Righteous Judgement Part 2
Because I said so!
Have you ever said that to someone? I know my parents used to say it to me, and now that I'm a parent, I find myself saying the same thing.
When I tell my son to do something, he turns and looks at me and asks, "Why?" "Because I said so!" is a more than sufficient answer. I didn't invite him into a debate. I didn't invite him into a discussion. I'm his parent, and I've lovingly asked him to do something.
This can be a hard thing for us to grasp at any age. But it's what sets apart those who trust God and can be someone whom God trusts from those who don't trust God, nor does God trust them.
In 2 Peter 2:3-9, Peter highlights four ways God's righteous judgment was poured out. This blog post deals with the second one. The contrast is obvious: men who thought they were great versus Noah, who had found favor with God.
Noah's full story is shared in Genesis 6-9. You can read it there. There is so much rich context to dive into, and there are theological and archaeological truths that expand on the great story of the flood.
But for our purposes, I want to narrow down to one verse and a phrase that echoes throughout.
"This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God." Genesis 6:9 NIV
Noah was righteous, blameless, and walked faithfully with God. No, that is not a low standard at all.
Honestly, when I read that, I just ask, "How?" Noah is living at a time when God says He looked out on the earth and saw that the heart of man was only evil continually. It wasn't like the world was really good and full of good people, and Noah was just outshining them all. The world was wicked, but they were great in their own eyes. The world had defined good on their own terms, and they defined good by what God hated. The world was evil. Noah was in the middle of it. But Noah wasn't like the world.
There was one big difference between Noah and the world. It's found throughout his story, and we first see it in Genesis 6:22, when it says:
"Noah did everything just as God commanded him."
This was the crux. This was why God called Noah righteous and blameless—not because Noah was without failure, but because everything God told Noah to do, he did. Even when it didn't make sense. Even when it was different than what everyone else did. Even when it wasn't popular. Even when he was mocked and ridiculed. Noah just did what God commanded.
When Abraham believed God—a Hebrew phrase meaning he listened and obeyed—God counted it to him as righteousness. When Moses heard the words of God and obeyed them exactly, God called him "My servant," "faithful," and allowed Moses to see His glory. There is an echo all throughout Scripture that God's greatest desire is not your sacrifice but obedience. See 1 Samuel 15:22.
The story of Noah is that when no one else would obey God, Noah did. And not just with easy things. God asked Noah to build a boat where it never rained, to prepare for a flood in a dry land. Genesis tells us that Noah built what God told him to build. 2 Peter references that Noah preached to the people while people mocked him. For 100 years, Noah built a boat in a place without rain, doing just as God had told him.
Noah didn't push back. Noah didn't ask, "How?" Noah trusted that if God told him to do something, God would equip him and empower him to do it. Noah trusted that whatever God said was true, even though he hadn't seen it as a possibility before.
What about you? How do you respond when God tells you what to do? Do you sit around and wait for a sign and ask God why? Or do you trust Him?
There is much to learn from the story of Noah, but the takeaway for today is that God's judgment was poured out on a world that would rather question God than trust Him.
Learn from the story of the flood, from the example of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and the life of Jesus, to do exactly as the Lord has commanded.
Hear Him. Trust Him. Obey Him.
Have you ever said that to someone? I know my parents used to say it to me, and now that I'm a parent, I find myself saying the same thing.
When I tell my son to do something, he turns and looks at me and asks, "Why?" "Because I said so!" is a more than sufficient answer. I didn't invite him into a debate. I didn't invite him into a discussion. I'm his parent, and I've lovingly asked him to do something.
This can be a hard thing for us to grasp at any age. But it's what sets apart those who trust God and can be someone whom God trusts from those who don't trust God, nor does God trust them.
In 2 Peter 2:3-9, Peter highlights four ways God's righteous judgment was poured out. This blog post deals with the second one. The contrast is obvious: men who thought they were great versus Noah, who had found favor with God.
Noah's full story is shared in Genesis 6-9. You can read it there. There is so much rich context to dive into, and there are theological and archaeological truths that expand on the great story of the flood.
But for our purposes, I want to narrow down to one verse and a phrase that echoes throughout.
"This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God." Genesis 6:9 NIV
Noah was righteous, blameless, and walked faithfully with God. No, that is not a low standard at all.
Honestly, when I read that, I just ask, "How?" Noah is living at a time when God says He looked out on the earth and saw that the heart of man was only evil continually. It wasn't like the world was really good and full of good people, and Noah was just outshining them all. The world was wicked, but they were great in their own eyes. The world had defined good on their own terms, and they defined good by what God hated. The world was evil. Noah was in the middle of it. But Noah wasn't like the world.
There was one big difference between Noah and the world. It's found throughout his story, and we first see it in Genesis 6:22, when it says:
"Noah did everything just as God commanded him."
This was the crux. This was why God called Noah righteous and blameless—not because Noah was without failure, but because everything God told Noah to do, he did. Even when it didn't make sense. Even when it was different than what everyone else did. Even when it wasn't popular. Even when he was mocked and ridiculed. Noah just did what God commanded.
When Abraham believed God—a Hebrew phrase meaning he listened and obeyed—God counted it to him as righteousness. When Moses heard the words of God and obeyed them exactly, God called him "My servant," "faithful," and allowed Moses to see His glory. There is an echo all throughout Scripture that God's greatest desire is not your sacrifice but obedience. See 1 Samuel 15:22.
The story of Noah is that when no one else would obey God, Noah did. And not just with easy things. God asked Noah to build a boat where it never rained, to prepare for a flood in a dry land. Genesis tells us that Noah built what God told him to build. 2 Peter references that Noah preached to the people while people mocked him. For 100 years, Noah built a boat in a place without rain, doing just as God had told him.
Noah didn't push back. Noah didn't ask, "How?" Noah trusted that if God told him to do something, God would equip him and empower him to do it. Noah trusted that whatever God said was true, even though he hadn't seen it as a possibility before.
What about you? How do you respond when God tells you what to do? Do you sit around and wait for a sign and ask God why? Or do you trust Him?
There is much to learn from the story of Noah, but the takeaway for today is that God's judgment was poured out on a world that would rather question God than trust Him.
Learn from the story of the flood, from the example of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and the life of Jesus, to do exactly as the Lord has commanded.
Hear Him. Trust Him. Obey Him.
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