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The Creator, Destroyer, and Redeemer: God’s Purpose in the Flood
The Flood wasn’t part of God’s original plan, but because almost all of mankind turned from the teachings of the Creator thinking and acting violently continually, God had to call upon Noah to build the ark in preparation for HIs destruction of the earth. God had to destroy the majority of the people on the earth because of the extreme evil and violence that was common place in Noah’s generation. Yeshua warns us that there will be a time where the people will be just as evil as they were in Noah’s time, when the vast majority of the people will want to go their own way, rather than God’s way. We are warned that just as in the Days of Noah, will be the Days of the LORD.
The secular world, looking at the world through the eyes of evolution see our world as “red in tooth and claw” but this was not God’s plan for humanity. The Scriptures are real history and records the real testimony about the intentions and actions of the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
It is because there is violence in the world that we have to have systems in place, that we call the police or the military who also have to be knowledgeable and fluent in the exercise of violence, not for their own power but to protect their families and neighbors from those who would use violence as a form of domination and tyranny.
We saw this during World War 2 when a nation rose up that loved power and violence and ran over most of Europe and the nations of Europe had to respond with violence to push them back.
The Creator turned Destroyer also was and is Savior and Redeemer. The promise God gave to Chavah (Eve) that from her would come the one to crush the head of the Nakhash (snake; the Adversary).
When God destroyed the earth at the end of Genesis 7, the earth was in a similar state to what it was in Genesis 1.
“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2 NAS95)
This verse is directly connected to and a direct result of what we read in Genesis 7:21-24.
“All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died. Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. The water prevailed upon the earth one hundred and fifty days.” (Genesis 7:21-24 NAS95)
But God did not leave the world engulfed in the dark and formless void. After 150 days, God was ready to restore the earth.
“But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark.” (Genesis 8:1, NASB 1995)
The beasts which were on the ark were the original kinds from which all the animals that are alive today. For example, the original dog kind was probably a type of wolf but since the Flood, through both natural and artificial selection, we have many different breeds of wolves and dogs all over the earth. It is the same with cats and all the other animals.
That previous context is Gen 7:21–24: The Flood killed everything on land and that depended on the land for survival. Only eight people were preserved, they were in the place of salvation. The Flood covered the Earth for 150 days, but after this period, the waters began to recede to their original sources.
Thus, Genesis 8:1 highlights the contrast between domination and destruction versus salvation and restoration. God created the mountains and the ocean caverns to hold all the water that had covered the earth to allow it to drain enough to reveal the dry land that would be necessary for Noah and the land animals to survive.
vayyizkōr ʾᵉlōhı̂m “But God remembered…” (Genesis 8:1, NASB95)
God’s remembering of Noah was not a casual recollection of something forgotten. It is memory put into action.
“There are three groups of meanings: 1) for completely inward mental acts such as “remembering” or “paying attention to,” 2) for such inward mental acts accompanied by appropriate external acts, and 3) for forms of audible speaking with such meanings as “recite” or “invoke.” Cognate evidence indicates that the third group of meanings is closest to the verb’s root meaning. This range of meanings shows the same blending or overlapping between mental states and external acts seen also in other Hebrew terms (e.g. Hebrew שָׁמַע shema “to hear”).” (TWOT)
When God remembered Noah, it was not merely a fond recollection, but God’s call to action on Noah’s behalf.
“God’s remembrance of his covenant results in delivering his people (Ex 2:24) or in preserving them (Lev 26:44, 45). Conversely, remembering sin may be tantamount to withholding favor (Hos 7:1–2). Remembering Hezekiah’s past faithfulness resulted in healing (2 Kgs 20:3), and remembering Noah was to make the waters to subside (Gen 8:1). For God not to remember iniquity was to forgive and to withhold further judgment (Ps 79:8–9). For men also “remembering” results in action. “Remembering” may imply repentance (Ezek 6:9) or observing the commandments (Num 15:40) especially that of the Sabbath (Ex 20:8). For the ends of the earth, remembrance is repentance (Ps 22:27 [H 28]). In political relations, not remembering a treaty is to break it (Amos 1:9).” (TWOT)
For us as people, when God commands us to remember, it’s not just a mental exercise—it requires action. Similarly, when God instructs us to protect something, we cannot fulfill that command unless we understand what we are protecting and why it matters.
God also commanded them to remember and observe the Sabbath, using the cycle of manna to emphasize its sacred rhythm. During the six ordinary days of the week, they could collect only enough manna for that day, as any extra would spoil overnight. However, on Friday, they were permitted to gather a double portion, and the surplus miraculously remained fresh for the Sabbath. This allowed them to rest on the Sabbath, as God had commanded, without the need to gather their daily bread.
