(Continued from previous post)
Even in the face of mankind’s great wickedness in the time before the flood, the Lord is gracious. This already becomes evident in his first speech in Genesis 6:3. Instead of wiping out mankind immediately, he gives them 120 years during which his spirit will still remain and contend with them. Only in his second speech (6:7) that follows upon his assessment of the total depravity of man does the Lord speak about the total destruction of life. Yet even here there is hope, for immediately after the Lord’s statement we read: But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord! God looks once more and sees something encouraging. Noah stands in contrast to the rest of wicked humanity as the structure of the second panel in vv 5-8 shows:
A The Lord sees: wickedness of mankind (v 5)
B The Lord is sorry (v 6)
X The Lord’s speech: I will wipe out man and animals (v 7a)
B’ The Lord is sorry (v 7b)
A’ The Lord sees: Noah (v 8)
Through the parallel panel structure of vv 1-8 the author also sets Noah in contrast to those who are mentioned in v 4. The people who are mentioned in this verse seem to have been the great men of the earth before the flood. These were the mighty men, the heroes, the people everyone knew and talked about and remembered even after their death. These were the famous people of Noah’s time. The author literally calls them “men of name”. This is a fitting but also ironic description, because they are not mentioned by name! These men of name remain nameless (in contrast to the “men of name” in chapter 5! See in particular vv 2, 3 and 29.). No one knows anymore who they were. They have been forgotten. What a contrast to Noah, the only human being in vv 1-8 that has a name! And what a name it is:
Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one shall comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands from the ground which the LORD has cursed.” (Gen 5:29)
Noah’s name means “rest” but his father Lamech also relates it to the word “comfort” which in Hebrew sounds similar to Noah’s name. Noah is the one who will bring rest and comfort both to those who remain faithful to God as well as to God himself! Noah was a fanatic to the wicked people before the flood, but he was the true man of name. In contrast to the nameless men of name, Noah’s name has lived on. Everyone knows who Noah is.
Noah is the true man of name because he has a name and that name foreshadows the salvation that God will bring through him. Those who are saved are those who belong to his family: his wife, his three sons and their wives. Significantly, one of Noah’s sons is called Shem which in Hebrew means “name”! After the flood Shem becomes the chosen son through whom the line of the faithful will continue. Through Shem Noah thus becomes the father of Abraham who is the father of Israel, the people who are saved through the water just like Noah’s family. But through Shem Noah also becomes the father of Jesus, the true Israel, the promised seed and the better Noah who would save people from their sins. Truly Noah is a man of name!
So what does all of that have to do with us today? The key to proper application is to recognize the parallels between the time before the flood and the time before the return of Jesus that Jesus himself alerted us to:
“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matt 24:37-39)
As in the days of Noah, our world today is filled with wickedness – a result of people living without God and seeking to make a name for themselves. As the example of the sons of God before the flood shows, even believers are in danger of succumbing to the same temptation: to look at things that appear to be good and to take for themselves what they want. To become “men of name,” i.e. to become famous in the eyes of the world, to make a name for themselves, to be important, to be great.
In contrast to this stands Jesus, the second and greater Noah, the true Son of God who came to bring people safely through the coming judgment. Noah was a sinner just like us who ultimately could not bring comfort and rest to mankind (see Gen 9:18-27 and note the allusions to the fall in Gen 3!). He could not save himself or others from the curse of sin. This is only possible through Jesus, who did not seek to exalt himself and become famous in the eyes of the world but instead “humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:8) He is the true “man of name” and his name means “The Lord saves.” He came to save those who have been unfaithful, who have sought to make a name for themselves. The only requirement is that they humble themselves and repent and receive him into their life. Then, like Noah, they will become true sons of God (and thus heirs) and be part of his family (John 1:12). And like Noah they will walk with God and join their savior in his work of salvation. Like Noah they will achieve great things, not for their own glory, but for the glory of God and for the salvation of people. They will seek to make God’s name great and in so doing will become true men and women of name – just like Jesus!
Homework
What is the structure of Gen 6:1-4? How does the structure further support the idea that v 1 is not just talking about numerical increase? What other things are highlighted by the structure?
The Word 