Men in the Bible: The Man that Found Grace in the Eyes of God
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. – Genesis 6:8
The bible personality of our spotlight today is Noah, a man said to have found grace in the eyes of God. This appendage to the name of Noah was interesting because, until that time, no one had been so described before. So, it makes one curious to know what he did to have impressed God to the point of hitting grace, the ultimate divine endowment.
Verses prior to and after our reference passage provide us with a rich context of what made God enamored with Noah so. Verses 5-7 of Genesis 6 paint a grim picture of the sociocultural milieu that Noah lived in: ‘Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”’
Reading further down in verses 11-12, the picture was even grimmer: ‘The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.’
This was the reality of Noah’s time. that was the order of the day in the society he had to live in. However, to his credit, Noah was rather different from the lot of the people. Whereas everyone else was corrupt, vile, evil and wicked, he made a different choice, Whereas he was surrounded by vices, he chose to be virtuous. While his friends and relatives thrived on sin, Noah chose the path of righteousness. When everyone else was scheming and taking advantage of each other or the system, Noah was upright and sincere in his own dealings. Little wonder he found grace in the eyes of God. It was so easy to stand out as the shining light in the midst of the pervasive darkness that defined the time.
The Bible describes him as a ‘just man, perfect in his generations’ and someone who ‘walked with God.’ That was the testimony of Noah, which made him a darling to God and His favorite person at that time.
We often hear various admonitions to ‘dare to be different,’ particularly in relation to a good cause. However, as popular as the saying is, and as fluid as it may sound, it is not an easy thing to do. Conformity is far easier and fancier to do than being different from everyone else.
Even the best of us will admit the pressure that choosing a different route brings. Not to mention that the best of us may also be among those mounting pressure on us to conform and do what everyone else is doing, as long as that is okay and does not hurt anyone or violate any fundamentals. And here lies the danger of conformity. It is not everything we are pressured to conform to that is evil or bad in itself. However, that something is okay does not make it expedient for everyone to do.
Noah was different in his days. He was noble, righteous, pure and godly in the midst of a perverse and wicked generation, not minding the pressures he must have contended with daily to let down his guard and be like everyone else. He did not, and that was why he found grace in the eyes of God.
Selah!
Also read:
- Understanding God: God of Product Recall and Fresh Beginnings
- The Ordinance of Firstborn (9): What God Says
- Self-Appraisal
- I Believe…
- Rescued from the Deepest Pits
You can now support the Daily Dew Ministry by clicking here
