Welcome! Today we kick off our “Broken Vessels” series in earnest. Now most weeks in this series, we focus on a single Old Testament character; some characters will get multiple weeks. But this week is unique in that we are going to look at four, four different major characters of the Bible. Obviously, we cannot talk in depth on each of these people. And as I have studied this week, I realize I could have spent a month on these guys. So let me not waste any time, and start right at the beginning, with Adam.
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Gen. 1:26-27
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Gen. 1:26-27
Well, as I look at the creation account I notice several things – some of these are pretty obvious, but I think it is helpful to state them. First, man is the last thing God creates. On the fifth day, God created the creatures of the air and of the seas, and on the sixth day, after creating all kinds of creatures to dwell on the land, God then creates man.
It seems like in some sense God saved the best for last – the thing made in the image of God, and after that He was finished, and it was good, “very good,” Scripture says. I don’t know if you have thought about it, but God hasn’t created anything since! Even though mankind has become, without exception, “Broken Vessels,” God has not gone on to create Monkey 2.0, or Dolphin 2.0, or Dog 2.0 as a replacement for man. I believe this tells us at least two things: that God didn’t make a mistake with us, and that God’s belief in us and love for us haven’t changed.
Second, only man was made in the image of God. The passage doesn’t say anything else was made in the image of God. Now in general, you have to be careful with “arguments from silence” – just because Scripture doesn’t say something doesn’t necessarily mean it is false. For example, the fact that Scripture doesn’t say it is OK to use computers doesn’t necessarily mean that it is wrong to use computers. Or for a less silly example, the fact that worship in the New Testament doesn’t mention using musical instruments doesn’t necessarily mean that it is wrong for Christians to use musical instruments in worship. (Some people believe this.)
So with that warning being said, I do think that it is safe to say that no other living things on earth were made in the image of God. Nothing in Kingdom Animalia (the animals), Kingdom Plantae (the plants), Kingdom Fungi (things like mushrooms and yeast), Kingdom Protista (things like algae and amoebae), or even Kingdom Eubacteria or Kingdom Archaea (some of the simplest single-celled organisms) were made in the “image of God,” at least, not in the sense that we are (whatever that sense is). As to what, exactly, that means, Scripture doesn’t spell it out for us, and I think we should be careful not to read into passages that use this phrase something that we want to see there but really isn’t.
What we can say is this: among creatures on Earth we are unique, uniquely made in the image of God. I think it is OK to feel special. We are special. And this is further brought out by the fact that we are given dominion over the rest of God’s creation on Earth. The dinosaurs weren’t given dominion over the earth, and neither were the viruses.
This has practical implications. For example, although we should not reject environmentalism as a whole, we should reject any argument that goes along the lines that such and such an animal has as much right to existence as us. Mankind is not the problem; indeed, as God’s appointed caretakers of the planet, mankind is expected to be caretakers, working towards solutions. But we are to do so as ones with authority, with dominion. Although we should be very wary of changing anything, we do have the authority to change things. Because God has made us stewards of our planet, we are responsible for it, and no doubt, He will have us give an account for what we did with it.
Now, whether angels and other heavenly beings are also made in the image of God is beyond me. Scripture does say we are a little “lower” than the angels. An even harder question is why Jesus died for us (to redeem us, to rescue us from our sin, to reconcile us with God) but apparently not for the angels, for whom becoming “fallen” is to face the certainty and apparent irrevocability of eternal judgment. But among Earth-dwellers, we alone are made in the image of God. Given the unlimited glory of God, given the incomparable beauty of God, the perfection of God, this is a big deal, to be made in His image.
Third, God starts Adam without any “baggage.” Adam truly started out life with a blank slate. He didn’t have dysfunctional parents. He didn’t experience abuse, or a lack of love, or some other trauma early in life. Up until the point at which he ate the forbidden fruit, he was truly sinless. And he received wonderful attention from God – truly, God was a perfect parent to him. Listen to this:
The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. – Gen. 2:18-20
Now, I’m not sure exactly what is going on here, but I picture something like watching a baby learning to talk. An elephant walks up, and Adam points and says, “Ga!” I somehow doubt he called it “Loxodonta Africana.” (On the other hand, “Loxodonta” is Latin for “slanting tooth,” so maybe that is close to what he called it!) But my point here is that God spent what we call “quality time” with Adam. And not out of obligation, but out of love. If you have studied much Scripture, you have probably noticed that God likes to name things. Names are very important to Him. Remember that although your parents or other guardians gave you the name you have now, some day in the future God will give every one of us a new name (Rev. 2:17). And so here you see God enjoying this time, allowing Adam to name all the animals for Him! Adam, made in the image of God, was able to participate in this activity dear to God Himself.
