Ep. 71 | Response to Grace | Genesis

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring Genesis 6:9-22. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

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Transcript

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Every story has a beginning. And if you don't understand the beginning, you'll likely misunderstand everything that follows. Welcome to Formed by the Word. Currently, we're going back to the very beginning as we look together at the first 11 chapters of Genesis. These chapters explain our world, our struggles, and much about ourselves. We'll see beauty and brokenness, purpose and pride, judgment and grace. We'll watch humanity fall and see that God already had a plan to restore his relationship with us. The Bible doesn't start with a problem, it starts with a perfect God, and that changes everything. So, wherever you're listening, whether you're driving, working out, or just scrolling for something meaningful, lean in, open your heart, because the God who spoke in the beginning is still speaking today.

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Real grace changes the way we respond. In Genesis chapter 6, Noah did not earn God's grace, right? Scripture says he found favor in the eyes of the Lord. But that grace produced a certain response. Noah made a decision that he was going to obey God. So he built when no one else believed. He built an ark when no one else even knew what that was. He trusted God even when the world mocked him. And notice that this grace did not make obedience unnecessary. Grace made obedience possible. I'm afraid sometimes we think grace is the end when really it's only the beginning. Grace is God's gift to us, but genuine grace always calls for us to respond. When someone rescues your life, you listen differently. When somebody saves your child, you never forget it, right? When someone shows you mercy you do not deserve, gratitude changes the way you live. Genesis chapter 6, verses 9 through 22 is where we find ourselves now. And this is not ultimately a story about a man building a boat, although that's the way it's categorized in your Bible. It's the story really of a gracious God providing salvation in the midst of judgment. Noah obeyed because Noah believed God, trusted God, and responded to the grace that he had received. Well, the same is true for us, really. Obedience is not a way to earn God's favor. It's evidence that we have received it. Obedience is not the price of grace, it's the response to grace. You see, grace rescues us, and obedience reveals that we trust the one who saved us. Now, most of us have probably heard the story of Noah. His story's been read to children at bedtime for many, many years. We've learned about this ark that he built through the Bible, through flannograms and through vegetables, better known as vegetales. But in all of this, I'm concerned that we may have missed some of the message of the Ark. So for the next several days, if you'll join me, I'd like to spend them looking at verses 9 through 22, looking carefully at the plans for the Ark. Now, I'm going to give you kind of an overview today, and then we'll look a little bit more closely at several things in the coming episodes. Now, there are at least four key observations in these scriptures, so let me share them with you. The first thing we notice is Noah's character. In verses 9 and 10, we read this. This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on the earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. Noah was the father of three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Well, Noah is described here with three powerful phrases. Talk about a different kind of character. The Bible describes him, first of all, as being righteous. That means to be just in a right relationship with God. Not perfect, but just. He's described as blameless in his generation. Now, again, it's not talking about perfection, but it is speaking that he is morally upright, even in the midst of a crooked culture. And then finally it says he walked with God, the same intimate fellowship that Enoch enjoyed. Again, it's not sinless perfection, but it is a life of faith and obedience that really set him apart, Noah's character. Second, we note God's assessment of the world, verses 11 through 13, it reads like this. Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. So God said to Noah, I've decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth. Wow. God sees clearly what humanity refuses to acknowledge. You see, God saw what the world had become. Corruption was total, that is, all flesh, and violence had filled the earth. We see here that God's judgment is not arbitrary. It is a righteous response to an unrepentant, evil, wicked world. Even in pronouncing destruction, though, God reveals his plan to Noah. So the third observation is God's instructions and covenant. Look at verses 14 through 21. Here's what he says to Noah. He says, Build a large boat from cypress wood. Now, different versions call it different things. Some call it gopher wood, some will call it acacia wood. The NLT that I'm reading from calls it cypress wood. Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. Make the boat four, listen to this, four hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty five feet high. Leave an eighteen inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat, lower, middle, and upper. Look, I'm about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breeds. Everything on earth will die, but I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring a pair of every kind of animal, a male and a female, into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Pairs of every kind of bird and every kind of animal and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground. They will all come to you to be kept alive, and be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals. That's a lot. We'll look at that more closely in coming episodes. But let's summarize it this way. So here we see that the ark is a massive vessel intended for the salvation of Noah and his family. God doesn't ask Noah to design it, he provides the blueprint for him to build it. The dimensions again, 450 by 75 by 45. All these are speaking of God's careful and bountiful provision. And then notice God promises a covenant. It's the first use of that word in Scripture. Very important word and concept that we'll see throughout the scriptures. So God promises a covenant which includes Noah's family and ensures the preservation of these animals as well. And then finally, the fourth observation, very important. We'll spend a whole episode on this one. Verse 22. Noah did all that God commanded him. Wow. So we come to the climax of the paragraph, and notice there's no debate, there's no delay, there's no shortcuts offered. Noah simply obeyed God. He did all that God had commanded him. His obedience flows from his walk with God and becomes the means by which God will preserve his creation. Now it's important to note that this section portrays the flood not primarily as destruction, but as God's commitment to judge evil while preserving life and making a new beginning through grace. So here we had another gospel in Genesis moment. Watch this. God's grace chose Noah, and God's grace chooses us. Ephesians 1 4 says, For he chose us in him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in love before him. You see, God's grace chooses us just like it chose Noah. That's the gospel. Second, notice that Noah's obedience revealed his faith, even as our obedience is a revelation of our faith. James chapter 2 says, in the same way, faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself. But some of them will say, You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. You see, the gospel demands our works. It demands a response. So the ark became evidence that grace had changed Noah, and our works are evidence of the change that grace has brought in our lives. Well, quick application here that I think might help us. In a world that is increasingly mirroring corruption of the Noah's day, in a world filled today with violence, moral decay, and rejection of God, the question I ask myself is, am I faithfully walking with God as Noah did? Noah didn't have a large support system, by the way, or cultural approval. He simply walked with God and obeyed his word no matter the cost. And this leads me to an important question. When God gives clear instructions through his word, do I obey completely or do I negotiate and delay? Am I building an ark of faithfulness in my home and my family that would shelter others in coming storms? Well, let me leave you with this takeaway and we'll revisit parts of this text next time. The takeaway I've given is this Obedience is not the price of grace, it is the response to grace. Let me say it again. Obedience is not the price of grace, it is the response to grace. The very same God who provided detailed plans and preservation for Noah is sovereign over the storms in your life. Walk with him one obedient step at a time and watch him preserve what matters most. Let's pray. Lord, in a world filled with corruption and violence, I want to find favor in your eyes through faith in Christ. Make me righteous, blameless, and faithful like Noah. I'm dependent upon your grace. Teach me to walk with you daily, to hear your voice amid the noise of this world, and to obey fully whatever you command, no matter how big the task or how alone it makes me feel. Thank you for your covenant mercy that saves not only me but my household and points to the greater ark, Jesus Christ, who rescues us from judgment. Amen and amen.

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Thanks for joining us today. We are so glad that you chose to spend a few moments with us in God's Word. If this episode has encouraged you, we ask that you leave us a review or maybe share this episode with a friend. Also, would you consider sending us a note to let us know what God is doing in your life? Pastor Eddie would love to hear from you. You can find this email in the show notes. Until next time, stay in the scriptures, keep following Christ, and allow your life to be formed by the Word.