Bible Matters 409: The Godly

When God gave directions in the bible, the godly listened!  Those that loved God listened.  God is the forever parent.  He is the forever, Father.  As a child, you did what your parents asked you to do, because you loved.  Whether you are looking at the Old Testament or the New Testament, the godly are children of God that are followers and righteous in the eyes of the Lord that follow God’s commandments. God’s children walk with him.

Ephesians 5:1 – Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

1 John 5:2 – By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

Genesis 5:24 – And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

God knows the children that are walking with the devil.  The thoughts of their heart are evil.  This was evident during the time of Noah.  The wickedness of man was great on the earth, so much so that God repented that he had made man. 

Genesis 6:5-6,11,12 – And God 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. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.  The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

Man’s tenure on the earth would have ended if it were not for Noah.  Noah was living a godly life and found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  Noah walked with God.

Genesis 6:7-9 – And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Noah loved God.  God talked to Noah and told him to build an ark to save the flesh of the earth. 

Genesis 6:13,14,17 – And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.  Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.  And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

God established a covenant with Noah.  When Noah follows God’s commandment, he will save his family and the things of the flesh from destruction.  Noah did as God commanded. 

Genesis 6:18-22 – But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.  And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.  Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.  And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. [22] Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

With Noah’s family and the flesh of the earth loaded into the ark, God brought rain upon the earth for forty days.  The waters prevailed upon the earth for one hundred and fifty days. 

Genesis 7:12,19,23-24 – And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.  And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

The waters abated and the ark settled upon the mountains of Ararat in in modern day Turkey.  Ron Wyatt confirmed the presence of the ark in accordance to the bible.    

Genesis 8:3-4,15,18 – And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.  And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.  And God spake unto Noah, saying,  Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.  And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:  And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.  

For one hundred and ninety days, Noah and his sons cared for the things of God.  They lived hand-in-hand loving and caring for each other and the things of God, knowing that God would take care of their every need.  Before the ark, they experienced evil and wickedness.  God destroyed all evil and wickedness.  God sent the sons of Noah forth from the ark.  They knew God’s covenant or commandments when sent forth from the mountains of Ararat.  Noah loved God and they would love God.  Noah loved the things of the earth and they would love each other and the things of the earth.  Their mission was simple.  Go forth and multiply, love God, love each other, live a godly and righteous life.  Do not kill.  The ungodly shall be punished.  Fear God. 

Genesis 9:1,6,8,9 – And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

The sons of Noah – Shem, Ham and Japeth would replenish the earth. 

Genesis 10:1,6-12 – Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.  He was a mighty hunter before the Lord : wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.  And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.  Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

The brothers went forth from the ark to carry out God’s commandment.  Within four generations, from the sons of Ham, did Asshur go forth and build the city of Nineveh.  The city of Nineveh no longer feared nor followed the things of God.  God send Jonah to Nineveh to teach repentance and for the people to walk with God.   The people of Nineveh understood the power of God and had lost the fear of God.  Jonah spoke and the people listened.  The people of Nineveh repented and walked with God.  God made them a great city.  The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations. 

2 Peter 2:9 – The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

When God spoke and I took on the jail ministry, I listened.  I walked with God.  Witness after witness, testimony after testimony, bible lessons after bible lessons, the truth in God’s word was delivered out of the mouth of two or three witnesses.  What I discovered through the teachings to the men in the jail was the truth in God’s word.  Each man had been convicted by two witnesses.  Like Noah and like Jonah, God’s commandments are clear, as repeated to you by Jesus.  You are to repent and live a godly, righteous life, loving God and loving your neighbor.    

–         Noah did not have to walk with God, but he did. 

–         Jonah did not first do according to God’s instruction of repentance to the people of Nineveh, but he did.

–         The people of Nineveh did not have to repent and change their walk to a walk with God, but they did.

Noah, Jonah and the people of Nineveh were rewarded.  Out of the experiences of three bible witnesses, God is telling you to repent and live a righteous, godly life, loving God and loving your neighbor.  It is your choice.   It is up to you to walk with God.  God will deliver the godly out of temptations.  Start your walk with God today and for that you will be rewarded. 

To God be the glory in all you do, Amen.