A neglected aspect of the story of Noah is his birth. When Noah was born, his father “called his name Noah (rest), saying ‘this one will console us over our work and the pain of our hands from the ground which Yahweh cursed.’ ” (Gen 5:29) This clear allusion back to the curse of Genesis 3 expresses and exasperated hope for fulfillment to the promise of Genesis 3:15–that God would send the seed of the woman to finally crush the serpent’s head and reverse the curse. Lamech expressed hope that Noah, whose name means rest, would finally bring about rest from the curse God put on the ground. Now while in the story of Noah and the ark we do not see Noah become this savior, and in fact at the end of chapter 9 of Genesis we see him disqualified form being this savior, the idea of God’s rest must somehow be connected with Noah. This is for a couple reasons: his name, and his salvation by God. But then, why does the author of Hebrews ignore the story of Noah in writing his exhortation to enter God’s rest in Hebrews 4?
Let’s first figure out what the author of Hebrews was trying to do. Hebrews 3:7–4:13 presents an exhortation to enter God’s rest. This rest is introduced by a quotation of Psalm 95:7b–11 (notice that the author of Hebrews was not constrained by the artificial system of versification). Referring to the failure of the first generation of Israel at the time of the Exodus to enter the promised land in obedience to God’s commands, the Psalmist quotes God as saying:
Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
And this word for rest is menuah, a form of the word noah. Two natural places to refer to God’s rest next come to mind: Noah himself and 2 Samuel 1 (David having rest from all his enemies). Yet the author of Hebrews reaches all the way back to creation instead. Let’s follow his argument.
- Unlike Israel in the wilderness, believe in God and deal with unbelief in yourself and each other to hold fast to Christ (3:12–3:15).
- Recall that it was those that saw God’s miraculous redemption of Israel from Egypt who then rejected God’s command to enter the promised land. So even those privileged with great revelation who have seen great salvation can fall into the sin of unbelief (3:16–19).
- Therefore, since God’s rest is open in the gospel of Christ, enter it (4:1–2).
- God’s rest which we may join is depicted in his resting from his works after the creation in Gen 2:2, where the word transliterated as “Sabbath” is used (4:3–5).
- This rest is offered today, right now (4:6–7).
- The rest of the conquest of Canaan wasn’t that great anyway (4:8).
- So God has a Sabbath rest for his people that involves their resting from their works (4:9–10).
- Therefore strive to enter it, since God’s judgment is certain (4:11–13).
Noah and David are not necessary illustrations to the argument. But, I contest, Noah adds to this argument for those who compare Genesis 5:28–9:29.
Noah’s name means rest and it is the same word used in Psalm 95:11 (unlike Genesis 2:2). Lamech expressed hope to enter God’s rest through Noah (though the text does not indicate he saw this as God’s rest; he may have just hoped for relief from God’s curse). And in a strange way, God did that. Because of the vast evil of man, God was going to wipe the slate of the earth clean with a flood (Gen 6:7). Thus the survivors, Noah and his family, in being given a reiteration of the creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 9:1, 7) and God’s covenant not to flood the earth again (Gen 9:9–17) are pictured as a sort of re-creation. The destruction of the flood brought an end to the old, cursed, wicked world.
But the rest God gave in the flood was not the post-flood creation itself. That world order proved just as sinful and cursed (Gen 9:20–27; or for more effective proof, Gen 11:1–9). The problem of sin and the curse is not solved. Instead, God’s rest is displayed in the flood and in the ark.
Noah’s name sounds like the Hebrew word Nacham which is used to describe God’s being sorry or regretful because of the sin of man (Gen 6:6–7). In Genesis 6:2, God says that his spirit will no longer abide with man forever. God can’t just put up with sin forever. He will limit man’s lifespan.* The flood is the turning point in this narrative. By blotting out evil man and exhibiting wrath against human violence, God has rest from striving with the wickedness of man.
God commanded him to build an ark so that he and his family would be spared in the flood. This ark then becomes an escape from judgment, God’s provision of salvation. The only other place this particular word for ark is used is Exodus 2 in describing the thing in which Moses floated down the Nile as a baby; that is, the only two usages of this word describe God’s salvation through a floatation device, leading to major covenants in the Bible (Noahic and Mosaic). The ark then represents God’s mode of salvation.
Noah’s ark, while under construction and before Noah and his family entered, remained open. While it was called today, it was open for those seeking salvation and God’s rest to enter. But no one did. And Noah did not shut the door; God did (Gen 7:16). God provided Noah and his family rest and salvation. By obedience they entered in and were delivered. All those who saw Noah building and heard his preaching (2 Pet 2:5) rejected God’s rest in unbelief and disobedience. They paid with their lives. God made sure they did not enter his rest.
Noah’s birth then draws attention to the main theme of the flood story: God’s provision of salvation from his own judgment. And as the men at Noah’s time were to enter before the flood and trust God for their rest, so too today we must believe God and obey in order to enter his rest through Christ. We cannot save ourselves; trust Christ and rest from your works in order to be saved from the wrath of God expressed against your unrighteousness.
*It’s worth noting that it is possible this statement is made 120 years before the flood and refers to that generation’s remaining time on the earth, not human lifespan.
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