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Do you want to be like one who was “taken” in the Flood, washed away (Isa. 54:9–11)? Or do you want to be “left behind” to experience the “living water” pictured as flowing from God’s throne into all the world on the Day of the LORD (Ezek. 47:9, 11–12; Rev. 22:1–2)?
We are living the time of the second exile — after the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) and after the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. The Torah reading נֹחַ Noach (Genesis 6:9–11:32) teaches us to see Heaven’s elephant in our room while we have the time to change.
If you want to know what the Day of the LORD (aka “end times” or “last days”) will be like, the Torah reading נֹחַ Noach (Genesis 6:9–11:32), with its account of the Flood and Noah’s ark. It shows us how “as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man” (Luke 17:26; see also Isa. 54:9; Matt. 24:37; Luke 17:26; 1Pet. 3:20).
The Flood was a catastrophic event in the history of our world, which is recorded for us Genesis. You see evidence of this deluge in the geology of the world. It’s the proverbial elephant in the room. If you want to see it, you will see it. And if you don’t want to see it, you won’t.
Evidence of the existence of Noach and his three sons is also recorded in the DNA of their descendants. If you want to see it, you will see it. If you don’t want to see it, you won’t.
What gives us a better description of the history of the world that matches what we observe in places such as the Grand Canyon? The record in Genesis of a great flood that moved great volumes of water all over the world? Or the gradual movement of water and erosion presented to us by evolutionary uniformitarian theory?
The Bible tells us that God brought the animals to the ark two by two, one male and one female. This shows us a couple of truths that are increasingly made murky by elites of today’s society:
- God created male and female humans, with distinctions between them (Gen. 1:27).
- The origin of life comes from an orchard, not a single tree. God created animals and plants after their kinds (Gen. 1:11–12, 21, 24–25). Certain things can breed, and certain things will never breed without mankind’s breaking down the built-in barrier. You will never be able to breed an alligator with a dog.
This is why the evolutionary idea that humans and animals originate from one life source is a lie. Knowledge that doesn’t cause respect and honor for the Creator ultimately is futile.
The Flood was a great reboot, but it was not a reboot that God wanted to do. His heart was broken that the pinnacle of His creation had descended into such great evil and violence that they were unredeemable.
We see the dichotomy here that the Creator-turned-Destroyer was also the Savior and Redeemer. That’s something we also see in the first Passover, when Heaven sent the Destroyer that could be blocked from a home by the blood of the Passover sacrifice on the doorposts.
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah, who we will read about later in Genesis, are another example of a people who were so inclined to evil that God had to destroy them. Even though Lot was in their midst, the people of Sodom could not be bothered to even give strangers the bare minimum of safety and hospitality. Their evil inclination was so strong and their righteous inclination was so weak, that God had no choice but to evacuate Lot and his family and wipe them out.
Those who perished in the Flood will be held responsible for what they knew and whether they followed the law that was given to them or not.
Noach: A shadow of the Messiah
Noach’s name means “rest” and “quietness,” and derivations of his name also mean “comfort,” “soothing,” etc.
| Attribute | Noach | Yeshua the Messiah |
|---|---|---|
| Name | נֹחַ noach (H5146) = “rest, quietness” נָחַם nakham (H5162) = “to comfort, relent” נִיחֹחַ nikhoakh (H5207) = “soothing” Synonyms: שבת shavat, שלם shalam Anagram: חן khen (favor, grace) | יְשׁוּעָה yeshuʿah (H3444) = “salvation” מְנַחֵם menakhem (H5162) = “comforter” (Lam. 1:16) Menakhem is a rabbinical name for Mashiakh. “another comforter” = Spirit of God (John 14:16) βασιλεὺς Σαλήμ basileus Salēm = “king of shalom” (Heb. 7:2) |
| Righteousness | “Righteous … blameless … walked with God” (Gen. 6:9) “preacher of righteousness” (2Pet. 2:5) “heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Heb. 11:7) | Μελχισέδεκ Melchisedek (G3198) = “king of righteousness” (Heb. 7:2) |
We read in the Torah how God calls the offerings, particularly the whole offering “a soothing aroma” to God. It seems weird to us that the burning flesh of a sheep or a ram would be a “soothing aroma” to God but the reason the animal on the altar was soothing to God is that it was a representation of the person offering it, who longed to be as close to God as possible. The animal was a repression of the good inclination of the person who brought it forth.
‘This is like the days of Noah to Me’ (Isaiah 54:1–55:5)
Do you want to be like one who was “taken” in the Flood, washed away (Isa. 54:9–11)? Or do you want to be “left behind” to experience the “living water” pictured as flowing from God’s throne into all the world on the Day of the LORD (Ezek. 47:9, 11–12; Rev. 22:1–2)?
We are living the time of the second exile — after the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) and after the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. Even though this second exile is a heartbreak, it is not an unbearable sorrow, because we have Yeshua’s “living water” (John 4:9–10; 7:37–39).
We also have the Holy Spirit who is also with us to comfort us and guide us in all righteousness. We will still face trials but we will overcome if we seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. We will be more mature for having lived through the trials of this life. When we look at the giants of the hall of faith in Hebrews 11, which includes Noach.
Noach not only had to build a large boat to rescue himself, his family and the animals, he also had to store up enough food for all of them. As the Flood started, he and his family had to work daily to take care of the animals dependent on them for safety. They had to trust the One who gave them the message of salvation, the One who shut the door of the Ark and the One who saved them until the waters receeded.
Water of life; water of destruction
Water is an apt symbol for the creative and destructive power of God. Water can quench thirst, wash away filth and act as a barrier against attack. Water can drown everything with the breath of life as well as destroy building and mountain.
The apostle Peter wrote that everything was made from water and by water then destroyed by water (2Pet. 3:5–6). The Kingdom is “living water” for the world (Ezekiel 47; Revelation 21–22; John 7).
Not everyone will want the “new heart” promised by the new covenant (Jer. 31:31–34; Ezek. 36:25–26), the fresh living water from God. There will be those who prefer their heart of stone, to living in the brackish water of this world.
Learning the way of the LORD is a narrow road, and it’s easy to get off the path. But the righteous are the ones who have the humility to turn around and get back on track — even seven times.
The elephant in the room is that we live in a world that wants to deny fundamental truths of God and to deny reality. We have a choice whether to allow God to open our eyes and reveal reality to us or to stay in this world, close our eyes to truth and to deny reality.
Noach was called by God to be the protector, not only of humanity, but of the Seed, the Messiah.
Summary: Tammy