As I’m reading in Genesis 6 this morning, things are getting rough . . . the wages of the sin that entered the garden are becoming evident. Men and women living for 700 to 900 years is providing ample time not only to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”, but also to provide enough continuity for a life to get into a lot of trouble. So God “caps” their lives at 120 years (6:3) . . . but it really doesn’t help at all . . . the problem isn’t time, it’s the heart. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually . . . and it grieved Him to His heart” (6:5-6). Time to end the experiment. Sorry to have made them, God says it’s time to “blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth” (6:7). And then comes those glorious words . . . “But Noah . . . ”

“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” (6:8)

Now it’s recorded that Noah was a righteous man . . . that he was blameless in his generation . . . that he walked with God. So, did Noah merit God’s favor? Was God obligated to save Noah because Noah had earned it? I don’t think so. Being 500 plus years old, Noah’s had more than enough time to slip up every so often . . .the fact that he had 3 kids after hitting his 500th birthday is, right there, a recipe for “losing it” once in awhile.

No, I think God’s favor was upon Noah because Noah’s heart was set upon God. That, by faith, Noah sought, as much as lied within him, to walk in a way consistent with what he knew about God even though it was diametrically opposed to his generation. I think the righteousness declared to be Noah’s was the righteousness that comes through faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6) . . . and Noah “became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Heb. 11:7).

So the world is crashing and burning . . . and in its midst is a man. A man who is counted as righteous . . . a man who is deemed to be blameless . . . a man who seeks to walk by faith with his God . . . a man who finds favor with God. While I may have seen evidence of grace implicitly within the first 5 chapters of Genesis, here it is clearly put on display.

God’s righteousness demands an accounting. The lost world of Genesis 6 had no standing to dispute the judgment of a holy God. Had God “called it a game” He would have been entirely justified. But God determined to show not only the just standard of His holiness through His judgment . . . to show not only the terrible power of His wrath through the flood . . . but also to show the wondrous glory of His grace through Noah.

The glory of God is seen in His grace (Ex. 33:18-19). As God’s glory passed before Moses it revealed the mercy and longsuffering of God . . . it declared His goodness and truth . . . it showed God’s determination to solve the sin problem such that He could forgive iniquity and transgression and sin . . . God’s glory is revealed in grace (Ex. 34:6-9). And so, “But Noah” is code for the glory of God.

And I could insert my name, as well . . . “But Pete” . . . and there too is the glory of God. I am also an object of His grace . . . living evidence of His mercy and longsuffering . . . a recipient of the forgiveness of sin . . . the old man destroyed as demonstrated through the waters of baptism only to be raised a new creation in Christ.

How I thank God for the word “but.” I thank God that He didn’t give up on the human experiment but that Noah found favor in His eyes . . . that He didn’t “call it a day” with me during my time of arrogant rebellion but that He sent the Good Shepherd to seek this lost sheep. Oh, to find favor in His sight . . . to know the grace of God . . . to behold the glory of God. To Him be all praise!