Noah Sunday School Lesson

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Noah Sunday School Lesson

A. "The Good of the People"

In about 360 BC the Greek philosopher Platowrote, "Mankind must have laws and conform tothem, or their life would be as bad as that of themost savage beast." This is simply another wayof saying that laws are necessary for each personto know the mutual obligations that are expectedin any social group.

Observing those expectations will ordinarilypromote the general welfare of both the individ-ual and the group. The Roman statesman and or-ator Cicero (106-43 ac) said, "The safety of the people is the highest law." The popular version of his statement is, "The good of the people is the highest law." We humans seem to be in a constant state of give-and-take with our laws. The year 1957 sawthe governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas defy a1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerningracial integration in schools. He used theArkansas National Guard to prevent the rulingfrom taking effect in Little Rock, the state capital.President Eisenhower responded by federalizingthe National Guard and sending a unit of theU.S. Army to Little Rock. The ruling of the courtwas enforced.

The fall of that same year saw the establish-ment of a new Bible college, and a social experi-ment was suggested. Would it be possible for thestudents in such an institution to function to-gether with only the laws of the state and theBible to guide them? The students expressed aneagerness to cooperate in such an endeavor. Aplan to devise a complete set of rules by usingstudent handbooks from other colleges thus was abandoned.

As time went on, however, rules were addedas various liberties were abused. For example, aperson could play a radio as loudly as desired,but that liberty would end where the ears of an-other were involved. This liberty had to be bal-anced with another person's right to quiet,especially if the hours for nighttime sleepingwere involved! The list of rules slowly grew, andwithin a few years a handbook came into being.People need to know what they should andshould not do. Toddlers, for example, learn thatparents have a favorite word: No! As childrencrawl, walk, or run, they must understand thatthere are boundaries and that there are conse-quences for bold adventures into prohibitedareas. Children learn that the family's unwrittencode of laws also increases. A child may have totolerate the fact that older siblings have privi-leges that are not yet granted to those who areyounger. Laws or rules—whether at the level ofthe government, Bible college, or family - are forthe common good.

One frequent designation for the first fivebooks of the Bible is "the Law." The main reasonfor this designation is that these books record thecovenantal laws that the Lord put into place atvarious times. We have much to learn from God'sOld Testament laws and covenants yet today.

B. Lesson Background

The flood that occurred the year Noah was had just ended. Noah, his family, and the an-
imals emerged from the ark after spending manymonths within it.

The account of the flood is always fascinatingto read. It is interesting that over 200 similar ac-counts have been found in legends around theworld. These sagas have common threads of agod or gods who were displeased with humanityand thus destroyed just about everything exceptfor one individual and his family. Over two-thirds of the stories indicate that animals alsowere saved. Over half of the stories have the ves-sel of safety landing on a mountain. There aremany differences among the accounts, so theconclusion for the Christian is that the straight-forward presentation as found in Genesis is theonly one that is authentic.
The New Testament contains several refer-ences to the events of the great flood. Matthew24:38, 39; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20; and 2 Peter2:5; 3:6 confirm that Jesus and the inspired writ-ers of the New Testament were confident that theflood was a historical event.

As the family of Noah departed from the ark,they found themselves alone in a world that hadbeen cleansed. We can only wonder how the rag-ing waters of the flood affected continents andclimates, topography and temperatures. In Hiswisdom God does not reveal those things to us.Noah's first action upon leaving the ark was tooffer sacrifices of the clean animals and birds(Genesis 8:20). As the aroma arose, the Lordspoke first to himself about the earth—its dailyand annual cycles. He then spoke the words thatare the printed text for today's lesson.

The word covenant is a very important wordin God's expression of His will for humanity inevery age. That word occurs nearly 300 times inthe Bible. It is a vital part of today's lesson,"God's Covenant with Noah

I. God's Commands(Genesis 9:1-7)

Noah needs assurance about the things thatthe Lord desires for hint, his three sons, and thewives of each man. Their experiences convincethem that God keeps His word and that He pun-ishes sin. But they also need to know of theblessings that await them.

A. Procreation Prescribed (v. 1)

I. And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, andreplenish the earth.

The phrase God blessed Noah and his sonsmeans that God is granting the abilities for them
to enjoy prosperity in the areas of life that areimportant. They will be successful in their en-deavors. This assurance provides a confidencethat they need in their changed situations. Godhad made a similar pronouncement at the cre-ation of humans (Genesis 1:28). In that case theensuing prosperity led to humanity's detrimentas people used God's blessings to focus on evil(Genesis 6:5).
God sets forth His plan with three terse imper-atives: be fruitful, multiply, replenish. The lastcommand adds that it is the earth that is to be re-stored. The ancients correctly viewed this com-mand to fill the earth as God's authorization ofmarriage. That naturallE involves a man and awonan--
Obeying the command to multiply is not con-sidered an ideal in certain nations today. Chil-dren often are viewed as expensive (and theyare!) and as interfering in the quest for life at itsfullest. The gift of procreation with which Godendowed humanity has deteriorated in manycases into a selfish, sensual sexuality. Many seekever more perverse ways to find elusive fulfill-ment. But disobedience to God will result inemptiness. (Sri' Filiation #1, rage t fi

B. Protection Promised (v. 2)

2. And the fear of you and the dread of youshall be upon every beast of the earth, and uponevery fowl of the air, upon all that moveth uponthe earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; intoyour hand are they delivered.

