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To understand ourselves and the world we live in, we need to know our history. We need to know what happened before the Flood, God’s judgment on human wickedness, the survival of Noah and his family, the Lord’s covenant with Noah, the origin of the nations, the rebellion at Babel and, finally, God’s call of Abraham. The Seed of the Woman, the Messiah, the Redeemer and the Son of God, would come from him.
In this parasha, Moses focuses on one man: Noah. All of us descend from Noah through one of his three sons. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. He had a right relationship with God, and that relationship was demonstrated by the way he lived. Noah had three sons: Shem, Cham and Yafet. From them, humanity would survive the Flood and have a new beginning.
In contrast to this faithful remnant, the rest of the world was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. A holy God will only tolerate so much corruption. So God told Noah that He was going to destroy the world with a flood and that Noah was to build an ark so that his family and the animals could survive. The ark was made of wood covered inside and out with pitch. It was huge: 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. That’s a very big ship – big enough for Noah’s family and the animals to survive in.
Chapters 7 and 8 describe one of the greatest events in the history of the planet: the Flood. The “waters above” were released as massive rain while huge subterranean waters emerged. The initial rain lasted 40 days and nights, and the Flood lasted over a year. Every animal and person outside the ark died. This was a real, historical event, and there are three lines of evidence for it.
Biblical Evidence: The Lord said through Isaiah: “To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the Earth” (Isaiah 54). Peter writes that the world of that time was deluged and destroyed by water (2 Peter 3). And Yeshua said: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man … Then the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17). The Word of God is very clear that a worldwide flood destroyed humanity outside the ark.
Geological Evidence: Sedimentary rock is formed through the deposition and consolidation of sediment and covers much of the Earth’s surface. Layers like those of the Grand Canyon show little or no erosion between them, which indicates one layer was laid down right after another. Oil, coal and salt deposits exist around the world. Fossils require rapid burial in sediment, and in fossil graveyards vast numbers of animals were suddenly killed and buried together under water. Fossils are found all over the world. Sedimentary rock, oil, coal, salt deposits and fossils were all formed by the Flood.
Cultural Evidence: There are dozens of cultures from around the world that retained a memory of the Flood. But only Genesis records, with the exactitude of a diary or ship’s log when the Flood began, how long the downpour lasted, how long the waters stayed at their height and the day Noah left the ark. Here we have a personal record that goes back to Noah and his family.
The Lessons Of The Flood: Whenever you see layers of sedimentary rock or fossils, or use oil, natural gas, coal or salt from a salt deposit, remember that a holy God punishes sin.
God saved people and animals from a worldwide flood. He is mighty to save, even from the most desperate circumstances.
The Flood ended one age and began another. A new age with new requirements was beginning.
The first thing Noah did after the Lord saved him and his family was build an altar and burn sacrifices on it. Noah accepted the Lord’s judgment and was not angry with God for destroying the world. Instead he worshiped the Lord. Noah knew the Eden principle that acceptable worship includes the death of an innocent animal. Only clean animals were sacrificed, so Noah knew that some animals were fit for sacrifice and others weren’t. Moses will elaborate on this distinction later in the Torah.
The Lord was pleased with Noah and his offerings, and He promised never again to destroy every living creature with a flood. He established the continuing rhythms of the Earth: seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night. He also blessed Noah and his sons as He had blessed Adam and Eve, commanding them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the Earth and rule over the other creatures.
But the Flood had not changed human nature. The inclination of the human heart was still evil from childhood. Judgment can restrain sin, but it can’t transform the sinful heart. That requires the transforming work of the Spirit of God. Because not everyone will be transformed by the Spirit, God established new measures to restrain man’s evil nature.
In chapter 9, Moses records a covenant between God and Noah. It affects all human beings and is still in effect, so everyone should know it and obey it.
Jewish tradition identified seven laws associated with this covenant. I want to focus on three.
First, the law against idolatry. There is one true and living God. Giving our worship, love or devotion to anything else violates this covenant.
Second, the law establishing government and capital punishment: “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” Murder is a crime against the victim and also against God because, fallen though we are, we still carry His image. Capital punishment restrains violence so that society won’t become as corrupt as it was before the Flood. This law has never been revoked.
Third, the law allowing us to kill and eat animals but forbidding us to eat their blood. Blood is special and is to be used for special purposes like atonement ‑ not to eat.
These laws have important connections with the New Testament. The First Jerusalem Council, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, decided that Gentile believers were not obligated to follow all the laws of the Sinai Covenant. They needed only to abstain from eating food sacrificed to idols, from eating blood, from eating animals that were strangled and from sexual immorality.
The rainbow is the sign of this covenant. Bows are used to kill, but the rainbow is a sign of peace. It touches the Earth, rises toward Heaven and comes down again, like a bridge joining Heaven and Earth. Whenever we see a rainbow, we are to remember that humanity has a covenant with God and we are to live by its laws. Whenever the Lord sees a rainbow, He remembers His promise never to destroy the Earth by a flood.
The last part of chapter 9 describes a horrible event and an amazing prophecy. Noah planted a vineyard, drank too much wine and became drunk, uncovering himself inside his tent. Cham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his brothers instead of covering him. Shem and Yafet took a garment, walked backward and covered their father without looking. Noah was honored by Shem and Yafet and dishonored by Cham.
When Noah woke and learned what Cham had done, he uttered inspired words that outline God’s plan for the peoples: “Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants he shall be to his brothers.” And: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Yafet, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.”
