Aspire to Walk with God - Genesis 5 - 8:14

Any time the Holy Bible makes the affirmation that a man walks with God it is expressing the closest relationship that mortal man can have with a spiritual being. In the beginning God made man and woman and blessed them and called them man. Then throughout the Bible you will find that when any subject is regarding the human race, the writer refers to the individual being discussed as a “man.” This was the Jewish custom and was never meant to be degrading to the woman. It actually never became a problem in America before the rebellious movements that sprang up in the mid 1950s when the feminist movement got involved in the campaign for human rights. In the examples used in the scriptures today the references are regarding men who have walked with God; however it should be understood that what ever refers to man is also equally true where women are concerned.

Before breaking this line of thought, be reminded that during the time of writing of the first books of the Bible there were no women mentioned in the genealogies. This was simply a custom and not an attempt to degrade women. Later in biblical history, when it became necessary to make sure that everyone understood the exact linage from Adam through David to the birth of the Messiah [Jesus] it became necessary to include the names of certain women that were in that direct linage, I am not positive about this but this may be the first time genealogies included women.

This lesson starts with chapter five which lists Adam’s descendents through Noah. Every entry is a man. All of these men lived to be several hundred years old, with Methuselah being the oldest man ever on earth and he died at the age of 969 years. All of these people lived and died before the flood. You may wonder why they lived so long; and the answer is that God’s original intention was that man would live forever, in heaven on earth, and enjoy a daily WALK with their maker.

Adam’s sin started the problem—and then the increase of sin down through the next few hundred years caused God to repent that he had made man. The constant increase in sin caused God to change his mind on how long a man should live on this sinful earth. 1000 years in the Garden of Eden would have been great, but can you imagine what it would be like if men lived to be more than 900 years old in today’s world. At least 90% of the people in America would be on welfare…and welfare would have gone broke years ago. However, there is another factor to think about; with the rate of murder as it is today, 80 to 90% would probably be murdered before their 900 years was up. Or they might have to live the last five hundred years with cancer, diabetes, or crippling arthritis. Here again, because of sin, the quality of life would be so low that no one would enjoy living. God really did man a favor when he moved us 800 years closer to heaven.

During these imperfect days of 2007 there is quite enough sin and sorrow all about us and the overpowering presence of sin would make it imperative that we “Aspire to Walk With God” on a daily basis. Enoch was 65 when his son, Methuselah, was born and for some reason his life was changed because he then, at age 65, WALKED WITH GOD for the next 300 years. Enoch lived to be 365 years old on this earth “And then he was no more, because God took him away.” Wow! What a reward he got—in that he did not have to travel through the deep valley of death. Dear readers—“walking with God” has a special meaning in the life of a Christian and we all should aspire to please Him. At the age of 182, Lamech’s son Noah was born and then Lamech died at the age of 777 years. After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth. He is the next man mentioned in the Bible that FOUND FAVOR WITH GOD, which means the same thing as WALKING WITH GOD.

No one knows the exact amount of time that elapsed during the period between the creation of Adam and the birth of Noah. Based on the ages of men who lived during this time there were several hundred at least and probably several thousand years. We do know that the earth was surely not the paradise that God had planned it to be when he created the Garden. When we compare the world today and the wavering path we have taken… with what it was in the days when America was discovered—it is frightening to think about how quickly even a so-called-Christian nation can forget about God. Over what could have been a relative short period of time—only one man and his family still were walking with God. That one man was Noah. Only because of his faithfulness and obedience, God saved him and his family from the flood that destroyed every other human on earth.

Chapter six tells us that God hates sin and judges those who place their love of sin and the world above their worship of Him. God condemned all of mankind except one man [and his family]—“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” He was walking with God. In this chapter God laid out his entire plan for Noah to build the ark. V. 22, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

Chapter 7 begins with God’s instructions for Noah to take aboard his family and male and female [2] of all unclean animals, and seven [7] of all clean animals and seven [7] birds and flying creatures, always including both male and female. V. 5 “Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” He was still walking with God. Noah was six hundred, two months and seventeen days old on the day that the water from the depths of the earth sprang up and the gates of heaven opened and the rain came down. The water continued to cover the earth for forty days and forty nights—until the tops of the tallest mountains were twenty feet below the surface. The rain stopped but the water level remained constant for one hundred and fifty days and then receded. Anxious to know when it was safe to open the door of the ark, Noah opened a window and sent a raven out and it continued to fly back and forth. He then sent a dove and it returned. He waited and sent the second dove and it returned with a green olive leaf which was good news. The third dove was then dispatched and it did not return, leading Noah to believe that it had found dry land on which to live.

Now, going back to chapter 6, verse 4, and the Bible says: “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward,” The Nephilim was the off-spring of fallen angels. They were the friends of the wealthy and renowned through which man’s wickedness had grown. I am assuming that the “and also afterward” means that they were still around after the flood. Go to Google research and you will find that they were off-spring of fallen angels that were before and after the flood; and it says that Goliath ‘the giant’ of Gath was one of this tribe. David killed him with the sling shot and a stone. The source of this information comes from Matthew Henry’s commentary. [I believe this to be a reliable source.]

Agnostics and a host of unbelievers have raised many questions regarding the story of Noah and his ark that seemingly are unanswerable, but they should never dull the faith of a believer in Christ Jesus. There are just some questions that are not meant to be answered this side of heaven. Just for fun, here is a couple that you can answer for me…that is if you know the answer.

1. What would happen if an irresistible force should hit an immoveable object?
2. How can a black cow—eat green hay and yellow corn, and give white milk?

1. How can a true virgin bear a child?
2. How did Noah walk with God?
3. Why did God destroy all creatures and not just man who had sinned?
4. What made some animals clean and some unclean?
5. How did Noah know which were clean and which unclean?
6. Why did he take two of the unclean and seven of the clean?
7. What did Noah and his family eat while on the ark?
8. What caused water to burst up out of the earth?
9. Were fish and water creatures saved by being on the ark?