January 4, 2026 - Genesis 6-9

In the midst of all the evil – “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (6:5) – there was Noah:  “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD” (6:8) because “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation.  Noah walked with God” (6:9).  After the flood, “God blessed Noah and his sons” (9:1).  Of course, Noah was not a perfect man.  After God had delivered him and his family and had entered into covenant with him and caused the ground to be fertile beneath his feet, Noah planted a vineyard, got drunk, and lay around naked.  Disgusting!  Still, the writer of Hebrews tells us, “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.  By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Hebrews 11:7).  Two thoughts, this morning:  1) Even when all others are wrong, we must stand for what is right even if alone, and 2) God blesses us, not because of our perfect righteousness but because of the perfect righteousness of another; with Noah, we are heirs of the righteousness that comes by faith!  And by faith, we wait for all that will be revealed to us.

Oh, what their joy and their glory must be,

those endless Sabbaths the blessed ones see!

Crowns for the valiant, to weary ones rest;

God shall be all, and in all, ever blest.

In new Jerusalem joy shall be found,

blessings of peace shall forever abound;

wish and fulfillment are not severed there,

nor the things prayed for come short of the pray’r.   --Peter Abelard (11^th century)