Providence of Restoration centering on Noah's Family

Chapter Providential Age for the Foundation of Restoration

Section II

The Providence of Restoration centering on Noah's Family

The providence of restoration centering on Adam's family was not fulfilled, because Cain killed Abel. Nevertheless, since God's will to accomplish the purpose of creation was absolute and unchangeable, He set up Seth in place of Abel on the basis of Abel's having been loyal and filial in heart (Gen. 4:25).

Then from among his descendants God chose Noah's family to substitute for Adam's family and recommenced His providence. As God said:

I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Gen. 6:13)

He performed flood judgment. This clearly shows us that it was also the Last Days at that time. This is because God intended to fulfill the purpose of creation by sending the Messiah, on the foundation laid by Noah's family, after the flood judgment. Noah's family should have set up the condition of indemnity to restore the foundation of faith, and, based on that, they should have set up the condition of indemnity to restore the foundation of substance. By doing these things, Noah's family should have restored, through indemnity, the foundation to receive the Messiah, which Adam's family had failed to do.

1. The Foundation of Faith

(1) The Central Figure to Restore the Foundation of Faith

In the providence of restoration centering on Noah's family, the central figure to restore the foundation of faith was Noah. God called Noah after ten generations, or 1,600 years after Adam, in order to fulfill with will, which ended in failure with Adam. Therefore, God blessed Noah to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 9:7), just as He did Adam (Gen. 1:28). In that sense, Noah is the second human ancestor.

Noah was called when the earth was filled with violence through men (Gen. 6:11), and he worked on the ark for 120 years on the mountain, in obedience to God's command, despite all the derision and scoffing of the people. On that condition, God could venture to judge the earth with the flood, centering on Noah's family. In this aspect, Noah is the first father of faith. We know Abraham is the father of faith, but originally it was to be Noah. Due to his son Ham's sinful act, Noah's mission as the father of faith was shifted to Abraham.

Adam was to be the central figure to restore the foundation of faith, but because of the fore-mentioned reason, he could not offer sacrifices himself. However, Noah was called on the basis of Abel's having been faithful and filial in acceptably offering the symbolic sacrifices. Besides, as seen from his lineage, he was a descendant of Seth (Gen. 4:25) called in place of Abel. Furthermore, he was a righteous man in the sight of God (Gen. 6:9). Therefore, he could offer symbolic sacrifices directly by building the ark in obedience to God's will.

(2) The Conditional Objects to Restore the Foundation of Faith

For Noah, the conditional object by which the foundation of faith could be restored was the ark. What did the ark signify? In order for Noah to stand in Adam's position as the second human ancestor, he had to set up the condition to restore through indemnity the whole universe, which was under Satanic control due to Adam's fall. Consequently, he had to offer as sacrifices, acceptably before God, certain conditional objects symbolizing the new universe. The ark was his conditional object.

The ark consisted of three floors, to symbolize the universe created through the three stages of growth. The eight members of Noah's family who entered the ark were to restore through indemnity the eight members of Adam's family, who fell into Satan's bosom. Since the ark was the symbol of the whole universe, the master of the ark, Noah, symbolized God. His family symbolized mankind, and the animals symbolized all things.

What was the purpose of God's 40-day flood judgment, which He exercised after the completion of the ark? According to the principle of creation, man was made to serve one master. God could not work His providence in the non-principled realm by dealing with mankind, when man remained under Satan due to his own lustfulness.

