Hebrews 11:7 describes Noah as an “heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” As an “heir” Noah was continuing what Abel and Enoch had done before him. All three men, therefore, illustrate what “the righteousness that comes by faith” means.
It began with them having faith in two things about God: that he was real, and he was personal (6). And it was purely what faith in those two things did in the lives of all three men that had Abel being “commended as a righteous man” (4), Enoch “being commended as one who pleased God” (5), and “Noah finding favour in the eyes of the Lord” for being “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time” (Genesis 6:8-9).
So, what righteousness did Noah’s faith create? According to Hebrews 11:7, when Noah was “warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear he built an ark to save his family.” It was an extraordinary act by Noah, because it meant building a huge tub of a boat based on one premise alone, that God said he was going to drown people in a massive flood for filling the earth with violence (Genesis 6:13, 17). And with no visible evidence that such a staggering future was in store, Noah got to work and “did everything just as God commanded him” (22). Such was the righteousness that came by faith for him.
And it was faith as defined by Hebrews 11:1 too, because Noah was so “certain of what we do not see” that “in holy fear he built an ark to save his family” (7). God clearly meant business, massive destruction was coming, so “holy fear” on Noah’s part was totally appropriate, but right after God spoke of wiping out all the evil people, he then told Noah in Genesis 6:18, “I will establish my covenant with you, and you (and your family) will be on the ark.” That’s because the other great gift of faith in Hebrews 11:1 “is being sure of what we hope for,” which in Noah’s case was knowing God would keep him and his family safe.
But what about the other bit in Hebrews 11:7, that “By faith Noah condemned the world”? Well, faith enabled Noah to remain “blameless” (Genesis 6:9) among people who were “only evil all the time” (5). Their ridicule bounced off him. He simply carried on, exposing their stupidity and arrogant disdain, not by arguing or calling them names, but by his steady day by day, year by year showing what faith in God being real and personal does in a human life. And then there’s Abraham who showed that “Stepping fearlessly into the unknown” comes by that same faith too….(next blog)
Buck To Basics 