Noah's Lonely Calling

This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language defines "typology" as:

1. The study or systematic classification of types that have characteristics or traits in common.

2. A theory or doctrine of types, as in scriptural studies.


It is widely held by biblical scholars that the scripture contains literary "types."

One of the definitions in that same dictionary for "type" is: "a figure, representation, or symbol of something to come, such as an event in the Old Testament that foreshadows another in the New Testament."

Noah is often regarded as a "type" of the Christ. This is not to say that Noah was the same as Christ, but that Noah foreshadowed the coming One in character and circumstance.

I believe typology, literary foreshadowing, is further evidence of the Bible's divine nature. There is no way that Moses could have known or predicted the person of Jesus accurately enough to have written such striking similarities in the character of Noah. And even if one were to argue the authorship of Genesis, there is no doubt that the text existed 275 years before Christ in the form of the Septuagint.

There are several ways in which Noah is generally regarded as a type of Christ.

Noah’s name means "comfort". Jesus Christ came to be or comforter.

Noah built the ark of wood through which his family was saved from God's wrath and ultimately the ark “came to rest.” Jesus' death on the wooden cross saved the family of God from the coming wrath of God and He delivers them into His rest.

Noah was a righteous man, "upright in his generations." Some believe this means Noah's genealogical line was undefiled by the Nephilim. Whether this is true, or not, Noah followed and trusted God, regardless of a defiant and unrepentant world he lived in. Jesus was undefiled, having lived a perfect and sinless life. And, like Noah, Jesus was a righteous man in the midst of a Godless world.

Noah walked with God and was obedient even as others most likely laughed and scorned him as he built the ark. Jesus was laughed at and mocked, too, but that didn't keep Him from being obedient – even unto death.

I'm sure there are other ways, too, in which Noah can be considered a type of Christ. Noah planted a vineyard. Jesus is the vine. It can be inferred that Noah was a prophet-preacher and a voice of righteousness in his day. Jesus was a prophet-teacher and most definitely a voice of righteousness in His day.

There is another way I believe that Noah is a type of the Christ that requires a little digging and a little help from our counselor to find.

As I have written before, I believe that every number, every word, occurs in the scripture for a purpose. There are many theologians and scholars who agree that numbers in the scripture often have a meaning.

For example: the number 1 is often representative of God, the beginning, or unity. 3 can represent the Godhead (trinity), divine completeness, or perfection. 6 is the number of man (666 is the number of man elevated to the place of God). 7 can symbolize perfection, completeness, the day of rest (used 600 times in Bible). And the number 8 often speaks to a new beginning, or resurrection.

Jesus lived for 33 years. .33 is one third. The scripture is full of the number 3 and things that are divided into thirds. Three appears in nature over and over again. We are created in three parts: body, mind (soul), and spirit.

Is it a coincidence, or was Jesus’ death at that age intentional to point to His being one third of the Godhead? Being of the third heaven? Rising from the dead on the third day? Coming into the last third of human history?

Jesus laid down his own life. He could have done so at any age. Jesus spoke often of “His time.” Was there intent beyond our understanding in the time which He laid down His life?

Let’s get back to Noah for a moment.

There is a lot of information about Noah’s age and the time of the coming flood, etc. that must be there for a reason. If this were just a historical account written by men, one might understand the occasional interjection to point out someone’s age. But, if we believe that this is a manuscript authored by God Himself, then we need ask, why are the years recorded there?

The scripture tells us that Noah was 600 years old when the flood came. (Gen. 7:6)

When God told Noah to build the ark, the scripture tells us that there would be 120 years until the flood. (Gen. 6:3) (Many argue that this is the Lord declaring the age to which man would live. However, this makes no sense in context of the passage. God is talking about man’s wickedness and the coming destruction. In context, it makes more sense that God is telling Noah that he has 120 years to accomplish the task that God is giving him. See Psalm 90:10, also.)

Simple arithmetic reveals, then, that Noah was 480 when he first learned of the coming flood. (600 – 120 = 480)

In the midst of all this narrative, we are reminded that Noah had sons. In the fifth chapter of Genesis, we are given one of those long genealogies that many just skip over. But at the very end of this particular genealogy, we are told that Noah was 500 when his sons were born (Gen 5:32) – a fact we might miss if we read the story of Noah out of context, apart from the surrounding text.

In the Jewish culture, there is a thing called Bar Mitzvah, which means “son of the commandment.” The Bar Mitzvah celebration is rather new, but the concept of a boy becoming a man at the age of 13 is an ancient one. It is suggested that it far precedes Abraham and the birth if the Jewish nation.

If such a custom were in place in Noah’s culture, then his first-born son, Shem, would not have been of an age to help Noah with the Ark until he was 13.

If Noah was 480 when he first learned of the flood, and began work right away on the Ark, then he would have worked for 33 years before his son Shem was of age to assist him. (500 + 13 = 513 – 480 = 33)

I know the scripture doesn’t come right out and say it, and therefore, I can’t be dogmatic about it, but…

Is it possible that just as Jesus worked alone and completed his work on the cross in 33 years, that Noah worked alone and completed his work on the Ark in 33 years?

Could Noah’s Ark have been completed and stood as a testimony of the coming judgment for 87 years? Is this another hidden yet discernable way in which Noah is a type of the Christ?

Afterthought.

My brother recently suggested that when Jesus spoke of “this generation,” that He might have meant 80 years, and not 40 as many have previously suggested. My brother draws this from Psalm 90:10 where David defines a full life as 80 years.

In reference to the end times, if Jesus was talking about a future generation that was 80 years, plus seven years of tribulation…87 years.

Coincidence?

Some references:

Authur W. Pink, "Gleanings in Genesis," Chapter 12, Kessinger Publishing

Patrick Fairbairn, "The Typology of Scripture," Kregel Publications