The phrase “waters of Noah” in Isaiah 54:9 refers back to the great Flood during the time of Noah in Genesis chapters 6-9. Just as God promised to never again flood the whole earth after the Flood (Genesis 9:11), so too God promises His people that just as He swore not to flood the earth again, so too He has sworn not to be angry with His people or rebuke them again.
Isaiah 54:9 states: “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you.”
The context of Isaiah 54 is a message of comfort and hope for God’s people after a time of judgment and exile. God promises restoration, renewal, and an everlasting covenant of peace. The reference to the waters of Noah hearkens back to one of the most catastrophic and impactful events in history – when God judged the whole earth with a devastating flood, while saving Noah and his family in the ark. Just as God promised to never again destroy the whole earth with a flood after that, so too God is promising His people that His anger and discipline toward them is over, and He will restore and bless them once again.
Some key points about the Flood and “waters of Noah” in Isaiah 54:
- The Flood was a global catastrophic event that wiped out all land life on earth except what was saved in the Ark (Genesis 6-9).
- It was a divine judgment on the wickedness and violence that filled the earth (Genesis 6:5-7).
- But God showed grace by saving righteous Noah and his family (Genesis 6:8).
- After the Flood, God made a covenant with Noah and all creation that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood (Genesis 9:8-17).
- The rainbow serves as a sign of this everlasting covenant (Genesis 9:12-13).
- In Isaiah 54:9, God points back to this ancient covenant He made regarding the waters of Noah, and uses it as comparison to His present covenant and promises to His people.
- Just as surely as He promised to never flood the whole earth again, so too He promises His anger and discipline toward Israel is over, and restoration is coming.
So in summary, the “waters of Noah” represent the catastrophic global flood judgment during Noah’s time, after which God swore to never again flood the whole earth. This is used in Isaiah 54:9 to emphasize God’s promise of comfort, restoration, and covenant blessings for His people after a period of judgment and exile. As God will never again flood the whole earth, so too His anger and discipline toward them has ended, and His mercy and faithfulness will prevail.
The Great Flood in Genesis 6-9
The Flood account in Genesis 6-9 gives critical background context for understanding the meaning of the “waters of Noah” reference in Isaiah 54:9. Looking at key passages in Genesis will help shed light on the original catastrophic flood event.
Genesis 6:5-7 – The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
These verses explain the lead up to the Flood. God saw the tremendous wickedness and violence that filled the earth, regretted making man, and decided to blot out life from the earth.
Genesis 6:8 – But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
In contrast to the wickedness around him, Noah was righteous and blameless before God (Gen 6:9), so God decided to spare him from the coming judgment.
Genesis 6:13-14 – And God said to Noah, “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. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood…”
God tells Noah directly that He will destroy all life on earth with a flood because of their violence, but instructs Noah to build an ark to save himself and his family.
Genesis 7:11-12, 17-24 – In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights…The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. Everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.
These verses describe the onset of the Flood, how it covered even the tallest mountains, and wiped out every living creature on land except Noah and those saved in the Ark.
Genesis 8:1-5 – But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
After some time, God caused the floodwaters to recede again, allowing the Ark to come to rest on Mount Ararat as the waters continued to go down.
Genesis 8:15-19 – 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.” So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.
When the earth was dry enough again, God gave the command for Noah and all the animals to exit the Ark and repopulate the cleansed earth.
This condensed summary of key passages in Genesis 6-9 highlights how the Flood was a divinely sent catastrophic destruction that wiped out all land life on earth, except for righteous Noah and his family and the animals God preserved with them in the Ark. Truly a global, epic event without parallel in history. This sets the stage for understanding the reference to the “waters of Noah” in Isaiah 54.
God’s Covenant with Noah after the Flood
After Noah and all the creatures exited the Ark, God established an everlasting covenant with Noah and all living creatures, promising to never again flood the entire earth. This covenant pledge is an essential part of the meaning behind the phrase “waters of Noah.”
Genesis 9:8-11 – Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with 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.”
God formally makes His covenant with Noah, his family, and all creatures that He will never again cut off all life with a flood or destroy the entire earth with a flood.
Genesis 9:12-13 – And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
The rainbow is established as a sign reminder of God’s covenant to never flood the entire earth again.
Genesis 9:15 – I will remember my 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.
