Faith Before the Flood (Hebrews 11:2-7)

Towards the end of the twentieth century, there were various competitions regarding who could be called the person of the century, with names such as Winston Churchill being mentioned. The period under review was only one hundred years. I wonder how many names would have been included if the period was extended to the 2,000 years of the Christian era. Who is competent to give an answer to such a question? The only one who can do so is God. While he has not revealed the names of those who could be regarded as the most important persons of the last 2000 years, he has told us the names of persons that he regards as important from the first 2000 year period of history. Of all the many millions who lived throughout that time, he only mentions three – Abel, Enoch and Noah. They are the Men of the Millenniums, we could say. Four thousand years later, they still speak to us.

The writer of Hebrews, in verses 2-7, mentions four details about faith that are connected to the period before the flood, but which also mark faith in God in any period of history. The first concerns the origin of the universe and the other three are connected to the three individuals. Before we look at these examples of faith, there are a few comments that I would make.

The first is that these stories suggest that faith has consequences in the sense that it makes those with faith live in particular ways. It makes them become people with convictions.

The second is that faith in God causes them to be different from other people. Abel had different values from his brother Cain, Enoch had different values from most of the people among whom he lived, and Noah had different values from the whole society among whom he lived.

The third detail that these three individuals point to is that faith in God can be costly. From a superficial viewpoint, one could say that Abel’s faith only brought trouble, and Enoch and Noah’s faith brought ostracisation. Yet because they had faith in God they were willing to pay that price.

A fourth detail to note is that each of these persons says something to us about faith and family life. Cain and Abel tell us that there can be sad divisions within families, between brothers. Enoch, as we know from the Genesis account, walked with God from the birth of his son onwards; he obviously took his role as a parent seriously. Noah built an ark that saved his family; yet although they escaped that judgement, it is likely that one of his sons (Ham) did not share his faith. He is a picture of those who come very near to knowing God’s grace but do not value it.

A fifth detail to be noted is the opposite actions to those performed by these men of faith. Cain is a picture of those who imagine that any religion will do; his rejection tells us that only one way is accepted. Enoch’s contemporaries tell us that their faithless lives were displeasing to God (God was not ambivalent about how they lived). Noah’s generation remind us that God can punish large numbers simultaneously.

Believing in the God who creates

The first area of faith in God concerns the origins of the universe.  The writer says three things about how it happened.

First, he uses a plural term (worlds), which could refer to numerous planets. Obviously, we don’t know how many worlds the author believed were in existence, although he would have believed in the visible world of humans and the invisible world of angels.

Second, he says that these worlds were framed, that is beautifully shaped and ordered by God. In other words, he is saying that originally the worlds that God made were in good condition, without flaw. So by saying this, he is indicating that they have been adversely affected by sin (his original readers would have known about the Genesis account of the entrance of sin).

Third, he says that these worlds were shaped by the word of God and were not based on pre-existing material. There were not shapeless masses floating about space, waiting to be chiselled into shape, as it were. Instead God spoke at the beginning, and the worlds appeared at his command (It is true that God later used elements of this world to bring about living forms in it during the week of creation. For example, he commanded the earth to bring forth vegetation and he created Adam from the dust of the ground.) What is being stressed is not only his creative ability to make a beautiful world, but also his authority, that his voice is instantly obeyed.

The author mentions divine creation for two reasons. One is that this particular outlook of faith is basic to a biblical definition of a believer. If a person does not believe that God originally created the universe out of nothing, and created it with design and beauty, he or she cannot be a believer in the biblical sense of the term.

Second is the reminder that within biblical faith there are two levels, which we can describe as the big picture and the small picture. Before the writer mentions the many small pictures of individual lives of faith, he prefaces them by pointing to the big picture that God created the universe. It is as if he is saying that all the individual lives he is going to describe are to be seen within this overall picture of a great God.

Faith is required

Verse 6 states that without faith it is impossible to please God. Note the term ‘impossible’. The writer does not say that it is helpful to have faith in order to please God or that it is usual to have faith in order to please him. His term ‘impossible’ is a very candid, clear description that faith in God is essential for pleasing God. Why is that the case? I would suggest four reasons.