Therefore, He exercised the providence of the flood judgment to destroy the men subject to Satan, and to set up the objects through whom He could exercise His providence. Why did He decide that His judgment should be 40 days? As will be discussed later (cf. Part II, Ch. 3, Sec, II, 4--381), the number "ten" is the number of unity. Therefore, God set up Noah ten generations after Adam to restore through indemnity the will left unaccomplished because of Adam's fall. He set up the indemnity period to restore the number "ten" in the second attempt at unification. Through ten generations up to Noah, God also continued His providence of setting up each generation as the indemnity period to restore the number "four" to fulfill the purpose of the four position foundation. Consequently, the period from Adam to Noah was the indemnity period to restore the number "40". Due to the lustfulness of the people of that time, the indemnity period for the number "40" was invaded by Satan. In order that God might recommence His providence to accomplish the four position foundation through Noah's ark, He intended to restore the foundation of faith by setting up the 40-day period of judgment as the indemnity period to restore the number "40" invaded by Satan.

In this way, the number "40" became necessary as the number to separate Satan in order later to restore the foundation of faith in the providential course of restoration through indemnity. For example, we see many instances comparable to the 40-day judgment in Noah's day: the 400-year period from Noah to Abraham; the 400 years of slavery of Egypt of the Israelites; 40 years of wandering in the wilderness; Moses' 40-day fast; 40 years each of the rule of Kings Saul, David, and Solomon; Elijah's 40-day fast; Jonah's 40-day prediction of the destruction of Nineveh; Jesus' 40-day fast and prayer; and his 40-day period of resurrection. All are indemnity periods for separation from Satan.

We also read in the Bible that, after the judgment, Noah sent out a raven and a dove from the ark. Let us now investigate what kind of providence for the future God foreshadowed through this, for God said, "Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7). The 40-day period of judgment as the condition of indemnity to restore the universe corresponds to the period of chaos (Gen. 1:2). Therefore, all the things centering on the ark after the 40 days are the symbolic representation of the entire course of history after God completed His creation of heaven and earth.

What did God foreshadow by sending from the ark a raven (Gen. 8:6-7) which flew about until the water subsided? This indicated that Satan crouched at the door of Noah's family, even after the flood judgment, to spy on the condition for invasion there, just as the archangel looked for a chance to win Eve's love right after the creation of man and just as Satan watched for the opportunity to invade Cain and Abel when they offered sacrifices (Gen. 4:7).

Next, what did God foreshadow when Noah sent a dove three times from the ark? It is recorded in the Bible that the dove was sent forth to find out if the water had subsided. However, if that had been the only purpose, we may think that Noah could look out directly through the window to learn for himself, instead of sending out the dove. Therefore, we can imagine that the purpose of sending for the dove lay in something more important than seeing if the water had dried up.

We must understand the significance of God's providence in this situation. Seven days after God announced the flood judgment through Noah (Gen. 7:10), the flood came. It was after the 40-day period of judgment that Noah first sent out the dove. The Bible says that the dove went to and fro over the water but finding no place to set her foot, she returned to the ark, and Noah brought her into the ark (Gen. 8:9). The first dove symbolized the first Adam. Therefore, this story means that God created man on earth so that His ideal of creation, which had been in Him even before creation, might be realized in Adam as the perfect incarnation. But due to Adam's fall, God could not realize His ideal of creation on earth through Adam, so God had to take back His ideal from earth for the time being and postpone the realization of His will.

Seven days later, Noah sent out the dove the second time. She could not set foot on the earth then because the water had not dried up. She returned to the ark with an olive leaf in her mouth, signifying that she would be able to alight the next time (Gen. 8:10-11). The second dove symbolized Jesus, as the second Adam, who would come as the perfect incarnation of the ideal of creation. Therefore, this second story signifies that Jesus would come to earth in order to accomplish the providence of restoration. But in case of the Jewish people's disbelief, he would go back to God's bosom, through the cross, leaving a promise to come again, because, with no place to "set his feet", he could not fulfill the will on earth. Of course, this foreshadowing indicates that, if the water had dried up so that the dove could alight and find something to eat, she did not have to return to the ark, but she had to go back because the water had not yet subsided. Likewise, this indicates that if the Jewish people were to believe in him and serve him, Jesus would not die, being able to realize the Kingdom of Heaven on earth at that time. But in the case of their disbelief, Jesus would have to die on the cross and come again later at a more favorable time.

