The Days of Noah #
Noah’s life is one of the clearest shadows of Christ and the gospel. His name in Hebrew is נֹחַ (Noach), meaning rest or comfort. This is significant, as Noah was born into a world of deep corruption, yet was chosen by God to be a vessel of preservation and new beginnings.
Genesis 6:5-6 — Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. So the Lord was sorry He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. (AMP)
In a time of moral collapse, Noah stood out—not by his own merit, but by grace.
Genesis 6:8 — But Noah found favour and grace in the eyes of the Lord. (AMP)
This “favour” (Hebrew: ḥēn – חֵן) is the same word later used to describe how God’s grace works toward the undeserving. Noah becomes a type of the believer who enters the rest of God through obedient faith, just as we now enter the rest in Christ.
Hebrews 4:3 — For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. (ESV2011)
Noah Walked With God #
Genesis 6:9 — Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked [in habitual fellowship] with God. (AMP)
The phrase “walked with God” is also used of Enoch, who was translated.
Genesis 5:24 — Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
In Hebrew, the term is הִתְהַלֵּךְ (hithallek), indicating an ongoing, intimate relationship. This points forward to Christ, who walked in perfect union with the Father, and to us, as those called to walk in the Spirit.
“The ark endured the storm—not by avoiding it, but by resting in God’s design. So too, Christ bore judgment and brought us safely through.”
Noah’s righteousness was not by the Law (which had not yet been given) but by faith.
Hebrews 11:7 — By faith Noah, being warned by God about events not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household… and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith. (AMP)
Thus, Noah prefigures the just who live by faith, the same kind of faith required in the New Covenant.
Habakkuk 2:4 — Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness.
The Ark: A Picture of Christ #
God commanded Noah to build an ark of gopher wood and cover it inside and out with pitch.
Genesis 6:14 — Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. (ESV2011)
The Hebrew word for pitch is kāphar (כָּפַר), which means to cover, the root word for atonement. This ark represents Christ Himself, into whom we enter by faith to be saved from the wrath to come.
1 Peter 3:20-21 — …in the days of Noah… a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (NASB)
The ark had one door—just as there is only one way to the Father, in and through Christ.
John 10:9 — I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture.
The ark endured the full judgment of God and rose above the waters, just as Christ bore judgment and rose victorious, bringing us into a new creation.
The Flood and the New Creation #
The flood did not destroy all existence—it cleansed the earth. The waters were both judgment and a means of deliverance. This dual nature is consistent with the cross: it was both the place of judgment and the gate of salvation. The ones taken were the wicked and not the righteous.
Genesis 8:1 — But God remembered Noah and all the animals… and God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. (ESV)
The Hebrew word for “wind” here is ruach (רוּחַ)—the same word for Spirit. As the Spirit hovered over the waters in Genesis 1:2, here again the Spirit moves over the waters to prepare for a new creation.
This mirrors the resurrection: after judgment (death), the Spirit raises us into newness of life.
Romans 6:4 — Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. (NET)
Noah’s Covenant: A Shadow of Christ’s Covenant #
Genesis 9:11 — I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, nor shall there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth. (AMP)
The covenant with Noah is unconditional, sealed by the rainbow, symbolising mercy and remembrance. The Hebrew word for covenant is berith (בְּרִית). This is a foreshadowing of the New Covenant in Christ, who sealed it with His own blood.
Luke 22:20 — This cup is the new covenant [ratified] in My blood, which is poured out for you. (AMP)
The rainbow, appearing after the storm, points to Christ—the visible expression of God’s mercy after wrath has passed. The cross is our rainbow.
A Preacher of Righteousness #
2 Peter 2:5 — [God] did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness… (AMP)
Noah preached righteousness not merely with words, but with his life. For 120 years, his obedience built the ark while the world mocked. He is a prototype of those who faithfully proclaim Christ in scoffing.
2 Peter 3:3-6 — Above all, understand this: In the last days blatant scoffers will come, being propelled by their own evil urges and saying, “Where is his promised return? For ever since our ancestors died, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately suppress this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water. Through these things the world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water. (NET)
“Noah found grace in God’s eyes, but grace found its fulfilment in Christ—the true Ark of eternal rest.”
He did not save the world by converting them—he saved a remnant by obedience. This aligns with the principle seen in Christ: He came to save the world, but not all believed. Yet His obedience secured salvation for those who would believe.
Noah’s Failings and Grace #
After the flood, Noah planted a vineyard, became drunk, and was dishonoured by his son.
Genesis 9:20-24 — Noah, a man of the soil, began to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of the wine, he got drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers who were outside. Shem and Japheth took the garment and placed it on their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered up their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so they did not see their father’s nakedness. When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor he learned what his youngest son had done to him.
This reveals the weakness of man, even after a great spiritual victory. But it also displays the mercy of God, who does not define His servants by their lowest moments. This points us again to Christ, the true and better Noah, who never failed, never fell, and who now stands as our unshakable ark of righteousness.
Noah as a Prophetic Picture of the End #
Jesus connected Noah’s day to the generation of His coming:
Luke 17:26 — And just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the time of the Son of Man. (AMP)
Noah’s generation was eating, drinking, and marrying—ignorant of the impending judgment—until the door was shut. This is not about predicting a global flood, but about the coming of the Lord in judgment, which occurred in AD70 upon that generation, just as Jesus foretold.
Matthew 24:34 — I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. (NET)
Yet the pattern also points forward: as Noah entered a new world, so will we enter the fullness of resurrection life, having passed through the waters of judgment in Christ.
Conclusion: Noah Points to Christ #
Noah, whose name means rest, becomes a prophetic signpost to Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath, the true rest.
Hebrews 4:9-10 — Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.
The ark is Christ. The flood is a judgment passed. The dove and rainbow are signs of the Spirit and the New Covenant. His life shouts the gospel.
Hebrews 11:7 — By faith Noah… condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (AMP)
In Christ,
Shaliach.
