A Perfect Man

Genesis 6:9 says, “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”

The word perfect is a tough word. There are many who are not perfect nor figure they can be. It is certainly a high calling. After all, aren’t we all sinners and fall short of the glory of God? The Bible doesn’t say that. Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” This verse says, “have sinned.” If we are honest, we know that we have sinned. The question is, can we walk with God and not sin? Paul goes on to say in verse 24 that we can be justified and redeemed in Christ. In verse 25 he says that Christ’s blood brings remission of past sins. In verse 26 Paul says that Christ is the “justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” The present tense word, “believeth,” says that we can be justified now.

Jesus calls us to be perfect in Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Whatever we might say, the Bible says that Noah was not only a perfect man, but a just man. His secret was that he walked with God.

As a young boy, getting ready to enter into manhood, I wanted to be strong—I wanted muscles. I came across an advertisement of Charles Atlas. His picture showed bulging muscles over his whole body. That ad promised I could be like that, too. I didn’t have money to sign up, but did take heart in exercising more. There were always men stronger than me, but I did acquire the strength I needed to get along in life. Samson, the strongest man, failed at being a perfect man. Don’t forget I Timothy 4:8, “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” Noah didn’t set out to be a body builder. After 100 years of hard labor in the construction industry, and keeping three boys in line, nothing is mentioned about his physical strength. Yet he was a just man and perfect.

When it comes to intelligence, a different playing field arises. Some seem to be one brick short of a full load, not the sharpest pencil in the drawer, etc. On the other hand, someone has to be the valedictorian of the graduating class. Most of us fall between these extremes. Solomon was known for his great wisdom. It was a gift from God. He left us many wise proverbs. Sadly, Solomon was not recorded as the perfect man. He said in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Again in verse 13, “A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.” He quit walking with God and joined the clamorous women and their strange gods. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13:2, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge: and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.” 

It may have taken Noah 100 years to build the ark because he was slow in reading the blueprints. I wonder how many arguments he had with his boys during the process? Maybe they had to take some boards back apart and start over. In all of this, I see Noah as the perfect man for the job. As the subcontractor, he just walked close to the General Contractor for 100 years on this job. Before the job even started, God had His perfect man!