Rest In His Grace

This week's Torah portion, Noach נֹחַ (Noah), based on Genesis 6:9-11:32, introduces us to the biblical narrative and definition of grace. The concept of grace is highly misunderstood because we think it is given without merit. The most common definition of grace is "an undeserved favor". However, biblical grace goes beyond that definition. The true definition of grace is a judgment that gives the guilty a beneficial outcome. This is something that even I have recently come to understand. It's a nuance that is not easily grasped, and even with deep thinking still takes time to fully comprehend. Once understood, it gives us a sense of freedom and fills our hearts with gratitude. The biblical narrative of Noah introduces and teaches us what grace is. I found it interesting and puzzling as to why verses 5-8 of Genesis 6 were not part of this week's portion, because they give us the clues to this insight. They state:

"The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, 'I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.' But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." Genesis 6:5-8

You will notice that before the grace shown to Noah, there is a judgment. Grace ALWAYS follows judgment. Adonai judged the world and saw wickedness everywhere. This wickedness included Noah. I often thought that Noah was an exception, and that is why he was spared. That God granted him grace because he was doing something right. The truth is that Noah was just as wicked as the rest of the world based on God's standard. God's standard of good is moral perfection, and though Noah "walked with God" and lived a righteous life, he was not morally perfect. He still fell short:

"There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:22b-24

That is when I began to understand what grace truly is. We will NEVER be good enough to EARN God's favor. As good as Noah was in comparison to the rest of humanity, in God's standards, he was still wicked. That is hard to swallow and understand, but the Hebrew helps us grasp this concept a little better as well. The word wicked has a negative connotation. We equate wicked with evil, but in Hebrew, the word wicked means "lost" or "not on the path." It's not hard to see that doing things outside His will is the same as doing "evil" because He is good. All He desires is for us to repent or return to the path, and the only way to accomplish that is by giving us grace.

To understand the true definition of grace, we must first define other words. Words like judgment, justice, and mercy. Let's do it:

Judgment: The process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing to ultimately pass a just outcome (usually based on an established law). In layman's terms, validating whether a law has been broken that causes an injustice.

Justice: The process of reconciling the victim of some type of injustice created by the actions of other parties by punishing the guilty. In layman's terms, the action taken to repair the damage to the victim of an injustice.

Mercy: The compassion or forbearance shown to an offender or enemy. In layman's terms, not applying the punishment deserved by the offender.

Finally, we can understand what grace is. Grace is what is given beyond mercy. If mercy is the forgiveness of one's crime, then grace goes beyond that. Grace is giving the offender of the crime a prize or something they didn't deserve or earn. I use this example in my book:

You catch a person committing a crime and confront them. That person is taking $20.00 from your wallet. You confront them and they explain to you in tears that they haven't eaten in 3 days and were desperate to find a way to eat. Judgment would be immediate, because they are committing a crime and deserve punishment by you calling the cops and having that person arrested. Justice would be getting your $20.00 back and having that person arrested. Mercy would be for you to forgive them, allow them to keep the $20.00 to get food, and not call the cops. Grace would be for you to forgive them, but give them an additional $100.00 so they can eat every day for the next week, and then help them get a job. That is, the person is guilty and deserves punishment, but instead, they were forgiven and given help beyond what they expected or deserved. That is what God does for us.

He judged the earth and found it guilty. The entire earth was wicked (lost and doing evil by breaking His laws), and the justice to be applied is death. That included the death of Noah and his family. That is the law and the law was clear from the beginning:

"If you eat of the tree, you will surely die" Genesis 2:17, and "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 6:23

However, instead of that, Adonai decided to forgive him and show him grace:

"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord" Genesis 6:8

That grace didn't negate the justice to come. God provided a way for Noah and his family to escape the judgment by building an ark and riding out the judgment inside it. Noah had to believe and obey to escape the wrath and judgment of God. Noah had to work towards his own deliverance by constructing the ark for the next 120 years.

Real-life replica of Noah's ark in The Ark Encounter in Kentucky at the Creation Museum.

Adonai will once again judge the living and the dead. He has warned us that this day will come. Every person is guilty of breaking His law. Not one of us has lived with moral perfection, but be of good cheer, for we too have found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Just like Noah, God has provided us an escape from the judgment to come. But just like Noah, we must believe and act. We must trust in the ark God has provided in Christ. We don't need to build the ark, but we must climb aboard and remain inside by building our relationship with Christ and following Him daily. We must remain in Him until the storm passes. By doing so, we will receive the grace the Father has provided.

I have tried my entire life to earn God's favor. But I've come to understand that this task is impossible. Noah didn't earn that favor. Joseph didn't earn that favor. Moses didn't earn that favor. David didn't earn that favor. How can I possibly earn it? The question remains, how then do we obtain such grace? The Hebrew gives us an amazing clue. נח Noah's name means rest, and חֵן grace is a play on words on his name in Hebrew. It is his name backwards and meant to be poetic. It was no coincidence in the Hebrew bible that grace was introduced in the same verse that Noah was mentioned. In Hebrew, grace is a reflection of rest. We receive it by resting in God's promise. By resting in Christ. Inside Christ, we are safe from God's wrath. From God's righteous anger towards sin and His just punishment of sin: death. In Christ we are safe and will not only receive mercy, but grace:

"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 'As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.'" John 15:7-12

Rest in Him and receive His grace that goes beyond not giving us the just punishment of death, but grants us a life of abundance on earth as well as eternal life beyond this earthly realm. Shalom Ve'Shavuah Tov, my friends and family.