1.What happened to Noah? In Genesis we read this description of Noah, “Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with G-d.” When we read this verse it speaks of Noah in terms found nowhere else in the Torah. He was perfect. Now after the flood we read in B’resheet/Genesis 9:20-21 the following description of Noah, “he planted a vineyard. When he drank some of the wine he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.”
How do we explain such a change in this man who just a few verses earlier had been called a “Tzadik” or righteous man. What is the lesson for us?
Scripture does not give us a clear answer. But there are some conclusions we may be able to draw. One possibility is that Noah was haunted by his experiences during the flood. He chose to get drunk in order to ease his pain. He probably heard people screaming to get in the ark as the water was rising and they were drowning. Dealing with the fact that there was complete destruction of everything he had ever known must have been difficult.
Attempting to avoid negative feelings is one of the major reasons people abuse alcohol today.
For Noah, it was just him and his immediate family. It probably was a lonely place. The strain of trying to rebuild a shattered world, on top of the horrific loss of human life, would doubtless have been a heavy burden to bear. He could have sought comfort in alcohol instead of going to G-d for comfort and reassurance.
Is it easy to maintain our faith?
Is it easy to keep our spiritual balance when we face a serious crisis? I expect we all have times of feeling alone and discouraged. We too have choices. We can look for comfort or solutions in all the wrong places, places that temporarily comfort us and appeal to the flesh or we can go to our Father for comfort.
We cannot know for certain what happened to Noah but without any doubt he came to a crisis of faith and handled it poorly.
This is an important lesson for us. Each day our faith is being tested. It is important that we take the time to deepen our relationship with G-d. It is vital that we maintain contact with believers. We can communicate our needs to others when we are facing a difficult time.
We are not like Noah. He was alone, we are not.
Cultivate and grow your relationship with the Father. Don’t rely on solutions that only bring more pain. Don’t turn to anything that will take you away from your Creator. He is your Rock and will never fail you.
2.Remember in Noah’s time, before the rain began to fall and the waters to rise there was time for others to repent and enter the ark but no one did. Then the doors were shut by G-d and it was too late. Does this remind us of any verses in the Messianic scripture? What is the message to us?
There can come a time when the door closes and it will not be possible to enter.
What Messianic scripture did you find that could be a warning to people in our time who are living like the people in Noah’s time?
Luke 13:24-25, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us. But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’”
2 Corinthians 6:2, “For he says, In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of G-d’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
Matthew 25:1–13, Parable of the Ten Virgins, “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. the bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.The foolish ones said to the wise, Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves. But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘L-rd, L-rd,’ they said, ‘open the door for us! But he replied, Truly I tell you, I don’t know you. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
My point in all this is that we have a door of hope. When trouble comes and we are looking for relief or answers we can find it in Him. This door of hope is something we can share with those who are like the people in Noah’s day, people who do not know the L-rd and His salvation.
3. The word ark can be misunderstood. It was not a ship. The Hebrew word Teva is what we translate as ark. The meaning of this word is chest, box or even coffin. In modern Hebrew Tevat doar is a mail box. Teva is box and doar is an Aramaic word for messages delivered by courier. So Noah basically built a floating box. Given this description what does this say about the ark and what G-d was asking Noah to do?
The ark or teva was not a sea faring boat with a navigation system. There was no sail, no rudder, no navigation system. Noah was to put himself and his family inside this craft and G-d would close the door. G-d was asking Noah to walk onto the ark along with his family. He put his life in G-d’s hands.
His only obligation was to collect the animals and put them on the ark. For the entire voyage, the entire storm, he was totally dependent on G-d. So once the ark was built Noah did nothing except sit out the flood. His deliverance was not dependent on him but only on the will of his Heavenly Father. Noah only had to build a box that would float. Everything else he had to put his faith in G-d to take him through what would come.
Sound familiar?
This ark can be seen as a physical picture of the covenant that Noah entered into with G-d.
Hebrews 11:7, “By faith Noah, being warned of G-d of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
This same word, teva, appears in the story of the baby Moses. Moses’ mother made a basket of reeds and placed him inside the basket.
If you remember the story found in Exodus 2:3, the basket was covered over with tar and pitch to make it water tight. The same word and the same concept was used here in our portion today. In both situations the teva was built to protect and to save.
Noah constructed an ark for the saving of his household.
To know the salvation of G-d we must enter the ark of His covenant. We must be in that covenantal relationship with Him. Covenant provides the way for salvation. We enter into that relationship with Him, through His Son, our Messiah and emerge into life in a new world.
4.What were the sins of the people who settled in the land of Shinar and sought to build the tower of Babel? Are they issues we still deal with today?
HINT: Genesis 9:1 says Then G-d blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.”
G-d told the people to multiply in number and to fill the earth.
What were these people doing?
They settled in Shinar and lived there.
They all spoke the same language.
They were looking for security in living as a group in one place instead of obeying G-d’s instructions to fill the earth.
Where is your security?
Where do you go, what do you do when you are feeling vulnerable or insecure?
Do you build a false security around you that will not last or do you go to your Heavenly Father for security?
The key statements are in verse 4:
first they want to build a city;
second, they want to build a tower in the city that reaches to the heavens;
Third, they want to make a name for themselves;
fourth, they do not want to be dispersed over the whole earth.
The first two of these correspond to the second two.
Building a city is the way one avoids being dispersed over the whole earth.
And building a tower into the heavens is the way one makes a name for oneself.
So the city and tower are the outward expressions of the inward sins.
The two sins are the love of praise (so you crave to make a name for yourself)
and the love of security (so you build a city and don’t take the risks of filling the earth).
5.In the first Torah portion of Genesis we saw a common theme. The theme is seen in the word tov or good that is repeated over and over. Everything G-d created was good. Now this week we see another word used eight times in chapter 9. The word is brit or covenant. Why do you think G-d began this new course of covenant making that is set out in chapter nine? What did it solve?
In the days of creation everything G-d created was called good.
This week when we read chapter nine of Genesis we see the word covenant used repeatedly.
Why was this change needed?
In the eight chapters between chapter one and chapter nine of Genesis we see man sinning. First Adam and Eve, then Cain sinned. Then the good began to give way to what we read in Genesis 6:6, “And the L-rd was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”
With this change came G-d’s solution in the form of a covenant.
What is a covenant?
A covenant is a solemn promise, or contract between two or more parties. G-d’s covenant set a framework on how man should live.
This framework included
The knowledge that we are created in the image of G-d.
The knowledge that others are also created in the image of G-d.
The law to not kill another person or steal
The law to love your neighbor.
What was G-d’s covenant with man?
G-d’s covenant with man was to never destroy the earth again with a flood.
After the Flood, G-d taught Noah and through him all humanity that we should think of others as in the image of G-d. That is the only way to save ourselves from violence and self-destruction.
This really is a life-changing idea.
Can I see G-d’s image in one who is not in my image – whose color, class, culture or creed is so drastically different from mine? People fear people not like them. That has been a source of violence for as long as there has been human life on earth. The stranger, the foreigner, the outsider, is almost always seen as a threat.
As the people of G-d, as people who put their faith in Messiah,
we have the responsibility of living our lives as a child of His.
We carry His image with us in our every action.
Hate cannot become part of our lives.
We are governed by the love of G-d expressed in this world through the Messiah.
Our lives must be lived not by the standards of this world.
Our lives should be lived by the Covenant we have committed ourselves to,
the standards of the Word of G-d and what it requires of us.