Noah was the tenth and last of the pre-flood patriarchs. His father was Lamech and his grandfather was Methuselah (Genesis 5). When Noah was five hundred years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth (Genesis 5:32).
Noah lived a life of faith (Hebrews 11:7). In Genesis 6:9, he is characterized by three godly expressions. First, he was a “just man.” Second, he was “blameless in his generation,” (RSV) living in a state of moral integrity without fear against the mockery of the wicked. And third, “he walked with God” like his pious ancestor Enoch (Genesis 5:22, 24), who had been translated to heaven only 69 years before Noah’s birth.
The sinful condition of antediluvian man corrupted the whole earth so much so that there was no choice for God but to cleanse the world by annihilating the human race (save for Noah’s family). God declared His plan to Noah (Genesis 5:11-13), but He wished first to give men the opportunity to repent for He does not want to take action before men have been warned properly (Amos 3:7).
So, the Lord commissioned His prophet to be a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) and warn the world of the coming destruction. And the Lord instructed His servant to build an ark to accommodate all those that would want to escape this judgement (Genesis 6:14-16). Noah did everything God had asked him to do without hesitancy.
By his preaching, Noah “condemned the world” (Hebrews 11:7). Sadly, the human race did not heed His warnings. For 120 years, God was long-suffering beyond measure and endured the evil (1 Peter 3:20). Finally, the Lord sent the flood and destroyed the wicked but saved Noah, his family and the animals.
After the flood, God blessed His prophet and his sons and said unto them, “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 9:1). And He made a covenant with them that, “the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh” and gave the rainbow as the visible sign of that covenant (v. 15,16).
Noah died 350 years after the flood at the age of 950. He was the last of the long-lived antediluvian patriarchs. Noah’s life is a noble example for Christians who are now preparing for the final judgement that will soon come upon the world.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
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