was both
literal and worldwide. It was a literal flood and it
was universal. To deny the flood is to deny
the word of our God. The flood is acknowledged by
both the Old Testament and the New Testament writer as being
a literal flood and as being worldwide. But the flood came
not to destroy everything in which there was the breath of
life until Noah and his family were safely gathered inside the
ark. The fountains of the deep were
broken up. The windows of heaven were opened
wider than ever. Genesis 7, 11. And the scripture
said that it rained continuously for 40 days and 40 nights. No, it was not the result of
global warming, had nothing to do with carbon emissions or carbon
footprints, not at all. It was the means that God took
in order that he might judge that generation of exceedingly
wicked sinner. It was an expression of the wrath
of God against sin. It was the means of their destruction,
intentional destruction by and from the hand of God. We read
Genesis 6 and 7, I will destroy man. Genesis 6 and 13, the end
of all flesh is come up before me. Genesis 6 and 17, behold,
I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy
all flesh wherein is the breath of life. But Noah found grace. and escape that great and universal
destruction. All outside of the ark died,
just as all that are out of Christ will be destroyed. All inside
of the ark live, just like all of those that are in Christ shall
live. Noah owed his safety and his
deliverance to God's grace. He was spared because God bestowed
his grace upon him. Because of grace he did not die
with the ungodly and did not die the death of the wicked. It was by grace that he was spared
from that awful judgment that God sent. Now, there's another
point that is to be made here in relationship under the grace
of God that was given unto Noah, and that is that God preserved
unto himself by his grace a remnant, a remnant in that generation
and all succeeding generations. Not since Adam and Eve were a
pair and the race had multiplied had its number of inhabitants
been so few and been reduced to eight sold by the flood. Think of all of those that were
there, just eight, only eight, but eight. four men and four
women, as well as a pair of each specimen of animal and of critter. And God kept a remnant in that
time in two senses. Number one, he kept a remnant
as a seed of humanity. for he would not completely destroy
man off of the face of the earth forever. He kept a seed of humanity
to re-people or re-populate the earth. Genesis 9 verse 1. be
fruitful and multiply and since God would no longer destroy all
people upon the face of the earth he instituted capital punishment
for men slayers you see that in Genesis chapter 9 verse 4
and verse 6 and set up a form of of civil government, for he
would not take a personal hand in completely destroying all
mankind ever again. And even when they rebelled and
built that Tower of Babel, God did not destroy them again, but
he dispersed them for their mischief and for their sin. Then secondly,
there was also a remnant according to the election of grace to keep
alive in the world the doctrine of the saving grace of God in
Jesus Christ towards sinners. Noah came off of the ark, He
did build there an altar, and he offered sacrifices that were
well-pleasing unto God, as we read in Genesis chapter 8 and
verse 20 and verse 21. And when Noah offered that sacrifice,
it said, God smelled a sweet offering. And Paul draws on that
Ephesians chapter 5 verse 1 and 2, that he offered himself a
sweet savor of sacrifice unto the Lord God. Grace was not destroyed
and it was not ended by the flood, but a remnant was preserved by
grace. For since the beginning God has
kept a remnant and never letting his worship, never letting his
knowledge die out completely, even in the times of the greatest
apostasy. There were those that God had
reserved unto himself, like the prophet Elijah. He never left
himself without a witness, never left himself without a remnant
in all of the history of the world. There have always been
those vessels of mercy and of grace. And according to his promise,
we believe that there will always be as long as the world standing. Now speaking of remnants, let's
consider some examples of remnants written up in the scripture,
such as I mentioned the prophet Elijah, remember? Having fled
in fear from Jezebel dwelling yonder in a cave remote first
Kings chapter 19 and complaining to God how Israel had forsaken
God's covenant how they had torn down the altars of God how they
had murdered and and ravaged the prophets of God. And Elijah
said, I only am left. Lord, I'm the only one out of
all of these that is left. And God tells him, no, sir prophet,
I have 7,000 that have not bowed their knee on the veil or have
kissed him or had anything to do. You probably remember how
Paul makes reference under this in Romans chapter 11. How Elijah
made intercession to God, and God says, I have reserved a remnant. There's another passage in the
book of Isaiah chapter 1 and verse 9. And the days are dark
in Israel, apostasy is wicked and far advanced. And they were
wicked from head to toe, like spiritual leprosy eating away
their life. And Isaiah said, except the Lord
of hosts had left us a very small remnant. we should have become
as Sodom and as Gomorrah. Then there is Paul's passage
concerning the Jew in his time in Romans 11 and verse 5. He said, Even so, as was true
in Elijah's time, so at this present time there is also a
remnant, that is of Jews, according to the election of grace. Even now, he said, there is a
remnant and it is owing to the election of grace. Now a remnant
is a remainder or a small portion that is left over. We remember
remnants of cloth and remnants of carpet and such like. But
returning to Noah and onto our text and the question, what put
the difference between Noah and the rest of the world? Why God
destroyed the world and spared Noah, the eighth person, a preacher
of righteousness. Why is the whole world destroyed
and Noah is spared the stroke of God's judgment in the flood? Why does he live? and others
die. Why is he kept alive and allowed
to live upon the earth? Why is Noah spared and in such
a unique way an old ark made out of wood? Now the answer,
of course, lies in our text. It is declared right here. He
found grace in the eye of the Lord. But even here, with such
