Following Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the Garden of Eden, their sin impacted all of God’s creation. Man, beast, and the earth itself. Everything is now sick with sin. 

After their exile from the garden and separation from the Tree of Life, two sons were born. Cain killed his brother in a jealous rage. Behind the physical realm, a spiritual war broke out everywhere, in everything and everyone. Because of it all, God decided to start all over, wipe the slate clean, and begin again with one man and his family. That man’s name was Noah. 

Among all of the people at the time, Noah alone was righteous in God’s eyes. Noah was not a perfect man. He sinned just like you and me. But Noah followed the One God, not the demonic forces aligned with Satan. His belief in God was credited to Noah as righteousness. 

Read Genesis 4-9.
Take your time. Think about what you are discovering. 

One Man’s Legacy

For nearly 100 years, Noah and his family worked to build the ark. The ark was the vehicle God used to keep the woman’s seed (See Genesis 3:15) safe for a future time. While almost everyone died in the flood, through Noah’s faith, humanity as a whole was delivered from the consequences of global wickedness.

Imagine for a minute what was going on in the minds of Noah and his family. The ark was lifted off the earth by rising water. Outside, the panic was spreading as everyone’s death became imminently apparent. Men, women, boys, and girls. Every creature outside the ark died.  

Put yourself in the story. Discuss this question with your family. In Noah’s place, what would you have been thinking?    

Reality Check

It rained for forty days and forty nights, just like God said it would. What He says can always be depended upon. The family of eight lived inside the ark for about a year. During that time, the sun came out and began to dry up the waters covering the land. When it was safe to exit the ark, Noah’s family built an altar and worshipped God with sacrifices.

Looking down from heaven, the Lord painted a rainbow in the sky. Then He said:

It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. – Genesis 9:14-15    

God made an “I will” statement. This covenantal agreement is unconditional. That means God alone is responsible for keeping His promise. It is not dependant on anyone else for anything. He shared His “I will” promise with all of humanity for all time. By this, God has made Himself accountable to you and me!

It is important to note what God has said He wouldn’t do. It is equally important to understand what He did not say. This is a sobering thought in our time when so many do not believe God nor obey His commands. 

Genealogies 

The records of family lines are vital to anyone seeking to understand the Bible. Take a few minutes and reread Genesis 5. This chapter opens with the words:

This is the book of the generations of Adam. – Genesis 5:1

The Hebrew word for “generations” is toldot. Eleven different times in the book of Genesis, tolddot is used to record a divinely driven family line of significant importance. Using this genealogy that contains the names of fathers and sons along with their ages, it is possible to construct a timeline from Adam to Noah. Adam lived for 930 years. He lived through every generation until the time of Noah’s father, Lamech. This timeline reveals that Lamech was 56 years old when Adam died. 

Think about it. God wanted us to know that there was reliable first-person testimony covering the 930 years from Adam to Noah’s father. Lamech made sure Noah knew who God was and what he had done. He told the story of his family to all who would listen. There weren’t many. Noah made sure we hear this story too!

Are you listening?