But as we know, Adam became a broken vessel. He broke himself, as did Eve, by eating the forbidden fruit. Although both of them tried all kinds of excuses – Adam blamed “the woman” (Gen. 3:12) and God “the woman You put here with me,” and Eve blamed the serpent (Gen. 3:13), God did not accept any of this and instead punished them both.
As I focus on Adam, I have to ask, why did he do it? How could he? I see several “root problems” based on the account in Genesis 3. Adam’s first problem was discontentment. “You will be like God,” is what the serpent said (Gen. 3:5). What should Adam and Eve’s response have been? It should have been a rejection of this argument because God certainly would give them what is best for them. They should have said, “I am content with how I am now, because God is good and He loves me. He gives me only the best.” If you think about it, discontentment is the root cause of so many kinds of sin. The temptation to try illegal drugs, for example, is almost identical to what is described here. Drugs offer an “altered state of consciousness” – perhaps if you use them, you too will be like God.
Closely related to Adam’s discontentment was his selfishness. Selfishness is the opposite of love. Love would have said, “I don’t want the fruit, because my Creator who loves me told me not to take it. Because I love Him, that is enough for me.” And love of Eve would have led to Adam stepping up to prevent Eve from taking the fruit:
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. – Gen. 3:6
He was there when she made the decision. He could have stopped her. If he had truly loved her, he would have done all he could to try to convince her to not break God’s command.
And so Adam (and Eve) are our first broken vessels. Yet, despite this, God used them to begin the multiplication of our race. Note that God didn’t have to do this. He could have turned them back to dust and gone with a new Adam and a new Eve. (Of course, if they were made from the same stuff we are, they likely would have fallen just the same.) We will see again and again in this series how God uses people despite their doing all they seemingly can to stop it.
A last few thoughts about Adam and his experiences with God: Did God have to put that forbidden tree in the garden? No. Why did He do it? Personally, I think it was kind of an “exhibit A” to the universe, to show that man, while being made in the image of God, does not act like it. Only a certain future event (Christ dying on the cross, and then rising from the dead) will change it. With Christ living in them, governing them, and only then, will they be able to live lives without sin, to live lives truly worthy of the image they have been made to imitate.
Continuing on, Genesis 4 tells us that Adam and Eve had sons named Cain and Abel. Our focus is on Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. – Gen. 4:2-5
Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. – Gen. 4:6-8
Now I remember years ago being very confused about these verses. What exactly is wrong with Cain’s sacrifice? Is it that God only accepts blood offerings? Well, if this is so, why doesn’t it say so? Another problem with this theory is that even in the rules for sacrifices instituted at the time of Moses, there was a grain offering in addition to the animal sacrifices.
Now, I believe the answer is in Hebrews 11.
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. – Hebr. 11:4
Abel gave his sacrifice “by faith,” filled with faith. Cain, perhaps, did it more by guilt, or by jealousy, or for hopes of selfish gain. The text isn’t crystal clear on this, but it does say that Abel gives the fat portions of the first born – this is the best of the best. What did Cain give? Some leftovers, perhaps? We don’t know, but Scripture does not use words to describe Cain’s offering that sound like it is the “best of the best.” And Hebrews tells us that, regardless, the core problem is that Cain is not giving by faith.
How did they know that God like Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s? Again, Scripture does not tell us exactly, but given that God is talking with Cain in the following verses, it is safe to say that God either spoke with both of them directly, or something happened to one offering that did not happen to the other.
The important thing to note here is that this made Cain very angry. Why exactly was he angry? I believe it was jealousy. More than this, Cain was angry at Abel because Abel was good, a lover of God, and he was not. Just seeing Abel reminded Cain of his own sin because he saw the contrast between his life and Abel’s.
This kind of thing goes on today. You may find people resent you because of your goodness. The New Testament tells us not to be surprised when we are persecuted because of our faith.
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. – I John 3:11-13
Note that John warns us, believers, against being like Cain. Can we really be like Cain? I doubt we would kill someone, but how do you respond when someone exposes your sin, or weakness? Are you defensive? Do you say, “yeah, but you do ...” and you name some other thing? Or do you avoid certain people because they make you uncomfortable about your sin? John says don’t do this! Love one another. Don’t be like Cain, not even a little bit.
