Genesis 5-6 paint a picture of gloom and despair. In Genesis 5, we get the genealogy of Adam to Noah and we see that the world is in the full grip of the curse. Verse after verse we read "then he died." While all the men of Genesis 5 lived many, many years, their outcome with the exception of Enoch was very much the same. They all died.
Genesis 6 isn't any better. There the grip of the curse is seen not in death but in wickedness. At the start of the chapter, there is a suggestion that fallen angels mated with human beings. (In the Old Testament, the term "sons of God" is always used to refer to angels. See also 2 Peter and Jude for their commentary on this passage) This sexual immorality is seen as a sign of greater and constant wickedness.
Things are bad. So bad that God decides to wipe out the earth and start over. Except, in God's grace, one man catches his eye. 5:8 says, "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord" (NIV). What was it that made Noah stand out? Verse 9 says, "Noah was a righteous man." And why was Noah found righteous? He was "blameless among the people of his time and he walked faithfully with God." In other words, Noah stood out among the people of his generation in terms of his character and his relationships. In addition, he walked with God, having a constant relationship with Him. The phrase of walking with God hearkens back to what Adam and Eve did in the Garden before the Fall. Noah cultivated a deep, personal relationship with God.
We live in dark times like Noah. Thanks to the work of Christ though, we can be righteous. We can be blameless among our generation. Perfect? No. But we can live lives that show a character that is different than the people around us. We can be kind and goodhearted and selfless. And we can cultivate a relationship with God- praying and reading the Bible daily and following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. In a world still in the grip of the curse, we can be people who stand out like Noah.
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