Torah Reading this week is found in Genesis 6:9-7:24.

 

It is a very familiar passage of Torah that bears a good many themes, concepts and spiritual applications. But for us today, I want us to focus on just one central theme, if you will. And that theme has to do with pleasing Yehovah in perilous times. How do we make it through difficult times while staying in—while successfully operating in Yah’s Will?

 

And it is the example of Noah that we find here in our Reading today that I believe provides us an excellent understanding of how we are to operate in perilous times as people of Elohim.

 

So, in order that we remain within the confines of our theme, we will read just select verses of the overall parashah and then discuss in detail the likely meaning of those verses and identify those spiritual principles that will enhance our walk with Messiah.

 

As in previous discussions, I will be reading from the Robert Alter Translation and we will also consider content from related biblical and extra-biblical references. And as always, I encourage you to take what we discuss here and if you are so led, conduct your own study and allow the Ruach haKodesh to guide your understanding. Always.

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(6:9) This is the lineage of Noah–Noah was a righteous man. He was blameless in his time. Noah walked with Elohim…

 

Alter’s rendering of the Hebrew term “towledah” {to-led-aw} here in the first part of verse 9 is lineage, but in most English translations the term used is “generations.” One could spend a great deal of time pondering what this actually means. But the most accurate interpretation of “towledah” as used here in the first part of the verse is “this is the story of Noah.” Its use here is that of a marker, as it conveniently establishes the start of a new addition to the overall pre-flood story line.

 

As it relates to Noah being described as a righteous man, the conservative, orthodox perspective on this is simply that Noah maintained good relationships with his fellow humans (J.H. Hertz). 

 

Now, who am I to argue with a renowned rabbi? All I will say in regards to this rabbinic understanding of righteousness, as used here in our text, is that it lacks in terms of the role Yehovah plays in the granting of Noah’s stated righteousness. In other words, it is Yehovah who declares someone righteous. And it is, as we discussed in our last installment to the Paul and Hebrew Roots series entitled “The Righteousness of God is the Place Where Faith and Obedience Intersect,” our trusting-obedient faith is the thing that causes Yehovah to confer upon us righteous or right standing before Him.

  

Now, I guess it can also be said that, outside of one’s trusting-obedient faith leading to him/her being deemed righteous by Yehovah, that one’s behaviors or the way one carries or conducts themselves may be described as righteous or righteousness as well. And to some degree this is true. Certainly, Noah carried himself in the place and time he lived in a righteous manner. But as far as I’m concerned, Yehovah is the one who confers righteousness upon an individual. And in this case, Father asserts that Noah walked with Him and was blameless in the time or generation he lived. And all of what Noah did to be deemed righteous by Yehovah can be summarized or packaged as a result of Noah’s faith.

 

With the second use of the English term “generations” in this 9th verse, Alter renders it as “in his (his being Noah’s) time.” The Hebrew term as used here is not “toledah” as was used earlier in the verse. This time the Hebrew term used is “dowr,” which means period of time; generation; or age.  So, in this sense, Moshe is telling us that Noah was uncorrupted, unspotted and morally untainted, as the rest of humanity had become in that age; in that time period. 

 

Noah’s name in Hebrew is Noach. Noach means to rest or for one to take a rest. And thus, a lot may be entertained and considered as it relates to the applicability of the meaning of Noah’s name as it relates to this great story. But for our purposes, we will save discussion of the meaning of Noah’s name for another time.

 

The descriptor of Noah being “blameless (in the KJV the English term used is “perfect“) in all his ways in his day/time/generation” lends to and even supports Yehovah’s declaring of Noah to be a righteous man (i.e., found or declared to be in right-standing before a holy and righteous Elohim; found innocent of guilt by the Court of Heaven). Blameless is the Hebrew term “tamim.” Tamim means to be complete, whole, entire, sound.

 

Tamim or perfect is next used in Genesis 17:1 to describe how Yehovah wanted Avraham to behave and walk before Him. But it’s not until we get to Leviticus 22:21-25 that we get a better sense of what Yehovah means by one being perfect/blameless/tamim:

 

(21) “And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto YHVH to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accept; there shall be no blemish therein. (22) Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto YHVH, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the alter unto YHVH. (23) Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. (24) Ye shall not offer unto YHVH that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. (25) Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your Elohim of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you” (KJV)

 

Later on in Torah we find Yehovah instructing Yisra’el to not take on or live according to the ways of the Canaanites as it relates to spiritual or religious matters, but rather, they were to “be perfect with YHVH” (Deu. 18:13).  Yehovah instructs Yisra’el to use perfect and just weights and measures in the conduct of their business transactions (Deu. 25:15). And lastly, Moshe describes the Work and Ways of Yehovah as perfect (Deu. 32:4). Thus, there is a sense of the people of Yehovah and their offerings being free from defects.