Now, our focus so far has been on Cain, but I really want to focus on Abel. What can we say about him? Well, with the aid of Hebrews 11, we can say that he had a lot of faith, and for this faith, he was… killed. If I can be blunt here, it’s kind of a raw deal, isn’t it? I’m also kind of disturbed by what Eve says when their next son is born: “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Does this new child really replace Abel? Is Abel now just to be forgotten?
Again, Hebrews speaks to this; it says, “And by faith he [Abel] still speaks, even though he is dead.” Was Abel a broken vessel? Sure – we all are, in the sense that we all sin. But in another sense, he was a vessel broken – smashed to pieces by his own evil, faithless brother. And yet, he still speaks. God has used him to witness to us. Abel is perhaps the first martyr. And in a sense martyrs do get a “raw deal,” but their blood speaks powerfully and can compel many to turn to God or to live more wholeheartedly for Him. This is why the Christian church tends to grow at its best when it experiences severe persecution. And if we truly have faith, we will view it as an honor to be used by God in such a powerful way. I do not think Abel has any regrets.
I don’t think we should go out looking for trouble, but I do think we should desire God to speak through us, to use us as He sees fit. And if He sees fit to speak through us by our blood, as God spoke through Abel’s blood, then so be it.
One last thought on Abel – you might wonder about people who are killed for their faith that nobody ever hears about. Is God speaking through their blood? Absolutely! Every bit as much as through someone that the whole world learns about! I say this for two reasons. First, some day, the whole world will learn about it. A day is coming when everything hidden will be made known. You may tend to think of this in terms of the bad things that come to light, but it is just as true that every glorious act, every act of faith, will also be shared. Hebrews 11 will, in effect, become a much longer chapter, thousands upon thousands of pages long. And second, even before this day, remember that everything we do is a testimony to the angels and the demons and the entire hosts of heaven, and even more importantly, to God Himself. We should be gladly willing to die for God just for the audience of God. Indeed, I would say that He really is the only audience that counts.
Now we come to Enoch. Very little is said about him. But the little that is said is quite curious. Enoch is buried in a genealogy in Genesis 5. Every other person listed in this genealogy talks about how long he lived before becoming the father of the next person in the line, how long he lived after that, and it closes with “and then he died.” Every person, that is, except Enoch! Here is what Scripture says about him:
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. – Gen. 5:21-24
Now you might think that this is just a euphemism for dying – God took him away. It might even be made more reasonable to think this because, as it turns out, Enoch lived an awfully short life! 365 years may not seem short to you, but the other people mentioned in Genesis 5 lived 930, 912, 905, 910, 895, 962, 969, and 777 years. Compared to these, 365 years is short!
But again, Hebrews tells us something that makes this much clearer.
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. – Heb. 11:5
Enoch did not experience death! God took Enoch “home” without making him go through the pain of death to do so. This is pretty spectacular. Why did God do this? Let us read the next verse in Hebrews.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. – Hebr. 11:6
Perhaps for the first time you will really understand the context of this verse and what it is saying. Enoch walked with God, and God was so pleased with this relationship of faith that He rewarded Enoch by bringing him into His presence without having to go through death.
And I pray that you will really notice the second half of this verse. So often I tend to forget it and just focus on the first part. Faith is not just believing that God exists. Now some days, for some of you, it may be a battle just to continue to believe that He exists. But it’s not just that He exists. He rewards those who seek after Him. To believe this is to believe in God’s goodness.
Jesus Himself said,
"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for Me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. – Mark 10:29
Do you believe this? Do you believe Jesus? He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Do you believe that if you step out of your comfort zone and share the gospel with someone that Jesus will reward you a hundred times over?
One last thought on Abel – you might wonder about people who are killed for their faith that nobody ever hears about. Is God speaking through their blood? Absolutely! Every bit as much as through someone that the whole world learns about! I say this for two reasons. First, some day, the whole world will learn about it. A day is coming when everything hidden will be made known. You may tend to think of this in terms of the bad things that come to light, but it is just as true that every glorious act, every act of faith, will also be shared. Hebrews 11 will, in effect, become a much longer chapter, thousands upon thousands of pages long. And second, even before this day, remember that everything we do is a testimony to the angels and the demons and the entire hosts of heaven, and even more importantly, to God Himself. We should be gladly willing to die for God just for the audience of God. Indeed, I would say that He really is the only audience that counts.