The statement that animals of all types willfear humans introduces a new concept. It pro-duces speculation that the eight people in the arkoriginally experience fright as they watch the ani-mals leave (perhaps from the size or appearanceof some of the animals), but that fright is now onthe part of the animals. All we can do is wonderwhether this indicates a change from the past.The promise by God that the animals will fearhumans is a general principle. It is normally true that wild animals do whatever they can to avoidhumans, but we all know about the exceptions.The exceptions ordinarily have to do with theself-preservation instincts that God placedwithin the animals. In normal circumstancesmost animals run from encounters with us. (Seequestion #2, page 16.1

C. Provisions Concerning Food (vv. 3, 4)

3.Every moving thing that liveth shall bemeat for you; even as the green herb have Igiven you all things.
Humanity receives permission to eat the fleshof animals. This becomes a new source of pro-tein. Immediately after the initial creation, Godsaid that He was giving plants and fruit as foodfor humanity and plants for the animals (Genesis1:29, 30). We would like to know more aboutthis situation in the years before the flood, but inHis wisdom God does not reveal it to us.

The law of Moses, which is to be given atMount Sinai, will modify the acceptability offood sources for the Israelites. They are to distin-guish between clean and unclean animals thatthey can eat (see Leviticus 111.
That restriction, however, is for Old Testa-ment Israel only. In the Christian age the distinc-tion is removed entirely. A person may eatwhatever he or she wishes (Mark 7,19.:_l_Timo-thy_4:_4), If, however. an individual chooses notto eat a specific type of food, he or she shouldnot attempt to enforce that choice on others (Ro-mans 14:2, 6). Also, our freedom to eat certainfoods is restricted when the faith of others maybe at stake (1 Corinthians 8).

4.But flesh with the life thereof, which is theblood thereof, shall ye not eat.
The eating of meat does have a restriction: theblood of the animal is not to he consumed. Moseswill repeat this restriction for the nation of Israel(see Leviticus 17:12-14). The some limitation isfound in Acts 15:20. 29 among the restrictionsthat Gentile Christians are encouraged to ob-serve. Many scholars see parallels between Gene-sis 9 and Acts 15.

D. Punishment for Taking Life (vv. 5, 6)5, 6.
And surely your blood of your lives willI require: at the hand of every beast will Irequire it, and at the hand of man; at the handof every man's brother will I require the life ofman. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by manshall his blood be shed: for in the image of Godmade he man.

Clearly. God views the taking of human life tobe a very serious thing. The sanctity of blood asthe life principle puts it into God's domain torender such a judgment. It also becomes evidentthat the taking of human life is much differentfrom taking the life of an animal: in the previousverses God approved the latter as means of ob-taining food.

No one should interpret the dramatic loss oflife in the great flood to mean that human life ischeap. God can choose to take human life in anymanner He chooses, because He is the one whogives the breath of life to all in the first place.Anyone who deliberately and with malice afore-thought takes the life of someone else must un-derstand that there can and should be severeconsequences from earthly tribunals. There alsowill be an accounting in the final judgment ofGod.

The reason for the equal retribution Whososheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood beshed is very specific: for in the image of Godmade he man. Since each person is made in theimage of God, no individual should endanger thelives of the innocent.

In verse 6 God authorizes governments andthose who are in places of authority to exercisecapital punishment for murder. Romans 13:4states that the person in authority, "the ministerof God," bears a sword "to execute wrath uponhim that doeth evil." The individual who is au-thorized to use deadly force is sometimes calleda peace officer, for he or she is to restore peace.When Paul stood before Festus, he recognizedthe authority of the court to impose the deathpenalty (Acts 25:11).

The Mosaic law demonstrates the mind of Godin that He recognizes exceptions in applying thedeath penalty. While the Mosaic law is no longerbinding (see Galatians 3:24, 25), it is helpful touse it to show that accidental death is duly rec-ognized (Deuteronomy 19:4, 5). God gave the Is-raelites a method to protect the individual whotook life accidentally (without hatred or malice).Further, those who serve as executioners arenever assigned any penalty. Certain traditionalteachings cite verse 6 as disallowing abortion.

THE PURPOSE OF PAIN

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we didn't haveany aches or pains? Parents wouldn't have todeal with a baby's cry because he or she couldnot tell Mons where it hurts. Middle-aged week-end athletes wouldn't wake up hurting on Mon-day because they had abused their aging musclesin Sunday afternoon church softball games.Aching, arthritic joints wouldn't plague seniorcitizens!

