Torah Portion Summary
The second reading in the book of Genesis is named after Noah. In Hebrew, the name Noah is Noach. The word Noach is related to the Hebrew word for "rest." Genesis 5:29 says that his parents named him Noah (Noach, נח) because they hoped their son would give them rest (nacham, נחם) from their toil. The contents of section Noah tell the story of Noah's flood, the tower of Babel, and the beginning of the Abrahamic line. Noah's name comes from the Hebrew verb nu'ach (נוּחַ), meaning "to rest." He was so named by his father Lamech who said, "Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief (rest) from our work and from the painful toil of our hands" (Gen. 5:29). As such, Noah is a type of Messiah who saves the world and gives comfort and rest.
In our Torah portion, God revealed to Noah his intention of destroying all the inhabitants of the earth with a great and worldwide flood (mabbul), and therefore instructed him to build a 450 foot long, three-tiered wooden teivah ("ark") and to daub or cover it (כָּפַר) both inside and out with pitch (i.e., resin). Noah took his wife, his three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) and their wives, and two (male and female) of every sort of unclean animal (and seven of every clean) into the ark to be sheltered from the coming deluge.
Haftarah Portion Summary
The Haftarah for Noach comes from the prophet Isaiah. God's promise of the redemption of Israel is based on the same covenantal strength as His promise to keep the earth from another worldwide flood. "This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you" (Isaiah 54:9-10). Just as the generation of the flood had sinned and yet a remnant was saved, so too God has preserved a remnant for Himself and will one day bring about the complete salvation of the nation of Israel (Romans 9-11). The barren one will then bear innumerable children and will break forth in great singing and joy!
B'rit Chadashah Portion Summary
In the Brit Chadashah, Noah is depicted as a hero of faith: "By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith" (Hebrews 11:7). The "days of Noah" are a picture of the idolatrous conditions of the world that prevail just before the calling up of the followers of the Mashiach Yeshua before the time of Great Tribulation upon the earth: "As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming" (Matt. 24:36-42).
Surely in our postmodern world, we are living in the "days of Noah." Idolatrous practices abound and by merely reading the daily news we can see that "every intention of the thoughts of man's heart is only evil continually." We live in a new pagan dark age that is centered upon selfishness and violence. The coming of the LORD Yeshua will come suddenly - and without warning to an unwatching generation. Indeed, it will come as "a thief in the night," and while people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape (1 Thes. 5:2-3). Since it is generally conceded that the time of the Great Tribulation will be anything but a time of "peace and security," the allusions made by the Master (and the Apostle Paul) point to something quite different than a post-tribulational appearance of Yeshua in Jerusalem at the end of worldwide chaos.
Just as God called righteous Noah into the ark and 7 days later the flood came, so he represents a type of the Rapture of the Church before the 7 year Tribulation. By means of this incredible event those declared righteous by the grace of the LORD will be taken out of the wickedness of the surrounding world, and spared from the time of wrath. Unlike those upon whom the day of the Lord comes like a thief, the LORD Yeshua stated there will be those who will escape the catastrophic events that precede the Great Tribulation. You can be one of them, if you put your complete trust in His sheltering love.