Now we come to Enoch. Very little is said about him. But the little that is said is quite curious. Enoch is buried in a genealogy in Genesis 5. Every other person listed in this genealogy talks about how long he lived before becoming the father of the next person in the line, how long he lived after that, and it closes with “and then he died.” Every person, that is, except Enoch! Here is what Scripture says about him:
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. – Gen. 5:21-24
Now you might think that this is just a euphemism for dying – God took him away. It might even be made more reasonable to think this because, as it turns out, Enoch lived an awfully short life! 365 years may not seem short to you, but the other people mentioned in Genesis 5 lived 930, 912, 905, 910, 895, 962, 969, and 777 years. Compared to these, 365 years is short!
But again, Hebrews tells us something that makes this much clearer.
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. – Heb. 11:5
Enoch did not experience death! God took Enoch “home” without making him go through the pain of death to do so. This is pretty spectacular. Why did God do this? Let us read the next verse in Hebrews.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. – Hebr. 11:6
Perhaps for the first time you will really understand the context of this verse and what it is saying. Enoch walked with God, and God was so pleased with this relationship of faith that He rewarded Enoch by bringing him into His presence without having to go through death.
And I pray that you will really notice the second half of this verse. So often I tend to forget it and just focus on the first part. Faith is not just believing that God exists. Now some days, for some of you, it may be a battle just to continue to believe that He exists. But it’s not just that He exists. He rewards those who seek after Him. To believe this is to believe in God’s goodness.
Jesus Himself said,
"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for Me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. – Mark 10:29
Do you believe this? Do you believe Jesus? He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Do you believe that if you step out of your comfort zone and share the gospel with someone that Jesus will reward you a hundred times over?
I would be the first to tell you that I do not believe in the prosperity gospel – but that is not what this is saying. What it is saying is that compared to what you lose, what you gain is 100 times better. Now, I don’t think this means you are going to get 100 houses if you lose your home. What would you do with 100 houses anyway? But you will, with absolute certainty, get something 100 times better than that house. The something may be spiritual, or material, or both. But it is 100% real, whatever it is, and the fact that it will be given to you is 100% certain.
When you are thinking about joining us in our next outreach time, keep this in mind. You are not unspiritual to think about rewards! Real faith is believing, like Enoch, that God is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him.
And so this brings us to Noah.
The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. – Gen. 6:5-8
Now some people are bothered by these verses because it seems like God has changed His mind, and yet other verses say that God never changes. I don’t see it this way. God has not changed His mind – He knew this was going to happen. But as He enters into time, into the world and time and space He has made, this is the point at which watching His creation, made in His image, continue to do greater and greater evil to one another has become unbearably painful to Him. Why is it so painful? Not because God hates man, but because He loves man. It is a horrible thought to even contemplate, but if you had to watch one of your children proceed to murder and do other horrible things to your other children, you would rather see this evil child stopped for the sake of your other children. With their long lifespan, man had become unimaginably evil, and mankind had reached the point where for the sake of the very few remaining that were righteous, God had to put an end to the situation.
This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. – Gen. 6:9-10
There is that same phrase used of Enoch – he walked with God. The Spanish says something similar – “via con dios” which is go (or walk) with God. Actually, I read something that says that this phrase is becoming less and less used in Spanish speaking countries, because fewer people are religious. It may be true that the phrase is used less, but it is hard to escape from the sentiment in the saying – “adios” has God in it too, as does the English “Good-bye” which is short for “God be with you.” Here the original meaning was not a hope that God would not abandon you, but that you would not abandon Him.
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. – Gen. 6:11-14
God goes on to describe how to build the ark, and then how the floodwaters will come, but that God would make a covenant with Noah, and would save him and his family by having them come on the ark. God also explained about how they were to bring animals and food on the ark.
Noah did everything just as God commanded him. – Gen. 6:22
What a powerful little verse! Do you understand the enormity of what Noah had to do? Do you realize how much faith it took to spend years building this thing on sunny days? Do you realize, even with the ark, how challenging it had to be to endure the terrible flood? Do you realize how difficult it had to be to start over after the flood with nothing, no house, no civilization, no other people, nothing? But Noah did everything just as God commanded him. These were terrible things to endure, yet there is no sign that Noah doubted God’s goodness or rebelled against God in any way.
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. – Hebrews 11:7
Do you understand what it means that by his faith he condemned the world? It means that his faithfulness, his trust in God while building the ark was a testimony to the corrupt world that it is possible to live by faith and revere God, and in so doing, it was a testimony to the others that what they were doing was indeed evil.