On second thought, maybe it wouldn't be sowonderful. Grade-school student Ashlyn Blockeris one of a very few people who suffers from con-genital insensitivity to pails (CIPA) with anhidro-sis (inability to sweat)—a rare genetic disorder.She can't tell if her food is too hot; if she falls onthe playground and skins her knee, she won'tknow it until her teacher sees the blood; if shegets overheated, she won't perspire; if she gets toocold, she won't shiver. The way God has createdus, pain is a blessing; it is a "wake-up call" to thefact that something is wrong with our bodies.The nightly news is filled with tragic stories ofmurder and attempted murder. Do these reportsalarm us, or have we become numb to them? Na-tions agonize over the issue of capital punish-ment. Yet nations that allow grievous crimes togo without sure and serious punishment will seetheir moral fabric disintegrate. The pain that aGod-fearing nation feels when serious crime oc-curs is God's way of saying, "Look at the dangeryou are in!" May we heed His warning. —C. R. B.

E. Procreation Emphasized (v. 7)

7. And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply;bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multi-ply therein.
The imperatives of the first verse of the chap-ter are repeated and therefore emphasized. Godseems not to be concerned about overpopulation.

II. God's Covenant(Genesis 9:8-15)

The first use of the word covenant in the Bibleoccurs in Genesis 6:18. That occurrence was be-fore the flood as God promised Noah that Hewould make a covenant with him when theflood-judgment was complete. Now we see Godready to fulfill His promise.

A. Covenant's Parties (vv. 8-10)

8, 9. And God spake unto Noah, and to hissons with him, saying, And I, behold, I estab-lish my covenant with you, and with your seedafter you.

This particular covenant and its precedingpromises are to extend to future generations, forit is to Noah and his seed after him. The properresponse is to serve obediently the one who is of-fering such a covenant with its attendant blessings.

10.And with every living creature that iswith you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of everybeast of the earth with you; from all that go outof the ark, to every beast of the earth.
The covenant's scope also includes every liv-ing creature that goes out of the ark. It is univer-sal in its reach and effect. During the creationweek, God pronounced blessings on the animalsand upon humanity (Genesis 1:22, 28). The es-tablishment of this covenant relationship is nowadded to the blessings, and it includes both hu-manity and the animals.

B. Covenant's Promise (v. 11)

11.And I will establish my covenant withyou; neither shall all flesh be cut off any moreby the waters of a flood; neither shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth.

The covenant affirms that never again willGod destroy all life on the earth by the wafers ofu flood. The history of the earth demonstratesthat God has been faithful to keep this promise.There have been local floods involving terribleloss of life. But there has not been another floodto destroy all life on earth.

C. Covenant's Permanence (vv. 12-15)12, 13.

And God said, This is the token of thecovenant which I make between me and you,and every living creature that is with you, forperpetual generations: I do set my bow in thecloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenantbetween me and the earth.

The word bow translates a Hebrew word thatmay mean either the bow as a weapon or therainbow. The context determines the meaning.In this case the bow is the rainbow, and it is theperpetual sign of the covenant being announcedby God.

Isn't it marvelous to see a rainbow yet today?When conditions are just right, we can even seetwo rainbows. No need to search for the mythicalpot of gold at the end of the rainbow. God'spromise is better than gold!
14, 15. And it shall come to pass, when Ibring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shallbe seen in the cloud: and I will remember mycovenant, which is between me and you andevery living creature of all flesh; and the watersshall no more become a flood to destroy allflesh.

Some have conjectured that the appearance ofa rainbow in the heavens was a new phenome-non. The conditions on the earth prior to theflood are not precisely understood, but it is verylikely that the combination of light and moistureto form a spectrum was not new. God, however,gives it a new significance. He repeats that this isa perpetual reminder that He will never again de-stroy all living creatures on the face of the earth.

THE END WILL COME!

On December 26, 2004, the world wasshocked by news of the massive earthquake andtsunami in the Indian Ocean. We can still re-member the mind-numbing reruns of the de-struction captured on video that day. Within aweek the death toll had passed 150,000 in adozen nations. More would die from disease inthe weeks that followed. No one will ever knowfor sure how many died in the event. But it wasone of the greatest losses of life by flood in mod-ern history.

There is no end to natural disasters. In a rathermacabre acknowledgement of this fact, somenewspapers carry a regular "Earth Watch" col-umn listing the previous week's earthquakes,floods, cyclones, and unusual weather phenom-ena such as extreme cold or heat. So, does thismean that God has not kept His covenantal promise? Not at all! Even the most extensive floods of the past thousand years have not comeclose to equaling the devastation of Noah's day.In that day God destroyed almost the entirehuman race by supernatural disaster. God haspromised that He will not do so again by meansof floodwaters. Even so, "the end of all things isat hand" (1 Peter 4:7). The end of creation as weknow it will come by fire (2 Peter 3:10). The timeto prepare ourselves is now.

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