Outline

«　WEEK 2　DAY 1　»

　　Gen. 6:8-9 But Noah found favor in the sight of Jehovah. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generations; and Noah walked with God.

　　When God had His first look at mankind in Genesis 1, He was happy and pleased with man. When God had another look at man in Genesis 6, He saw that man had become wicked and corrupt to the uttermost, and it grieved Him that He had made man. What a change from Genesis 1!…What would you have done if you had been God? Perhaps you would have said, “Forget about it.” But what about God’s eternal purpose? Is not God the eternal God? Can the eternal God change? God is not a temporary God but an eternal God. In Him there is no shadow of change (James 1:17). Once He makes a decision, it stands for eternity. If God had forgotten His eternal purpose, His enemy would have laughed at Him, saying, “You intended to create man to defeat me, but instead of You defeating me, I have defeated You.” Will God be defeated? Never! Then what should God do? The answer, the same in principle throughout the centuries, is found in Genesis 6:8: “But Noah found favor in the sight of Jehovah.” (Life-study of Genesis, p. 386)

　　Let us read Genesis 6:5 through 8 : “Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” In Hebrew, the words every imagination signify not only the imagination but also the purposes and desires. “And Jehovah repented that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him in His heart. And Jehovah said, I will blot out the man whom I have created…; for I repent that I have made them.” If that had been all, there would have been no hope. But Hallelujah for verse 8! This verse begins with a big “but.” “But Noah found favor in the sight of Jehovah.” The King James Version translates this verse, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” This is one of the greatest verses in the book of Genesis.

　　Satan was glad to hear that God was going to blot out man from the surface of the ground, but Noah found favor, or grace, in the sight of Jehovah. That turned the situation and changed the age. Hallelujah, God was not defeated! In the midst of apparent defeat, there was victory through a man who found favor, or grace, in the sight of Jehovah. That was the turning point. If you read history along with the Bible, you will see that in every generation, when Satan has done his best to damage the situation to the uttermost, there has always been one man or a few people who found grace in the sight of God and who became the ones who turned the age. Remember the history of Israel. Although they degraded lower and lower until they reached the bottom, there was, much to the surprise of the enemy, a young man named Daniel. Daniel 1:8 says, “But Daniel set his heart not to defile himself with the king’s choice provision and with the wine that the king drank.” There in the book of Daniel it says, “But Daniel”; here in Genesis 6:8 it says, “But Noah.”

　　If we look at Noah’s life, we will see that it was not simply a matter of walking with God or of building the ark. The basic and crucial point is that God used Noah to change the age…There seemed to be no hope. But Noah found favor. Noah’s life was a life that changed the age.

　　Look at the situation today. If you read the Gospels and if you see God’s purpose for the church, you will realize that the church has such a high commission. The church was produced with God’s life to express Him in this New Testament age. The church has been entrusted with such a glorious commission. There is no need for us to look into the past. The present situation is sufficient to show us how much the church has fallen and deviated from God’s proper goal. But do not be disappointed. Though Satan has done his best, God still has a way to carry out His original purpose. Among all the defeats, God today has raised up local churches to change the age. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 386-387)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msg. 29