Seder 5 Sermon: Noah and the Coming of the Son of Man

 In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on November 11, 2023, Kyle Kettering explored Jesus' teaching about his return, recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 17.

For one thing, Jesus taught that it would be impossible to predict the time of his return (Mt 24:36).  We are to live our lives in readiness for that time.  

Jesus also compared the time before his return to the time before the flood:  "For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man"  (Mt 24:37; cf. Lk 17:26).  

In this saying, Jesus spoke about himself in the third person as "Son of Man," as he often did.  Kyle reminded us that the title "Son of Man" is actually a more exalted title than "Son of God" is.  "Son of God" is a term associated with a Davidic king (2 Sam 7:14).  "Son of Man" can refer to 

• a son of Adam---i.e., a human being, as in the book of Ezekiel.
• Abel, the son of Adam, who in some traditions was expected to return as a Judge (e.g., in the Testament of Abraham).
• the divine figure of Daniel 7:14ff.  

It is this third sense that is in view in Matthew 24 and Luke 17.  

In what sense will the time before Jesus' return be like the days of Noah?  Genesis 6 describes the days of Noah as a time of violence (Gen 6:11 ,13), which was a major reason for the Flood.  God's "soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence" (Ps 11:5).  The king of Tyre, a type of Satan, was "filled with violence," which led to his downfall (Ezek 28:16).   

Jesus taught in Luke 17 and in his Olivet discourse that many would be surprised and caught unawares by his return.  Luke 17 closes with the cryptic saying, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."  

Some see a reference in Luke 17:37 to God's sovereignty as expressed in Job 39:30, or to God's judgment as pictured in Psalm 110:6.  In context, Jesus is referring to the place where those taken in judgment at Jesus' return will be taken.  The Bible pictures birds of prey devouring wicked nations that are gathered against God (Ezek 39:4, 17-20; Rev 19:17-21).

As part of being ready for the coming of the Son of Man, Kyle said, we should 

• not abide violent images, music, or actions in our lives.
• speak out against all forms of violence.
• resist the increasing violence of our times. 

Seder 5: Psalm 93---God's Kingship over Earth, Sea, and Sanctuary

 Psalm 93 is the first of a group of psalms (93-100) affirming God's rule over everything, including the earth, the waters, and Israel.  

This was a psalm sung before the Sabbath during the Second Temple Period, on the sixth day of the week--see Tamid 7:4 in the Mishnah.  The psalms for each day are

1. !st day--Psalm 24
2. 2nd day--Psalm 45
3. 3rd day--Psalm 82
4. 4th day---Psalm 44
5. 5th day---Psalm 81
6. 6th day---Psalm 93
7. Sabbath--Psalm 92.

The psalm begins by emphasizing that the God of Israel, and no one else, reigns.  (Verse 1 reminds us of Rev 19:6.)  He reigns because he has always existed, before anything else did, and he has created and established everything.  The world does not behave erratically because God rules over it.

In the ancient world, ocean currents were feared.  Verses 3-4 say that though the waters of the world rise, God is far above them and is unaffected.  The seas are not independent forces; God rules over them too.

Commentator Willem Van Gemeren points our that in the Bible, the sea is also a metaphor for the nations, which God also rules (Isa 8:7-8; Jer 46:7-8, for example).  

Finally, God rules over his people and dwells in their midst (verse 5).  

Seder 5: Gen 6-7---One Pair or Seven Pairs?

One frequently-asked question about Gen 6-7 is why God instructs Noah to include a pair of each type of animal on the ark in Gen 6:19-20, then has Noah include 7 pairs of each clean animal and one pair of each unclean one in Gen 7.

Critical scholars often charge that these accounts are contradictory and result from two different accounts of the Flood being poorly patched together to form these chapters of Genesis.

Conservative scholars, on the other hand, see no contradiction here.  In one literary pattern that sometimes appears in the Bible, an instruction is described first in general terms, then repeated in more detail.  Gen 6-7 is a good example.  (Num 14:20-35 is another.)  Noah's instructions are given in broad strokes in Gen 6, then laid out in more detail in Gen 7.

A good source here:  Walter Kaiser, Hard Sayings of the Bible, IVP, 1996.

Seder 5: Considering Noah---Gen 6-7

Noah was an example of the righteous man described in Psalm 1.  As we read in Gen 6:9,

"Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation.  Noah walked with God." 

We see some examples of what this meant in Gen 6-7, where Noah was obedient to the detailed instructions God gave on the construction of the ark. Noah's obedience is emphasized in Gen 6:22; 7:5,9,16.

Reflecting on Noah's situation, Heb 11:7 states,

"By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.  By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."

Seder 5: Psalm 1---Comparing Two Ways of Living

Psalm 1 is an example of a "wisdom psalm."  It describes two ways of living and their consequences.  The psalm concludes,

"for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." 

This was an important Psalm for both Jews and Christians living during the time of the Roman Empire.  Jews and Christians stood out, in particular, because they rejected the Empire's rampant sexual immorality, idolatry, and lack of respect for the value of human life.

For these Jews and Christians, staying away from the "seat of scoffers" meant not attending Roman popular entertainment, like the gladiator games, where crowds delighted in seeing the slaughter of humans and animals. I have some discussion of the Roman games and Christian opposition to them here.

Seder 5: Messages at the "Seams" of the Biblical Canon---Ps 1:2

In his Seder 4 sermon, Rob Wilson reflected on the meaning of the very first verse of the New Testament:  "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matt 1:1).  Does this verse refer to what has come before this verse, or to what comes after it?  Rob suggested that the answer is "yes".  The entire Bible is the story of Jesus.

Theologian John Sailhamer has contended that there are special messages at the "seams" or transition points in the biblical canon.  Matt 1:1 gives one example.

Sailhamer pointed out a pattern at the transition points between the major divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures.  The Torah ends in Deut 34 with anticipation of the coming of the Messiah, the special "prophet like Moses".   Joshua 1, the first chapter in the prophets (Neviim) then begins with God's advice to Joshua:

"This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success" (Joshua 1:8).

At the close of the Prophets in Mal 4, Malachi looks ahead to the coming of the Messiah.  Then in Psalm 1, the first chapter in the Writings (Ketuvim), we are told that a man is blessed who follows this practice:  "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night" (Ps 1:2).

Both Joshua 1 and Psalm 1 seem to be telling us what to do as we anticipate the return of the Messiah.

Such patterns in the biblical canon seem to imply that not only did God inspire the content of Scripture, but its canonical organization as well.

Seder 5 Sermon: Man's Reboot

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.

Seder 5: The tree in Psalm 1:3

Psalm 1:3 compares a person who walks with God as a fruitful tree:

"He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, In all that he does, he prospers."  (ESV)

Such a tree can be compared to the tree of life.  Lupe Wilson makes that connection in a reflection on Psalm 1, posted here.  She connects Ps 1:3 with Rev 22:1-2:

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.  The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."