29 He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.”
We so often think of Noah as the “flood guy.” But this text shows something very different. His father named him Noah which sounds like the word often translated “rest,” “relief,” or “comfort.” His father had a very specific idea about what his life would bring. Of course he had no idea what the future held, but he had dreams for his son. Noah is only the second person mentioned in this list whose father gave his son a name. The exceptions are significant which we observed in the case of Enoch being taken rather than dying. Noah did offer the world comfort, but they rejected it. They scorned and ridiculed him as he toiled to make the ark. His message of impending danger went unheeded, and they drowned. For Lamech, Noah’s father, he saw hope in this infant and named him “rest,” “relief,” or “comfort.” We might put this in a modern context by saying is name was “vacation.” If Lamech could have seen into the future, perhaps he would have named his new son “rejection” instead, for that is exactly what happened. His message was rejected. His life became a joke. He became the crazy old man building a boat. That is until the water started to fall from the sky for the first time. When that happened, then all of a sudden things started to make sense, but then it was too late. The rains had begun and the door to the ark was shut and sealed. Salvation from the flood had been offered and rejected. The comfort they sought as the waters rose was floating on top of the water, perhaps only feet away, and there was no way for them to grasp it. What dreams do you have for your children, for those with whom you work, for yourself? Are the God-sized dreams? The Lord is looking for people who will step up and fill the shoes of the dreams He has for us as people determined to live godly lives in Christ. Are you willing to live such a radical life that those around you will see you and wonder if you are for real?
The Arnold Journey 