Genesis 6:9-22 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.… The description of Noah is very similar to that of Enoch, just and perfect in his generation, that is, blameless in his walk before men, which is saying much of one who lived in a time of universal corruption. And he walked with God, i.e. devout and religious, and, from the analogy of the preceding use of the words, we may say, a prophet. He preached righteousness both with lip and life. To this good and great prophet the announcement is made of the coming judgment. "The secret Of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant." The earth is filled with violence through men, and therefore with man must be destroyed. With the message of judgment there is also the message of mercy, as at the first. THE ARK, AN EMBLEM OF SALVATION BY GRACE, AS AFTERWARDS (cf. 1 Peter 3:19-22). The offer of salvation was a trial of faith. God did not himself provide the ark; it was made by the hands of men, of earthly materials, with ordinary earthly measurements and appointments, and prepared as for an ordinary occasion. There was nothing in the visible ark to stumble faith; but, as it was connected with a positive commandment and prophecy, it was a demand on the simple faith of the true child of God, which is of the nature of obedience. We cannot doubt that this Divine message to Noah was the Bible of that time. It appealed to faith as the word of God. And, as in all times, with the written or spoken word there was the unwritten law, the lex non scripta; for we are told that "Noah did according to all that God commanded him, so did he." In this primitive dispensation notice these things: - 1. The righteousness of God is the foundation. 2. The accordance of the world with God's heart, as at once commanding righteousness and hating violence, is the condition of its preservation. 3. The mercy of God is connected with his special revelations in and by the men who have found grace in his sight. 4. The provisions of redemption are embodied in an ark, which is the symbol of Divine ordinances and the associated life of believers. 5. The salvation of man is the real end and aim of all judgments. 6. With the redeemed human race there is a redeemed earth - creatures kept alive in the ark to commence, with the family of God, a new life. 7. While we must not push the symbology of the Flood too far, still it is impossible to overlook the figure which the Apostle Peter saw in the ark floating on the waters - the Church of Christ as washed by the Holy Ghost in those waters, which represent not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God. - R. Parallel Verses KJV: These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. |
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