First, faith is based on what is revealed by God. To each of these individuals God gave a revelation of his will. The chapter only mentions the instruction that God gave to Noah regarding the coming judgement. The accounts in Genesis say that Enoch walked with God after the birth of his son Methuselah, and the meaning of the name of that son indicates that around the time of his birth Enoch was given a warning about coming judgement as well. As far as Abel is concerned, he must have been told in what way to worship God (whether he received this information from his God-instructed parents or direct from God does not matter since either way would have been divine revelation). This detail means that faith includes understanding or knowledge. Faith is not a leap into the dark nor is it the last act of a desperate person. Instead faith is an intelligent act.

Second, faith is a response. Verse 6 says that a person with faith comes to God, which means that faith is a response. Obviously we can interpret this coming in a variety of ways, depending on which stage in a believer’s life we are considering. First, there is the initial occasion of coming, which occurs at conversion, when these three individuals came to trust in God as their God. Before they came to him in this sense, they had been separated from him by their sins. Second, there are the regular occasions of coming, which can occur many times a day, and can be classified as communion with God. Third, there is the special event of coming to God which occurs at the end of life when a believer goes to be with God in heaven, whether by martyrdom (Abel), by miracle (Enoch) or by old age (Noah).

The response that these men displayed can be further broken down. Concerning Noah, his faith was expressed in fear, which was not servile dread but respectful reverence, and so he built the ark to escape from the promised divine judgement. Like Enoch, he realised that judgement was coming and prepared for it. Abel too showed reverence for God by worshipping him in the way that he had commanded.

Yet their faith was also expressed in friendship; both Enoch and Noah are described in Genesis as walking with God (no doubt Abel also pleased him). Faith led to a relationship in which God delighted to meet with them. They pleased God. Our well-known Shorter Catechism definition of man’s chief purpose is that they should glorify God and enjoy him forever. To glorify God is to please him. They were delighted to be in God’s company and he was pleased with them. His pleasure was shown by his acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice (perhaps by fire), by his translation of Enoch, and by his preserving of Noah through the period of judgement.

So we can say that faith resulted in a combination of intimacy and reverence.

Third, faith results in righteousness. Each of these men were recognised as righteous because they lived by faith. Verse 4 says that Abel’s manner of worship by sacrifice was witness to the fact that he was a righteous person; verse 7 states that Noah’s faith showed him to be an heir of righteousness. Their conduct showed that they had been made right with God, that they had been accepted by him even although they were sinners.

They believed in God’s promise of a coming Deliverer. At the time of man’s fall, God revealed that he would send a Champion to deliver the human race from its bondage in sin. They looked forward, to the coming of Jesus. I said last time that faith is like a telescope. Abel, Enoch and Noah looked through this telescope and trusted in the Saviour that was to come. We take the same telescope and look back and see the Saviour who has come. To them, who believed in an anticipative sense, was imputed the same righteousness that is imputed to us who believe in a fulfilled sense. This righteousness includes the accounting of the life of Jesus to us as our standing and the receiving the forgiveness of our sins.

Fourth, faith looks for a reward. In verse 6, the writer says that God rewards those who seek him. The word that is translated ‘seek’ means to seek earnestly, to be totally focussed on finding him. Once they do, they discover that God loves to reward faith. In what ways does he do so? Here are three. The first reward he gives is free pardon. When a sinner comes to the cross in faith, God forgives all his or her sins. Not one sin is omitted. Is that not a wonderful reward? A second reward that he gives is fulfilled promises. In the Bible, there are many promises of God’s presence and blessing. It is the testimony of believers that they have experienced this reward many times. A third reward that God gives is future paradise. Many of his rewards are not given in this life, or if they are, they are not given in full. In heaven, there will a continual giving of great rewards. As Paul put it, ‘Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.’

This description of faith realises a great truth, which is, that God delights to give. He is like an overflowing fountain, he is like a wealthy person who generously gives continually. He always responds to faith in Jesus.

The men still speak today, and what do they say? Abel tells us that we need a sacrifice before we can approach God. Enoch tells us that it is possible to live a life that is pleasing to God. Noah tells us that we should prepare for the judgement to come. Their evidence is that people of faith assess the options and live according to God’s Word and not according to sight.