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Compliments of First Fruits of Zion
reprinted by permission of FFOZ
Noach - נח -“Noah”
Torah : Genesis 6:9–11:32
Haftarah : Isaiah 54:1–55:5
Gospel : Matthew 3–4
The story of Noah is the story of Messiah. Part of the difficulty in communicating the Gospel to unbelievers is that the Gospel message assumes familiarity with the Torah. When we ask people if they are “saved,” they are apt to reply, “Saved from what?” The Torah’s story of Noah and the flood illustrates the human condition, man’s sin, God’s reaction, the horror of divine judgment, and the need for salvation.
This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. (Genesis 6:9)
In what ways can the Messiah be likened unto Noah? Just as Messiah stands alone as the single righteous man, blameless among peoples, so too Noah “was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9) Just as Messiah proclaimed a gospel of repentance to His generation, so too Noah is called a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) who called his generation to repent. Just as Messiah warned His generation of an imminent day of wrath and judgment, so too Noah warned his generation of the coming flood. In the Matthew 24:37–39, Yeshua compares the generation of Noah to the generation that will witness His return. When He returns, He comes to usher in a day of judgment. That day of judgment is likened unto the flood. Yeshua tells us that just as in Noah’s days, the generation of His return will ignore the warnings leading up to the big event. Life will be going on as normal, when catastrophe strikes.
Just as Messiah is called “Savior of the World,” (John 4:42) so too Noah saved the world through his obedience. Just as Messiah made a means for deliverance by which men might be saved, so too Noah built the ark. Yeshua, like Noah, is the Preacher of Righteousness. Like Noah, He is the Savior of the World.
Even the name Noah (Noach, נח) can be related to Messiah. A traditional title for Messiah derived from Lamentations 1:16 is the Hebrew word menachem (מנחם), which means “comforter.” When speaking of the giving of the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, Yeshua tells His disciples that the Father will send them another Comforter (Menachem, מנחם), indicating that up until then, He had filled that title. In 1 John 2:1, Yeshua is referred to as our “Advocate with the Father,” a term employing the Greek equivalent for Menachem. The Sages of the Talmud agree that Menachem is one of the names of Messiah:
Others say that [Messiah’s] name is Menachem the son of Hezekiah, for it is written [Lamentations 1:16], “Far from me is a comforter [Menachem], one who restores my soul.” (b.Sanhedrin 98b quoting Lamentations 1:16)
At the root of the Hebrew word Menachem (מנחם) is the name Noach (נח), which also means “comforter.” When Noah was born, his parents named him Comforter. “And he called his name Noah, saying: ‘This same shall comfort us.’” (Genesis 5:29)
Shavuah Tov! Have a Good Week!
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