After another seven days, Noah sent out the dove the third time. It is written that this time the dove did not come back to the ark because the water had dried up (Gen. 8:12). The third dove symbolized the Lord of the Second Advent who would come as the third Adam. Consequently, this story indicates that, when Christ comes again, he will be able to realize God's ideal of creation on earth without fail so that the ideal will never have to go back to God's bosom. When Noah found that the third dove would not return, he then came down from the ark to the earth and enjoyed the new heaven and earth. This foreshadows that, when the ideal of creation will be realized on earth through the third Adam, then the new Jerusalem will descend from heaven and God's dwelling will be among men (Rev. 21:1-3).

The story of having sent out the dove three times shows us that, as clarified in the chapter on predestination, God's providence of restoration could be prolonged in case that man, who is the object of the providence, could not fulfill his portion of responsibility. This foreshadowed that, due to Adam's failure in carrying out his responsibility because of his disbelief, Christ had to come as the second Adam, and that if the Jewish people should fail to fulfill their responsibility because of their disbelief, Jesus would have to die on the cross and thus Christ would have to come again as the third Adam. The period of seven days here shows us that, just as God's creation took seven days, it will also take a certain period in the providence to restore the lost element.

In the meantime, Noah's family could restore through indemnity the foundation of faith by acceptably setting up the ark as the condition to restore the foundation through the 40-day judgment.

2. The Foundation of Substance

Noah restored through indemnity the foundation of faith by succeeding in making the symbolic offering of the ark acceptable to God. By this, Noah set up, at the same time, the condition of indemnity for the restoration of all the created things and also the condition of indemnity for the restoration of men, in symbolic terms. Next, if Noah's sons, Shem and Ham, had succeeded in the substantial offering by setting up the condition of indemnity to remove the fallen nature, in the respective positions of Cain and Abel, the foundation of substance could have been established at that time.

In order for Noah's family to offer the substantial offering acceptably after the success in the symbolic offering, the second son, Ham, who was the central figure for the substantial offering, ought to have restored the position of the second son Abel, who had been the central figure for the substantial offering in Adam's family. In the case of Adam's family, Abel, the son, offered the symbolic offering in place of Adam. Therefore, when he succeeded in that offering, Abel could restore through indemnity the foundation of faith, while at the same time, he was destined to be the central figure for the substantial offering. However, in the case of Noah's family, Noah himself offered a symbolic sacrifice. In order for Ham to stand in the position of Abel, who had succeeded in the symbolic offering, he should have remained in a position of inseparable oneness with the heart and feeling of Noah, who had succeeded in the symbolic offering. Let us, then, examine how God worked His providence in order to have Ham stand in the position of inseparable oneness with Noah's heart and feeling.

We read (Gen. 9:20-26) that Ham, upon seeing his father Noah lie naked in the tent, was not only ashamed of it, but even displeased with it, and that he stirred up the same emotion among his brothers, Shem and Japheth. Then they too were agitated by Ham in the same emotion to feel ashamed of their father's nakedness; and in an effort not to see that scene, they turned their faces and walked backward to cover their father's body with a garment. However, this was such a crime that Noah cursed Ham, saying that his son Canaan should be a slave to his brothers.

Why did God work His providence in such a way, and why was the feeling of shame at Noah's nakedness such a sin? In order to understand this, let us first determine what sin is. Satan cannot emit the power of existence and action unless he finds an object with which to form a correlative base on which to have a mutual relationship of give and take. Therefore, whenever any being makes a condition for Satan to invade and thus becomes an object with which Satan can work, sin is created.

Next, we must understand why God tested Ham through Noah's nakedness. It has already been stated that the ark symbolized the whole universe and that all the things done immediately after the acceptable offering of the ark, through the 40-day judgment, therefore symbolized everything since the creation of the universe. Consequently, Noah's position right after the 40-day judgment was identical to that of Adam after the creation of the universe.

