Rabbi’s Reflections – Saturday, January 4, 2025
Shavuah Tov,
Grace (part 3)
By David Harwood
I have often found insight into the Scriptures as I track the development of biblical themes. Let’s trace favor/grace and start in Genesis. What insights might we gain? Who experienced this? Who granted it? Why?
In Genesis it is written that Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Shechem, Joseph, and those saved from famine through Joseph’s administration, looked for, or received, favor [chen (חֵן)]. Nine out of ten times where chen (חֵן) is found in Genesis, the Septuagint translates it as charis (χάρις). In the New Covenant Scriptures charis is generally translated into English as grace.
Let’s explore. Let’s begin by concentrating on Noah.
Noah lived at a time during which some of the sons of God had intercourse with some human women and humanity’s genetic purity was corrupted. (This is reiterated by Jude, Peter, and in writings attributed to Enoch.)
Perhaps, as a result of that corruption, this:
Then Adonai saw that the wickedness of humankind was great on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their heart was only evil all the time. (Genesis 6:5)
God’s experience is reiterated later in this chapter.
Now the earth was ruined before God, and the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and behold it was ruined because all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. (Genesis 6:11–12)
And because of the universal wickedness, this:
So Adonai regretted that He made humankind on the earth, and His heart was deeply pained. (Genesis 6:6)
As a result, God determined to wipe out all animate creation.
Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh is coming before Me, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Behold, I am about to bring ruin upon them along with the land. (Genesis 6:13)
However,
… Noah found favor in Adonai’s eyes. (Genesis 6:8)
What a change from verse 6:5 where it’s recorded that “Adonai saw” humanity’s pervasive wickedness. Here (6:13) Noah “found favor” in God’s eyes. Both verses speak of God seeing.
What was the difference?
Noah was a righteous man. He was blameless among his generation. Noah continually walked with God. (Genesis 6:9b)
The world was corrupt. Humanity’s wickedness was ubiquitous. It was so bad that every imagination of every human was “only evil all the time.” As a result, the earth was “filled with violence.” When God examined the land, He found that it was ruined because of humanity’s evil actions. Yes, land can be stained with humanity’s moral evil. A precious prophetic promise pertaining to Israel’s end-time rescue and restoration is that He “will atone for His land and His people (Deuteronomy 32:43b).”
The Creator hated what He saw. He saw and was nauseated by the corruption of creation. He saw and was wounded by humanity’s evil imaginations. He saw and was angered by the merciless violence and oppression. He beheld humanity and regretted their creation.
And then Adonai saw Noah. In stark contrast to what our God had been feeling, He liked what He saw. This experience is described as finding favor in God’s eyes. Allow me to reemphasize this: “Noah found favor in Adonai’s eyes” because God derived pleasure from what He saw. Noah received chen (חֵן), He found charis (χάρις), in God’s eyes.
This favor/grace was merited because of Noah’s righteousness. He was without blame within the corrupt culture where he lived. Like his great-grandfather, Enoch, Noah “walked with God.” Frankly, Noah may have had a closer walk with God than Enoch because of the difficulty of maintaining an upright, devout, just, merciful, kind, life in the midst of an abominable cosmos. It’s easier to be outside in pleasant weather than to be trapped in a blizzard. Noah lived in white-out conditions but still found his way.
Noah was a Tzaddik. A righteous man. He was the first person mentioned in Scripture who was so described. He was “blameless”, speaking and acting with integrity, standing up for truth.
God liked what He saw. That’s why God looked upon him favorably. The Septuagint renders this use of chen (חֵן) with charis (χάρις). Noah found grace in God’s eyes.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sat 04-Jan-2025 4th of Tevet, 5785 Parashat Vayigash
Ge 47:11-27 Ez 37:15-28 Ac 3:13-26