5.     THE STORY OF THE FLOOD

"By faith Noah prepared an ark to the saving of his house."

Aim

To show how God punished the wicked and saved Noah from the flood.

For many years the descendants of Seth (called "sons of God" Genesis 6:2) remained apart from the descendants of Cain, and at first did those things that were pleasing to God. They lived separate lives ignoring the wicked people around them. Cain's descendants, although skilful and clever were wicked, always rebelling against God. But after a while some of the "sons of God" were led away from that godliness for which they were known in the beginning and they turned to doing the same things as the descendants of Cain. The world had become a very wicked place. God saw that "every imagination of the thoughts of (man's) heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).

Genesis 6, 7, 8; Hebrews 11:7

WICKEDNESS FILLS THE EARTH: Genesis 6:1-13

The people who lived on the earth at this time were very, very wicked, and God looked upon all this evil and was grieved in His heart. At last He said, "I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth" (v. 7). However, there was one man who pleased God. His name was Noah and he was a just or righteous man, one who trusted in God and "walked with God" (v. 9). He is described in 2 Peter 2:5 as "a preacher of righteousness". He was told by God to preach to the people and warn them that, if they did not repent, God would destroy them. "I will destroy them from the earth," said God - (v. 13). Noah did not hesitate to do as he was told.  He began preaching, and continued for 120 years, always hoping that some might turn away from their wickedness and be saved.

GOD COMMANDS NOAH TO BUILD AN ARK:  Genesis 6:14-16

Noah was commanded to build an ark and was given the measurements in cubits. A cubit measured between 500mm and 600mm. This shows that the ark must have been between 160m and 180m long, between 27m and 30m wide and between 16m and 18m high. It was built of gopher wood, lined inside and out with pitch, and was three storeys high. It had a door and a window. Such a great vessel would have taken many years to build. First the materials had to be prepared and then the long job of building was begun. All the time Noah would have carefully followed the instructions which God had given him. He continued faithfully, building and preaching, warning the people of the coming judgments on the wicked. The people laughed at Noah. They could not think of anything more ridiculous than for a man to build a huge boat in the middle of the land, far away from the sea. Their laughter did not worry Noah for he was a faithful man. He patiently continued with his God-given task.

THE ARK OF SAFETY COMPLETED - THE FLOOD COVERED THE EARTH: Genesis 7

Because Noah loved God, he was invited to enter the ark, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation" (v. 1). Eight persons, Noah and his wife, his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives, entered the ark to wait and to be saved from the dreadful punishment that was to come upon all these evil people. Animals and birds had also been brought in as God had instructed: seven pairs each of clean beasts and one pair of unclean beasts; seven pairs of all the birds ("fowls of the air"). God finally shut the door. Then seven days later the rain began and continued for 40 days and 40 nights (v. 12). The waters rose until they had completely covered all the high mountains. "All flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man" (v. 21).

After the rain stopped, Noah had to remain in the ark until all was safe and the land was dry again. In the meantime the water covered the earth and the ark moved in safety over the waters. About eight months later Noah opened a window in the ark and sent out a raven and then a dove. The raven did not return but the dove returned, because there was "not rest for the sole of her foot". Seven days later she was again sent out and this time returned with an olive leaf, so Noah knew the water was slowly drying up, for the tops of the trees had begun to show.

Finally, seven days later, the dove was sent out again and this time did not return. Noah and his family had been in the ark a little over one year when at last God spoke to Noah saying, "Go forth out of the ark" (8:15-16). So they came out of the ark and brought out the animals birds and creeping things onto the dry land and went forth to "breed abundantly in the earth and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth" (v. 17).

NOAH GIVES THANKS TO GOD -   GOD'S PROMISE:

Genesis 8:20-22

The first thing Noah did was to build an altar and make a sacrifice to God. This pleased God and He blessed Noah and made a covenant with him. A covenant is a special agreement between two people or between God and a man (or a nation), as a sign that God will keep His promise.   God's promises never fail.   The rainbow in the sky, which appears today in rainy weather, became a sign that never again would a flood destroy all creatures upon the earth: as God said, "neither will I again smite any more every living thing, as I have done" (vv. 21-22).

From the creation of Adam to the flood was about 1,656 years. The flood covered the earth in about BC 2348. From Shem, Ham and Japheth, after the flood, came ALL the peoples of the earth. All other living things had died in the flood, and this was now a new start.

LESSON FOR US

As we have seen from this lesson, when the world became filled with wickedness and violence, God punished the inhabitants of the earth by destroying them with a flood. Jesus warned his disciples that the world would again be filled with wickedness in the days just before his return to the earth (Matthew 24:37-39). "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall also the coming of the son of man be." He said that people would go on living in their sinful ways, not taking any notice of his warning or expecting his return. We must thank God that He has taught us that Jesus Christ will return soon and so we must prepared ourselves for that day, by learning God's way from the Bible and obeying Him. Only righteous people will be saved and given eternal life to rule with Jesus Christ in the Kingdom. All those who are wicked and disobedient will be destroyed.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

We must remember that Jesus Christ is our Ark of Safety and we must enter through the door by baptism (Galatians 3:27). The "ark" of baptism is a place of protection and salvation. God will save all who are baptised into Jesus Christ and who keep His commandments; and we have an invitation to come to Him in this way (Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9).

The flood was a symbol of baptism. It washed away the sins of the old world so that there could be a new beginning. "Eight souls were saved by water, the like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us" (1 Peter 3:20-21; Acts 4:12; Mark 16:16).

QUESTIONS

Short Answers

1. What were the descendants of Cain like?
2. What were the descendants ofSeth like?
3. After   the   descendants   of Seth   had   married   the descendants of Cain what were the people like?
4. What did God decide to do to all the wicked people?
5. Were there any good people in the earth at all?
6. When God saw so much wickedness on the earth, what two things did He tell Noah to do?
7. When the ark was finished, who went in?
8. When did the rain begin?
9. How long did it rain for?
10. How long did Noah have to stay in the ark?
11. How did God show Noah that He would never again destroy all the people by a flood?

Detailed Answers

1. Why did God send a flood upon the earth in the time of Noah?
2. How did God save Noah from the flood?
3. Why did God put the rainbow in the sky after the flood and what did it mean to Noah?
4. What is a covenant?
5. What did Noah and his sons have to do after the flood?
6. What warning did Jesus give to his disciples from the lesson of the flood?

Additional Answers

7. Tell the story of Noah and how he went into the ark.
8. How can we enter into an "ark of safety"?
9. Finish this quotation - "As it was in the days of Noah ...".
   What does this quotation mean?

Teacher's Reference Library

"The Visible Hand of God" - R. Roberts, chapter 5

"Ur of the Chaldees" - C. Leonard Woolley, chapter 1