Cham means hot, and the Chamites generally settled hot lands like Egypt, Africa and Phoenicia. Canaan’s descendants, the Canaanites, would be the lowest of peoples. This was both a curse and a blessing because many of the Canaanites became servants when we conquered the land of Israel in the time of Joshua. Joshua made them woodcutters to provide wood to burn the sacrifices at the Tabernacle. This let them learn about the true God, atonement and redemption. This curse about the Canaanites does not apply to Africans or African‑Americans, as some have claimed. Noah did not curse Cham. His curse was exclusively directed at Canaan and his descendants – who died out long ago. The other Chamites were not cursed or singled out for blessing.
The greatest blessing went to Shem, whose name means “name.” He is the father of the Shemites, or Semites, including the Jews, the Arabs, the Chaldeans and others. In this blessing, the Lord is associated with Shem: He is the God of Shem. This blessing is fulfilled through the Jewish people, chosen to bring the spiritual blessings of HaShem, meaning “the Name,” a Jewish expression referring to God, to the other peoples. From Israel came the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and the writings of the New Testament. From the Jews came wonderful covenants and promises. From the Jews came Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the prophets, priests and kings and Yeshua the Messiah, the ultimate Shemite and the perfect manifestation of HaShem, who affirmed this prophecy when He said, “salvation is of the Jews.”
Yafet means Enlarged One. He is the father of the Indo‑European peoples: the Greeks, Romans, Medes, Persians, Indians, Germans and others. For some 2,000 years after this prophecy, the Middle East was ruled by Chamites and Shemites. Then in 539 B.C. Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon, and Yafetic peoples have held supremacy ever since: Persia, then Greece, then Rome. In 202 B.C. Rome defeated Carthage, a Canaanite colony, and Carthage became Rome’s servant, fulfilling the words “let Canaan be his servant.”
The sons of Yafet have been enlarged physically, politically and intellectually, and their culture has dominated the world. They have also been enlarged spiritually, as they accepted Messiah Yeshua, the greatest Semite, thereby dwelling in the tents of Shem. This began with Cornelius, the first Roman to accept the Good News about the Jewish Messiah. It continued through Paul’s journeys and his vision in Troas of a man of Macedonia calling, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Rabbi Paul brought the knowledge of the God of Shem to the Greeks, the Romans and other peoples under their rule. The world will remain under Yafetic influence until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Then the ultimate son of Shem will return to rule the nations from Israel, and all the nations will truely dwell in the tents of Shem.
Chapter 10 lists the 70 nations that came from Shem, Yafet and Cham. Chapter 11 explains how they came to be scattered. At that time, humanity was united. Everyone spoke one language and journeyed east together. On a plain in Babylon, they decided to build a city with a tower reaching the heavens so they could make a name for themselves and not be scattered. They wanted a monument to their greatness and a rallying point to unite them. This was not about humbly serving the one true God – whom the majority had probably once again abandoned by this time.
The Lord was displeased. He gave them many languages so they couldn’t understand each other and unite in doing evil. But God intends to reverse the confusion and division that started at Babel. We see the beginning of this in Acts 2, where Jewish people from many nations hear the Good News of Messiah in their own languages and are united to serve the true God.
Chapter 11 concludes with the descendants of Shem. From Shem to Abraham, ten generations are recorded, covering several centuries and bringing us to about 2000 B.C. Lifespans after the Flood were shorter than before, indicating that conditions on Earth had changed.
Moses ends this parasha focused on Abraham, whom the Lord will use to begin a special Shemitic nation that would know Him and bring the knowledge of Him and salvation to the other nations, who were now in deep darkness.
So, in this parasha, Moses reveals to us that:
Humanity becomes corrupt, and God judges human wickedness with a global flood.
God saves a faithful remnant through Noah.
God establishes a covenant to restrain human wickedness.
Humanity unites in pride and rebellion at Babel.
Humanity is separated into nations.
God calls Abraham. Through Abraham would come the Scriptures, the covenants, the promises and ultimately Yeshua the Messiah. And through the salvation Messiah Yeshua provides, the blessing of Abraham would go out to the nations.
The question for us is where we stand. Like Noah, we live in a world of corruption and rebellion against God. Will we remain righteous and faithful to God, even when that means standing against the majority?
Will we follow the example of the people at Babel, who focused on themselves rather than God, or will we follow Abraham’s example and have the faith and courage to go against the majority and obey God?
Let’s pray:
Lord, thank You for Parashat Noach, which shows us where we came from and how we got here.
Help us to be like Noah, who was righteous and blameless and who walked faithfully with You.
Thank You for the evidence for the Flood, which strengthens our faith, and for the lessons we learn from it: that You are a holy God who punishes sin and that You are mighty to save.
Thank You for the covenant You made with Noah and for the sign of that covenant ‑ the rainbow. When we see it, may we remember Your faithfulness, Your holiness and Your promise never again to destroy the Earth by a flood. Help us to live in obedience to You.
Lord, help us not to follow the way of Babel, seeking to glorify ourselves and build our lives without You. Instead, help us to walk with You and trust Your plan of redemption.
Thank You that when humanity abandoned You, You did not abandon us. You called Abraham and continued Your plan to bring salvation to the nations through Israel and ultimately through Messiah Yeshua.
Help us to be a faithful remnant in our generation, to walk faithfully with You and to bring the knowledge of Your salvation to the people around us. Amen.