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Category: Inspiration
An Eye to the Sky
The Torah opens its testimony concerning Noah in this way:
אֵלֶּה, תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ–נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק תָּמִים הָיָה, בְּדֹרֹתָיו: אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים, הִתְהַלֶּךְ-נֹחַ
“This is the story of Noah. Noah was a faithful man, he was without defect among his generation. Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9, personal translation).
My family and I have lived on our mountain home for some twenty-five (25) years. Over that time, there have been many occasions when work needed to be done in advance of a storm. While the work at hand was done with the necessary attention, an eye and an ear was attuned to the sky in order to find shelter in the event that the storm arrived sooner than expected.
Messiah makes a rather startling statement in his eschatological discourse found in Matthew 23:37 – 24:1-51. After prophesying the destruction of the Holy Temple, speaking on the signs of the end: false messiah’s, false prophets, wars and rumors of wars, famine, earthquakes, and His disciples witnessing the “abomination of desolation” standing in the Holy Place – indicating that the Jerusalem Dwelling Place will be rebuilt – He says of Noah,
“For just as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. And they did not understand until the flood came and swept them all away. So shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt. 24:37-39).
What were the days of Noah? “Now the earth was ruined before God, and the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and behold it was ruined because all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth” (Gen. 6:11-12).
It is important to carefully read the text of Matthew 24. Matthew 24:1-32 details the signs of the age, an overview of the building storm clouds.
As Paul writes, “Let no one deceive you in any way, for the Day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the one destined to be destroyed. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in the Temple of God, proclaiming himself that he is God” (II Thess. 2:3-4).
Matthew 24:32-51 warns followers of Messiah to be faithful, and watchful. He will come suddenly. One, who is attentive to, and faithful regarding His coming, will be taken; while the other distracted and unfaith will remain. With the world crumbling, the temptation will be to ignore it and seek pleasure, so Yeshua uses recognizable imagery for those distractions: celebration and labor.
What is the message here for us?
Noah is described as an אִישׁ צַדִּיק, “a righteous/faithful man,” תָּמִים הָיָה, בְּדֹרֹתָיו, without “defect/blemish among his generation.”
In the midst of the violent, turbulent and sinful age, Noah remained faithful to the Lord, unstained from the surrounding influences/world (Jas. 1:27). He was undeterred from faith in God even while living among the Nephilim, or fallen ones (Gen. 6:4).
The Lord recognized his faithfulness, and called Noah to build an Ark for the yet unseen storm. He walked, or built by faith and not by sight (II Cor. 5:7).
Peter explains, “He did not spare the ancient world. He preserved only Noah, a proclaimer of righteousness, along with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly” (II Pet. 2:5).
The author of Hebrews writes of Noah, “By faith Noah, when warned about events not yet seen, in holy fear prepared an ark for the safety of his household. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Heb. 11:7).
In our generation, the storm clouds and the distant thunder have not yet reached our horizon, but the smell is in the air, the pressure is dropping, the winds are picking up, but are we keeping a watchful eye and ear to the sky?
I hear frequently, “it’s getting really bad out there.” Certainly it is, but not as bad as it soon will be.
The days of Noah are also called the “days of sin.” They are, in type, a warning for those who will live to see the revelation of the “man of lawlessness” or the “man of sin.”
While Messiah Yeshua is the Word made flesh (Jn. 1:14), the righteousness One; the “man of lawlessness” will embody sin, wickedness, and all unrighteousness: in this, the power of deceit and manipulation.
What do we do?
Noah was called to build an ark, תֵּבַת, which not only means box or chest, as it is not a boat as we would understand it, but also word. The picture of salvation was the word that Noah was to proclaim, in the midst of the yet unseen judgment, a word saying “come to Me.” Noah had to enter and be in the very word he proclaimed: the ark.
The only way of salvation was before Noah’s generation, but in ignorance and distraction they ignored it, until the waters swept them away.
What was in type with Noah, is in full with Messiah Yeshua/Jesus.
The ark, the Word was made flesh (Jn. 1:14). The way of salvation, and rescue from judgment, is in Him, the Word made flesh.
Eight souls were saved – pointing to the renewal of humanity. Those who have been renewed, born-again by passing through the waters in faith, will be delivered from the judgment.
In this generation, those in Messiah, walking with Him in faith, unstained from the corruption of this world, are renewed and sealed for rescue on that Day when the Son of Man comes.
