In Genesis 6:5-7 we read of God’s displeasure with the world and its wickedness. However, as God pronounces judgment on the world and prepares to destroy it with a flood, we find encouraging words concerning one man: “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8). This simply means that Noah found favor in God’s sight, and the result of that favor was escape for he and his family from the flood! But why did he find grace in the eyes of the Lord?
1. He was a JUST man (Gen. 6:9). Some translations say “righteous.” In other words, Noah’s life measured up to the God’s standard. He was in a right relationship with Him.
2. He was PERFECT in his generations (Gen. 6:9). Other translations use the word “blameless.” It is important to know that this does not mean he was sinless. Rather, he lived in such a way that no one could make accusation against him.
3. He WALKED with God (Gen. 6:9). This is how he manifested his righteousness and integrity.
4. He DID ALL that the Lord commanded him. This is emphasized twice in the Scriptures (Gen. 6:22; 7:5). We learn from the writer of Hebrews that this obedience of Noah came from faith (Heb. 11:7).
5. He was a PREACHER of righteousness, just as 2 Peter 2:4-5 states that “God did not spare…the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly.”
Notice that Noah not only “lived” a righteous life, but he also “preached” the need for righteousness, even though he lived in a very ungodly world. Certainly, Noah was a peculiar man, and we see WHY he found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Is there a need for us to find grace in the eyes of the Lord today? Absolutely! It is not because we face the threat of a worldwide flood (Gen. 9:8-17), but because we face the promise of the end of the world! (2 Pet. 3:3-14). Peter reminds us that just as the world was once destroyed by water, so it shall be destroyed by fire when Jesus returns! Therefore, when the end of the world comes, we better be in a condition where we find grace in the eyes of the Lord! Otherwise, we will be like those left outside of the ark when the floods came!
-John Garza