We can well imagine how unreserved and affectionate with each other Adam and Eve were after the creation, and how frank and without concealment they were before God. We can conclude this from the fact that they did not have the feeling of shame, even though they were naked (Gen. 2:25). But after the fall, they became ashamed of the nakedness of their lower parts, covered them with fig leaves and concealed themselves from God, fearing that He might see (Gen. 3:7). Therefore, their act caused by feeling ashamed of their lower parts was an expression of their feeling due to their sinful blood relationship with Satan committed through their lower parts. The action of concealing themselves by covering their lower parts was the expression of their guilty conscience, which deterred them from appearing before God after their blood relationship with Satan.

Noah, in the position of separation from Satan through the 40-day judgment, ought to have stood in the position of Adam right after the creation of the universe. In this case, God wanted to restore through indemnity the heart and feeling of joy He had experienced, looking at innocent naked man, without concealment before he committed the crime, by looking at Noah's family neither feeling shameful nor trying to hide themselves at the sight of Noah's nakedness. God had Noah lie naked in order to fulfill such a profound will. Consequently, Ham could have set up the condition of indemnity to restore the position of Adam's family, which had never known any shame before the first sin, on Ham's foundation of inseparable oneness with Noah through dealing with Noah without any sense of shame; that is, from the same position and heart as God.

However, on the contrary, Noah's sons were ashamed of their father's nakedness and covered him with a garment, thus showing that they could not appear before God because they were ashamed of their blood relationship with Satan, as was the case in Adam's family after the fall. Therefore, Satan, who had been watching to see if there was any condition for him to invade in Noah's family, as foreshadowed through the raven, did invade with Noah's sons as his objects because they had shown themselves to be Satan's lineal descendants.

In this manner, Ham's act in being ashamed of his father's nakedness became a sin, because it created a condition for Satan to invade. Thus, Ham failed to restore through indemnity the position of Abel from which to offer a substantial sacrifice, and failed to establish the foundation of substance. Thus, the providence of restoration centering on Noah ended in failure.

Would it be a sin for anyone to be ashamed of his nakedness? No. Noah had the mission of removing all the conditions which allowed Satan to invade, because Noah was substituting for Adam. Therefore, Noah's family should have set up the condition of indemnity to restore the position of Adam's family before the blood relationship with Satan, by demonstrating that they were not ashamed of nakedness, and thus did not worry about covering it. In consequence, the condition of indemnity showing that they neither felt ashamed of nakedness nor cared to cover it was a condition that only Noah's family could set up, for Noah's family was in the position of Adam's family.

3. Lessons learned from Noah's Family

It is not easy to understand why Noah built an ark on the mountain for 120 long years. Ham knew that Noah's family was saved due to the toils of his father--toils for which he had been mocked and criticized. Considering all these things, Ham should have regarded his father's works as good and meaningful, even though he was displeased with his father's nakedness.

Instead of trusting Noah, who was on the side of God, Ham criticized him from a self-centered perspective, and showed his displeasure in his action. Therefore, the providence centering on Noah's family, which God had set up by exercising the 40-day flood judgment 1,600 years after Adam, ended in failure. This shows us that we need patience and obedience to go the way of Heaven.

Next, God's providence through Noah's family shows us God's attitude about predestination and the accomplishment of man's own responsibility. We know well enough that Noah's family was that which God found after 1,600 years of search, which He directed for 120 years until Noah finished the ark, and which He kept intact at the sacrifice of the whole of mankind by the 40-day flood. However, when Satan invaded the family through Ham's mistake, God abandoned without reserve the entire family, which was the object of His providence of restoration, and thus His providence centering on Noah's family ended in failure.

Moreover, the providence through Noah's family shows us what God's predestination for man is like. We must not forget that, in spite of His having found Noah as the father of faith after such a long period, God abandoned the family once it failed to accomplish its portion of responsibility and elected Abraham's family in its place.