Parashah Noach

This week, we encounter one of the most dramatic narratives in all of Torah—the story of Noach, the flood, and the tower of Babel. But these are not merely ancient tales of judgment and human pride. Within Parashat Noach, we discover profound truths about the Gospel of the Kingdom that Yeshua proclaimed—truths about salvation, covenant, and G-D’s unwavering commitment to establish His reign over all the earth.

 The Kingdom-Realm Corrupted

Our parashah begins with sobering words:

“Now the earth was corrupt in G-D’s sight and was full of violence. G-D saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.” (Genesis 6:11-12)

Remember what we learned last week in Bereshit (Genesis): humanity was created to extend G-D’s Kingdom rule throughout the earth as His image-bearers. But by the time we reach chapter 6, the situation has become catastrophic. The Hebrew word for “corrupt” (shachat שׁחת) means ruined, destroyed, spoiled. The image of G-D in humanity had become so defaced that “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5).

This is what happens when humanity rejects the Kingdom of G-D—not merely individual sins, but systemic corruption, chamas (violence), chaos replacing G-D’s ordered creation. The Kingdom mandate has been utterly perverted.

One Righteous Man

Yet in the midst of this darkness, Torah tells us: “But Noach found favor in the eyes of the LORD…Noach was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with GOD” (Genesis 6:8-9).

Notice this phrase: Noach “walked with GOD”—the same expression used of Chanoch (Enoch) who “walked faithfully with GOD; then he was no more, because GOD took him away” (Genesis 5:24). This is Kingdom language! To walk with G-D means to live in submission to His rule, to align one’s life with His ways, His order, His rule, to be in covenant relationship with the King of the universe. In this right alignment we experience His shalom. 

Noach becomes a picture of what Yeshua would later call the “remnant”—those who remain faithful to G-D’s Kingdom even when the entire world system opposes it. As Yeshua said, “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:14).

  A Picture of Kingdom Salvation

Now HaShem commands Noach to build a teivah—an ark. The instructions are precise, detailed, and purposeful. And here we find a beautiful picture of the Gospel of the Kingdom:

First, salvation is by G-D’s initiative and grace. Noach didn’t devise the plan of salvation—G-D did. “But I will establish my covenant with you” (Genesis 6:18). Before Noach lifted a hammer, G-D had already determined to save him. This is grace! As Paul (Shaul) wrote, “G-D demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Messiah died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Second, salvation requires obedient response. Torah tells us, “Noach did everything just as G-D commanded him” (Genesis 6:22). Faith and obedience are inseparable in the Kingdom of G-D. Yeshua said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

Third, salvation is through one door. The ark had only one entrance. Yeshua declared, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved” (John 10:9). There is no other way into the Kingdom. Peter, a fisherman who understood storms, later wrote about Noach and proclaimed: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Fourth, salvation encompasses the whole person. Noach, his family, and the animals all entered the ark—body and soul, relationships and responsibilities. The Kingdom of G-D is not an escape from physical reality but its redemption. Yeshua didn’t just save souls; He healed bodies, restored communities, and will one day renew all creation.

 Judgment and the Kingdom

When the flood came, it was both terrible and necessary. Yeshua Himself referenced this event when teaching about the Kingdom:

“As it was in the days of Noach, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noach entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39)

What is Yeshua teaching? That the Kingdom has a day of reckoning. The Gospel of the Kingdom includes both invitation and warning. G-D is patient, not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), but there comes a point when the door closes. Torah tells us: “Then the LORD shut him in” (Genesis 7:16).

The Kingdom offers mercy today, but judgment is certain for those who refuse the King’s gracious invitation. This isn’t cruelty—it’s justice. A kingdom where evil reigns forever is not good news; it’s a horrific nightmare. The Gospel of the Kingdom promises that G-D will indeed make all things right. As the righteous judge He has paid the penalty for those who will repent, receive, and walk in HIS ways.

 Covenant of the Kingdom

After the flood, G-D establishes a covenant with Noach and all creation:

“I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:11)

And the sign? The rainbow—the keshet, G-D’s war bow hung in the clouds, pointed away from earth toward heaven. It’s as if G-D says, ‘I take the judgment’s penalty upon myself.’

Chaverim, doesn’t this point us directly to Yeshua? At Golgotha, G-D’s judgment fell—not on humanity, but on the King Himself. Yeshua bore the flood of G-D’s wrath against sin so that all who enter through Him might be saved. As Isaiah prophesied:

“To me this is like the days of Noach, when I swore that the waters of Noach would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again.” (Isaiah 54:9)

The Noachide covenant reveals G-D’s Kingdom commitment to His creation. Despite human rebellion, G-D will see His Kingdom purposes fulfilled. He will have a people, on a restored earth, dwelling in His presence.

