In this strange time when our activities and physical contacts are greatly restricted, it is interesting to reflect upon the experience of Noah.
Kyle Kettering points out in his Seder 5 sermon that Noah's name means "rest" (Gen 5:29). For the people and animals on the ark, it was a time that had some things in common with April 2020. It was a time of turmoil for the world, and an enforced pause or rest for those on the ark. On the ark there was rest, relief, protection. The world was being "rebooted".
The reading in the prophets for Seder 5, in Isa 54-55, emphasizes that God's grace and compassion are unfailing (54:9-11). He is a source of protection--vv 12-14. He invites us to repent and come back to him (55:1-9).
Kyle also explains that Psalm 1, the psalm connected with this Seder, is linked with Noah. Noah is seen as a prototype example of the righteous man described there who follows God rather than the world.
Noah is just one of the heroes of faith celebrated in Heb 11, one of that great "cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12:1). Kyle notes that they "found relief and refuge from their struggles through their faith relationship with the one true God." They looked ahead to the coming of the Messiah, who provides the ultimate peace, rest, and reboot for the world. We are called to walk in their footsteps.
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