Righteous in this Generation

Righteous in this Generation

“I have found you righteous in this generation….” This is what God said to Noah as he invited Noah and his family into the ark.

Noah wasn’t the only one in Scripture to be found “righteous in their generation.” A bit earlier, God must have found Enoch to be righteous in his generation. (Genesis 5:24 tells us that Enoch walked with God and was no more.)

Reading through the history of Israel you will find many others that were considered to be righteous in their generation: Joseph was righteous in his generation; Judah, even though he almost blew it, chose to be righteous in his generation. My favorites were the Hebrew princes taken captive by the Babylonians: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. These young men, even though they lived among the Babylonians were found to be righteous in their generation.

I’m sure it wasn’t easy to be righteous in these generations. There wasn’t much encouragement from the culture to be righteous and there were few models of righteousness. Apparently there were no others like Enoch, so God took him; it was only Noah, the Mrs., their sons and wives that were in the ark. Only Lot, his wife, (for awhile until she got a bit too salty,) and their two daughters escaped Sodom & Gomorrah.

If we read the account of the three Hebrew princes and the fiery furnace, it appears that they alone were righteous among the throngs that bowed before the idol. And of all the other leaders of Babylon, it was only Daniel that ended up condemned to be lunch for the lions.

In the state of Iowa, where I’ve lived for nearly 20 years, you can legally gamble via local or national lotteries; you can go to casinos; there are dog tracks; a horse track; and then there is I-80 (sometimes it’s a gamble). Our state has been the leader in abortions for many years, and recently the Supreme Court of Iowa said it was okay for gays/lesbians to marry. The culture of our state is far from righteous but God is still searching for those who will be righteous in their generation. It may lead to our very own furnace and we may feel the breath of some lions. Just keep in mind that God walked in the furnace with the princes and the lions suddenly lost their appetite. Not to mention that Noah and his family didn’t get wet.

May we be found righteous in this generation!

Always in Pursuit!