 Babel: The Kingdom Rejected Again

But the parashah doesn’t end with the flood. We immediately encounter the tower of Babel—humanity’s next great rebellion against the Kingdom.

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves” (Genesis 11:4).

Here is the opposite of the Kingdom of G-D:

- Self-salvation (“let us build”)

- Self-exaltation (“make a name for ourselves”)

- Self-determination (reaching to heaven by human effort)

- Self-centered unity (united in rebellion, not worship)

Babel is the Empire of Man—humanity’s attempt to establish its own kingdom apart from G-D. Every human political system that exalts itself against the knowledge of G-D is Babel reborn. Rome was Babel. Every totalitarian regime is Babel. Every ideology that promises salvation through human achievement is Babel. Communism a system that supplants the need for G-D for reliance on the collective or government is an exact image of Babel.

And what was G-D’s response? He confused their languages and scattered them. Why? Not primarily as punishment, but to preserve humanity from self-destruction and to advance His Kingdom purposes. From this scattering, G-D would call Avraham, and through Avraham’s seed—ultimately through Yeshua—the nations would be ultimately regathered through the Jewish Messiah to G-D’s Kingdom.

Pentecost: Babel Reversed

Think about this: At Babel, people spoke one language but couldn’t understand each other because they were united in rebellion. At Pentecost (Shavuot), people spoke many languages but understood each other perfectly because they were united in the Spirit of the Kingdom!

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place…Now there were staying in Jerusalem G-D-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven…each one heard their own language being spoken.” (Acts 2:1, 5-6)

The Kingdom of G-D reverses Babel’s curse. In Messiah, we are being regathered—not around a human tower, but around the King Himself. Not to make a name for ourselves, but to glorify His Name. Not through human effort, but through the Spirit’s power.

Living Victoriously as Kingdom Citizens and Ambassadors  

What does Parashat Noach teach us about living as citizens of Yeshua’s Kingdom today?

First, we must walk with G-D in a crooked generation. Like Noach, we’re called to be righteous in unrighteous times. Yeshua said we are “in the world but not of the world” (John 17:14-16). We don’t isolate ourselves, but we don’t conform either. We walk differently.

Second, we must enter through the “one door.” There’s no salvation outside of Yeshua the Messiah. This isn’t arrogance—it’s the truth of the Kingdom. Our calling is to invite everyone to enter while the door remains open.

Third, we must build according to G-D’s pattern. Noach built precisely as G-D commanded. In the Kingdom, we don’t make up our own rules or devise our own spirituality. Yeshua said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). We build our lives on the solid rock of His Torah-teaching.

Fourth, we must remember G-D’s covenant faithfulness. Every time we see a rainbow, we should remember: G-D keeps His promises. He promised to preserve creation through Noach—He did. He promised to send Messiah—He did. He promises to return and establish His Kingdom fully—He will.

Fifth, we must reject the spirit of Babel. We don’t build towers to heaven through our own efforts. We don’t seek to make a name for ourselves. We humble ourselves before the King, knowing that salvation is by grace through faith, and we work for the glory of His Name alone.

Conclusion

Chaverim, Parashat Noach shows us that the Kingdom of G-D advances even through judgment and chaos. When corruption fills the earth, G-D provides an ark of salvation. When humanity scatters in rebellion, G-D begins the plan to regather them through covenant.

The Gospel of the Kingdom that Yeshua preached is right here in our parashah:

- Judgment is coming, but mercy is offered today

- Salvation is through one door—enter while you can

- G-D’s covenant is sure—His Kingdom purposes will be fulfilled

-HE is and will set things right that are wrong

-HE has taken the punishment on HIMSELF

-HE still brings life from destruction and death

- Human kingdoms will fail, but G-D’s Kingdom is eternal

And ultimately, Noach points us to the greater Noach—Yeshua, whose very name means “salvation from or of YHWH.” He is the true ark who saves us from the flood of sin and death. He is the covenant-maker who establishes shalom between G-D and humanity. He is the King who will gather the scattered nations into one Kingdom, one flock, under one Shepherd, the righteous One.

The same Spirit that hovered over the chaotic waters in Genesis 1, the same Spirit that preserved Noach through the flood, the same Spirit that fell at Pentecost—that Spirit is available to you today. He invites you into the ark, into the Kingdom, into eternal life, into what our world calls a supernatural existence, saved by grace, empowered by the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) to represent HIS Kingdom.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)