a clear statement concerning Noah, we still have to take the
club of divine truth and scripture and beat back the merit mongers
lest they turn grace into merit in some way. For we read Genesis
6 and verse 9, Noah was a just man and perfect. The margin has
upright in his generation and Noah walked with God. Again we read chapter 7 and verse
1. The Lord said unto Noah, you
have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Now no
question, Noah was a man that walked uprightly walked before
God in the things of God. So the question is this, was
his doing so the cause of him finding grace or was it the result
of him having found the grace of God? Did he walk before God
to gain grace or did he walk before God to because God had
bestowed his grace upon him. The integrity of Noah is the
result of the grace of God. Grace is an influence and a teacher
of righteousness. Titus chapter 2 and verse 11
and 12. Now, there's something interesting
about Noah back in chapter 5 verse 28 and verse 29. that Noah was the son of Laman. And that made him the grandson
of Methuselah from the line of Seth and out of his lineage. So let's hear Genesis chapter
5 and verse 29. And he, that is when he was born,
called his name Noah saying, This shall comfort us concerning
our work, the toil of our hand, because of the ground which the
Lord had to curse. And the margin, you might know,
notes the name Noah is taken to mean rest or comfort. Noah's name meant rest comfort
or consolation. What is said of Noah might have
been intended as a prophecy or at least a fond and cherished
hope in people of that day. That he in some way would be
an instrument of relief as to the earth that the Lord God had
cursed and for the sin of man. Matthew Henry wrote something
interesting, quote, his parents gave him that name with a prospect
of him being more than an ordinary blessing to that or to his generation,
unquote. Did they expect something? Moses, or rather Noah, deliverance
from the curse upon the earth because of Adam's sin. Many things were reflected in
the names that people were particularly given in the Old Testament. Or some mitigation of the severity
of the curse that God had passed upon the earth. So his name means,
this shall comfort us They expected or they desired comfort, and
it pertained to their toil and their labor to gain a living
out of the cursed earth. Now, we wonder, was Lamech sorter
of the mind of Eve, who may have wondered if her firstborn was
the one to bruise the head of the serpent in Genesis chapter
4 and verse 1? Could Lamech have cherished some
hope in regard to his son Noah and the curse that had come upon
the earth? And by the way, the earth is
not as it were before Adam's sin. Some changes have occurred
and scripture very clearly Express expresses it as being under a
curse for man's sake Once destroyed by water now reserved with fire
under judgment 2nd Peter 3 and verse 7 see the first curse Genesis
3 and 17 through 19, and again in chapter 4 and verse 11. Chapter 5 and verse 29, Isaiah
24, 5 and 6, Genesis 8 and 21, and Romans, Paul's great passage, chapter 8, verse 20 through 23. In view of the doctrine of global
warming, it is necessary for the Christian to have a biblical
view of these things that they might understand. And be that
as it may, there is eternal profit in having the grace of God, in
finding grace in the eyes of the Lord. For on account of having
grace, Noah was spared and saved from the destruction of the flood. As 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse
5 said, God spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth. a preacher of righteousness. Noah preaching righteousness
in that day and the preparation of the ark. Now the question
of Abraham comes to our mind as we think about Noah and his
situation. When hearing Abraham heard that
Sodom was to be destroyed and that it was the residence of
his nephew Lot and that it would be destroyed by the perverse
sin practiced in Sodom and in Gomorrah, Abraham asked something
interesting of the Lord. Genesis 18 and verse 23. Will you destroy the righteous
with the wicked? I will destroy Sodom, he told
Abraham. His nephew, whom he loved a lot,
was there. And he said, will you destroy
the righteous with the wicked? Will the same judgment befall
the righteous as befalls the sinner? Now, the wicked and the
ungodly. By grace, God does put a difference
between the two sorts of person. It flooded not till Noah was
safely sealed inside of the ark. Fire and brimstone did not fall
on Sodom until lot was taken out. The Lord put a difference
between the Israelite and the Egyptian. Exodus 11 and verse
7. As to the judgment, as to the
plagues brought upon the land of Egypt, God put a difference
between the Jew and between the Egyptian as the judgment and
the plague. Same between Noah and the exceeding
wickedness of his evil generation. He destroyed them and he saved
or he spared Noah. Grace is more precious than all
of the riches that are in the world. Grace will do more good
to the soul and the life than all the treasure and all the
benefits of the world. For Paul says it clearly, by
grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourself. And
this grace is not only given freely and given sovereignly,
but it is given in Christ Who is full of grace and truth. He has given us grace in Christ
before the world began. 2nd Timothy chapter 1 verse 9
and verse 10. Noah found grace. He was given
grace and spared the destruction of that generation. And I'll
quote Calvin in closing, quote, the commencement of this favor
was gratuitous mercy. Afterwards, the Lord having embraced
Noah retained him under his own hand. lest he should perish with
the rest of the world." Unquote. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. God destroyed that ungodly generation,
an evidence of his wrath and of his attitude towards sin,
but he saved and spared Noah. by giving him grace. He found
grace in the eyes of the Lord. And that's the great difference.
The grace of God. The grace of God unto salvation. Finding grace, being graced through
Christ, is a great blessing and is in fact salvation. Thank God for those who in this
wicked world Though they be few, find grace in the eyes of God,
and it makes all the difference. It separates them, and it distinguishes
them from the rest of the world, the vessels of wrath fitted unto
destruction. Thank God for it.