God again confirms His promise to remember and keep this covenant to not destroy all life through a total flood.
These excerpts from Genesis 9 give the key details about the covenant God established regarding the waters of Noah to never again flood the whole earth. This is the event being referenced centuries later in Isaiah 54:9.
Isaiah 54:9 in Context
Looking at the broader context surrounding Isaiah 54:9 will help shed light on why it refers to the waters of Noah in the midst of declaring promises of restoration for God’s people.
Isaiah 54:1-8 – “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD. “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities. “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the LORD has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer.
These verses contain an uplifting message of hope and promise for God’s people, using metaphors of a barren woman who will have many children and a wife briefly deserted but later restored. God promises to have compassion and everlasting love for them, even after a time of judgment.
Isaiah 54:9-10 – “To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth. So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
After comparing God’s faithfulness to His people to his covenant with Noah, God swears again here that His anger is turned away and He will be faithful, just as sure as His covenant regarding the floodwaters remains.
Read in context, the mentioning of the waters of Noah in Isaiah 54:9 serves to emphasize the certainty and permanence of God’s promise of restoration, comfort, and redemption for His people after a period of judgment. If God will keep His ancient covenant with Noah regarding a global flood, how much more will He be faithful to His beloved people, as He swears His compassion will never depart from them.
Drawing this comparison helps strengthen the hope of restoration and God’s faithfulness, after the people had experienced exile and separation from their land due to divine discipline and judgment for their sins.
Key Theological Truths
Reflecting on the meaning of the “waters of Noah” reference in Isaiah 54:9, we see several key theological truths emerge:
- God’s judgments can be severe, but also demonstrate His justice and holiness.
- God preserves a faithful remnant – Noah then, spiritual Israel now.
- God makes and upholds covenants with His people.
- Even in judgment, God’s faithfulness and promises endure.
- After discipline, God restores and has compassion on His children.
- Looking back at earlier acts of God gives hope for the future.
While judgment came through floodwaters in Noah’s day, the prophet Isaiah referenced the waters to declare hope. If God kept His promise regarding the flood, He will do so for His people in the future restoration. God’s anger and discipline are only for a season, but His faithfulness and covenant love endure forever.
The Flood and Baptism Imagery in the New Testament
The New Testament writers also viewed the Flood through a redemptive lens, using it as a symbol pointing to baptism and salvation in Christ.
1 Peter 3:20-21 – Because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Peter ties the events of the Flood and Ark to the meaning of baptism. God patiently waited in Noah’s day but judgment eventually came through the floodwaters. However, Noah and his family were saved in the midst of this judgment, being brought safely through the waters. In the same pattern, God saves us from judgment through the waters of baptism, on the basis of Christ’s resurrection.
2 Peter 2:5 – If he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.
Peter highlights how God preserved righteous Noah amidst the flood which came upon the ungodly. Noah and the Flood are set up as a contrast – ungodliness faces judgment, but righteousness leads to salvation in God’s gracious plan.
While the Flood in Genesis serves as a sober reminder of God’s judgment against wickedness and violence, we also see glimmers of His grace, patience, and salvation even amidst judgment. The redemptive pattern ultimately points ahead to Christ, the true ark of salvation.
Conclusions
In summary, the “waters of Noah” phrase in Isaiah 54:9 is a reference back to the global Flood during Noah’s time in Genesis 6-9.
- The Flood was a divinely sent catastrophic judgment on the wickedness of the earth, but God provided an ark of salvation for righteous Noah and his family.
- After the Flood subsided, God swore a covenant with Noah to never again flood the whole earth, setting His rainbow in the sky as a sign of this promise.
- In Isaiah’s prophecy, he draws a parallel between God’s faithfulness in the Noahic covenant, and His soon restoration and comfort for Israel after judgment – just as surely as no flood will come again, no more will come God’s anger and rebuke.
- The Flood serves as a foreshadowing of salvation amidst judgment, and the redemptive parallel is brought to fuller fruition through baptism into Christ.
Understanding these Genesis contexts helps illuminate Isaiah’s mention of the “waters of Noah” as a declaration of God’s amazing faithfulness and redeeming grace for His people, bringing hope after sorrow and light after darkness. Though floods of trial may come, God’s everlasting love and covenant promises endure forever.