Finding Favor

 “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

Genesis‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As we look at our world, it’s quite distressing. We see the evils that were committed in the past, along with the ongoing fallout that’s resulted. We see the evils committed all around us today. And these evils, it seems, only grow worse with time.

The same, however, is true as we look at ourselves. As we honestly search our heart and our lives, we find nothing other than sin. And our guilt is abundantly clear.

Considering this, I’m always amazed at the way humanity is described in the sixth chapter of Genesis. We’re told, in verse 5, that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. This tells us that man had nothing good left in him, and the only thing that remained was sin.

It was so bad that God regretted making man on the earth. He was sorry that he’d made man. And he was grieved in his heart.

Yet, although this is true, we’re told that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. He found grace in the eyes of the Lord. He found acceptance in the eyes of the Lord.

He’s described in verse 9 as a righteous man. He’s described to us as a just man. He’s described to us as blameless in his generation. And we’re told that he walked with God. 

That’s quite the description, and it’s quite the contrast with the rest of mankind.  But Noah was not perfect, of course. He was descended from Adam and Eve and, for this reason, shared the same sinful nature that we now bear.

His sin, his imperfection, is made clear to us after the flood, after he and his family came off of the ark. We see in Genesis 9 that he became drunk and immodest, lying naked in his tent. And we see that, as his nakedness was seen and made known, he cursed his son for doing so.

Why, then, did he find favor in the eyes of the Lord? How is he described to us as righteous and blameless? And why did he escape the Lord’s judgment?

We find the answer to this in Hebrews 11. In verse 7, of that chapter, we read: “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.” 

Noah found favor with God because of his faith. He found favor as he believed the Word that God had spoken to him. And, in this way, he became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

His righteousness, you see, is not something that he possessed in himself. It was given to him. It was a gift of God received by faith.

And the same is true of us. We find favor with God and we are declared righteous not by what we do. We find favor with God, and we receive his grace, by faith.