To wrap up today, as I think about Adam, and Cain and Abel, and Enoch, and Noah, I am struck how we can walk with God, like Abel and Enoch and Noah, or we can walk away from God, or hide from God, like Adam did literally after he ate the forbidden fruit, or Cain did when he lied to God and shut him out after killing Abel.
“Where are you, Adam?” “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid… so I hid.” (Gen. 3:10) “Where is your brother Abel, Cain?” “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9)
Which are you going to be like? I am struck by these verses:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. – I Cor. 10:31
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. – Col. 3:23
Do you think this way? To think this way is to walk with God. This goes for going to work, for cooking dinner, for changing a diaper, for leading your family, for balancing your budget, everything! Little prayers throughout the day keep you walking with God. Daily quiet times in the Word and in prayer refocus you for the day at hand. Honesty with God when you sin, and a repentant heart, keep you walking with Him. Trusting God even when He has you endure hard things keeps you walking with Him. Even broken vessels can live by faith.
When you are thinking about joining us in our next outreach time, keep this in mind. You are not unspiritual to think about rewards! Real faith is believing, like Enoch, that God is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him.
And so this brings us to Noah.
The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. – Gen. 6:5-8
Now some people are bothered by these verses because it seems like God has changed His mind, and yet other verses say that God never changes. I don’t see it this way. God has not changed His mind – He knew this was going to happen. But as He enters into time, into the world and time and space He has made, this is the point at which watching His creation, made in His image, continue to do greater and greater evil to one another has become unbearably painful to Him. Why is it so painful? Not because God hates man, but because He loves man. It is a horrible thought to even contemplate, but if you had to watch one of your children proceed to murder and do other horrible things to your other children, you would rather see this evil child stopped for the sake of your other children. With their long lifespan, man had become unimaginably evil, and mankind had reached the point where for the sake of the very few remaining that were righteous, God had to put an end to the situation.
This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. – Gen. 6:9-10
There is that same phrase used of Enoch – he walked with God. The Spanish says something similar – “via con dios” which is go (or walk) with God. Actually, I read something that says that this phrase is becoming less and less used in Spanish speaking countries, because fewer people are religious. It may be true that the phrase is used less, but it is hard to escape from the sentiment in the saying – “adios” has God in it too, as does the English “Good-bye” which is short for “God be with you.” Here the original meaning was not a hope that God would not abandon you, but that you would not abandon Him.
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. – Gen. 6:11-14
God goes on to describe how to build the ark, and then how the floodwaters will come, but that God would make a covenant with Noah, and would save him and his family by having them come on the ark. God also explained about how they were to bring animals and food on the ark.
Noah did everything just as God commanded him. – Gen. 6:22
What a powerful little verse! Do you understand the enormity of what Noah had to do? Do you realize how much faith it took to spend years building this thing on sunny days? Do you realize, even with the ark, how challenging it had to be to endure the terrible flood? Do you realize how difficult it had to be to start over after the flood with nothing, no house, no civilization, no other people, nothing? But Noah did everything just as God commanded him. These were terrible things to endure, yet there is no sign that Noah doubted God’s goodness or rebelled against God in any way.
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. – Hebrews 11:7
Do you understand what it means that by his faith he condemned the world? It means that his faithfulness, his trust in God while building the ark was a testimony to the corrupt world that it is possible to live by faith and revere God, and in so doing, it was a testimony to the others that what they were doing was indeed evil.
To wrap up today, as I think about Adam, and Cain and Abel, and Enoch, and Noah, I am struck how we can walk with God, like Abel and Enoch and Noah, or we can walk away from God, or hide from God, like Adam did literally after he ate the forbidden fruit, or Cain did when he lied to God and shut him out after killing Abel.
“Where are you, Adam?” “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid… so I hid.” (Gen. 3:10) “Where is your brother Abel, Cain?” “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9)
Which are you going to be like? I am struck by these verses:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. – I Cor. 10:31
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. – Col. 3:23
Do you think this way? To think this way is to walk with God. This goes for going to work, for cooking dinner, for changing a diaper, for leading your family, for balancing your budget, everything! Little prayers throughout the day keep you walking with God. Daily quiet times in the Word and in prayer refocus you for the day at hand. Honesty with God when you sin, and a repentant heart, keep you walking with Him. Trusting God even when He has you endure hard things keeps you walking with Him. Even broken vessels can live by faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment