NOACH

Noach built an altar to ADONAI. Then he took from every clean animal and every clean bird, and he offered burnt offerings on the altar. ADONAI smelled the sweet aroma, and ADONAI said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, since the imaginings of a person’s heart are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy all living things, as I have done.
Genesis 8:20-21


This Torah portion starts out with a great description of who Noah was. In Genesis 6:9 we read, “Here is the history of Noach. In his generation, Noach was a man righteous and wholehearted; Noach walked with God.” In order to understand these characteristics, let us back up to Genesis 5:29. It is in this verse that we first learn of Noah and why his parents gave him his name. His parents simply hoped that their son would give them rest (nacham), from all their toil. We know from reading the genealogy of Adam to Noah that the world was growing in number, but in order for his parents to hope for a rest from their toil makes me think that the sin of Adam was having fruit too big for the people to now bear. And so, in a simple desperation, his parents request a beam of light, a hope for the next generation.
What Noah’s parents received was a man named by God as being righteous, wholehearted, and walking with God. This was indeed a much needed son, for it is in the account of Noah that we really learn of God’s mercy. The generation that Noah lived in was filled with corruption (Gen 6:11). The Torah records that God Himself looked on the earth and found it corrupt (Gen 6:12). When God said no, man said yes. When God said stop, man said go. So God determined that since the earth was filled with violence, He would wipe it out. This was no light matter, however. God had been watching His creation over the years move away from Him, maybe slowly, maybe quickly, yet nonetheless moving. He saw the creation turn on itself. He saw the violence, the pride, the defiance slip in, and the people no longer heed His voice. And so with a grieved heart, He was sorry (Gen 6:6)
Still, though, in order to really understand who Noah was, let us define these words that describe him in Genesis 6:9. Noah was first named as righteous. This word in Hebrew is TZEDEK (צַדִּיק), meaning to live in accordance with the standards of morality. In short, it is the characteristic of living in obedience. Noah wasn’t living to advance his decisions, but rather was living to advance God’s decisions in living a life obedient to God’s standards. Let’s just be honest, can this be said of us?
The next term used to define Noah was wholehearted. This is the Hebrew word TAMIM (תָּמִים), and it means to be blameless. This same word is later found in the Torah when describing the sacrificial lamb. The lamb was required to be unblemished for it to even be offered. This word is also defined as integrity, broken down farther as one who lives by his convictions. Again, Noah wasn’t looking to squeeze by, or make the top-ten list of old status-quo guys. Noah was out to live according to Gods ways and standards. So again let’s just be honest and question if this characteristic defines us.
Lastly, but not any less of a characteristic, it was said of Noah that he walked with God. Does this mean Noah was perfect? No. The meaning of walking with God here is simply stating that Noah made an effort to walk in God’s ways in every part of life, as opposed to walking in the counsel and ways of the wicked. Noah worked to keep God’s commands, and in order to do this, he walked in fellowship with God. I dare ask, does this speak of us?
Noah stuck out like a sore thumb, but that wasn’t a bad thing in his case. In fact, it was for that very reason that God was able to use him. God looked down, and despite all the corruption He saw in the world, He also found one man who had not lived his life bent over with the morals of the world. God saw Noah, righteous, wholehearted, and walking with Him. Even in his time, Noah was a preacher of righteousness (II Pet 2:5). But if God was to look down again today, with this same decision staring Him in the face, would He see someone again who was living righteous, wholehearted, and in relationship with Him?
Perhaps we fail to understand the depth of our sin. Let me share with you a portion of mine. It was in late August of 2000 that my boss collected my work badge and escorted me out of the building. Why, you ask. I had been caught using company time and equipment for non-work related activities. I had known the rules and signed the Code of Conduct, but my failure to abide by the rules now found me being escorted out of the building. My failure to obey the rules set forth, however, did not only hurt me, but hurt my fellow workers as now they had to cover for me. It hurt my wife at the time because now she had to push for extra hours from her boss until I found another job. And it also hurt our marriage, as a new strain was added to an already strained marriage. Could I be trusted by her in other areas as well? Truth be told, I was selfish.
God punished the sin of the world because they too were selfish. God never wanted to punish the people, but He did want the people to repent and come back to Him. Yet, Romans 6:23 tells us that the paycheck for sin is death. Are we to think that God never gave the people the opportunity to repent? Should I assume that what I did knowingly was not wrong? Psalm 89:14 speaks that the foundation of God’s throne is righteousness and justice. The people of Noah’s time walked in ways that seemed right to them, but were not right according to God’s standards. The fear is that like in the days of Noah, so again we have measured ourselves to our own standards and not the standards of God. If God is looking, has He found you?