We are continuing our study on the Aleph Tav. Remember, Aleph Tav is where we see Jesus in the Old Testament.

Today we are going to dive into the story of Noah. I’m sure you are familiar with this story of the man who built the ark because a world wide flood was coming. Let’s discover what we can learn when we put the aleph tavs in. 

God’s Covenant

“But God remembered (Aleph tav) Noah and all the (Aleph tav)  beasts and all the (Aleph tav) livestock that were with him in the  (Aleph tav)  ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.” Genesis 8:1 (ESV)

God recalled the covenant he made with man, and in turn with the animals to send the savior to redeem all things. Although every man on the earth except Noah and his family turned their hearts away from God, God still had his heart turned toward his creation, including man. So he told Noah to build a covenant keeping Ark in order to keep his covenant with Adam and Eve just a few generations back. 

Even when man broke his part of the covenant, the strength of God’s covenant with man never broke.  

The Raven

“At the end of forty days Noah opened the (Aleph tav) window of the ark that he had made and sent forth a (Aleph tav) raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.” Genesis 8:6-7 (ESV) 

God gave Noah a way to see out of the ark. I can imagine ventilation would be important during the long days and nights living on the ark. The window was also there so God could show Noah when it was time to leave the ark. 

Noah first let a raven out of the ark. Why a raven? I believe God had a raven be the first to leave the ark because the raven represents the old, dead life and mindset that no longer existed. 

According to Birdsphere, ravens will eat almost anything. They have been seen eating roadkill – both fresh and rotten. Ravens will eat dog droppings, earthworms, and caterpillars. They will attack snakes, rabbits, squirrels, and even large animals like elks and moose. They seem to eat whatever is available at any given moment. 

Ravens were considered as unclean animals and were forbidden by God to be eaten. I can see why! This could be one reason Noah sent out a raven first. He could eat the doves, if needed but he couldn’t eat the raven. A raven was a great animal to send out first so he could go eat some of the rotting flesh still floating around the earth. 

I think that the raven also represented worldly wisdom and knowledge that no longer existed during this time. It was a sign that the old, evil ways were over, and gone. 

What do Ravens Represent?

Let’s look at what ravens represented in the past in the world. I found this information at Discoverwalks website:

• In Norse mythology Odin had 2 ravens that represented thinking and memory. These ravens would fly around the world gathering information for Odin.

• Ravens represented wisdom and knowledge and were thought to be messengers between the mortal world and the world of the gods. 

• In Greek myths the god Morpheus, the god of dreams, would use a raven to give him information about what happens in the waking world. 

• Ravens were seen as conduit to lead spirits to the underworld. 

By sending out a raven first, it was as though Noah was declaring that the old ways were gone, and things were going to be different from now on. The old ways of thinking and the demonic wisdom were dead. 

The Dove

”Then he sent forth a (Aleph tav) dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took (Aleph tav) (dove) her and brought her into the ark with him. He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the (Aleph tav)  dove out of the ark. “And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.” Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the (Aleph tav)  dove, and she did not return to him anymore.” Genesis 8:8-12 (ESV) 

After the aleph tav raven, the raven showing the power of the covenant made to Noah and his family that the evil that prevailed over the earth was a thing of the past, Noah sent out the aleph tav dove. 

It took Noah sending out the aleph tav dove three times for her to find a place for her to live and not return to the ark. 

Doves often represent the Holy Spirit in the Bible. We see the Holy Spirit coming down in the form of a dove when Jesus was baptized. 

I find it interesting that the dove was released three times before it didn’t come back. Of course three is the number that represents the Trinity. Could it be that the dove was representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being released over the earth? Was God showing the earth that there was a new government being set up? No longer was the earth going to be defiled by the evil from the past. The strength of the covenant was in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit setting all things new, again. 

The Covering

”In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the (Aleph tav)  covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. Then God said to Noah, “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”” Genesis 8:12-17 (ESV)

We see that once Noah was released by God to leave the ark, Noah removed the aleph tav covering. God promised to protect Noah and his family. He was their covering. By the strength of the covenant, Noah and his family were safe and now they were free to leave the protection of the ark to start life once again on dry ground.

The Sacrifice 

“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” And when the Lord smelled the pleasing (Aleph tav) aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the (Aleph tav) ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every (Aleph tav) living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”” Genesis 8:20-22 (ESV)

Noah showed his continual devotion to Yahweh. His first act after leaving the ark was to build an altar to Yahweh and sacrificed offerings on it. The Lord smelled the aleph tav aroma which showed both God and Noah the strength of the covenant between God and man. 

God then tells Noah that he makes another covenant which can never be broken. He promises to never curse the ground and strike down every living creature like he had just done. In chapter 9 we see the strength of the covenant being made by an aleph tav bow in the sky. 

“Behold, I establish my (Aleph tav) covenant with you and your (Aleph tav) offspring after you, I establish my (Aleph tav) covenant with (Aleph tav) you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 

I have set my (Aleph tav) bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. I will remember my (Aleph tav) covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.” Genesis‬ ‭9‬:‭9‬, ‭11‬, ‭13‬, ‭15‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

God puts a bow in the sky, we call it a rainbow, to remind himself and mankind that his promises always stand firm no matter what. 

When my kids were little and we would see a rainbow I would tell them that the rainbow reminds us that God always keeps his promises. 

If you think of a rainbow like a bow in a bow and arrow you notice that the bow is aimed at the heavens, not on the earth. It’s as if God is also telling Noah that the next time sin and evil are judged, it will be him that takes the punishment. This is yet another reminder that yes, God always keeps his promises, and when we surrender our lives to Jesus we are not judged for our sins because Jesus took our judgement on the cross.