Near the end of the Flood, when Noah sent out the dove to check the state of the earth, it returned with an olive branch, a symbol often associated with peace. This connection arises because the Hebrew word for peace, shalom, goes beyond the mere absence of conflict—it conveys a sense of wholeness, completeness, and rest.
Did the calendar shift between the Flood and the Exodus?
The Flood began on the 17th day of the second month in Noach’s 600th year (Gn 7:11). The ark rested on Ararat mountains on the first day of the seventh month of that year, and the tops of the mountains became visible on the first day of the 1oth month (Gen. 8:4-5). The ground was visible on the first day of the first month of Noach’s 601st year, and the ground was completely dry on the 27th day of the second month (Gen. 8:13-14).
While we may say that we know specifically what months are referenced here, many over the centuries have wondered why the LORD had to say this specifically amid the instructions for the first Pesach (Passover):
“This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.”
Exodus 12:2 NASB 1995 (This month is called Aviv/Abib in Exodus 34:18.)
Below are the names, established during Israel’s Babylonian exile, of the Hebrew calendar months and their approximate Gregorian equivalents:
- Nisan (March-April)
- Iyar (April-May)
- Sivan (May-June)
- Tammuz (June-July)
- Av (July-August)
- Elul (August-September)
- Tishrei (September-October)
- Cheshvan (October-November)
- Kislev (November-December)
- Tevet (December-January)
- Shevat (January-February)
- Adar (February-March)
In leap years, an additional month, Adar II, is added after Adar. These months align with the lunar cycle and are adjusted periodically to remain in sync with the solar year through leap years.
Several ancient calendars marked the start of the year in the fall, aligning with the agricultural cycle.1 The Hebrew calendar is one example, where Tishrei, though it is the seventh month, is traditionally celebrated as the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) in early fall.2 Similarly, the Babylonian calendar sometimes aligned its New Year with the autumn equinox, based on agricultural and religious considerations. The ancient Egyptian calendar, though primarily linked to the Nile’s flood cycle, also influenced later systems with autumnal markers.
Yeshua, the ultimate Ark of God
While it is speculation and tradition3 that the first, second, seventh and 10th months mentioned in Genesis 6–9 were based on a fall starting time in Noach’s time, it could be interesting that the start of the Flood could have corresponded with the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. That would place it three days into the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles).
And that might corresponded to the “midst of the feast” (John 7:14 NASB 1995) when Yeshua (Jesus) went up to the Temple to teach during one Sukkot.
Bible writers and scholars often draw typological parallels between Yeshua and Noah’s ark, emphasizing Yeshua as the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan for redemption and safety:
Ark as a refuge from judgment: Just as the ark saved Noah and his family from the flood, Yeshua offers salvation from God’s ultimate judgment. The ark symbolizes God’s provision of a way to escape destruction (1Peter 3:20-21).
Baptism and the Flood: Peter connects the floodwaters to baptism, which symbolizes cleansing and a new life in Yeshua. Baptism represents entering into safety through faith in Him (1Peter 3:21).
Messianic deliverance: Noah’s ark prefigures Yeshua’s role as a Savior, providing a secure path to eternal life, akin to how the ark provided a way to survive physical destruction (Matthew 24:37-39).
Sabbath as Resistance: A Weekly Reminder of God’s Sovereignty
We live in a world that is oblivious to Who created us and where we come from, but as we keep the Shabbat and follow the Biblical feast cycle, we remind ourselves that we are in the world and not of the world and that our presence is supposed to improve the world. If we don’t actively seek to improve the world around us our inertia will cause us to inevitably assimilate into the culture around us.
Living in the world but not being of the world is a delicate and often uncomfortable balance. The Pilgrim founders of the Mayflower colony were deeply committed Christians who fled England because the English monarchy and church denied them the freedom to live according to their beliefs. They were unable to practice their faith without facing harassment or persecution, prompting their quest for a new beginning. So, when they arrived in the New World, they proactively wrote the Mayflower Compact so they would have a template of the kind of community they wanted to live in and perpetuate for future generation.
400 years since the Mayflower Compact, we live in a culture that used to have a firm Christian foundation that it has rapidly given up and we now live in what one could call a post-christian culture. Those of us who live in California certainly feel this acutely as our government seems to be hell-bent on enacting laws that not only ignore God’s instruction but bluntly and completely contradicts them.
We might find ourselves relating to figures like Abraham and Lot, who lived as a small minority of God-fearing individuals in a society whose actions were entirely opposed to God’s ways.
Footnotes
- The Paian Project. “The Ancient Athenian Calendar Explained.” Accessed December 1, 2024.
Smiti Nathan. “Ancient Calendars From Around The World.” Habits of a Traveling Archaeologist. January 17, 2024. Accessed December 1, 2024. ↩︎ - Amit Naor. “How Tishrei Became the First Month of the Hebrew Calendar.” The National Library of Israel. September 15, 2020. Accessed December 1, 2024. ↩︎
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