by Erik Jones

Yesterday’s Daily Bible Verse Blog post covered the reason Noah was chosen to be saved from the Flood—because he found grace with God. God specifically looked down on Noah and showed him favor and kindness. But was that favor shown to Noah randomly? What was the reason Noah was given this favor?

This verse is the key—Noah lived a way of life that set him apart from the society around him. Out of the population that inhabited the world in this time period, only one man and his family were chosen to be saved and used to rebuild humanity. We are told that Noah was:

• “A just man.” The Hebrew word translated “just” is often translated “righteous” throughout the Old Testament. The word essentially means “just, lawful, righteous” (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon). Since righteousness is defined by obedience to God’s law (Psalm 119:172), Noah was a man defined by his faithful obedience to God’s law. God’s laws were in force long before they were written on stone tablets and given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Noah is also called “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), implying that he proclaimed God’s standard of living to the “world of the ungodly” that surrounded him.
• “Perfect in his generations.” Noah stood out as a man of complete integrity and character among the generation (or contemporaries) that surrounded him. 
• “Walked with God.” Noah’s conduct and direction in life was in accord with God’s way of life (Deuteronomy 5:33).

The way of life that Noah lived was why he “found grace” in God’s eyes (Genesis 6:8). God gives favor to those who live a life characterized by justness, integrity and right conduct (Isaiah 55:7; Acts 5:32).

The story of Noah has another implication for true Christians today—we, too, are expected to stand out from those around us: “Come out from among them and be separate” (2 Corinthians 6:17). Like Noah, we are to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). Living a life of obedience to God’s law is also the way we (like Noah) can “be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass” (Luke 21:36).

To learn more about how God’s end-time people will be protected from the destruction prophesied to come on this world, read about the “Place of Safety.”

Tomorrow on the Daily Bible Verse Blog: “God Will Preserve You.”