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But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Genesis 6:8

Yesterday we asked the question: “What do you see about the character of God’s grace based on its first mention?”

I chewed, brewed, and stewed over this first mention of grace as well as the life of Noah yesterday. Here are my thoughts.

1. Noah found grace. To find something comes as a result of either accidentally stumbling upon it or intentionally seeking it. Which is it in the case of Noah? Take into consideration Hebrews 4:16 – Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Noah was seeking grace, and on no merit of his own, he found it in the eyes of the Lord.

2. The grace Noah found was sustaining. From the time he is instructed to build the ark until the time of the flood 120 years will pass. He is described in 2 Peter 2:5 as a “preacher of righteousness.” He is described in Hebrews 11:7 as a man who had faith and the fear of God. One grace-filled day at a time and he preached the truth and obeyed by faith. Nobody believed him, and nobody but his family followed him into that ark, he survived by the sustaining grace of God.

3. The grace Noah found was a blessing to his family. They followed his leadership and instructions and were spared the judgment the rest of the earth faced. Grace-paced people are a blessing to others through their influence.

4. The eyes of the Lord are open to those who need and seek grace. Proverbs 15:3 reads: “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Though the overwhelming majority of humanity was continually evil in the days of Noah, his minority status did not conceal him from God’s eyes. God is not a respecter of persons, and no matter how powerless or insignificant we may feel his eyes are open to us when we are seeking his grace.

What did you find? Anything different? Feel free to comment below.

-C.R.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Genesis 6:8

One of the principles of interpreting Bible is the “law of first mention.”

From GotQuestions.org: “The law (or principle or rule) of first mention is a guideline that some people use for studying Scripture. The law of first mention says that, to understand a particular word or doctrine, we must find the first place in Scripture that word or doctrine is revealed and study that passage. The reasoning is that the Bible’s first mention of a concept is the simplest and clearest presentation; doctrines are then more fully developed on that foundation. So, to fully understand an important and complex theological concept, Bible students are advised to start with its “first mention.”

What do you see about the character of God’s grace based upon its first mention? I’ll share what I learned tomorrow.

C.R.

…so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many…”

Hebrews 9:28

The writer of Hebrews states that Christ offered himself once for all. This means once for all sin of all people, of all time. If his one sacrifice was in any way insufficient he would have suffered since the foundation of the world, offering himself repeatedly for each sin.

The comfort and blessing is rich here. Salvation is an act of God whereby a person is forgiven of all sin past, present, and future. While I don’t have to continue in sin that grace abounds, I also don’t have to become mired in discouragement over besetting sin. Jesus knew it in eternity past and forgave it once and for all when he offered his blood in the heavenly temple.

Furthermore, because he knows what it means to be tempted by sin and understands suffering in a sin-broken world he deeply sympathizes with us in our sin-struggles.

We can (and must!) boldly come and pray before the throne of grace, finding abundant grace to help in our time of need. I love it.

-C.R.