 

Thus, blameless or “tamim” within the context of our reading here today has to do with the wholeness of the man: That being Noah’s character; His behavior; His attitude and the state of his heart (that being, His will bending to the Will of the Eternal–6:22; 7:5; His relationship with the Most High; and I would go so far as to suggest that even his genetic make-up (spiritual and physical)—everything about the man was pure; he was faultless in comparison to the general state of creation in his day. Genetic-make in contrast to the corruption that had overtaken the whole of creation. We know that Genesis 6 talks about the sin of the Watchers and how a breed of creatures emerged from the union of the Watchers and human females. And that the creatures that emerged from that union (aka Nephilim) corrupted the natural order. And if Mashiyach, the seed of the woman, was to ultimately come onto the human scene, He would have to be pure and undefiled as would be required for any Yehovah-sanctioned sacrifice.

 

Tim Hegg–Messianic author, teacher and commentator–sees perfect/blameless/tamim as used here in our Reading as having more to do with the man’s halachah than anything else.  And given that Mr. Hegg tends to lean towards the conservative Jewish mindset in much of his Torah analyses, I can see how he would arrive at such a conclusion. But I believe Abba is pointing us to a greater reality as it relates to Noah and by extension us through Y’shua Messiah, being blameless/perfect/tamim. Tamim for us must transcend our keeping the elements of Torah perfectly, however that is supposed to look like or manifest today in any given instance. Our tamim must incorporate, on top of our keeping of Father’s instructions in righteousness, a pure and malleable heart; our talk should be pure and holy; our relationship with the Eternal must be founded upon Spirit and Truth; our health must be good; our thoughts pure and holy; even our faith must be unshakable. And I say all this because we have a lot of folks within and outside our Faith community that do a pretty good job keeping rote Torah commandments, but they lack in a great many other areas of their lives. So, for one to be truly “tamim,” his or her blamelessness must incorporate their whole being. Can we truly conclude that one is “tamim” who keeps Torah perfectly, but has a terrible disposition and has no faith? Just asking.

 

As it relates to Noah walking with Elohim, we’re talking more of an intimate (that is a “yada” level) relationship with the Almighty. Both Enoch and Noah possessed or dwelt in such a relationship, in contrast to the dire state of humanity in their respective day. And it seems reasonable to conclude that for either of these men to have such a relationship with the Eternal, Abba would find favor in them (6:8). And we discussed in last week’s Torah Reading that Abba searches the hearts of men and He turns towards those who have the right heart. And thus, Yah will invite the one who possesses a circumcised heart to come in and enter into a covenant relationship with Him, and thus that one begins the journey of walking with Yehovah. There is an agreement between Yehovah and His would-be child. We covered all this in detail in Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections 4. I would again invite you to familiarize yourself with the concept of “walking with Yehovah” by either listening to or reading that discussion posting.

 

I will say that I really appreciate Mr. Hegg’s sentiments regarding Yehovah’s desire to walk with humanity. Hegg states that it is “the goal to which everything proceeds…to walk with God.” Yah wants a substantive, personal relationship with those who would be His. That relationship must, however, transcend any other relationship known to humanity. Thus, the purpose of the Messianic Torah Observer is not to promote Torah Living as the end all to be all to a would be Netzari or set-apart one. But rather, the purpose of MTMO first and foremost is to promote a faithful-obedient covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Our Master, who is the fulcrum of all Creation, came primarily to point fallen humanity to Yehovah, and to re-establish that “cool of the day walk” that Yehovah once enjoyed with “adam.” Tragically, that relationship opportunity is inhibited by the scourge of sin, which Yehovah sent His beloved Son, Yahoshua, to deal with once and for all. And so it is, because of the Person and Personal Ministry of Yahoshua that directly dealt with the sin issue that stymies that relationship–humanity now has the opportunity to truly teshuvah and enter into that covenant relationship with Yehovah.

 

(6:11) And the earth was corrupt before Elohim and the earth was filled with outrage. (12) And Elohim saw the earth and, look, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on the earth. (13) And Elohim said to Noah, “The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with outrage by them, and I am now about to destroy them, with the earth…”

 

The orthodox understanding of “the earth,” which in the Hebrew is “‘erets” as used here in this verse, is not talking about the whole of Yehovah’s living creation. Instead, the rabbis see “the earth” or “’erets” here as referring specifically to the earth’s human inhabitants, which are described as having become “grossly immoral;” in open defiance of Yehovah which proved to be offensive to Yehovah. 

 

The phrase “filled with outrage” most likely means that Yehovah’s human creation had become iniquitous–lawless. The elongated lifespan of humans during this period made for a very tenuous situation. The longer an iniquitous soul lives, the more refined the iniquity within and around that soul becomes. That soul’s iniquity doesn’t just affect that individual over the course of his/her lifetime. But that individual’s lawlessness also directly affects others in his/her sphere of influence (e.g., spouse; children; relatives; friends). So, as far as iniquity is concerned, by its very nature, it spreads; it proliferates. We sometimes talk about the “Mystery of Iniquity” that Shaul wrote was already spreading in the world, and this spreading is an intentional spreading of lawlessness in the earth by both man and the enemy. 

 

The orthodox understanding of the English term “violence” as used here is that of the weak being overrun in every way by the strong. There was blatant disregard for justice and the least in society were left helpless and doomed to being destroyed by those who were stronger then they were. 

 

 

The state of the world (i.e., humanity and the whole of Yah’s natural creation) in Noah’s day was one of utter and complete corruption and violence, according to the text (6:11). The Hebrew term for corrupt used here by Moshe is “shachath” {shaw-khath}, which means destroyed; ruined; decayed; marred; spoiled; rotten; perverted.

 

Now, when we consider humanity from a state of corruptness as described in verse 11 of the 6th chapter, especially in light of the use of the Hebrew term “shachath,” we’re talking not only about rampant and pervasive sin having taken over the whole of humanity (with the exception of Noah), we also must think about the physical state of all of Creation.

 

If the extra-biblical, apocryphal writings are to be even remotely believed, it is indeed conceivable that even the very genetic make-up of Yehovah’s natural creation–human, animal and plant–had been altered to some degree. (Not unlike the situation we’re seeing around us even today.) And so, Noah’s life–His existence–his relationship with the Creator of the Universe was certainly the rarest exception. For Mashiyiach, by absolute necessity, would biologically have to come into existence through an undefiled, uncorrupted line. (Bear in mind, I’m talking only from a biological perspective. Sin is not the issue in question as it relates to Yahoshua’s lineage, for every member of His line sinned–everyone of them. So, the concern here, at least for me, is the biological purity of Mashiyach’s line.)

 

This question of the whole of Yah’s creation being “shachath”–corrupted–in Noah’s day, seems to me to be more than a question of the sinfulness of creation. Indeed, all of humanity had become sinful beyond any conceivable level up to that time in human history. But when we look at the wording of 6:9, we find Yehovah describing Noah as being “perfect in his generations” or “tamiym dorw” in the Hebrew. The Hebrew suggests a more precise meaning of Noah was complete/whole/entire/sound in the days/age/time period he lived.

 

 

In most English translations of this passage, the world of Noah’s day is described as being violent (6:11). The Hebrew term used here for violence is “chamac” {khaw-mawce}, which means violence, but also means wrong, cruelty and injustice. When we consider the English term violence from our 21st-century western way of thinking, most of us would probably see Noah’s world as being filled with murders and acts that caused people physical harm. But the Hebrew expands this definition just a bit by suggesting to us that Noah’s world, in addition to murders and injurious acts being inflicted against one another, humanity engaged in, as though it was part and parcel of its character, wrong-doing of every kind; cruelty to one another; and injustice. It was morally, physically and psychologically a danger time and place to live. (Not unlike some of the major cities of our nation today, huh?)

 

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed for the sole reason that its citizens were practicing homosexuality. The Prophet Ezekiel declared the following as it relates to this issue:

 

“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread (i.e., abundance of food without giving thanks to the One who provided that food; and careless ease was  in her and in her daughters (that is, they were careless and complacent); neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy (or rather, they flagrantly ignored the wellbeing of the forgotten in their societies)” (16:49; ESV).

 

So, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for being morally corrupted and completely obtuse towards the provisions and Ways of Yehovah. And a similar environment existed in Noach’s day, although the moral fabric of society in Noach’s day was probably far worse if one can imagine that.

 

Nevertheless, Noach had overcome all these horrendously negative variables and was “walking” blamelessly and righteously with Yehovah. And it was Noach who Yehovah selected to carry forth the seed line that would bring about The Seed that would ultimately crush the serpent’s head. 

 

(6:22) And this Noah did; as all that Elohim commanded him, so he did.

 

(7:1) And Yehovah said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for it is you I have seen righteous before Me in this generation…”

 

1. H. Hertz in his Torah and Haftorah provides a very interesting perspective here as it relates to Yehovah seeing Noah as righteous “before” Him in that generation/dowr–that time period or day. Hertz provides for us the following moral rabbinic principle:

 

“Utter only a part of a man’s praise in his presence (which is what we see described here in this verse on the part of Yehovah towards Noah), but thou mayest speak the whole of a man’s praise in his absence.” And Hertz goes on to add to this thinking a truth that it is human nature for people to talk about another’s personal deficiencies in an individual’s absence, but will scarcely mention any of that individual’s deficiencies while in their presence.

 

So here, if we are to use this rabbinic rubric as sort of a moral guide, Yehovah through Moshe extols throughout our reading Noah’s many virtues (I.e., blameless; righteous; walked with Yehovah), but chooses to utter directly to Noah just a portion of those many virtues. In other words, Yehovah chose not to blow up Noah personally. Such personal over praise of an individual may lead to, of course, a big head, which may lead to a great fall.

 

This is one more testimony from Yehovah that Noah was a righteous man (6:9) and that he was blameless in his day.

 

(7:5) And Noah did all that Yehovah commanded him.

 

 

Scriptural Analysis

 

Ezekiel 14 offers an interesting perspective as it relates to Noah; in particular his righteousness. The prophet reveals the mind of Yehovah by Yah’s contrasting what He will do to a people who grievously sin against Him and His Ways with what will happen to His righteous ones such as Noah, Daniel and Job:

 

(13) “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by acting faithlessly (“ma’ al” or trespassing to a grievous level), and I stretch out My hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they would deliver by their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Yehovah…(16) even if these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Sovereign Yehovah, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate. (17) Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast (18) though these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Sovereign Yehovah, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered; (19) Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, (20) even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Sovereign Yehovah, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness” (Eze. 14:13-20; ESV).

 

The sins of a people will ultimately lead to Yehovah’s judgments against those people and their sin (from both an individualistic and a nationalistic perspective). This becomes all the more evident and manifested when a people’s sins reach the level of it becoming a way of life for that people–even epidemical; gross; universal; heinous.  Because Yehovah is righteous and just, He must respond accordingly. (I would recommend, if you are so led, to read or listen to our post entitled “Let God Be True and Every Man a Liar” where we discuss Yehovah’s righteous and just character that compels Him to judge humanity accordingly.) Yehovah’s judgments may not come about when and how we, Yehovah’s set-apart ones, feel they should. For Yah sets the time and manner of His judgment. But judgment will inevitably come. And the judgment will be extended vigorously and openly, to all who are connected, and for heaven and earth to witness it accordingly. His judgment will be in proportion to the extent of the peoples’ sins.

 

Later on we find that despite Yehovah’s wrath and judgments decimating the greater population of a sinful people, He will inevitably reserve some remnant as an attestation to His mercies that He extends to humanity (verses 22-23). Furthermore, we have seen where Yehovah will, in accordance with His perfect Will and Righteousness, spare a nation from judgment for a given amount of time for the sake of His righteous remnant (Eze. 5:11). We have even the example of Yehovah’s willingness to spare Sodom for the sake of ten-righteous ones (Gen. 18:27-33).

 

But as it applies to our Reading here today, we see all these elements played out. Yehovah’s wrath and judgment ultimately would be poured out upon the whole of the earth, but His mercies extended to humanity by His saving of righteous Noah and his immediate family. Despite all of creation having become corrupted in all its ways in Noah’s day, Noah found favor in Yehovah’s eyes. How did Noah find favor in Yehovah’s eyes? It was Noah’s trusting, obedient (CJB) that caught Abba’s attention and which caused Abba to make provision for Noah and his family to escape the Creator’s wrath:

 

“By faith Noah, when he was told of things not seen, feared; and he made himself an ark for the life of his household, whereby he (Noah) condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Heb. 11:7; AENT).

 

As it relates to one receiving the righteousness of Elohim which is faith-based, I invite you to listen to or read our discussion entitled: “The Righteousness of God is the Place Where Obedience and Faith Intersect-Part-1-What is the Righteousness of God?“

 

Noah provides us an example as to who will ultimately prevail in the midst of Yehovah’s wrath and judgment. When the righteous live by their faith, they will be saved, one way or another (Hab. 2:4). We know that given the terrible state of humanity today, especially in light of the signs of the times we’re presently living in, Yah’s judgment and wrath are indeed at humanity’s front door. We’re starting to see evidence of this, I believe, in the form of unprecedented natural disasters around the world; diseases; financial ruin; increased natural and unnatural deaths of individuals; and the like.

 

We who are Yah’s set-apart remnant in the earth must learn and strive to live by faith. That faith transcends that of a simple cognitive understanding that Yehovah exists. James, the half-brother of our Master Yahoshua, provided a sobering perspective on such base-level faith:

 

“Thou believest that there is one Elohim, thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble” (2:19).

Indeed, this base-level faith does not lead to one being conferred right-standing before a holy and righteous Elohim. It certainly cracks open the door a little to a greater faith that leads to righteousness. That level of faith that leads to the Righteousness of God is an action-based faith–I define it as more an obedience-based faith (Rom. 16:26).  (I would invite you to listen to or read our discussion related to the topic of an obedience-based faith, entitled: “Obedience Versus Faith–Paul and the Book of Romans Series.“)

 

This greater or greatest level of faith is the faith that Abel, Enoch, Noah and Avraham all walked in  (i.e., halachah’d in). Yes, this level of faith begins with the cognitive belief that Yehovah exists and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:4). But the Righteousness of God level faith that these patriarchs all walked in is a trusting faith that encompasses one walking in obedient covenant relationship with the Eternal. It is comprised of a true, and substantive–even intimate (yada) relationship with Yehovah. It requires a circumcised heart–a will that subordinates itself to the Will of Yehovah (Deu. 10:16; Jer. 4:4) . And thus this one readily obeys Yehovah’s instructions/commandments because he/she both fears and loves Him:

 

“…Fear Elohim, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecc. 12:13).

 

The one who would be righteous must also love Yehovah:

 

“And thou shalt love Yehovah thy Elohim with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deu. 6:5; Mat. 22:37; Luk. 10:27).

 

For if we love Him, we will keep His Commandments (Joh. 14:15; 15:10).

 

Because Noah was faithful, righteous, blameless, and walked with Yehovah, he established a covenant with him (Gen. 9). When we walk in faithful obedience, Yehovah establishes a covenant us. Under the renewed covenant, He comes to live within us, in so doing, He inscribes His laws into our hearts and in our minds. And most importantly, He will no longer remember our sins and iniquities (Heb. 10:16). And so it is, in His not remembering our sins and iniquities, we receive His righteousness–we receive right-standing before Him.

 

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The Apocryphal Books

Jubilees

 

The writer introduces Noach to the reader as a man dwelling in a world dominated by the Nephilim–the Nephilim being the products of the union between the Fallen Ones (i.e., the Watchers) and the daughters of men. And from this abrupt incursion into and disruption of Yehovah’s natural creation, the writer describes the world of Noach’s day as being “corrupted” in all its ways and with increasing “lawlessness.” Lawlessness is also described in English as iniquity, in the Hebrew, “‘avon {avown}, which means: perversity; depravity; iniquity; guilt. And this corrupt condition applied to “all flesh” according to the text:

 

“…alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walketh on the earth–all of them corrupted their ways and their orders...” (5:2).

 

And it was that “every imagination of the thoughts of all men (was) thus evil continually” (5:2b).

 

Now, in all fairness to the Jubilee version of the Noach story, the corruptness of humanity cannot be entirely blamed on the Watchers. Indeed, the Watchers, according to the books of Enoch and Jubilees, have tremendous culpability as it relates to the corruption of all aspects of Yehovah’s creation. And thus, the sins of the Watchers, in the eyes of Yehovah, was unforgivable and required the destruction of all things living in order to correct (to some degree) their evil influences. But certainly, the heart of humanity had strayed so far from the Ways and Will of Yehovah, that its “every imagination of its thoughts was evil continually.” This was over and above the physical corruption of Yehovah’s creative order that was blamed on the sin of the fallen ones.

 

And we’ll see just how bad the hearts of humanity had become in the Ancient Book of Jasher’s rendition of this story.

 

The Ancient Book of Jasher

 

The writer here states that Noach followed in the footsteps of his grandfather Methuselah, who the writer described as “perfect and upright with Yehovah” (4:13).

 

Now, a very interesting point to be understood here is that Jasher completely ignores the whole Watchers’ story as told in Genesis 6 and the Book of Jubilees. The writer of Jasher blames only humanity for creation’s corruption:

 

(16) “And all the sons of men departed from the ways of Yehovah (implying that humanity once followed in the Ways of Yehovah) in those days (i.e., in the days of Noach) as they multiplied upon the face of the earth with sons and daughters, and they taught one another their evil practices and they continued sinning against Yehovah. (17) And every man made unto himself a god (this being the first time in the record of people actually worshiping other gods; engaging in paganism; worshiping idols), and they robbed and plundered every man his neighbor as well as his relative, and they corrupted the earth, and the earth was filled with violence. “

 

And here’s where the disparity comes into play as it relates to the meaning of Genesis 6:2 where Moshe writes that “the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose…and there were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of Elohim came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men of old, men of renown.”

 

Jasher makes clear that those sons of Elohim were:

 

(18) “And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice.”

 

Interestingly, Jasher accuses the sons of men in that day of:

 

(18) “…taking from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other (i.e., crossbreeding)), in order therewith to provoke Yehovah…”

 

Now, in connection to humanity in some way having prior to this time walked in the Ways of Yehovah, the writer makes note that the corruptness of the earth came about after “all men who walked in the ways of Yehovah” had died off in those days (i.e., that generation or that period of time in human history (4:20a)). And it would thus appear that Methuselah and his grandson Noach were the last of that generation of humanity that “walked in the ways of Yehovah” (5:6).

 

We would be remiss in our not giving any serious attention to the Jasher notion of humanity, at some point prior to and leading up to Noach’s day walking, in the Ways of Yehovah, because we have that mysterious, but powerful little statement at the second-half of Genesis 4:26 that asserts that when Seth begat his son Enos:

 

“…then men began to call upon the Name of Yehovah” (KJV).

 

Furthermore, if you recall, the 3rd chapter of Jasher regales the life of Enoch whereby the reader is told how some segment of humanity turned to and walked in Yehovah’s Ways as a result of Enoch’s righteous example; his leadership and his teachings on Yah’s Ways. (We discussed this in some detail in our post entitled: “What it Means to Walk with God? A Messianic Discussion of Parashah 4–Genesis 5:1-6:8“).

 

Well, the Jasher account goes on to add a substantive flavor to the whole Noach story, that seems to support the Apostle Kefa’s (aka Peter’s) description of Noah as “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5), who apparently during the 120-years he was building the ark, he preached repentance or Teshuvah to humanity:

 

(7) “Speak ye, and proclaim to the sons of men, saying, Thus saith Yehovah, return from your evil ways and forsake your works, and Yehovah will repent of the evil that He declared to do to you, so that it shall not come to pass. (8) For thus saith Yehovah, Behold, I give you a period of 120 years; if you will turn to me and forsake your evil ways, then will I also turn away from the evil which I told you, and it shall not exist, saith Yehovah” (5:7-8).

 

It goes without saying, according to the Jasher account, humanity refused to hearken to Noach’s call to Teshuvah. The text emphasizes, in a sense, that Yehovah’s grace prevailed for those 120-years.

 

And the Book of Jasher does agree with the Book of Genesis account that Noach was a just (aka righteous) man who was perfect (aka blameless) in his generation. But the writer also emphasizes that Noach was chosen of all the peoples of the earth at that time for purposes of “raising up seed from his seed upon the face of the earth because Yehovah saw Noach as righteous in that generation or in that day” (5:13-14).

 

Some have attributed an eschatological meaning to the quote: “Yehovah chose him (Noach) to raise up seed from his seed upon the face of the earth” (5:13b)–the raising up of seed from his seed, that ultimate seed being Yahoshua. And that interpretation does appear to be reasonable to me, presuming we believe the Jasher account. But the author’s original intent could have just as easily been a pragmatic one, that Yehovah chose righteous Noach to preserve humanity–preserve human seed from the coming wrath and judgment–and carry on the instruction to humanity to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:22, 28). 

 

Josephus’ The Antiquity of the Jews (Chapter 3)

 

It’s interesting to find Josephus’ accounting of the Noach story to align in some areas with both the Jubilees and Jasher account.

 

Josephus asserts that the line of Seth leading up to Noach’s day, was righteous; for 7-generations  he asserts. He then states that as time progressed, that is, coming in to Noach’s day, humanity became perverted, forsaking the ways of the fathers, paying no honor to Yehovah, and living iniquitous lives absent any justice.

 

 

Josephus makes mention of the fact that Yehovah loved Noach for his righteousness, which none of the other accounts even mentions Yehovah having love for Noach. (Yes, it is given that Yehovah loved Noach. It’s just not stated or mentioned in our Torah Reading.)

 

A couple interesting perspectives are introduced in Josephus’ account:

 

1. Yehovah intended to make another race to replace that wicked one that He intended to destroy. That race would have their lives cut short to just 120-years. That race would be pure from wickedness.
2. Noach’s building of the ark was not a commandment but rather, a suggested contrivance and way of escape for Noach and his family.

 

Practical Netzari Halachah

Noah pleased Yehovah—or rather, Noah found favor in Yehovah’s eyes in the midst, arguably, of the most wicked period of human history. And scripture records that Yah’s wrath and judgment would ultimately destroy all life on the earth in response to the unprecedented wickedness and corruption to His natural order. And most importantly, it was that blessed favor that saved not just Noah and his immediate family from physical destruction, but also us from eternal spiritual destruction. For from Noah’s line would emerge our Master-Yahoshua Messiah—and His personal ministry would bring to all humanity the opportunity to escape eternal damnation.

 

Noah’s story is ultimately one of grace: Yehovah’s grace being shed upon His human creation despite His human creation being convicted and found guilty in the Court of Heaven for its sinfulness and lawlessness.

 

Yehovah’s love overshadowed the regret and anger He had towards humanity because there was a man walking in the midst of this corrupt, wicked and damned world who refused to take the path of least resistance. And that path of least resistance—that is, simply giving in the corruptness and wickedness of the world—would have no doubt made Noah’s life so much easier, at least up to the day that Yah’s wrath and judgment would be unleashed upon the world.

 

Conventional wisdom would have us believe that Noah was some kind of super, bigger than life, perfect in every way, patriarch hero of the Bible who could do no wrong. And thus it is universally reasoned that he found favor in God’s sight because he was Noah. He was a paradox; an enigma; a fluke of the universe if you will. And indeed, in a sense he was. But he wasn’t all these amazing things because he was somehow made or drawn that way. He was all these amazing things because he made a decision to not take the path of least resistance. He decided at some point in his life not to choose the world, but instead, choose Yehovah.

 

And I would submit to you that Noah’s decision to choose Yehovah—to enter into a covenant relationship with Him and to walk in Yah’s Ways was no doubt met with a great deal of opposition. Although not mentioned in our bible, we get a sense from at least one apocryphal writing that the world vehemently opposed Noah’s righteous living and his call for humanity to Teshuvah and escape the wrath to come (Josephus).

 

The writer of the Book of Hebrews highlights Noah’s faith in Yehovah and His Word as “putting the world under condemnation” while the Apostle Peter highlights Yehovah’s patience—Yah’s grace being extended upon humanity “while the ark was a preparing” (Heb. 11:7 and 1 Pet. 3:20 respectively).

 

Now, whether or not we choose to believe Josephus’ assertion or deduce from the apostolic record that Noah preached the unpopular message of Teshuvah to the corrupt society of his day, it cannot be denied that he ran an arduous race of faith in his life that led to him and his family being saved from the wrath that was to come. That life-race that he ran provides us a critical example, and dare I say, a spiritual mandate as it relates to our being able to please Yehovah in such perilous times as we’re living today.

 

The days we’re currently living are not too unlike the days of Noah leading up to the Great Flood. We can all agree that the entire world has corrupted itself to such a point that all that remains is the coming Great Tribulation and our Master’s return.

 

Master told us that in the last days, there would be deceiving spirits operating in the world; there would be wars and rumours of wars with nations rising up against nations; that Yah’s elect would face tremendous persecution and tribulation at the hands of society and even at the hands of those who would appear to be set-apart ones. For those seemingly set-apart ones will set out to betray the true Body of Mashiyach with intense hatred and resentment. Lawlessness or iniquity will abound, not just in the world, but even within the Body of Mashiyach, and people’s genuine sensitivity towards one another will fade to a point where folks just no longer care about other people; care about their families; care about the brethren; choosing instead to care only for themselves.

 

But even in the midst of all this chaos and turmoil, Master prophesied that the Gospel of the Kingdom (aka the Besorah) will be proclaimed in all the world as a witness unto all nations (Mat. 24:4-14).

 

Folks, isn’t the state of our world very close to that of Noah’s day? Isn’t the wickedness and corruption of the world, as in Noah’s day, folding in and around Yehovah’s people? Aren’t Yah’s people having, in many cases, to live exclusively by their faith?

 

The violence is so bad in virtually every area of our nation that people no longer can place their faith in law enforcement to protect them. Yah’s people are having to now learn to trust Yehovah for their safety.

 

The erosion of our civil liberties and constitutional rights have led many of Yah’s elect to be “canceled” in our society. Some have lost the ability to provide for themselves and their families. Many of us who belong to Yehovah each day run the risk of being physically harmed or incarcerated because we choose to walk in righteousness and not take the path of least resistance. Many of us are now learning to trust Yehovah exclusively for our wellbeing; our income; our substance and sustenance; our careers; and so forth.

 

As it relates to the world today, very few are interested in hearing Yehovah’s Word. The world is not interested in having a blessed covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe, which in and of itself defies the very makeup of the human soul. The human soul was designed to yearn for; to seek out; to grasp hold of a relationship with their Maker. But that desire; that yearning; the intent is all but dead within the average individual today, as it was in Noah’s day. Instead, the overwhelming, vast majority of souls on this planet simply want to live and let die; they want, instead, to have relationships with other gods. But those gods are that of government; of pharmakeia; of sex and perversion; of entertainment; of liberalized education; of fame and fortune; of possessions; of religion.

 

Yehovah’s righteousness and justice cannot allow humanity’s corruption, evil, wickedness and lawlessness to go unabated indefinitely. He must respond with righteous and holy judgment and put down the chaos once and for all.

 

But for Yah’s people—His elect—His set-apart ones, He has called us, as was told to Habakkuk regarding the remnant Jews of his day who were living in the midst of similar corruption and having to deal with abject persecution and tribulation in the Land of Judah, those righteous ones (the remnant if you will) are to live by their faith—to live by faith (Hab. 2:4).

 

Despite all that was going on around them and despite the gloominess of their individual and collective situations, Yehovah directed Habakkuk to tell the remnant that Yehovah is sovereign and He knows what He’s doing. But as for them, the blessed remnant, they are to simply go on living by their faith. They are to continue to walk in covenant relationship with Him; to walk exclusively in His Ways; to obey Him and love Him and love one another.

 

Shaul echoed this same sentiment to his Messianic Roman readers in Romans 1:17. For Shaul, it was the Besorah—the Gospel—the Good News of the Kingdom of Yehovah—that revealed unto the world Yehovah’s Righteousness. The Righteousness of Yehovah is not only about the Coming Kingdom of Yehovah, but it is also about Yehovah’s coming righteous and just wrath and judgment to be pour out upon corrupt and wicked humanity. Just as in the days of Noah. And just as it was with Noah, we are compelled and even commanded to live by faith. For it will be our faithful living that will ultimately save us from Yehovah’s wrath and judgment. And it will be our faithful living that will curry us favor with Yehovah and credit us as righteous before Yehovah.

 

The writer of Hebrews unequivocally stated that faith is absolutely required to please Elohim (Heb. 11:6). Faith is absolutely required for one to find favor in Yehovah’s sight. Faith is absolutely required for us to escape the coming judgment and wrath of Yah.

 

Yah takes great pleasure in the faith—the faithful walk—the faith-based covenant relationship He has with His set-apart ones. So much so that He rewards those whose faith leads them to diligently seek out and walk in His ways (Heb. 11:6). Noah was rewarded for His faith. And it was Noah’s faith that pleased Yah and caused Yah to save Noah and his immediate family.

 

Of this very thing, the writer of the Book of Hebrews penned:

 

³⁵ Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. ³⁶ For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. ³⁷ For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. ³⁸ Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. ³⁹ But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Heb 10:35-39 KJV)

 

Beloved, the only way to find favor in Yehovah’s sight is for us to live by faith—to walk faithfully in His Ways—to enter into and remain steadfastly in an obedient covenant relationship with Him. In so doing, we not only please Yehovah, especially in perilous times such as these we are living, but we will ultimately be saved from the wrath and judgment to come, as was Noah and his family.

 

But there’s an additional benefit to our living in faith in these perilous times. We will ultimately live and reign with our beloved Master, Yahoshua Messiah in the coming Kingdom. Of this Master Yahoshua stated:

 

⁴¹ The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; ⁴² And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Mat 13:41-43 KJV)

 

So, I say to you in closing my dear brothers and sisters in the True Faith Once delivered, let us build our own arks of safety in fear and trembling; obedient to Yehovah’s instructions in righteousness, with unshakable trusting faith in Him and in His Words. How do we build our own arks of safety? Walk in Yehovah’s Ways and do His Will—follow His commandments for us—trust Him and His Words. Do not take the path of least resistance by conforming to the demands and enticements of this world. Instead, let us follow in the footsteps and example of Yahoshua our Messiah. Let us not be intimidated by the assertive nature of the world us, but instead trust that Abba has our backs and that He will deliver us in the end. Let us love Him and love the brethren with a pure and unselfish love. Let us die to self and do the work of the Gospel while it is still day, for the night cometh—the flood is coming—when no one can work (Joh. 9:4). 

 

Until next week’s Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections discussion, Shabbat Shalom—Shavu’tov—May you be most blessed fellow saints in training. Take care