Genesis 6-8
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads.
In honor of our dad’s I thought I would share a few
dad jokes about dads.
What did Dad say about the lawn mower race?
“It was cutting-edge competition!”
What do you call a Dad who tells the same joke
twice?
Consistent. Classic. Committed.
Why did Dad get kicked out of the bakery?
He kept telling crumby jokes.
This morning we are going to investigate Noah’s life and
see what kind of father he was.
We will be looking at verses in chapters 6-8 of Genesis.
We aren’t going to read all three chapters, but we will
examine selected verses from all three chapters.
As you are turning to Genesis 6. Let me provide some
context.
Sin entered the world and mankind has become
increasingly wicked.
Genesis 6:5 is the one of the saddest verses in the
Bible. “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.”
Because of this God regretted making man and decided
to blot man from the face of the earth.
Then in verses 11-13 the Scripture tells us the earth was
corrupt in God’s sight and the earth was filled with
violence.
So God told Noah that He was going to destroy the earth.
Genesis 6:8-10 and Genesis 7:1
Noah was a Righteous man
This is the first time the word righteous is used in the
Bible.
We also see Noah’s righteousness mentioned in a few
other places.
Hebrews 11:7; “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.”
2 Peter 2:5; “if he did not spare the ancient world,
but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness,
with seven others, when he brought a flood upon
the world of the ungodly;”
Righteousness describes Noah’s standing before God.
Righteousness isn’t a result of good works, it’s what
happens when we receive God’s grace by faith.
We are made righteous when we confess our sin and ask
Jesus to forgive us.
Noah likely learned about God from his dad, Lemech.
Lemech likely learned about God from his dad,
Methuselah.
Methuselah likely learned about God from his dad, Enoch.
Dads, we must teach our children about God.
Noah was a Blameless man
If righteousness describes our standing before God,
blameless describes our conduct before people.
Blameless doesn’t mean sinless – Jesus is the only one
who never sinned. Blameless means having integrity,
whole, unblemished.
It’s the same word used to describe animals to be used
for sacrifice.
Exodus 12:5; “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a
male a year old.”
Leviticus 1:3; “If his offering is a burnt offering
from the herd, he shall offer a male without
blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the
tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before
the Lord.”
Noah walked with God just like his great grandpa Enoch,
who also walked with God and was not, for God took him.
Just because our relatives are righteous and blameless,
that doesn’t mean that we are going to be righteous too.
It doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t make it a given.
Each person must decide in his own heart if he is going to
accept God’s grace or reject it.
It’s incredible to see Noah described as righteous and
blameless in the midst of all of the corruption and evil in
the world.
Noah not only resisted the pressure to live like the rest of
the world, he faithfully said yes to everything the Lord
asked him to do.
Noah was an Obedient man
Genesis 6:14-22
God gave Noah specific instructions for how to build the
ark, what type of wood, how large.
He also told Noah to bring all the animals into the ark
with him and his family.
God told Noah he was going to make a covenant with him
and keep his family safe from the flood.
Remember, there had not ever been one drop of rain fall
from the sky at this point.
But Noah didn’t argue with God.
Noah didn’t negotiate on the size.
He wasn’t concerned with what everyone else in the
world was doing.
Noah obeyed God. He did everything God commanded.
Genesis 7:1-5
Again Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.
Noah lived out his faith in the midst of an evil and corrupt
generation.
Noah was a Faithful man
Genesis 8:20-22
After God saved Noah and his family from the flood, Noah
built an altar to worship the Lord.
His offering was pleasing to the Lord and the Lord
promised Noah that He would never again destroy the
earth with water.
What a great example of how to walk with the Lord.
As soon as Noah stepped off the boat, he led his family in
worship.
He was showing his gratitude towards God, who chose to
save his family from death and destruction.
APPLICATION
Be Fathers who Point our Children to the Heavenly Father
Deut 6:6-7 ;“And these words that I command you
today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them
diligently to your children, and shall talk of them
when you sit in your house, and when you walk by
the way, and when you lie down, and when you
rise.”
The point is that we are always talking about our
Heavenly father and looking for ways to turn the
conversation to God and spiritual matters.
Dads, we are the spiritual leaders of our house.
God gave us that responsibility. We must not take it
lightly.
Be Fathers that Live our Faith out Despite the Evil around us
Matthew 5:16; “In the same way let your light shine
before others, so that they may see your good
works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.”
A former pastor of mine used to say it’s more caught
than taught.
Teaching is important, but
children learn more from what we do than what we
say.
They notice when we say one thing and do another.
We must be dads that are full of integrity.
We must be righteous and blameless.
We never know who is watching.
Be Fathers that Follow God Obediently
When you sense God speaking to you, share it with your
children. Let them see you being obedient to your
Heavenly Father.
Be Fathers that Guide our Children in Worship
We need to model worship for our kids.
Let them see you pray – better yet, pray with them.
Let them see you study your Bible – better yet, study it
together.
Let them see your give sacrificially – share with them
when you give to special offerings or ministries that bless
others.
Let them see you come to church – better yet, bring them
to church with you.