As with Noah, our proclamation remains the Word, and the Lord’s message of righteousness in Messiah.
While we are about the business at hand – our labor that He has prepared for us (Eph. 2:10) – we are to keep an eye and ear to the sky, attentive to the coming storm, not for our sake but for those we are living with – the human other distracted by the burdens of the age.
Sin, lawlessness, and wickedness will all increase as the days advance for the revelation of the “man of lawlessness,” and the coming of the Son of Man. While the “man of lawlessness” will increase sin in order to ensnare, the Son of Man will rescue those who are His, and overcome sin and its master, once and for all.
Four principles we can learn from Noah:
- We must remain faithful to the Lord, relying on His grace.
- Unstained by the pollution around us, relying on His mercy.
- Walk with the Lord daily, relying on His faithfulness.
- Continue to believe, even when the goal is yet unseen, relying on His promise.
Be well. Shalom.
Beginning in the End
Each time I set out from a trail head to hike, I cannot help but think of a rabbinic expression, “the end is caught up in the beginning.” It is to that spot, where my Jeep is parked, that I will return several hours, and many miles later – to end where I began.
First to the beginning.
In Genesis 2:7 we read,
וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת-הָאָדָם, עָפָר מִן-הָאֲדָמָה
“And the Lord God formed the man from the red dirt of the ground.”
Genesis 2:7, 21-22 are a closer look at the creation narrative of man found in Genesis 1:26-27. The Lord formed Adam with His hands from the red dirt of the ground, and, as the Torah says,
וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו, נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים
“And he breathed into his nose, the breath of life.”
The Lord put his life – divine breath – into the formed Adam; and from there the Adam, created in the “image and likeness” of God would rest in that divine breath.
In Genesis 2:15 we read,
וַיִּקַּח יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, אֶת-הָאָדָם; וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן-עֵדֶן, לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ
“And the Lord God took the man, and set him to rest in the Garden of Eden, to work and protect it.”
Three points:
1. Man was set in a condition of rest in the Garden – breathing the breath of the Father – Adam rested in the midst of creation, just as the Father rested in Genesis 2:2 – imitation.
2. Man was to work the Garden, as man cannot rest without the counterpart of purpose, yet the work – divine service – was not yet toil, as the Garden willingly responded to the care of the gardener.
3. Man was to guard the Garden. From what? The serpent (Gen. 3:1). Original sin is known as the sin of Adam; not because he did not stop Eve from falling for the scheme of the serpent, but he failed to guard the Garden and keep the serpent out. Thus, having fallen from that lofty position, Adam himself would be kept out by the cherubim who would now guard it (Gen. 3:24).
This is the beginning of Adam, man, humanity, and to this beginning man returns.
Now, to the ending.
Messiah Yeshua/Jesus called out to humanity, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).
Those responding to the call of Messiah are, in the same pattern of Adam, formed, more precisely, reformed by the outstretched hands of Messiah, the very one who walked with Adam in the “spirit of the day.” Messiah then breathes on those who are His own (Jn. 20:22), giving them new vigor and power in this renewed life.
Just as the Lord set Adam at rest in the Garden, in Messiah our souls are at rest, even in the midst of labor and service, no longer toiling spiritually. In Him, we find these three points:
1. As Messiah has rested, or seated, from the work of salvation, we are thus set in His rest, imitating Him in that condition in the inward man.
2. As the author of Hebrews tells us, those ceasing from their own works of righteousness have entered His rest (Heb. 4:9-11), and in that rest we do the works prepared for us beforehand by the Father (Eph. 2:8-10) – the creation then becomes a partner with us in the work of the Lord, and groans with us in anticipation for the final redemption (Ro. 8:23).
3. Now, we are to guard, as Paul writes, “As the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Messiah Yeshua” (Phil. 4:7). Guard against what? Take every thought – not belonging to the inward garden – captive (II Cor. 10:5) to the obedience of Messiah, and guard against, as Paul writes, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you are able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11).
For those resting in Messiah, the guarding cherubim have stilled their swords, as we are “seated in Him in heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6). For it is by “grace through faith” in Messiah that we now share in, serve, and protect this new creation – for we are new creations in Him.
The end is caught up in the beginning, so as new creations we 1) rest, 2) serve, and 3) protect, what the Lord has set us to, to His glory (I Cor. 10:31).
We have our work yet before us (Eph. 2:8-10), may He be glorified in it.
Be well. Shalom.
the mountain mensch 